5423 Myrtle Wood
Sarasota, FL 34235-4624
(941) 371-4843
Email: RCtherose@aol.com
WEB COLUMN
Dance like no one is looking, sing like no one is listening, love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on earth. "I may be outta breath, but it ain't over yet! Mom just showed up and we are gonna celebrate her 98th birthday together. My sister and brother came down with her and we will play tag caring for Mom the next few weeks," said Les Hobgood, writing from 'Ole San Antone'. "The picture on the left was what Baby II looked like in October, 2010, after being in the back yard since 1973. The model at the right represents what Baby II will look like in the spring of 2012. It will be an exact restoration to the car I picked up new in Colorado Springs on February 22, 1960 at Daniels Chevrolet. The bank and I only paid $3600 for that Corvette. Right now, Baby II is in about a thousand parts, and reassembly commenced in January 2012.
"The Big Bend Open Road Race went a lot better this year. My daughter Rani got to drive the first leg and I took the second 59 miles to the finish. We crossed the finish line in what we thought was a dead-on-arrival. Turned out we were 0.6 seconds off and we came in 6th in the 110 MPH Class. That's less than 1 second off in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 21.8 seconds of driving and our average speed was 109.98 MPH. The Yapp Open Golf Tournament in Ruidoso, New Mexico was a real hoot again this year. Another miracle happened when I parred the back nine at Cree Meadows. I helped our team make money that day. Went on up to Albuquerque the next week to join the chase crew of 'our' balloon."
STILL FLYIN' . . . "I still own and fly the De Havilland DH-82a Tiger Moth, US registration N-5300," wrote George Elsea. "The type started in production in 1932 as a trainer for the Royal Air Force. Mine was produced and delivered to the RAF in April 1940 for training duties at RAF Ansty, an Elementary Flying Training School in the Birmingham area. Four of us stationed at RAF Lakenheath became co-owners in mid 1963. Mike Love and I bought out the other two guys when they were reassigned. I eventually became the sole owner. It is now hangared at the Lampasas, Texas, airport about five miles from my house. I try to fly it at least twice a month and more often when wind and weather allow. It rests during the summer months when I am usually in Scotland. I have no 'stop flying' date."
Movin' Again . . . "We lived on Marco Island for a few years--had a boat and all that, " wrote George Lester. "But, we got bored, and moved to Padre Island, TX (Corpus Christi). We liked it there for a short while, also, but moved four years ago to Las Vegas. We like it here, and we can see my two daughters in California and my wife Yvonne's son in Phoenix much easier. Also, I get to visit all my old haunts in and around San Francisco and the Bay Area. Our current address is: 8550 West Charleston Blvd. #102, Las Vegas, NV 89117."
Ned and Mary Whitman's son Brad, and two other men in their thirties, formed a leveraged-buyout firm to invest in for-profit educational companies, with offices in Wynnewood, PA, just west of Philadelphia. "In the spring of 2011, we put our Suffern (New York) townhouse up for sale," wrote Ned, "accepted an offer, looked at townhouses in Philadelphia's western suburbs, and signed a contract on one in Exton, PA, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. In May, Mary flew with Christy, Brad and Abigail (three years old) to Munich for a driving tour, crisscrossed Germany on their self-guided history tour in a BMW convertible. We later moved out of our house in New York and into our new home on 19 July 2011—this new townhouse is stone, three stories high with a finished basement, and, the entire development was built to replicate a 16th century English village. Our son Brad and his wife Christy closed on a five–bedroom house with 1.1 acres of property in Wayne, PA on 30 August and moved in the next day (Brad will have a 25-minute drive to his office in Wynnewood). And, lastly, our new granddaughter Aubrey Mary Whitman was born 19 August, weighing 8 lbs., 7 oz. Our other granddaughter is 3-1/2 years old, tall and lively, and our daughter-in-law Christy is now home full-time. We are only 25 minutes away." (Mary and Ned's new address is: 220 Cambridge Chase, Exton, PA 19341.
"I thought some of the WW II history buffs might like the enclosed pictures," wrote Charlie Liggett, while traveling with Kathy.
"On April 26, 2012, I visited the battle site of El Alamein, one of the deadliest battles of WW II. One of the most obvious features of the area and battlefields is the uninhabited vastness of the desert; quite unlike the present Afghanistan and Iraq where our troops are in a constant interface with the local populations. However, the areas along the coast are currently undergoing an incredible housing boom with literally thousands or hundreds of thousands of apartment and condo buildings being constructed along the Mediterranean Sea.
