I Was Named After Meriwether Lewis

© 2002 Boaz Rauchwerger

When I was in college at the University of Tulsa, in 1968, I was hired as a disc jockey at KRMG Radio, a popular 50,000-watt top-40 radio station. It was housed on the 23rd floor of Liberty Towers, an apartment complex overlooking the Arkansas River. I hosted an evening program from 6 to 8 p.m. called “The Quiet Zone” – beautiful music to segue from a busy day.

The program director of the station, at the time, was Chuck Adams. In addition to his programming duties, he was the incredibly popular morning drive time disc jockey. When Chuck hired me he stated that the name “Boaz Rauchwerger” just wouldn’t do on his station - too difficult, too foreign. For some reason, the Lewis and Clark expedition came to his mind. “I know,” he said. “We’ll name you after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.” So, I became David Lewis. I guess chuck figured my tenure at the station would be an expedition.

Let’s fast-forward 34 years. The name Meriwether Lewis came back into my mind yesterday when I saw the incredible National Geographic IMAX documentary, “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West.” It was playing at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.

If you’re not familiar with the IMAX concept, it is the finest motion picture system in the world. Images of unsurpassed size, clarity and impact, enhanced by a superb specially designed sound system, are projected onto giant screens. In the theatre at Balboa Park, the screen is a dome measuring over 76 feet in diameter. It's was the first such dome in the world. The large image on the screen extends beyond your peripheral vision. Thus, you have the sense of being right in the action.

The IMAX image is ten times larger than the conventional 35mm frame and three times bigger than the standard 70mm frame. The sheer size of an IMAX film frame, combined with the unique IMAX projection technology, is the key to the extraordinary sharpness and clarity of an IMAX film.

What if we could project our lives on a large screen and see things more clearly? Every event would take on a whole new meaning. Every word we express, good or bad, through a highly sophisticated sound system, would echo loudly.

Maybe it’s time we all took an IMAX journey in our minds and asked ourselves if the motion picture we’re creating with our lives is worthy of projecting on a large screen? If not, why not? Is it time to write a new script? Maybe so. Why not start today -- a great day for a new beginning.

Speaking of new beginnings, the wonderful IMAX film I saw yesterday depicted commitment and determination on an incredible scale. Beginning in May 1804 and ending in September 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first United States overland exploration of the American West and Pacific Northwest.

It was in 1803 that President Thomas Jefferson purchased a vast portion of the central North American continent from France in the Louisiana Purchase for $10 million. That one transaction literally doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson had long been interested in the American West. He believed in the existence of a Northwest Passage, or some kind of water connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He believed that the nation that dominated a water passage through the continent could control the destiny of all North America.

The president commissioned his young private secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead the expedition to explore and map the new territory. They were also to announce American sovereignty to the native Americans who lived there. The size of the expedition’s task was enormous, and Lewis turned to William Clark, a friend from his army days in Ohio, to act as co-commander.

The Corps of Discovery, as the expedition party was properly known, was comprised of a sizable number of civilian hunters, army soldiers, and French boatmen. Some 48 men left St. Louis heading up the Missouri River in May of 1804. The expedition struggled around the Great Falls of the Missouri, searched to find a water passage direct from the present-day Idaho to the ocean. Instead, the party labored in deep snow over the Lolo Trail, crossing the present-day Montana into Idaho. They then traveled on the Snake River into present-day Washington before finally reaching the Columbia River. They reached the Pacific Ocean, near present-day Astoria, Oregon, in November of 1805.

In a trip that was full of dangers and great accomplishments, the party returned to St. Louis in September of 1806, having covered about 8,000 miles. Without the active support of the native Americans they encountered, the expedition could not have accomplished its goals, much less survived the incredible difficulties.

The members of this expedition were committed in their minds and determined in their actions. Once they started, there was no turning around. What if there’s a whole new world out in front of you and you decided to explore it? What if it could be wonderful enough to project on a giant screen?

A Daily Affirmation of Exploration

I’m exploring exciting new directions in my life.