By Dan Hust
LIBERTY — September 27, 2005 – He tried – and he got farther along than many people would.
But in the end, Pastor Bob Paquet, a Callicoon Center minister of a Hankins church, lasted “just” 20 hours in front of a lectern at the Glory to God Christian High School in Liberty.
Paquet, a teacher at the school who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry, was attempting to break the world record for longest lecture. According to the “Guinness Book of World Records,” the bar to be passed was 62 hours and 30 minutes, established in 2003.
Since Paquet started talking Friday morning, that meant he would have had to pontificate on “The Role of a Christian in Our Postmodern Society” until late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
He made it to Saturday morning.
“At 4:30 a.m. after 20 hours of continuous talking, with two 15-minute breaks (one every 8 hours), I heard my body cry out, ‘Act your age!’” he explained after a long rest on Sunday. “I looked at my hands, and they were shaking. My throat was sore, my voice was low and hoarse, and my mind was not in focus.”
But why even bother? According to the energetic, talkative and endlessly wry reverend, it was all to raise funds for the struggling school, where teachers often volunteer their services to a tiny enrollment of 14 9th-12th graders.
And although fundraising totals were not made available, Paquet said it worked.
“Glory to God Christian High School is a little richer and a little better known,” he explained. “The real goal was accomplished, and I now know that there is another thing I might want to do that I can’t.”