October 8, 2000. Near Colorado Springs, Colorado--In a magnificent event span­ning five days, and which included a football contest against service academy archrival Navy, the United States Air Force Academy's second graduating class cel­ebrated the 40th anniversary of their graduation with all that pomp and ceremony demanded by this historic milestone. Acknowledged to be "The Best and The Bright­est" of all AFA classes - nicknamed "The Right Stuff' and with a class motto of `Nulli Secundus (Second to None) -the Class of 1960 entered training at the former Lowry AFB It in July 1956 with an initial appointment of 317 cadets, graduating 227 newly-commissioned officers on June 8, 1960 at their permanent site just north of Colorado Springs. 36 are deceased, and ...

Those were the opening lines from an article which recently appeared in the Gotham City Bugle-Picayune. I (Rosie) will take it from here, even though there were hundreds of journalists covering this momentous event. This was the "Mother of All Reunions," and we approached it with that gravitas required. And Then a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Reunion. Our classmates came to Colo­rado by the thousands. Hundreds. O.K-by the dozens. Out here to God's coun­try Overheard was this exchange: (Q) "Is this Heaven?" (A) "No, this is Colorado:' So many had simply forgotten how beautiful it is out here in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. With lots of purple mountain majesty, and above the fruited plains and am­ber waves of grain. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word-well, you get the idea.

I'm not supposed to say the O-word. So, I'm NOT going to say that we're getting old, but nobody's buying any green bananas or three-day deodorant. While we each tried to ignore little changes like graying head tops, lapses in hearing (I thought there might have been a few hearing aids, although that could just have been last year's earwax), excessive nose hairs, and the eyeglasses and "cheaters" and even one pince-nez, we all made it a point to spend the requisite amount of time hon­oring each other's personality flaws, while ignoring past peccadilloes.

Assisting with medical problems was Dr. Wayne (Killer) KENDALL, who treated everything from sciatica to rectal itch, a dissected hernia and one youthful-look­ing classmate with a bad case of zits and head lice. There was a roped-off area for those who've discarded their cigarette habit and are now "chain-chewing Nicorette addicts. "Then the Viagra- distribution zone, where the lines were longer than those at the bar. And a spate of barbers standing by to "trim the whitewalls."

Many are no strangers to the grape, 'tho some have quit the demon rum en­tirely; I did notice, however, some of the guys darting off to the restroom occa­sionally and later observed an awesome stack of Twinkies' wrappers on the floor. There were also some "Senior Moments," like the one mate who walked into the room and forgot why he was there (gingko deprivation?). And some were wearing much larger belts. Thankfully, the accommodations at the Radisson recharged each of us with a restful night of bliss... allowing us to approach each day with our eyes wide open and our senses sharpened, each on our very best behavior.

There were no "emperors without clothes," nor skeletons revealed. Nobody pushed the envelope at any of the cocktail parties and dove fully unclothed into the Inebriatic Sea, and nobody died on us. Not one passed (audible) gas at the chapel ceremony, or "checked-their-package" in plain view of a fair damsel, or talked business so that the trip could be tax-deductible. Nobody showed slides of their trips to Europe, or of their grandkids. Nobody wore a nose-ring or had a (vis­ible) tattoo, although there were a few "old vintages in new wineskins," if you get my drift. Not one had joined a cult or cross-dressed (outside their rooms), and we didn't even have to give the Heimlich maneuver once. (In short, it reminded me of that old song "Ain't Misbehavin'," rather than our behavior at a RosAl Blast.) Seems like we're now all getting so comfortable in our own skins that it's a case of WYSIWYG. And we all asked God to grant each of us a little more humility. Lots. Puhleeze, Dear Lord (some of us need it a little more than others).

Gosh, it was great! Seeing some we hadn't seen in over 40 years. But, it was like no time at all had passed since we'd seen one another that last time on the parade ground, or in an E.E. class, or on the lacrosse field or at the football game, or as our last roommate. (And even those of us with marginal brain damage remembered each other's names.)

