"On Saturday, 22 May 2010, a small but enthusiastic contingent from the Class of 1960 gathered at the Paul Allen aircraft museum at Paine Field, Everett, WA," wrote William Frederick Hugo Zersen. "George Luck, Charlie Diver and Bill Zersen met at a diner for brunch and then proceeded to the museum. This was a Saturday when two of the aircraft from Paul's collection were actually flown. We were told that every airplane in the collection is continually worked on, so that they are all airworthy--and flown from time to time. We arrived at the museum about 11:15 AM and had 45 minutes to walk around all the airplanes. At 12:00 AM the hangar doors were opened and we saw the two aircraft that were going to be flown this day. We were all introduced to the pilots and ground crew before the planes taxied out; they then proceeded to provide a 20-30 minute air show."

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Charlie Folkart moved to Ecuador last February with wife Sharon. When I asked: "How's the weather?" he responded 7/08/2010: "Being on the Equator, the weather is fairly constant year-round, varying 10 degrees from the highest to lowest averages. On the coast, where we have a retirement home, it is quite tropical, running in the mid-eighties to mid-nineties for day-time highs. In the Andes Mountains, where our major residence is located, we are at about 10,000 feet ASL, so it is quite dry and the night-time lows in the mid-forties to fifty. From our windows we can see three major volcanoes, one of which, Tungaragua, is currently active, occasionally sending out rumblings, quakes, tremors and clouds varying from columns of steam, to fire and mushroom clouds from explosions which scatter volcanic ash depending on the wind. The east slope of the Andes forms the head waters of the Amazon River. It is jungle-clad and filled with exotic plants and animals and birds.

"We really enjoy ministering to the Quichua native tribe. Sharon is known as their mother. We arrived here March 20th, the day after our wedding in Tampa, FL. The Quichuas insisted on having another wedding for us and threw quite a celebration with some five to six hundred attending.

"We returned Saturday evening, July 3^rd, from three weeks in the States, where Sharon was honored as the Distinguished Graduate at her fiftieth reunion from Asbury University in Kentucky. I was very impressed with the quality and character of her alma mater and fellow alumni.

"Driving here is dangerous, with precipitous drop-offs (in some places you fall a thousand feet before the first bounce) and a wide range in driver and vehicle qualifications to be on the road. Monday night, in returning from ministering, we hit an unregistered vehicle that was stopped in the middle of the road with no lights. The approaching busses and trucks had extra high beam lights on, so we could not see the stopped vehicle until just before impact. It will take some forty-five days for the legal process to be sorted out. Fortunately, instead of going to jail we went to the hospital for two days under police guard, and are now released with the stipulation to see the judge once a week. Our lawyer advises us that we should be cleared of all guilt and the insurance should cover all costs. We would be delighted if any of you would like to visit us . . . ."

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I was judging the Nojex 2010 stamp show on May 28-30 in Secaucus, NJ. With me at the exhibit frames is Steve Reinhard, current Chairman of the committee that takes care of judges and shows at the national level. I was pressed into service at late notice when the show accepted too many exhibits and an additional judge was needed."

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"In Northern Ireland the remnants of "The Troubles" in the 70's still remain. The "no man's land" in Belfast that separated the Catholic area from the Protestant is open to traffic, and graffiti murals dedicated to each side's views and heroes adorn the walls," wrote JT Smith.

"Enroute to Londonderry, we stopped at "Giants' Causeway." This is the remnant of a volcanic intrusion that once connected the main island with a small island. In Londonderry--"Derry" by those who support the goal of a united Ireland--we walked the original walls which surround the old city. They remain mostly intact and help to convey something of what life may have been like in those days. Also of interest is the Ulster American Folk Park which documents the story of the massive emigration of the "Scotch Irish" from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"After Derry, we traveled to Galway, and toured the Belleek porcelain factory, replacement for the Waterford works. Diane did a little digging to see if she could find anything about her father's family, who came from Ireland in the 1800s. The Lynch family was one of the original 14 merchant families that ran Galway, but there was little additional information.

"After Galway, we traveled via The Burren and Cliffs of Moher to Killarney. We made excursions to the Dingle Peninsula--where Gaelic is still spoken in homes and businesses around the Ring of Kerry, including Waterville where Charlie Chaplin spent years of exile (once came in fourth in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest); then Blarney Castle, Cork, the port of Cobh (Cove) where the Titanic made its last port call, then Cahir Castle and Kilkenny, and the National Heritage Park.