"I visited the Commonwealth and Empire Cemetery, the German and Italian War Memorials and the El Alamein Museum.
"In the Commonwealth and Empire Cemetery over 7000 tombstones mark the graves of soldiers and airmen from the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece, South Africa, East and West Africa, Malaysia and India. Many of the gravestones had poignant inscriptions provided by loved ones.
"The Italian memorial was some distance from the Commonwealth site and was on a high rise with views of the surrounding countryside and Mediterranean Sea. Within the structure were tombs of Italian servicemen.
"The German war memorial looked like a sandstone fortress with the tombs of German servicemen enclosed within the walls of the structure.
"I also visited the El Alamein museum with four main halls representing the countries participating in the Battle of El Alamein. There were lots of weapons, vehicles, maps, etc. that provided a glimpse into that historic event."
Still Flyin? . . . "Thanks for the nice note and kind assumption that I am still air worthy. Alas, after 20-25,000 hours of combined military and civilian flying, such is not the case," wrote George Pupich. "The only tie to aviation that I presently have is co-ownership of a B-25 that my brother and I purchased years ago, after it completed a part in the movie Catch 22. It is now hangared at Burbank, CA airport; and, I have not flown it for several years, and my brother, Mike, handles everything to do with the machine. I can assure you that this is one of the finest, most authentic 25's in the air today.
"Mike has a crew who fly it to air shows around the country, but the most memorable event we had with the machine was having it loaded on to a Navy flat top (Enterprise?) in the early 1990's in San Diego bay. We cruised around for about an hour, and then, in commemoration of Jimmy Doolittle's historic mission to Japan, the carrier gave us 25-30 knots into the wind and our B-25 launched. It became the first B-25 to have done so since Doolittle. I wish I could have devoted more time to being current in the machine,sothat I could have been the driver for this event; but, life at that time had too many other demands to have permitted that pleasure. I am including some photos, including a photo of Doolittle in our 25 at an air show in San Jose. (Note: We sold the Cessna 172 about 2-3 years ago. I have no doubt that I could still drive it very safely, but this old mind simply can't retain all of the new regs that are out and about.)"
Note: The following series of images were taken by David Peters, a professional photographer, illustrator, aviator, and travel writer. They are copyrighted and reproduced here by permission. They may not be copied or reproduced for any other purpose without the expressed consent of Mr. Peters. (Phone:310-880-1031, Email: dpetersart@aol.com).
"This is a brief report on the Surprise 75th birthday party on Friday night for George Pupich (George's birth date is May 14, 1937)," wrote Mary Waddle. "George came in the door of his house holding his grandson, wondering what the crowd was for. Diana said that 80 people replied to come. It was catered by a wonderful caterer, and classmates of George's son, Alex (AFA '97) ran the bar. Both Diana's and George's families were there, and all of us wore pins holding younger pictures of George ('doctored up' by all of the cousins in the area). It was a nice night. All of the 'Usual Suspects' attended, and out-of-state friends came, including Dale Thompson and Ina, as well as Cherie and her husband, Bert Brown. (By the way, Jenny and Caryl Mosier were at the bedside of Brenda Douglass when she passed, and they were still mourning that event. Brenda lived to see her son married, which was a joy to her. The Glazas and the Mosiers had traveled to the wedding).""
Later, George added that: "The '60 guys attending the party included Deke Johnson, Dale Thompson, Jim Glaza, John McCullough, Dick Sexton, Jock Schwank, Bruce Mosier and Duck Waddle. There are a lot more photos, but they would be of more interest to me (family from California, old friends and three of Alex's '97 grads that he played football with ended up bartending)."
"Jim and Mary Waddle make doing good deeds look apple-pie easy. Mary makes costumes for all the plays at their United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, is on the Board for the Sacred Concert Series, and they both sing in the choir…and, they've spent the last six years building a church in Russia…they've now completed the First United Methodist Church in Yekaterinburg, 1000 miles east of Moscow. This is the 'first ever' built in Russia for a congregation meeting in a building formerly a Communist Party Propaganda Center (talk about retrofit!)."
(Excerpt from the "Summer 2002, CheckPoints Magazine, page 109, Class News 1960.")
The Waddles are still "Volunteer-Active," and were key players for their United Methodist Church presentation of Brahms' "German Requiem" on April 29th, 2012—these photos were taken at the concert.
Photos by Helen Bagherian, and included here with her permission.
