CB DAZE

Saturday, July 04, 2009

"REFLECTIONS........"

Here we are celebrating another July 4th, and yes, there is some DX out there. It's a great time to get together with family and friends, whether they be in person or via a nice QSO, and it's times like these that are often good for reflecting on the past, present, and future. It doesn't seem that long ago when I was perched on a rock near the Atlantic ocean ba

ck in New England and my Dad was taking a picture of me. Being the sullen, sulky teenager that I was, it was mandatory that I did not smile (by-laws of Sullen Teens, section iv, article V, paragraph 13), or appear to be enjoying the event. I was a master at this by the time this picture was taken of me. If I had to come up with what might have been in my head at that time, I can only think it was "When can I get back to my radio".

Ugh....what terrible things I put on my feet as well. Yeah, I still cringe at the photo of me and I'm sure we all have photos that we'd like to have buried away in some box, never to see the light of day again. But it's always good to revisit those pictures and see just how far you've come from those goofy/awkward teenage years (or, if you happen to be reading this while in your goofy awkward teenage years, keep that photo in mind the ne

xt time someone yells "SMILE FOR THE CAMERA").

But today we traveled up to Spring Texas to spend the afternoon with my Dad ("Have stints will travel"), enjoyed a nice lunch out, and returned to his house where his outdoor temperature sensor read 106.3 (ed. - this being at around 4:30p.m. AND in the shade). My Dad enjoyed the visit and told us several nostalgic stories from his olden days, and we finally left somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 - still in sweltering heat of 100-102 degrees. Needless to say, it was HOT.

I got a few surprise emails; one from Charlie Zafonte (ed. - who wrote many great articles for my CB Gazette) and he has risen from the flames of his collection lost in the rubble of a burned out house to finally get back on-the-air. It was good to get something from Charlie, who was my over-the-phone broker for used and collectible CB's pre-Ebay. Without his help, I would not have been able to collect some of my early radios. Sure, he made a profit from it, but it wasn't any worse than what Ebay does to us, and, if something wasn't quite right when you got the equipment, all it took was a quick phone call to get things straightened out (a quick PHONE CALL - try that with Ebay). It's always good to hear from Charlie Z.

CHARILE IN FRONT OF THE RUBBLE

The other email I received was from one of Don Stoner's sons who said he enjoyed my "Stoner" pages on my website. It was very nice, and one of the best compliments I could have received. Donald L. Stoner's contributions to Ham radio, CB Radio, and world communications are the kinda stuff legends are made of. While I'm not doing anything that will be remembered for years to come, it's the least I can do to educate others who are taking for granted the very things Don Stoner helped make better for all of us (ed. - I'll be updating my "Stoner Section" so if you have any stories you'd like to tell about Don, let me know - I'd be happy to add them to the site). Seriously - someone needs to write Don's biography and get it published and put up on the ARRL site....