In mid-March, our intrepid RV road warrior, Ralph Lalime, along with Darlene and two of their grandkids, travelled south to Sanibel Island, Florida, to set up camp at their favorite campground. Devastation framed their thoughts as they drove the RV across the limited causeway from Ft Myers to Sanibel Island. Once on the main street through the Island, they saw downed trees, destroyed houses and piles of trashed buildings along the road. There were construction workers everywhere; on rooftops; hauling brush and logs from the mangroves, etc. The weather was perfect, and they were ecstatic to see so much activity and progress six months after Hurricane Ion.

The things the Lalime family enjoys most about Sanibel are the warm ocean, the miles of bicycle trails, the lovely library, and the Community Christian Church. The church filled up on Sunday at 10 O'clock despite its bare floors and flickering electrical lights. Cell phones pierced the darkness so that those who didn't know the words could read the handouts for the hymns.

In late January, four of our adventurous classmates and their wives embarked on an eight-day cruise out of Miami, around the Yucatan peninsula. They visited Honduras, Belize, a private island resort, Roatan; and lastly, Cozumel. The specialty restaurants and onboard entertainment were so good that Jim Glaza and John McCullough opted to skip all the ports, except for a 30-minute walk around the pier at their last stop. Howie Bronson was the hero of the group. Just before starting the trip, he crushed his elbow chasing a run-away suitcase rolling down his driveway, but never turned back.

Jim Glaza reports that there are still several cabins available for the class mini-reunion cruise down the Colombia River on 9-17 June.

Interest is building around the concept of the “First Four” Academy classmate get-togethers. The first will be at the AF/Army game at the Mile High stadium. Some eighty Zoomies have committed thus far. A second “first four” reunion is planned by the AOG for the 28th and 29th of July next year at the Academy. This will be the first reunion devoted to these first classes and, according to the AOG, one more class will be added to the First Four next year and each subsequent year indefinitely.

Last year, Les Hobgood and his daughter Rani achieved a long sought after first place victory at the Big Bend Open Road Race in Ft. Stockton, TX . We have watched their process for several years in second and third places, but this one was their crowning glory. Of course, they now must defend their success and will fire up the 2006 Corvette C-6 again with a few heat reduction packages added to keep the car running smoothly at an average of 145 mph. Recently, Les endured a classic face plant while walking in his neighborhood. No major damage ensued, but sadly, at our age, even walking has its challenges.

Denny O’Keefe and his new wife Joy have found peace and happiness in a flexible living arrangement that will allow them to advance into an assisted living facility when the need arises. Currently, they are actively looking forward to travelling “back East” Denny is a strong advocate for finding arrangements that allow freedom, while providing helping hands when needed. Finding one’s path to the future seems to loom larger for our gang as we assess the paths that lie before us. Denny chose well.

Neil Reavely remembers fondly the day when the Academy’s nascent Lacrosse team introduced the sport to the Denver community in the Denver stadium during the half-time at an Air Force / Denver University football game. As Neil recalls, the crowd loved it and asked for more. Now Neil lives in Sun City West. One of his favorite pastimes is teaching pre-calculus at a local home school co-op. He finds it a bit harder to remember what came to him so easily just a few years ago. He recommends In Love and War by James Stockdale as a refreshing read.

Tom Burke reports that in March there was a good showing for DC area Founders’ Day as seven members of our community gathered at the Springfield Country Club to swap stories and enjoy a fine lunch. As has become the new norm, seven of our ladies joined us to break bread and enjoy the comradeship around the table. This marks the 20th year that the group has met at the Springfield Country Club for lunch, a far cry from the old Starbucks picnic tables across the street.

A blast from the past: Dave Sweigart recalls when, on 16 November 56, at Lowry AFB, a B-36, that had been on static display in the morning, crashed at Rocky Mountain Arsenal sending up a cloud of smoke that could be seen from the dining hall. All aboard survived. Sixty-seven years later, a visitor to the Sweigarts, Nona Maxwell, revealed that, unbeknownst to all, her husband had been the pilot of that spectacular B-36 crash.