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WEB COLUMN
HO, HO, HO . . .
. . . and a Huge HO-Hurrah for that "Once-In-Our-Only-Lifetime" 50thReunion which we enjoyed just two months ago. This truly 'tis the season to be jolly, and we'll soon have a Merry Christmas, followed by a handsel of the FBS Bowl Game!
Independence Bowl on December 27th at Shreveport, LA. Our Air Force Academy Falcons will meet the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, coached by Paul Johnson. Johnson was head coach for Navy from 2002-07, presiding over five consecutive Navy victories over the Falcons, and was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2004 before he became the top man and his own Offensive Coordinator at Georgia Tech in 2008. Those five consecutive Navy wins by Johnson became seven consecutive before seeing the streak end on 2 October 2010, when we celebrated our 50th Reunion with a 14-6 victory.
This fall the Falcons defeated BYU (35-14) in the final game the two institutions will play football for perhaps a long time, since BYU has chosen to become an independent and no longer a MWC member. Air Force ended the 2010 regular season at 8-4, making Coach Troy Calhoun ('89) the first ever Air Force coach to start his career at USAFA with four straight seasons with eight or more wins in each season: the four losses were to TCU (7-38), Oklahoma (24-27), SDSU (25-27) and Utah (23-28).
Injuries during the season caused AF to lose senior FB Jared Tew, senior WR Kevin Fogler and sophomore SS Brian Lindsay for the last half of 2010. There is a good chance the two seniors will play in the Independence Bowl, although that is less true for Lindsay. Better depth than in past years allowed the Falcons to fill in with senior FB Nathan Walker, junior WR Zach Kauth and freshman SS Anthony Wooding.
Georgia Tech suffered a major injury when senior QB Joshua Nesbitt broke his right arm trying to tackle a Virginia Tech DB after an interception. Nesbitt has been Tech's QB and leader for the past three seasons. The Jackets lost the game to Virginia Tech (21-28), even though the backup QB, sophomore Tevin Washington, played fairly well and came within inches of tying the game at the end. Their top receiver is WR Stephen Hill with 15 catches for 291 yards and three TDs--RBs Orwin Smith with 11 catches, 189 yards and 0 TDs and Roddy Jones with seven catches, 119 yards and one TD are the next best receivers. Whether Nesbitt or Washington plays QB, it is their running talents with Coach Johnson's flex bone offense that is more important than their passing talent.
Remember that Georgia Tech uses a running offense, and they are the #1 running team in the FBS, while Air Force is #2 with 317.9 ypg. Tech ranks 116 of 120 in passing offense with 87.5 ypg; the Falcons rank 114 with 119.5 ypg; in total offense Air Force ranks 23 of 120, and Tech ranks 34th. The Yellow Jackets' top runner is RB Anthony Allen at 6'0" and 239 lbs. Allen had 217 rushes for 1225 yards and six TDs, QB Nesbitt had 166 rushes for 737 yards and 10 TDs, RB Orwin Smith had 49 rushes for 476 yards and four TDs, while QB Washington had 88 rushes for 383 yards and TDs. They have a number of other runners, and Tech will score points. Coach Johnson and Coach Calhoun only faced one another in 2007 and Navy won at home by 31-21 in Calhoun's first year at Air Force and Johnson's last year at Navy.
The Falcons' Joshua Nesbitt, Jared Tew and Kevin Fogler will, most likely, play in the bowl game. Tech has RB Anthony Allen and C Sean Bedford as first team ACC players; LG Omoregie Uzzi was named to the second team ACC. Air Force counters with DB Reggie Rembert having been named first team All-American. Tech's FG kicker, Scott Blair, is capable of kicking and has kicked 50 yard FGs in a game. The better defensive secondary of the Falcons, together with our better passing offense, will result in an Air Force victory of 31-27 after a hard fought game. GO FALCONS! (Written by Aaron Thrush).
Just when you thought we'd exhausted all those photos of the great Alaskan wilds and untamed outdoors splendor, along comes outdoorsman John McCullough with these extraordinary shots showing why getting away from the pressures of modern day existence provides pleasure beyond description. Look at and enjoy these nine magnificent photos--don't miss the ones of the Glazas and Pupiches--and think about them as you're driving through rush hour traffic or sitting on an interstate highway waiting for the state police to clear the wreckage from that recent accident.