The reunion committee had done everything possible to locate our five lost class­mates except put their faces on a Meadow Gold milk carton or peak through the Hubble telescope, to no avail. And overshadowing the entire event were the spir­its- The Ghost of Walking Tours Past, The Ghost of Potbellies Present, and the Ghost of Hope For the Future.

Yes, the earth has cooled considerably since we took the oath on that hot and dusty plain back there at Lowry II on 9 July 1956. And now we came together once again, perhaps a final roll call for some of us: Jim ALEXANDER, Norm ALEXANDER, Don ALMANZAR, Ken ALNWICK, Fuller ATKINSON, Bob BAD­GER, Andi BIANCUR, Ken BIEHLE, Tony BILELLO, Steve BISHOP, Greg BOYINGTON, Dean BRISTOW, Howie BRONSON, Jack BRUSH, Tom BURKE, Tony BURSHNICK, Kirk CANTERBURY, Bill CARNEGIE, Jim CLARK, Mike CLARKE, Rosie CLER, George COLLIER, Buck CONGDON, Bill CURRIER, Jon DAY, Gerry DE LA CRUZ, Ron DEEP, Nels DELISANTI, Billy DELONY, Chuck DIVER, CT DOUGLASS, Jerry FARQUHAR, Bob FISCHER, Gordy FLYGARE, George FRIES, Ben FURUTA, Walt FUTCH, Bill GILLIS, Jim GLAZA, Leon GOODSON, Bill GOODYEAR, Gary GULBRANSEN, Sid GURLEY, Bill HALES, Denis HANEY, RG HEAD, Bob HEIGES, Joe HIGGINS, Dick HILLMAN, Les HOBGOOD, Bill HODSON, Ace HOLMAN, DK JOHNSON, AL JOHNSON, Roy JOLLY, Brian KALEY, Miles , Wayne KENDALL, Jim KERR, Pete KING, Bill KORNITZER, John KUENZEL, Ralph , Hardy LEBEL, Roger LENT, George LESTER, Charlie LIGGETT, Mike LOH, Tony LONG, George LUCK, John MACARTNEY, Frank MAYBERRY, Dale MAYO, Mike MCCALL, Jon MCCLURE, Russ MACDONALD, Phil MEINHARDT, Ralph MILLER, Bruce MOSIER, Sid NEWCOMB, Ed NOGAR, Bob ODENWELLER, Jim O'ROURKE, Jim PEEL, Fred PORTER, Lew PRICE, George PUPICH, Neal REAVELY, Dave REED, Dick SCHEHR, Jack SCHIRA, Jock SCHWANK, Tom SEEBODE, Dick SEXTON, Gary SHEETS, JT SMITH, Jerry STACK, Ted STUMM, Paul , Dave SWEIGART, Bill TAYLOR,Vic THOMAS, Jim , Charlie THOMPSON, Dale , Aaron THRUSH, Paul VALLERIE, Earl VAN INWEGEN, Gary VAN SINGEL, Jim WADDLE, Denis WALSH, Bob WEINAUG, Ed WHITMAN, Ron YATES, Vic YOAKUM, Bill ZERSEN, Alex ZIMMERMAN. (Bernie LEVINE was unable to attend).

And there were those who left us before we graduated: Bruce Edwards, Dick Doyle, Les Querry, and Harry Swainton. Then the wives of our deceased class­mates: Dianne Davis, widow of Johnnie JANSEN; Barbara Crew, widow of Gary CREW, and their son Jeff; Sandi Georgi, widow of Charlie GEORGI, and their son; and Pat Warack, widow of Chris WARACK. Also attending were Paul Vegna (math­ematics instructor), Robert King (ATO), Robert Carlone (military training), and Sue Woodward Stone (daughter of General Stone).

