This Easter, Don Stevens traveled to Spain to visit his first great grandson, Arlo Thomas Stevens-Rosa, who was born in Madrid on 16 March, roughly three hours shy of being a bonafide leprechaun. Don has decided to sell his place near Eglin AFB and make his home in Rockland, Maine his full-time residence. His nearby neighbors will be Billy Delony and Al Johnson, which may eventually make him regret his decision.

Bill Hodson has been a bit under the weather these days, and some of the COS contingent have volunteered to visit with Bill for a few hours each week so that his wife, Fran, can have a little break.

Ron Deep is still happily ensconced in Beaver Creek, Ohio, writing puzzles for his local MENSA crowd and doing some "light" reading relating to computer programming research. Here is a sample of his latest puzzle offerings for us:

1. Replace the consonants that have been stripped from the following quote:
   I* I *a*e *ee* *u***e* **a* o**e**, i* i* *y **a**i** u*o* **e **ou**e** of* *ia***.
   [Ken's hint: the first word is " If. " ]
   
2. Where on earth are you initially if you walk 1 mile south, then 1 mile east and 1 mile north to return to your original position?
3. Identify the triangle if its angles are in the ratio of 2 : 3 : 5.

An additional 13 new puzzles are now posted on our class website. The answers to all these puzzles will be published on the website one week after your copy of Checkpoints hits your mailbox.

Bill Gillis reports that Rosie and Karen Cler had called recently and were in good spirits. Rosie bemoans that he has a beautiful view of the 14th hole of his local golf course but is no longer an active player--not unlike several of us. Bill spent a week in the hospital having a small wireless LINQ™ Cardiac Monitor system implanted in his chest. The system is pretty effective, although a recent burst of lightning triggered an unexpected response from the LINQ. Indeed, Bill says that staying alive has become his current hobby. That, and watching the ospreys feed and preen on the deck in his back yard.

Building on the success of last year's mini-reunion in Reno, Howie Whitfield, Dick Doyle and RG Head put together an impressive menu of activities for a similar three-day undertaking in the Coronado/San Diego area in early June. Sailing, golf, visits to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, bocce ball and lots of good food and drink were planned for the three-day event.

In a bid to raise money for the USAFA Endowment and add some pizzazz to the East Patio fronting the offices of the Department of Character & Leadership Development, the Falcon Foundation created a program whereby individuals or organizations could purchase and dedicate marble benches for the plaza. RG dedicated his bench in a short ceremony on March 9th, 2018. Family joining RG at the dedication were his wife, Carole; his brother, BG Jim Head; his stepson, Lynn Hoover; plus Ron Yates and Jim Waddle from our Class.

Reb Guillot is fighting the good fight against the ravages of Parkinson's disease and spinal stenosis which, like Bill Gillis and several others, fills his days with classes, clinics and exercises. Indeed, he claims to have lost 8 inches in height over the past two years. Nevertheless, he is pushing back hard and looking forward to being able to again participate in his two favorite pastimes, flying and skeet shooting, sometime later this year.

In Tucson, not far from where Reb lives, Johnnie Townsend's social life tends to revolve around his Silverado, which is a magnet for many of his friends who are in the arts and trade-show circuit. Prior to his retirement, Johnnie was an agent for ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulation organization, whose mission is to restrict and control the export of defense-and-military-related technologies to safeguard U.S. national security and further U.S. foreign policy objectives. In addition to hauling people to and from trade shows, he dabbles in real estate and collecting old American fire arms. He also collects medical artifacts such as a new heart valve, new knee, left ankle repair and repairs to both shoulders.

Gary Van Singel, a career engineer specializing in automated conveyor systems (think Amazon and Wal-Mart sorting and distribution systems), has now gone "back to the farm," living just three miles from where he was born. He shares a house with his sister Vicki, a former nurse, and they complement each other nicely--he fixes things, and she helps keep them healthy and mobile. Gary is a bit of a bionic man with cochlear implants, a reattached kneecap and hip repairs. He was an early adopter of autoCAD systems and now surrounds himself with a variety of Apple products. He loves driving various farm vehicles around his farm and the adjoining woods and putting his 2002 T-bird through its paces.

Our COS contingent tackled a serious issue this March, the rapidly emerging world of drones and drone warfare, a subject broached by Ron Yates and Mike Loh in their 2016 Defense News article "What's next for Drone Warfare?" Andy Biancur led the initial discussion and, from his domesticaviation perspective, focused on what may be the wildest sector in the drone firmament--the recreational/hobbyist world. His conclusion was that, "since the courts have restricted the feds (FAA) from any form of regulation of that sector, it may be our most dangerous threat when it comes to de-confliction with conventional air traffic."

Nels Delisanti reports that class activities in the Northwest have been slowed down significantly, with the widows now becoming more active than the former masters of the universe, otherwise known as '60 grads. Nels himself is a high-spirited, walking medical experiment, but soon the NW Falcon's will lose their personal navy as Nels' boat of 26 years, "Lagniappe," goes up for sale. For him, it will be like losing a good friend and companion--and a great place to sneak out for a cigarette.

Having fully recovered from a blood infection and hip repair, Bob Heiges was back in the saddle, once again riding with his fellow members of the Combat Veterans Association. Recently "Gramps," Bob's road name, was honored to be selected for an Honor Flight trip to DC, and he intends to return to the city as part of the 2018 Rolling Thunder pilgrimage on Memorial Day

Jim Alexander is enjoying the good life in Seneca, SC, close to the town of Central, the home of the Central Railroad Museum. The museum includes a "heritage" layout in classic model train scales and has attained a national reputation for its model railroads. Jim is on the board of the museum and works on the displays and giving tours to delighted visitors. He is also known to squeeze in a round of golf now and then.

Despite our appearing somewhat banged up this reporting period, our graduate roster is holding steady at 150 living and 77 deceased.

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Addendum:

Here are the answers to Ron Deep's puzzlers:

1. If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
2. The North Pole
3. A Right Triangle