"We had a fine time in Alaska at Prince William Sound," wrote Jack Brush. "We were on a little steel 80-foot Diesel named Discovery, originally built in Florida to visit the Gold camps and convert the miners to Religion. This craft now provides close up tours for the idle elderly. We travelled to Seattle via AeroStar, Alaskan Air to Anchorage, and here are some pictures of Elaine and me." When I asked Jack about that Aerostar, he replied: "The Flight Aware picture is our Aerostar--you can use it, but need to cite Flight Aware as the source. We were two of 11 paying passengers with a crew of four, anchoring at night, mostly at the west end of Prince William Sound. Highlights were paddling kayaks in the rain through floating ice to the base of a glacier--not too close, as it was dropping huge chunks and making waves. Another highlight was chasing two bear cubs up a tree and making a hasty retreat via zodiacs when mamma appeared."
(courtesy of FlightAware)
"Brenda's and CT's autistic son Dax now works as a busboy at Outback Steakhouse and bought a 2006 PT Cruiser which he drives to high school 32 miles away. Their son CT IV, now a First LT in the Minnesota Army National Guard,is an Account Representative for Globe University, and lives in the southern Twin Cities. Adopted son, Sandi, retired as a LTC from the Air Force and, together with new wife, Donna, completed Seminary and special flight training with his new wife and are flying missionaries in Africa. Brenda has quit her job in her brother's dental office, and has joined CTIII in their home-based business."
"I have been in the Marble Falls (TX) Noon Lions Club for 9-1/2 years, and they recently honored me with a Melvin Jones Fellowship Award," wrote David Sweigart. "My club donated $1000 to the Lions Club International Foundation in my name for my service in the Club. The photo shows me receiving the award on 16 July 2010. I currently serve as the Club's Tail Twister, whose job is to bring fun to the meetings and raise additional funds by 25 cent fines for various rules infractions mostly made up by me. We have a good time with all of this in our weekly meetings for our service to the community."
"We flew into Istanbul via Chicago. Total travel time was about 20 hours. Spent 2 days touring Istanbul seeing the Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, Hippodrome, Sultan's Palace, plus a Boat Ride on The Bosporus and a couple of museums. Then, we wnet on a 2000-mile bus ride around southwestern and central Turkey," this from JT and Diane Smith. To see their detailed account of their trip with photos, click HERE.
"The weather going to Fort Worth Saturday(for the AFA-TCU football game at AMON G. CARTER Stadium) was as bad as I have ever been in; the rain continued hard all the way, and long before Ann and I got to Denny's, the decision had been made to move the tailgate to Denny's dining room," wrote Gordy Flygare. "The Haneys have one of the few houses that are capable of moving a tailgate inside with a minimum of disruption. We actually had about twenty people, counting kids, so it was not too big; but, Denny was able to accommodate everything with no problem. The group was four of us '60 grads, so we included Denny's daughter Cindy (Cynthia Haney Bryant, AFA '88) and her husband Dave (David Bryant, AFA '86). Unfortunately for the football team, the weather cleared in the evening and by game time it was quite nice. The fly by was four F-16s from the Texas Guard at Kelly, and they hit the last bars of the Star Spangled Banner quite nicely. Once the game started the Horned Frogs ("don't call me a Toad!") pretty well took over and showed a very professional operation from the TCU Showgirls to the LOUD speaker system that left no doubt that this was the TCU game.
"As an aside, John Kuenzel wasn't there, and offered no reason, although the weather was very bad throughout the day. I didn't get to talk to John as much as I would have liked at the reunion and was looking forward to seeing him. Glaza is the FOOTBALL FAN and the rest of us are pretty much just in it for the fellowship. Jenny is WAY MORE dedicated to the tailgate system than Ann would ever be, and Jim is lucky to find somebody who indulges his fun and we are lucky to have someone who has certainly established a tradition to be cherished. Had the rain continued, Jim would have been the only one to go to the game and would have required a National Guard flood emergency to keep him away, but the weather cleared about 5:30, so the F-16 flight made a pass to set the stadium as a navigation waypoint, and then were back exactly on time for the show. By then it was dark enough to see the burners nicely. TCU then took over (one of the pilots was a TCU grad) and pretty well showed how football is played in Texas. Other than the final score, it was a fine weekend."(In the photo, Left to right: Denny and Liz, Dave and Cindy Bryant, Dave and Camille Sweigart, Gordon and Ann, Jenny and Jim. BTW, this game was on October 23rd, and the final score was 38-7.