"We passed through Kildare and Dublin, Trinity College's Library and the ancient "Book of Kells," and Molly Malone and her "wheel barrow" memorial to the potato famine. Flying to Edinburgh in Scotland, we visited Rosslyn Chapel--made famous by the "Da Vinci Code." Then, north to Inverness with stops at St. Andrews, Blair Castle, and the Culloden Moor battlefield where Bonnie Prince Charlie's army was destroyed. At the Isle of Skye, we stopped at Eilean Donan Castle"where Sean Connery portrayed "The Highlander"--and drove along Loch Ness. From Inverness it was to Glasgow and Ben Nevis--Scotland's highest peak--and Glencoe--site of the massacre of the Clan MacDonald, then it was to a whiskey distillery and boat trip on Loch Lomond.

"An excursion out of Glasgow included stops at Alloway--birthplace of poet Robbie Burns and location of the famous Brig O' Doon--and Culzean Castle--ancestral home of the Kennedy family. Then, back to Dublin for our flight to Atlanta, followed by visits to Delaware, Air Museum at Dover AFB, and the DuPont estate. We also took a steam-train ride which included a re-enactment, and finished the trip at my daughter's place in McHenry, IL--we'd been gone two months!"

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"Ann and I went with Gary and Sylvia Sheets to Ken's Steak and Rib Restaurant in Amber, OK Saturday evening, July 10^th," wrote Gordy Flygare, from Norman, OK. 'salads of fried okra and appetizers are BBQ ribs. Good fried Texas Toast and take out boxes for the appetite-challenged. Gary and Sylvia were up from Plano, TX, to house sit (and monitor grandkids) while daughter and son-in-law were off on vacation." Prior to that message, I received this from Gary: 'sylvia and I are in Norman, OK house-sitting while our daughter, Susan, and husband Dr. Scott Hosler, are celebrating his parents" 50th in Hawaii."

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Whoops! "Hi, Rosie: just a quick one in the "nit-picking category." The D-M "bone yard" picture that Charlie Hart sent you had an error (May 2010 Web Column). The F-100 was labeled an F-100D: Not so. It was an F-100C or (probably) a late F-100A." Athos Eugene (Reb) Guillot, Jr.

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Ed Nogar's wife, Gay, had pain in her hip, which was eventually diagnosed as bone cancer. Gay underwent major surgery February 15, 2010, which removed her hip joint, ball of the femur (thigh bone), and a portion of the pelvis. Due to an emergency during surgery involving a clot, he was unable to implant orthotics. They may try to give Gay an artificial hip, but, she has no articulation in that leg, and is now recovering in their living room in a hospital bed, essentially immobile. Ed is nurse, physical therapist, housekeeper, and cook.

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"I have been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for five years, during which time I have served as Boat Crewmember and Aircraft Commander. For the flying missions, I use my 1957 H35 Beech Bonanza airplane. I fly safety patrols over the Seattle and San Juan Islands waterway, ferry personnel to remote stations, and deliver parts to disabled Coast Guard boats and cutters. I average two flights per month for the auxiliary," wrote George Luck.

"Last summer, while recovering from my kidney cancer surgery, I volunteered as Watch Stander in Sector Seattle's Joint Harbor Operations Center. I trained in the Communications Unit, and later in the Situation Unit. Next, I was asked to study to be Command Duty Officer"office representing the Sector Commander (O-6) in the Command Center. I have visited the Harbor Police, 911 Operations Center and NOAA Fisheries Department, been on dock facility and container ship inspections, pollution responses and ferry inspections, accompanied crews on armed escorts of an aircraft carrier, and conducted an injury accident investigation. I have observed, from the bridge, a Harbor Pilot directing a cruise ship into Puget Sound and dock at the Seattle ship terminal. I work eight hour shifts two or three days per week." (http://www.cgaux.org/ provides information about the USCG Auxiliary, and is the resource for volunteering).

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"Pat & I are in Maui for our annual two-week visit with the coconuts," wrote Earl Van Inwegen on 17 May. "We have daughter Kristin and family with us for a week, then son Curt and family the second week. We also spend two weeks on the Big Island in the fall.

