It is never a joyous time, whenever anyone leaves this earth and no matter what some may think, it is sad that Joe Paterno passed away yesterday. Joe Pa, was a husband, father, grandfather and friend, so to each of these people I express my sincere condolences.
Over the last several months Joe went from beloved by many, to still loved but also hated. That is regrettable. Joe made his, extremely bad, decision to report an incident, but to not follow up and make sure that the proper authorities were notified and doing their jobs. He did not do, all that he could have to protect innocent children from a predator and for that he will always be remembered for a remarkable failure.
The other part of Joe cannot be ignored either. He touched so many lives, through the years, after taking over for Rip Engle, at Penn State. He lead a football program that was successful on many levels on the field and off the field. He and his wife gave back to Penn State in the form of donations to support the academic standard in Happy Valley. He made leaders that went on to, not only, professional football , but became leaders throughout various other industries. These young people have stood up for Paterno and will be forever grateful to him for his contribution in their lives.
Lastly Joe Paterno was a human being and thus saddled with the frailty of mistakes. I am sure that if given a second change, Joe would have changed the way he handled the Jerry Sandusky situation, but, none of us have that opportunity. We all have to live and eventually die, with a certain amount of failure. We just don't have to do it in a fishbowl environment, like Joe Paterno did.
So to Joe, rest in peace. You were not perfect and had human flaws, but I will try to remember more of the good you did and hope people can forgive your weaknesses.