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"Rosie, every Friday several of the Class meets with Tony Burshnick at a local Starbucks. We drink too-expensive coffee, swap lies, examine Jerry's antique watches, hear about Ralph's latest "Space-A" adventures--while Tony smokes one of his beloved cigars. This year we met on the 11th hour of the 11th day in November to give honor to those who have gone before us. We even had the pleasure of having Ace join us by phone. Attached is a photo of the event. I'm the one in the familiar blue parka. Cheers, Ken (Alnwick)."(In the photo, left to right: Tony, Ken, Ralph, Jerry)
"All is well at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada," wrote Ralph Lalime. "Darlene and I arrived Saturday night (11/13/10). Last week, I represented the Air Force on Veteran's Day at the Washington, DC Children's Charity Fight Night. There were a thousand people there, all in formal attire. It was very macho, with cigars at every 10-person table. The few women were hostesses and Washington Redskins' cheerleaders. The 10 boxing greats included Gerry Cooney, Buster Douglas, smokin' Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Jake 'The Raging Bull' LaMotta, Ken Norton, Aaron Pryor and Ernie Terrell. Five or six of us retired military guys were incorporated into the show because it was Veteran's Day. We were escorted into the ring in the center of the Hilton's ballroom while they played patriotic music and announced us. With me were a Medal of Honor Army General, Navy Chief, Coast Guard Lt Commander, and Marine General (see photo). After we were on stage, the Marine Color Guard came up and presented the Colors. Then the emcee led the entire room singing 'Proud to be an American." [Photo: General James Jones (USMC Retired & NSC advisor); General Pace (USMC); me; Ray Milnes (Lt Commander US Coast Guard Retired); John Russell (Navy Chief Petty Officer Retired); Lt. Gen John Foley (USA Retired & Medal of Honor winner. Also attending were Mayor Fenty of DC and General John Craddock, Supreme Allied Commander-Europe].
"During the evening, I met all the fighters back stage or in a different cocktail room. They were all very considerate and complimentary of the military. The dinner was excellent but the steak was too big for me. They also had an auction after the show, and a Peter Fonda style motorcycle sold for $50,000. A flag that had flown over Iraq sold for $20,000! The fights were an Army versus Navy exhibition and three professional fights of six-eight rounds each.
"On Friday, Darlene and I drove to Oceana NAS south of Virginia Beach and stayed in the BOQ. Saturday there was a Navy Air Wing flying to Fallon to participate in the Top Gun program. We got seats on a C-40 and Chris and Robyn met us at the airfield."
George Luck called the 30thof November, telling me he was still "cancer free." This was after another six-month checkup, following his cancerous kidney removal in July 2009. This is great news, and means that after almost a year and a half, George's diligent follow-ups have paid off.
"Veronica and I spent 2-1/2 hours going from Sausalito to our "Cove on the Bay" and back (picture taken in front of our unit)," said Phil Meinhardt. "There are ferocious currents from Sausalito to San Francisco piers. I am really confident in a canoe (whitewater on the Kern River and down the Colorado), but I don't know how to roll upright if capsized in a Kayak. As you can see, our kayaks weren't the cockpit type anyway."
Later, it's Phil and Veronica funning at a jazz club in San Francisco. "The place is a refurbished 1940's style night club in San Rafael (CA) with a group called Pride and Joy. The music was very loud and more like a rock concert with mosh pit, with wild dancing and arms in the air. The evening was an adventure that I wouldn't care to repeat, even though we had a good time (I said San Francisco because who knows where San Rafael is, or Tiburon--where we live)." ("mosh:" "knock against others intentionally while dancing at a rock concert; slam-dance.)" Phil.