You could do the math, but I come up with 117 classmates in attendance, not counting the cast of thousands in the background, and 95 wives and girlfriends. That 117 represents 62 percent of our 191 living graduates. We believe that to be a record!

The reunion officially started on Wednesday - lunch with the Wing and a casual social at the Radisson Hotel. Thursday was an open house in the Cadet Area, another luncheon opportunity in Mitchell Hall with the cadets of your first class year squadron, a lecture on estate planning (Message: buy socks), and a retirement ceremony for Col. Dean BRISTOW--George FRIES MC'd the event, Roger LENT blessed it, and class president Andi BIANCUR retired him, while mem­bers of Dean's family were standing by: children Christi, Catherine, Dana, Michael, Angela; and six grandchildren. Dean left active duty in 1967 and the Reserves in 1968, got his M.D. from UC-Irvine in 1972, joined the Reserves in 1982 and ANG in 1985, practicing as a doctor until he went back on active duty as a flight surgeon in 1991 for Operation Desert Storm. Dean was our last class­mate on active duty.

After canceling the GARY E CREW MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT due to inclement weather (like snow) because tournament director Jim GLAZA didn't have orange balls (don't even go there), we went to a luncheon buffet at Doolittle Hall, briefings about the Wing from the Supt at Fairchild Hall, class photos fol­lowed by the solemn memorial ceremony at the Cadet Chapel for our fallen class­mates, and the evening's formal banquet at the AOG building.

Master of Ceremonies at this dinner was Andi BIANCUR (you always knew him, since he was the only one with a whistle and clipboard). Andi talked so long that, by the time he had finished, many had simply lost their will to live. I glanced over at Karen, who had started a book when he began speaking--by the end of his peroration, she was turning the final page of War and Peace). The invocation was performed by Roy JOLLY, and it included all of the Old Testament and most of the Koran (to keep him from talking any longer, we finally had to bind his mouth and hands with double layers of industrial-strength duct tape). Music by the Dulcet Tones followed the dinner, and we closed this great evening with unanimous agree­ment that we would all attend another reunion in a heartbeat--and, they're (heart­beats) becoming more and more precious the older we get. (The only complaints heard throughout the evening: no recess and too much Ritalin in the air.)

Oh, yes-let's not forget the awards. I almost did. There was the Crispus Attucks Award for the best suntan--Bill CURRIER. Vasco da Gama Award for the greatest distance traveled--Jim KERR. Lolita Award to he with the youngest child--Jack SCHIRA. Alfred E. Newman Award for the best smile--Tie: Frank MAYBERRY and Ron YATES. Freddie Bartholomew Award to the youngest-looking--(no winner). Yul Brvnner Award for that hairdo which is in "full follicle regression"--Chuck DIVER. Methuselah Award to the oldest in our class--Jim PEEL.

On Saturday morning we went to the pre-game Tailgate Party at Doolittle Hall. Jim GLAZA's Falcon Mobile was there and well visited (he had booze). The food inside was good, and included your four basic food groups: starch, grease, dead animals, and catsup. From there it was on to the Football Game. Navy's Middies came for blood, and tromped onto the field in full battle gear for this contest be­tween the Naval Academy and our Fighting Falcons. Kaboom! Krumpp! Bam! Zap! Whack! Pow! Even without the efforts of our former gridiron heroes--The Ro­tund Serb (PUPICH), and the Moorhead (Minn.) Masher (Deke JOHNSON)--we had triumphed, 27-13! The Falcons had kicked their ... (hint: rhymes with "Long Passes")