"I just finished a one-year tour as President of the La Jolla, CA Town Council after four years as Trustee. I spend "free-time" as a Daedalian, having served as President of Flight 13 several years ago; I also serve as a member of the San Diego State College (1970 Masters Degree compliments of AFIT) War Memorial Committee, which is updating a 1996 Campus War Memorial honoring fallen SDSU veterans from WWII, Korean and Vietnam conflicts to include fallen veterans from subsequent conflicts. Incidentally, SDSU is in the forefront of supporting veterans in college, to include a very active Student Veterans Organization and a college President who is in the national forefront in supporting veterans to College. My most rewarding and active Veteran's position is as Secretary of the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial (often mistakenly called, "The La Jolla Cross"). I am very active working with veterans and their families designing plaques for the memorial walls (currently more that 4000 plaques). We also have ceremonies on Veterans and Memorial Days, usually honoring a significant veteran (Presidents Reagan and Ford, Bob Hope, Medal of Honor recipients, other national level veterans). I am currently working on a five plaque set honoring four Marines who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

"I spend my free time working on my golf game, walking the beach with Pat, enjoying our Palm Desert condo, and designing and constructing woodworking projects."

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"I plan to come to the Reunion--never been to any reunion ever; so, it'll be a trip. Not a big one, as I'm now down in Santa Fe. I'm semi-retired at Rainbow Vision, a primarily GLBT community here, working my second career as a psychologist. Spent two weeks in Shanghai with a friend in April "10, took a week's cruise down the coast of Mexico with old friends from Dayton in May, and just got back from West Virginia at a therapist's conference. I lived in Canada for 11 years (six undiagnosed in a wheelchair)*, got diagnosed two years ago in Santa Fe, and had surgery." /S/ John Crowe Giffen. *John added: "the final diagnosis was NPH--Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, i.e., water (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) on the brain, due to poor drainage. I started walking again two weeks after surgery in August 2008."

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"The Big Bend Open Road Race happens each April and runs in Texas between Fort Stockton and Sanderson. The aim of the exercise is to average your chosen speed for two 59-mile legs over highway US 285 that is closed to public use for one day. On race day, all accesses to the highway are manned with course workers who are in radio contact with the race center. They control interlopers like cows and ranch trucks, while deer, turkey and wild pigs are managed with a caution flag. My daughter, Rani, was co-driver, meaning she navigates one leg and drives the second."(this imbroglio is described by Les Hobgood, San Antonio, TX).

"We had to go through Rookie School, technical inspection of car and personal gear, Rookie-Check-Out with an experienced driver, and then hot laps on US 90 West out of Sanderson. The practice road is closed to public traffic over a 10-mile course for 30 minute intervals followed by 30 minutes of public use. The primary reason for the hot laps is to calibrate your speed equipment at high speeds. We hit the speed trap at 122 MPH as we were setting up our average speed of 105 MPH. Turns out my 2007 Corvette actually runs about 2 MPH above the indicated on the speedometer.

"On race day, 154 cars of all makes and models marshal in Fort Stockton and taxi out in descending order of target speeds with the unlimited cars out first. We launch with a light tree and the time starts on the green at about 1-3 minute intervals, according to your target speed. Our stopwatch showed we were about 2.8 seconds ahead of time at the first finish line. Our actual speed was 105.084 MPH and we were 1.620 seconds ahead of time. Not bad for Rookies! We lunched in Sanderson and taxied out in the same order for the return leg. Then, the Fit Hit The Shan!

"One vehicle in the 125 MPH class blew a tire and had rubber all over the road and the next vehicle spun out and left the road breeching the fence. No one was hurt, but some cattle joined the fun and a ranch truck came out to get the steers herded back in. All this ended up cancelling some 50 or so vehicles from the return leg. Rani didn"t get to do the return leg, so, she gets the first leg next year! Overall, we came in 40^th and 5^th in our class (the helmet sports blue lightning bolts are courtesy of AFA'sAthletic Department).

"Rosie, the pix of the car and two folks giving thumbs up is Rani, with me driving. The second picture with three of us is Cindy Clements, Corvette Club member/driver in the 100 mph class, me in the middle, Rani on the right. (I love my picture with beautiful women!) The third picture of a red driving suit and thunderbolt helmet is me just prior to my "Rookie Check Ride."

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Jim and Mary Waddle were honored by their children on Sunday, June 13, 2010, at the First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs for their celebration of 50 years married life. Here's two photos, attesting to Ponce de Leon's finding the Fountain of Youth, and sprinkling that water on this lovely couple"I give you: Mary and Jim Waddle, first photo taken at their wedding in June 1960, second photo last month! Jim said: "Our kids threw a great party for us--we had 275 friends help us celebrate. They included classmates, neighborhood friends, church friends and Gideon friends."

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"My wife Carole and I had our 50^th wedding anniversary party on June 12," wrote JP Browning. "We thought it was close enough to June 8th and it is a Saturday. Preparing for this has brought back memories, as we dug back into our files and came up with pictures to share with friends and family. We look forward to seeing everyone at the 50^th in October."

