I never knew James Orlin Grabbe, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Orlin_Grabbe who passed away March 15^th, 2008. By the methodology of Marshall Thurber, The Seven Characteristics of Positive Deviants are:

1. Passion

2. High Moral or Social Purpose

3. Seeing Holes vs. the Net

4. Moving Towards, Not Away

5. Rapid Cognition

6. Checking the Edges
7. Low Regard for Social Convention

see http://www.posdev.net/pdn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=89

For me, James Orlin Grabbe was the embodiment of all these characteristics in extremis. He was the positive deviant’s positive deviant. I will miss his work and the breadth of his mind. I will comment more in the future about him and why I believe he was important to all of us.

I am now on my way to New York for the next meeting of the Positive Deviant Network but I wanted to acknowledge his passing before I left.

Godspeed, Orlin. I, for one, will miss you.

Darryl Robert Schoon

www.survivethecrisis.com

www.drschoon.com