For a complete picture of the work that's involved with this production , read Mary's Preparation for Singing Brahms' "Requiem"
Still Flyin' . . . "Yep, still at it, and hope to continue until I'm 93, so at least 19 more years," wrote Michael J. Clarke.
"My airplane is an experimental aerobatic bi-plane known as the Steen Skybolt, N115JC, and was built in 1995 by Hale Wallace, a Builders Hall of Famer, and touted to be one of the three gems of the Skybolt fleet which numbers around 400. It has an AEIO-540 fuel injected aerobatic engine that puts out 260 ponies, which along with the Hartzell CLAW 3-bladed constant speed aerobatic prop (the same prop Sean Tucker uses), enables this 1300 lb airplane to do anything I still have the nerve to do. Rated at +10/-6 G's, I limit the airplane to +6/-3 G's, and because I have a titanium plate and 8 screws holding my neck together, I usually don't exceed +4/-1 G's. However, with the existing power plant/prop combo, I can still do a full complement of aerobatics. I try to get 1-2 flights per week, or about 5 hours per month--aerobatic flights aren't very long.
"My wife's airplane is a Varga Kachina 2180TG, N5600M, and rather unique in several ways. The first being it came with a personal pilot - me. It was built in February 1982, and is now a classic. The Lineage is Morrisey, Shinn, and then Varga, each buying out the former and making minor improvements, but remaining true to the original plan-form and dimensions. The original Morrisey, circa 1946-1948, was constructed of wood, tubing and fabric, and was eventually fully metalized near the time of the Morrisey/Shinn transition. The engine went through a series of upgrades from the original 65HP to 90HP to 115HP to 150HP and finally 180HP (the Lycoming 0-360). The airplanes were numbered sequentially from the first Morrisey to the last Varga with a total of 189 being built before the company went out of business in June 1982. All but three were tri-cycle gear, and only eighteen had the 180HP engine. Ours is serial number 183, has the 180HP Lycoming engine, and is one of the original three produced with a tail wheel, thus the 2180TG nomenclature. We fly this about 5-10 hours per month.
"We no longer have the RV-8 that I was building, Emma said it was taking too long and she wanted to fly. So, since she could not get into the front seat of the Skybolt, we sold it and bought the Varga, which is very easy for her to get in and out of . . . ."
Potpourri:
Dotty (Westby) Farquhar's son David had a home which burned down in the mountain fires west of Denver. They bought an Airstream trailer to live in, and each day go up to the site to sift through more ashes . . . . Sanford, FL is "The Friendly City," but now where Trayvon Martin was shot-to-death—Gerry and Hildburg Stack have lived there for years, and watch this tragic scenario play out . . . . Phil Meinhardt has sent me/us two interesting pieces which you can read, and respond to (if you wish), by clicking here . . . . Despite warnings issued by proponents of the Mayan Calendar, the World will not come to an end in 2012. So, go ahead and order another pizza, and get your USAFA football tickets for the 2012 season . . . . . . . . "Sylvia and I sojourned to Marble Falls in West Texas to see Dave Sweigart play a Leading Slap-Stick part in the Hill Country Community Theater," wrote Gary Sheets. "He was hilarious, and the play was sold out for all six performances. Multiple rain storms kept Dave and I off the golf course, and Lake Travis remains some 43 feet below its' normal level. Incidentally, Dave positioned himself uphill in the four-some picture so as to look taller"
Bill and Kath Gillis' daughter Cecelia was proclaimed "Calendar Queen" in their fair city of Panama City, FL—and, enclosed are photos of Cece (white dress) at their prom on April 14th, 2012 . . . .
Bill Zersen contributed the following as food for thought: "Ever since I picked up a flyer regarding tithing from my church in 2007(?), I have had a restless spirit about tithing. What does the Bible really say about tithing? So I decided to study it a little bit and put together a paper regarding my thoughts.
"I have been working on this subject for about 4-5 months. So I am providing you this paper for your info. Just something for you to think about.
"Some of you may perhaps even be mad at me for doing this. If that is the case, so be it! However, if you have any thoughts that you would like to pass on to me on this subject, please let me know what they are.
"As I say on the first page, this is only written from my perspective of what the Bible says about tithing. My document has nothing to do with what a church may believe or require from their people." Click here to read Bill's document detailing the results of his research and some personal thoughts on this topic.
. . . . And from the FYI department:: "Sarasota is No. 1 on list of top arts destinations," according to American Style Magazine in its 2012 readers' poll of the top arts cities in the nation, for those cities with populations of 100,000 or less. And, if you wish to know who lives in Sarasota, direct your eyes towards the masthead on this column.
