Unless you don't listen to Rush Limbaugh or read National Enquirer, you by now know that the LOH/YATES Cocktail Party got nosed-out by a landslide in their bid for the White House. Drats! While Ron's demand­ing a recount, their ticket did manage an electoral vote from Delaware; not bad, considering that campaign efforts were limited to a single speech by Mike to a women's group in Arlington, while Ron spoke for five minutes to a few tattooed truckers at the Conoco station in Monument. And being barred from the presidential debates didn't help.

Real noblesse oblige is exemplified by General John Michael LOH, who's gotta rank near Mother Teresa or Ralph Nader in chutzpah. Mike responded in April to Bruce MOSIER's daughter Debbie who had re­quested that he address her Arnold Air Society at the University of Texas' 825th AFROTC Detachment in Austin for a "Ye Olde Dining Out." That compendium of activities Bruce sent listed Mike's accomplishments: Commander of ACC and the Eugene Zuckert Award for Senior Manage­ment, while ignoring his service on the Catholic Religious Council as a cadet. And you "channel surfers" might have seen a bespectacled Mr. LOH testify before Veep Al Gore on C-SPAN Sept. 5th as a member of the Department of Commerce's Aviation Safety and Security Commis­sion (RC to Mike: Are your activities all pro bono?).

John David MACARTNEY sent me "A Brief History of (Mac's) Time," which is more interesting than Stephen W. Hawking's book: F-100 training at Nellis, Cannon AFB (with TDYs to Florida and Thailand for various crises), Japan, Korea, Wheelus, Libya flying '100s and the U-6A Beaver until Khaddafi's coup, Nellis' Top Gun School, Bien Hoa (where Mac made a down payment on "the farm"), MA and PhD from UCLA in international relations, instructing at the Academy, retirement in 1990. After teaching at American University and Syracuse, Mac now runs Syracuse U's "Washington Semester Program" for students who also live in those apartments he manages. "I created the program-needed a job-and the students do Washington internships while taking two evening courses each week and an all-day seminar from me on Thursdays." Retiring in two years, he'll continue as editor of an in­telligence newsletter, while wife, Lorna, retires in four years from the USDA. "We plan to travel several months each year and stay in neat places like Boulder, San Luis Obispo, Kennebunkport, Kyoto or Siena!" Their social life revolves around a book club of 15-20 eggheads, although it sounds as if they spend most of their monthly meeting-time consuming massive amounts of wine rather than reading books.

Gordon Robert FLYGARE (Pep Band 4, 3) wrote from SoonerVille. "Holland America recently invited Ann and me to inspect the kitchen and dining facilities of their ships. With Ann's background in food prepara­tion and my experience as a (moveable) feast-processor, this merely re­quired allowing them the momentary use of my AOG credit card! After conducting inspections at New Orleans, Jamaica, and The Grand Caymans, some additional time vigorously evaluating the margaritas at Cozumel precluded our inspection of the Mexican Air Force Base nearby!" (Scribe: I'm forever indebted to former roomie Gordo for in­troducing me to the raptures of jazz cornets, Box Beiderbecke; and recall Gordon’s unique ability to sleep with his eyes open, which came in handy when Captain Lavelle was giving an gastro lecture or during those Sunday morning sermons by Chaplain Zeilinski).

Drumroll, please, for Deke JOHNSON. "Here's the skinny on who said what to whom before the Army-AFA game at Yankee Stadium in 1959. First, I had to ensure I'd be cleared to discuss this national security issue, and checked the Freedom of Information and Official Secrets Acts, queried the FBI, CIA, NIA, DIA, NFL, OSS, ACLU, MI5, KGB, KKK, NAACP, and NOW to get their opinions-only the National Organiza­tion of Women told me not to discuss this story, so I'll give you a 'scoop'. (You appreciate the importance of protecting the guilty.) Here's the straight word on the conversation I had with Coach Martin before the game: Told the coach I had kicked-off in high school while playing for the Moorhead Mudcats (Scribe: I swear I didn't make that up); so, he asked me to do the kick-offs because our regular 'Triple-Threat' was in­jured--here I must use a fake name, making up a 'John Doe' to protect the guilty. (We'll just call this anonymous Air Force kicker George PUPICH.) Anyway, Coach Martin asked me to kick-off against Army because he was saving PUPICH (not his real name) to miss the field goals so we could keep the game close. Asked me to do on-side kicks, but to make it look real. I boomed those babies at least 10 yards down the field, and the Army linemen were fooled, since they expected the ball to go over their heads rather than dribble at their feet. I found out later that Coach Martin forgot to tell the rest of our team we were doing on-side kicks, so we didn't recover any of the loose balls. I feel a lot better about finally be­ing able to tell this whole story: it's a heavy secret that I have protected since 1959." Rimshot. (Scribe: Does everyone remember what former West Point plebe George Elliott LUCK exhibited at that game?)

Potpourri. Ralph MILLER's still working for Lockheed-Martin in Los Angeles, wife Loretta's busy setting-up their retirement home in Arizona, both recently visited Turkey ... Paul VALLERIE has moved to the Inter­national Space Station program as a Boeing subcontract manager with McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in California ... The Earl of VAN IN­WEGEN called from DIA in September while passing through Colorado, mentioning that we could read all about him in General Schwarzenegger's book (did I get that name right, Van?) on the Persian Gulf War (see pages 113 and/or 117). Changes of Addresses: Paul VALLERIE, 19432 Pom­pano Lane, Unit 106, Huntington Beach, CA 92648; Bob RAGER, 11285 East Alameda Avenue, Apt. 1, Aurora, CO 80012-1008; Roy JOLLY, P.O. Box 3369, Mesquite, NV 89024; Dick HILLMAN, P.O. Box 973, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067; Mike LOH, 125 Captaine Graves, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8915. NEXT ISSUE: Unique proposal from Doug REKENTHALER ... Frank and Eve MAYBERRY's trip around the world. CLASSMATE DOWN: Rich (Duke) CARTER died Sept. 16th (see "Gone But Not Forgotten").

By the time you read this, Karen and I will be sipping coco-locos in Cabo San Lucas with our daughter Brandy and her husband. Feliz Navidad. Have a Cool Yule and a Frantic First. Adios.