Some people do the neatest things, and even get photographs to prove it: The Goodsons and JT Smiths are in that category. "We had a great weekend in DC with the Goodsons. We departed Nashville, TN, at 2330 Friday, after a Nashville Ballet performance of Swan Lake," wrote JT Smith. "Drove straight through, and got to the Goodson's in Bethesda, MD, before noon on Saturday, October 30th. We took the Metro downtown to the 'Rally to Restore Sanity." Maryn had gone into town to save us some space, and after surviving the Metro, we walked four blocks to the rally. There was no way to get on the Mall due to the crowd. We made our way to the edge of the Mall, never made contact with Maryn, and contented ourselves with enjoying the crowds, while listening to the audio from the speakers and occasional glimpses of the big TV screens." To get some idea of the crowd size, the Metro transported over 850,000 that day! "That evening we enjoyed a great meal at one of Leon's and Maryn's favorite restaurants and enjoyed some great jazz singing by a young woman friend of theirs. Sunday, after brunch, we visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum by Dulles." (Note: that RTRS was put on by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central--Stewart/Colbert estimated the crowd at "One Billion or more;" NY Times guessed around 500,000; Fox News' Roger Ailes said, "there might have been 800").
When the Wall Street Journal announced the International Arm-Wrestling Contest in Mesquite, NV on November 30th, I immediately contacted Frank and Eve Mayberry, since they reside in Mesquite (and thought--they're rapacious arm wrestlers!). Frank replied: "We were cruising. We drove to Long Beach and spent a few nights with our son Tristan, then left LA harbor on the Celebrity ship Infinity. We stopped at Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, and Huatulco in Mexico, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, through the Panama Canal, and Colon; then to Cartagena, Columbia, and up to Miami. We spent a week at a Fort Lauderdale resort before flying back to LA, then home to Mesquite. The arm wrestling had been forgotten by then."
Andi and Carole Biancur have planned a River Trip with Grand Circle Travel, the same line used two years ago to cruise the Danube to celebrate 70th birthdays! "The Romance of the Rhine and Mosel," departs August 10, 2011 from Antwerp (Group Number G123163). Register at 1-800-597-2452, Option #2. Beginning prices $125 per person per day, double occupancy (including three fabulous meals, with wine), and some tours along the way. Go to www.GrandCircleTravel.com to view the ship, optional day tours, and air fares. Any questions--contact Carole at Bacfly60@msn.com or call (719)-488-4317. You'll be glad you did!
"Rosie, just got back to Ohio from Tucson, and am sending these photos which Lisa (our youngest born at AFA Oct '71) had made into an album for each household, one taken of me April '63 after I delivered one from the factory back to Kadena AFB on Okinawa," wrote Charlie Hart. "Also, they include the family, left to right: Madison, Charlie, Linda, James at top, Aaron, Bret, Lisa, and Jeff Mortenson (taken by Jon McClure), who replaced Lisa in the third photo. Jon is responsible for my and Linda's crossing paths in early April '60 at the U of Denver, and we have on occasion both cussed him or blessed him as the winds of matrimony were blowing at the moment; but by far, we mostly thank him and bless him."
And, just for your viewing pleasure, Charlie sent me these "Inspiring photos from an '83 USMA Astronaut. Compare words with AFA grad photos (both exceptional engineers) of last year, which were scientific and managerial. USMA may instill more human-centered values." Click Here: http://triggerpit.com/2010/11/22/incredible-pics-nasa-astronaut-wheelock/
I got an e-mail from Jed Dale (AFA, '63), who's living in Xenia, OH. Jed went into Doctor Alan Thurman's office for minor surgery; the doc noticed his class ring and asked me "if I knew his father from the Class of 1960." It turns out that Alan is Don Thurman's son, now practicing in Dayton, OH. The photo shows Dr. Don Thurman on the left, and subdued patient Jed after a 'b4 outptnt surgery' (R: whatever that means). You'd fully expect anyone treated by a son of Don Thurman to survive, and Jed did!
Thanks to all those who have shared their memories with me for this column. I truly appreciate the input and experiences which a large number of you send me throughout the year'Have a Happy New Year and a Healthy 2011!