Still Flyin' . . . "Yes, still doing it." wrote Frank Gorham. "Chief Flight Instructor for past few years for a two-plane training company. C-172 and C-210. Other single engine birds owned by clients normal training plus biannual flight reviews and/or instrument proficiency checks. Teaching students for single engine Private, Instrument, Commercial and Certificated Flight Instructor ratings. . . . .
"Was running almost 400 hrs/yr after getting my CFI/CFII in late 2006 (it is never too late guys!). Looks like 285 hrs for the year thru May 1, 2010, 110 each for 2011 and 2012. The last 2-1/2 years seriously depressed without walk-in traffic due to our airport being moved to a barren $325 million site 20 miles outside of town with very few general aviation friendly facilities.
"You are correct, 74th B-day (WOW) coming up soon, - will continue so long as FAA medical, (2nd Class still!) is valid (cardiologist says it is a close call each year) and somebody else is paying the bills!"
In early March, Bill Zersen hosted the annual USAFA "Spring Fling" for grads in the Southern California area. Click here to read Bill's comments and view some pictures taken at the event.
Then he wrote,"In a couple of hours I will be going out to Palm Desert to stay with Vic and Suzanne for a few days. I'll try to get a couple of pictures out there since Vic said that we might be getting together with Van and Phil." . . . . A few days later, he followed up with, "Rosie, here's a few pictures from a few days ago. Van was not in the desert at this time. [The first] picture shows Veronica, Vic, Suzanne, Bill and Phil at Ruth's Chris [Steak House] during happy hour. [The next] picture is the inside of the condo that Vic/Suzanne had rented. [Then there are several] pictures at Sullivan's, one of Vic's and Suzanne's favorite hangouts for happy hour!
Next came St. Patrick's day, "I can't find any pictures from this year's party. However, I found a few from 2008 when Vic was here [and] I had over 40 people in here; so, I picked out just a few of the pictures to show my place. I also had to use my neighbor's stove to do some of the corned-beef cooking.
"Other than that, my next local party is on the 17th, my birthday! I'm having 12 people in (non-Academy) and I will be cooking corned-beef and cabbage. I thought you might like the recipe! I will have to at least double the recipe – perhaps 3 times if I really want something left over. A few years back I invited the whole neighborhood in (38 people came over) and we ate 22 pounds of corned-beef – and there were no leftovers!!!!!!!!!!!"
Still Flying? "I got crosswise with the FAA concerning my medical—they wanted me to get a nuclear stress test to keep my first class medical—I could do that but the radiation (depending on the source) is equal to about 300 to 600 chest x-rays," wrote Jim Thomasson. "I decided I didn't need that exposure and am working on getting a Third Class medical with no radiation. We will see what happens! I am still working part-time for my daughter in her law office as 'General Flunky', receptionist, and Gofer. It gets me out of the house and I meet a lot of interesting people." Later, Jim added: "Both of your assumptions are correct—my daughter is an attorney and her office is here in Charlotte (NC). And yes, she even pays me a little money! . . . . Now I wish I had studied a little harder in that Law Course we had at the Academy!"
(Both photos excerpted from http://www.orsbonandfenninger.com and printed here by permission).
In May of 2011, Brenda Douglass was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Having contracted cervical cancer four years prior to that date, she had just passed her four-year checkup. Doctors initiated radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Brenda had brain surgery in January 2012, and a medium-large tumor was removed from her cerebellum. This was one of several tumors in her brain, and was the one which was too large to destroy with radiation.
On May 13, 2012, we received the following message from CT: "As many of you know, Brenda went to heaven last Monday night, peacefully and quietly in her 'healing room' which we had set up at her request in the Fireplace Room on the main level of our house, and surrounded by her family and friends. Her remains sit on the mantle in that room, and will be interred at the U.S. Air Force Academy sometime next month in a Memorial Ceremony." A Celebration of Brenda's life was held on her 59th birthday, Saturday, May 19th at North Oaks Country Club, MN 55127. Further information is available by clicking: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brendadouglass (You will have to enter your e-mail address and make up a password, but they do not give your e-mail address out to anyone, and it is a great service to inform folks of personal matters).
Frank Wimberly Gorham, Jr. sent these pictures showing a "Second to None" sign and a store called "Second 2 None," both echoing our Class Motto of "Nulli Secundus." Yes, we are, gentlemen, "Nulli Secundus," "Second To None."
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