What's Up:
The following sentiment has not changed since the 40th celebration. I
thank God, Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Bruce Lee, the First Prime et al that I
have made it this close to the 45th. I have a terrific family, good
friends and an excellent job, all of which I consider a true blessing.
I enjoy fishing and road trips. Recently, I have gotten into making
necklaces out of silver and shards. I keep trying to build a small
inventory but people buy them almost before I can get them done. This
may be a transition hobby to retirement but I am still thinking 5 to 7
years before that happens.
My Occupation:
After graduating from CSU, I went into the Air Force and made it a
career. That is something I never anticipated doing back in the sixties
when I was helping to bury internal combustion engine and wearing a
ponytail (the hair is all gone, by the way – probably some sort of
cosmic payback, or communist microwave plot - see below). Regarding my
Air Force career, I would not change a thing. I never had a job I did
not like or find extraordinarily challenging. My career included:
Intelligence and Warning officer position at the Strategic Air Command;
a tour in Vietnam and Thailand (tried to avoid that but failed);
Minuteman Missile Launch and Command Post Officer, Great Falls, Montana;
USAF Soviet Awareness Team, Washington, D.C. (traveled worldwide giving
presentations on the Soviet Union to audiences that ranged from airmen
up to the White House); two tours in the Pentagon; and, the best job,
USAF Military Attaché to the American Embassy, Moscow, former Soviet
Union (I drew some kind of demented buzz from the KGB tailing and
harassment game). It is such an amazing turn of events that the Evil
Empire has devolved into a paper tiger - except, of course, for the nucs.
I retired as a colonel from the Air Force in 1991 after 21 years, and
have been employed since at Science Applications International
Corporation, in the Washington D.C. area. I hit 20 years at SAIC in
January, 2011 and continue as a Vice President and Senior Program
Manager. I still travel to Denver every 4 to 6 weeks managing a team of
extremely gifted analysts in the Greenwood Village area. They are all
math, physics and science whizzes which is why I am the manager. I
barely got out of Mrs. Hayes 7th grade Algebra at Wheat Ridge Junior
High. I don't consider myself good at many things but I excel at faking
it. One big lesson I have taken from life is that perception is often
construed as truth. As long as my analysts think I understand grey or
fuzzy math, that is all that counts. They
never know that I immediately slip into a coma when the word fuzzy or
math is first uttered. Perception is everything. That being said, I
love my job because I have great people working for me. Blessed again!
My Family:
My wife,
Sue, formally of Brighton, Colorado continues as the Director of
Information Services for the National Academy of Science, Washington,
D.C. We met at Oktoberfest on Larimer Square, in Denver and are
celebrating our 40th Anniversary in July. I am amazed at 40 years and
thankful for 40 great years. We have two daughters: Alison (30) who
graduated from Tulane Law School in 2004 and is a civil rights lawyer
with the Department of Homeland Security. Amanda (25), as the
perpetual student, is in her last year of nursing school and we hope she
is on a path to a real career. Both of our daughters became engaged in
the past six months so I may be passing a hat around for donations at
the reunion. Parents and Grandparents have all passed away. My sister
Karen and her husband Bob continue to live in Greeley, Colorado. My
brother, Brad, resides in Leadville.
Favorite Memories:
There are many good ones, and a few memorable ones that don’t
necessarily reflect my finest moments.
Good Ones: Farmers Barns; the KIMN contest and stuffing envelopes at
Sanzolone’s house; State champion basketball tournament; exchange trip
to Tallulah, LA (despite the unfortunate one day suspension for cutting
class and going skiing); boys ballet; first date; spirited games of
badminton, basketball and football with Chuck Miller, Mike Vinnola,
Bruce Mitchell and Buddy DeArvil on neighborhood fields. Friendships
that carried over to college like Bruce DeCook.
I want to state this once again, I continue to hold great appreciation
for the teaching staff that shepherded us through those years. They
provided a moral and intellectual compass that has guided and resonated
throughout my life. Whatever small successes I have had, I owe to them
and educators like them. My favorites were Mr. Bolin (even after the
chicken incident) and Mr. Ellis, but I thought all were a cut above.
Memorable:
The standouts are still:
• A night in county lockup with Vinnola, Schmidt and class
valedictorian, Jeff Moore.
• Liz Lancaster, Gary Hooper and me conducting the first genetic
engineering and coding experiments on Mr. Bolin’s chicks by injecting
them with grain alcohol. We all felt bad about this one although I not
sure if it was because of the harm inflicted on the chicks,
disappointing Mr. Bolin, or that we got caught. I apologize if it
wasn’t Gary, it might have been Mike Vinnola. Becky Romine might have
been there as well. Memory fails so I will just throw everyone under
the bus.
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