No obstacle too great to bridge. No geography too vast to traverse. No distance too daunting to span.At the rectory after returning from the studio I opened my laptop and made reservations for the early flight to DC, and in the lounge at O’Hare I used my smallish computer to find what I needed—the schedule for Congressman John Hammond this day. He was to speak at a luncheon as the guest of a trade group concerned with proposed restrictions on Great Lakes shipping. A matter of great importance to some, I presume, but once I had the time and place my interest in the matter ceased.But not my interest in him. I spent the time waiting for the plane to begin boarding searching for all I could find concerning John Thayer Hammond, downloading pages and pages of articles and reports and biographies of the man. Speeding east I read on my laptop what I have saved, educating myself with all things John Hammond. Place of birth, Chicago, in the old Cook County Hospital. His education, Northwestern and Yale.
