AOS MEMBERSHIP NEWS Proud To Serve the “Star of Dentistry” David M. Thorfinnson, DDS AOS President My home state, Minnesota, is known as, "L'Etoile du nord", meaning “The Star of the North”. Native Minnesotans are proud of our northern European heritage, our independent spirit, our beautiful resources, and our unrelenting work ethic. Emboldened by these same characteristics in the AOS, I know that I am ready and very proud to be your President. The AOS’ nearly 40 years of successful courses taught by well-known names such as Gerety, Jackson, Wyatt, and Carapezza leave a heritage worth continuing for the next generation. The AOS, too, has a spirit of independence. Teaching new techniques, years before dental schools are prepared to adopt, allows our members to benefit from new ideas, concepts, and technology while others are still reading about them. Our beautiful resources are our people. From instructors to our Diplomates, we are committed to helping colleague to colleague when and wherever we can. Finally, we carry the same work ethic as my Minnesota family. Our instructors work more hours outside of the classroom than inside. Preparation, assis-tance, and advice from our instructors to their students, requires hundreds of hours to make a course and an association successful. We have a great and well-deserved reputation for quality academics. The AOS is truly, “La star de l’art dentaire”, the “Star of Dentistry”. I am proud to serve you this coming year and I would also like to share with you a poem that my grandfather wrote in 1950, Which Road?: Slowly, one old man raised himself And rose to his tottering feet, In one hand clutching a bag of gold, His voice hard with scorn and conceit. "Young man, if you travel the road I trod You must strive for SUCCESS alone, Gold shall be your ideal, and God, Your friends but a stepping stone. Life is a battle, grim and stern, To dream is useless and wrong; Think only of the end in view, The spoils to the victor belong. "The world does not ask how you made your way, It only asks that you make it. So harden yourself, feel no remorse; when you want a thing, you take it." "But what does it bring you?" the young man cried. "Your health and your friends, are lost; In your clutching hands, are the dreams of youth, And they, like the rest, are dross. “You’re whole life spent in this ruthless game, Your goal but an idol of gold, -No loving friends to cherish your name, For your life has been heartless and cold.” My life,” the other old man said, “Has had troubles and hardships aplenty, But after a lifetime of toil and strife My dreams are as fresh as at twenty.” “And, son, tho’ my hands are not filled with gold, I’m proud of the pathway I trod. On the road of Service to other men You walk on the highway of God.” ©1950 Snorri M. Thorfinnson Which Road? by Snorri M. Thorfinnson (grandfather of David M. Thorfinnson) Two old men sat at the end of the trail, Life's gains in their toil-worn hands. Besides them a Youth stood, tall and strong, His eyes on Life's distant lands. "Which road shall I take?" the young man cried, And he turned to the tired old men. "Shall I spend my life in the quest of gold Or the love of my fellowmen?" "Tell me, you who've travelled the road of Life And come to the end of your quest, Who know the trails, the troubles and strife, Which road is the finest, and best?" David M. Thorfinnson, DDS www.orthodontics.com Fall 2014 45
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society Fall 2014: Page 45
