PLM-PCS Newsletters Binder
AN unknown individual collected these copies of the PCS-Nampa newsletters. Who and why these copies remain, and probably will remain, forever a mystery. Suffice it to say that they chronicle some important aspects of the PCS Story that would have gone undocumented, had it not been for the wisdom of this unknown person. It also chronicles a time when I personally had difficulty with a student. I will let the reader discover what took place. As I read it in 2009 I find the incident quite funny, but at the time I was a bit upset, to say the least. I discovered the value of the newsletter as a method of reaching a wider body of people when I was studying at St. Peter Chanel Seminary in San Rafael, California. The Marist Fathers were trying to make a Catholic Priest out of me. Fortunately, for the church, I was asked to leave the seminary after a number of problems when I was caught reading a book that was on the Black List of Forbidden Books. I was reading 'Naseau' by Jean Paul Sartre, in French, and got caught. Out I went. I don't know why I have no memory of the fact that PCS-Nampa had newsletters, I remember nothing of them at all. If Robert Grover had not sent them to me, I would have never known they existed. I present them here to give a more accurate picture of the founding years of PCS-Nampa.
Content
Tribute to the only living being that never gave anyone a single moment of grief, only unqualified love. This is a short preface to a very small collection of, what I believe to be, a much larger body of works that have been lost forever. When I was being educated by the Marist Fathers in their seminary, located in San Rafael, California, St. Peter Chanel Seminary, I was a member of the ‘Maristella’ the seminary’s monthly newsletter. While working on this small publication staff I discovered the value inherent in such a publication. I was able to touch the minds and hearts of the entire student body just by the things I wrote and published. It is a valuable tool for communication. When I founded PCS I saw to it that we maintained a monthly newsletter. The irony is that I did not remember any of these publications until Robert Grover told me that someone, anonymous to all, had saved a few copies. Robert preserved these copies in PDF format and gMailed them to me, recently. They are: Camlu News July, 1986 Camlu News October, 1986 Camlu News October, 1986 Camlu Enquirer (Date unknown, by: Tim Rhodes, JR) Tim Rhodes was the only student that became my nemesis. He was from Meridian, Idaho, and his parents drove him, weekly, to the PCS-Nampa campus. Tim came to me as a bright-eyed junior high school boy. He was large, for his age, but it was all muscle. He sported a set of dimples and an infectious smile. His voice was deeper than his peers’ and commanded a presence when he was in the room. He was an avid Commodore 64
(C64) owner, and this was the point at which Tim and I started to disagree. James Clough and Tim Rhodes were the only two PCS students who owned a C64 computer. While I made money servicing the C64s that were installed in computer labs within the local school districts, I did not like them. They were poorly made, networking was horrible, and they were prone to being destroyed by static electricity from the hands of the students using the computers. I had to invent the ‘Zap-n-Save’ unit that was a touch pad that when touched by the student user, would ground the static electricity from their bodies and therefore, keep from damaging the computers. The only redeeming feature, that I found in the C64, was the SPRITE system. The C64 had probably a better SPRITE System than the Atari, but I think I can defend the Atari 130XE over the C64 in the SPRITE area, as well. I made the mistake of making an off-handed remark about C64 programmers and Tim went ballistic. I will let Tim speak for himself as you read the only two publications that Tim published while at PCS-Nampa. Tim and James worked together to create the CAMLU Interface for the C64 and it became the center of the Tim Rhodes PCS School, located in the garage of his home in Meridian, Idaho. Tim had convinced his father, Tim Rhodes, Sr. that I was out to ‘get him’ and steal his invention. What he didn’t tell his father was that James Clough had invented the interface, not Tim Rhodes. Tim left PCS-Nampa under a cloud of suspicion and I soon forgot all about him until I read his wonderful newsletters. Tim and I were a kindred pair. We are told that we hate, in others, that which we hate, the most, in ourselves. I think that, in the case of Tim Rhodes, this is true. What I saw in him that I simply could not abide, I saw in myself, at his age. He was a bright student and I am sure that he went on to bigger and better things for himself. I hope that his experience at PCS-Nampa was as rewarding for him as it has been for me and most of the other students and parents. I hope that you enjoy this little peek into the monthly life at PCS-Nampa. I would like to know why only these few were saved, and not the entire collection. Maybe we abandoned the project, altogether, due to lack of interest. Since I don’t remember any of the publications they obviously, did not mean much to me, at the time.
Patrick McShan e
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@g mail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:48:43 -06'00'
Patrick McShane
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@g mail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:41:36 -06'00'
Patrick McShane
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@g mail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:42:32 -06'00'
Patrick McShane
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@gm ail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:44:37 -06'00'
Patrick McShan e
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@ gmail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:46:12 -06'00'
Patrick McShan e
Digitally signed by Patrick McShane DN: cn=Patrick McShane, o=PCS Centers for Enhanced Learning, ou=Headmaster, email=mcshane.patrick9@gm ail.com, c=US Date: 2009.03.23 07:45:33 -06'00'