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Norm Haller wrote that "Liz and I just returned from our 50th wedding anniversary celebration--June 11^th. I thought you'd like to see the photo (only one grandson could not make it)." Norm said the photo was taken in Deep Creek, Maryland, a resort area in the western mountain region not far from Morgantown, WV. One of their sons-in-law owns the home (rental property for vacations). "Fourteen of our fifteen grandchildren were able to make it, and all four children, plus their wives and husbands. Some of the grandsons" girl friends were there as well," said Norm.

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The DC-"60 Group met July 9, 2010, and twelve attended: Ken Alnwick was no show, Al Johnson never responded, and Mike Loh was in Colorado pinning a star on his son's shoulders--Mike Jr., is with the Colorado ANG. Higgins, Rekenthaler, Goodyear, Hales and Fischer also did not make the meeting.

"Mike A. Clarke was able to attend, thanks to the Haller taxi service," said Tony Burshnick. "He is doing well. His vision is slowly returning and he is working with the VA visual experts to get him back to work. One knee is not so good, but he is not up to having it operated on. I (Tony) am not doing well, and right now would NOT have another operation. I am very unsteady and need two canes or two of "Jock Schwank sticks" to get around. Mike's wife Nancy is publishing her book on thirty years working in the White House. Norm Haller had great news, as he just returned from Annapolis"USNA--where his grandson entered with the Class of 2014. Ralph Lalime's daughter-in-law is an analyst at Navy Station Fallon, the same job Kelly McGillis had in "TOP GUN," and even got to fly in the F-16. Ralph has a "new-used" motor home for the next USAFA/Navy game at Annapolis.

"Norm Haller and Liz just celebrated their 50th wedding reunion, as did Jerry and Betty de la Cruz. The Hallers have 15 grand children. Leon Goodson was at the graduation of the Class of 2010 at USAFA, and could not say enough about handing new Lieutenant Bars to two squadrons of cadet graduates. Leon's son and his wife just had twins. Bob Badger says there is a glimmer of hope that his book will get published, and he meets with a publishing agent next week. Bill Carnegie has been given a clean bill of health from his cancer doctors; his hair has grown back, and he has a flat top like we all had 54 years ago.

"Les Querry enthralled us with photos of our first day at Lowry II. Les is planning another festival the fourth weekend in October. Bill Hockenberry warned that his e-mail has been picked up by some "tell-all site." GJC Fries wants to know who may be headed to West Point this fall to see the AF/Army game. Tom Burke left early to get to work, so, no update on his son's new baby. Since we have the reunion and then Les's ROOST, we won"t get together until January 2011." Photo, front: Mike A. Clarke, Tony Burshnick, George Fries, Jerry de la Cruz; back: Bill Carnegie, Leon Goodson, Bob Badger, Norm Haller, Ralph Lalime, Bill Hockenberry, Les Querry"missing Tom Burke).

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The "May 2010 Web Column" had a paragraph on classmates who escorted Miss America Contestants in September of 1959. I received responses from many, and my list of those who were there now include: Jim Alexander, Fuller Atkinson, Bob Badger, Andi Biancur, Tony Burshnick, Rich Carter, Buck Congdon, Russ Currey, Bill Currier, Ron Deep, Billy Delony, Bob Fischer, George Fries, Charlie Georgi, Sid Gurley, Jack Hardison, George Hines, Les Hobgood, Ted Hopkins, Mike Hyde, LEM Johnson, Ralph Lalime, Mike Loh, Tony Long, Rich Mayo, John McCullough, Dick Meyer, George Pupich, Dick Shepard, Jerry Stack, Dale Thompson, Jim Thomasson, Clark Walker, Denis Walsh, and Ken Werrell"(that's 35 of the 51 assigned). If you were an escort for that arduous duty back in 1959, let me know"If you know of a classmate who was an escort and is not on the above list, let me know"

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"Eve and I invite our classmates to join us for a Dutch Treat Luncheon "Celebration of Marriage," with recognition for those having their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2010," wrote Frank Mayberry. "Join us at 11:30AM on Wednesday, September 29, 2010---prior to Reunion Registration. We"ll lunch at the Colorado Mountain Brewery, and all classmates and wives are welcome.

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Our 50^th Reunion starts Wednesday, September 29, 2010"you may reserve a room by calling Embassy Suites @719-599-9100, and then register with Tiffani at the AOG at (719) 472-0300, extension #136. You"ll Be Glad You Did!