I'm really not sure how I got the gift of words, but suffice to say that my Father had something to do with it, as he was a voracious reader. On scout hikes, he would pierce the night campouts with his ghost stories, and tales of the legendary "Bad Guy" of Kansas - Rufus King... frightening the snot out of us all... terrified to giggle in our sleeping bags, for fear that Rufus (or my Dad) would come looking to wrap us around a stick, and cook us over the campfire, like so much dough-twist-on-a-stick. Such men are worthy of being followed, and of their advice being heeded.

He NEVER discouraged me from playing with radio - well, there were warnings of my impending demise, should my homework not get done, but all-in-all... even when Mom screamed bloody-murder about "those wires are everywhere!", he would always run interference for me - admonishing me to "hide 'em better... you know your Mother!". Matter-of-fact, it was his Father's radio; a 1939 Stromberg-Carlson 410T, that first played "short wave" to me, in my Grandpa's living-room. Know what? I still have it, and OF COURSE it still works! (matter-of-fact, it's still in calibration... never touched!) It was through its electrodynamic speaker that I first heard WWV, and HCJB (The Voice of the Andes), Radio Moscow, and The Voice of America... then there were those HAMS. My mouth watered at the prospect of being one, someday.

Ham Radio came to me, via the crystal set. Any lack of mention of Mr. Taylor, my 7th grade wood-shop teacher at Old Mission JHS, would be a travesty, as it was he who sold me a 1N34 diode (50 cents, as I recall) back in 1954, replacing my galena chunk with the carefully crafted safety pin "cat's whisker" accessory. Such a technical revolution it was - no more scraping in the dark; trying to find the 'sweet spot' on that magic chunk of lead, when I should be sleeping - but preferring instead, to listen to "Inner Sanctum".... or "The Creaking Door" on my crystal set.

March 13, 2008