Vignettes. Bill KORNITZER got the white hat he threw toward the stars at our graduation back in 1960--math instructor Paul Vegna had caught it, and re­turned it to Korny at the reunion ... Mary WADDLE caught Al JOHNSON's hat--also at graduation--and gave it back to Al on Saturday evening ... Ralph LALIME was presented his prize for being "Marginally Magnificent" at this year's MiniSki X ... Al JOHNSON was presented with a piece of paper proclaiming somebody's thanks for doing something ... Our daughter Brandy had twins (boy, girl) in Bos­ton on the Thursday morning during the reunion (but, I kept it quiet, and didn't tell a single soul!) ... Ed LEONARD--our only POW classmate--couldn't attend the reunion because of surgery to replace a knee on October 3rd. He had his shoul­der replaced last February, has one more knee replacement scheduled, and said that "By the time the VA is done taking care of my souvenirs from Uncle Ho's Camp for Boys, I'll probably be put on the Strategic Minerals List" ... John & Mimi KUENZEL have a record--their two daughters have given them four ex-sons-­in-law!

Over 40 years have passed. Seems like only a "handful of beers ago." We've all traveled a lot of roads, taken many different paths. Lots of occupations, not just as career military officers, and which produced 10 general officers. Several class­mates with less-than-illustrious academic records have even gone on to get ad­vanced degrees at institutions like Faber College (hint: think Bluto in Animal House). In our group we now have consultants, economic development heads, professors, educators, business owners, tax preparers, realtors, VFW quartermas­ters, anesthesiologists, military defense analysts, computer programmers, finan­cial analysts, engineers, lawyers, budget directors, farmers, museum curators, city administrators, personnel directors, coaches, CEOs, salesmen, ophthalmologists, artists, psychologists, program managers, flight engineers, probation officers, re­search engineers, ministers, judges, aircraft certification managers, doctors (but, no ob-gyns, chimneysweeps, or chunnel-builders. Also: no butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, or exorcists-there's never one around when you really need 'em). And, no dotcom kazillionaires, but we're all still legends, each in his own way (and in our own minds). Although there's a couple of guys who were smart enough to become rocket scientists, none actually became one.

A few of us have retired, many not. But we all still appear to be looking for chal­lenges. As a wise man once said about the Class of 1960: "If you throw one of those guys a rope, they'll pull on it--whether there's someone on the other end or not!"

Someone suggested, for the future, that we have a "virtual reunion." Could we have had a virtual reunion with just a kind of virtual-water-cooler-type website like www? thisismeI’rna60grad.com to post rumors and update our medical prob­lems? Possible. Likely? NO! We needed the personal contact after so many years, and we'll need it even MORE in the years to come. The following words were writ­ten by Bill HALES, and perhaps best express the feelings shared by so many of us:

"Although most of us have changed physically since our cadet days, after speaking only a few words, the 'cadet image' begins to shine through, and I am again in the presence of my classmate and not a stranger I haven't seen in 40 years. With each opportunity to connect, I have had the impression that the interval between our very last conversations and this reunion--in some cases, more than 40 years ago--is compressed into a momentary pause, and that we seemed to begin our con­versation just where we had left off. I feel as if I really and truly have a 'brother­hood' bond with my classmates, which is much greater than I had ever realized. The quality of this event is absolutely outstanding!"

Some looked back at the way we were. Most of us, still eternally optimistic, looked forward towards the future as just another and better tomorrow. Although the Promised Land is now a distinct possibility, most of us like to whistle the words of that old Fleetwood Mac song: "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow." Most of us still believe that we're going to live until the sun burns out. I do.

Some comments overheard during the reunion: "Well, Carol, it's 9 o'clock al­ready. Wanna go get some hot Ovaltine and cookies?" " Boy, old ... (name with­held) sure has put on some pounds, hasn't he?" "Who was that guy I was just talking to?” "I left my glasses in the room." "Is that the same wife so-and-so (not his real name) had at the last reunion?" And, there were others, all good.

The 40th reunion is now history. Long Live The 40th Reunion. "Andi, We'll Always Have The 40th”.

By the time you're reading this, it'll be the holiday season. Time for my annual festive greeting: "Merry Christmas to all my friends, except for two." Bye from the Rose.