Count yourself lucky, Les!
We had 4 ft of snow on the ground everywhere before the latest storm,
and it has been snowing for the last several days. I had to shovel out a new
5 ft snow drift this morning just to get into my old shop just behind the
house. It had been shovelled out the day before. The drift happened
overnight. Outdoor temperature at mid day is about 6-8 degrees. I can't even
try to get to my ham shack The snow is very powdery so snow shoes sink way
down when I try to walk. I managed to make a trail up to the shack a few
days ago, but it is now all gone..covered up by new snow. This looks like
the first year when I will run out of firewood. I heat the house with wood,
and I had the shed chock full of wood on December 1st. And I thought last
year was bad.
VHF radio is far down on the list. Still it was great to read your note.
That "Spring" feeling shows up here in early May typically!!
Dave K1WHS
FN43mj48rr
----- Original Message -----
From: "Les Rayburn" <les@highnoonfilm.com>
To: <vhf@w6yx.stanford.edu>; "VHF Contesting Reflector"
<vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 4:19 PM
Subject: [VHFcontesting] The Boys of Summer
It occurred to me this morning that being a VHF operator is a lot like
being a baseball fan. It was warm and sunny here yesterday, and this
morning the air has that first touch of Spring in it. Sure, there are
still cold days ahead--but you just have that feeling that we've turned
the corner on Winter. The days are getting a bit longer, and the sun
doesn't set quite so early anymore.
And like baseball fans, we start to look forward to those first rumblings
out of the Spring league.
For me, that means the confident voice of August, K5HCT. Nothing heralds
the arrival of the season like those first faint signals and the familiar
refrain..."Here Comes Texas!". This is nearly always the first call I hear
in the season, and the last remaining on the band at it's end.
In my boyhood days, I loved listening to baseball on the radio at night.
Those far away places, and the crack of the bat---mixed with the static
and pops of Summer storms. It was like a magic carpet that could transport
me thousands of miles away...The rest of the year, I still enjoyed tuning
the dial during the overnight hours--maybe listening to the Herb Jepko
Nightcap show from Salt Lake, or Larry King---but radio wasn't the same
without baseball. And those months between the World Series and Opening
Day were the longest of the year.
All these years later, things haven't changed much. I still love listening
to baseball on the radio---but now while waiting for opening day, I find
myself turning another dial...listening hard in the static to see if I can
hear that fain signal on the calling frequency. A deep, rich, confident
voice calling "This K5HCT, Here Comes Texas!".
Somebody press play on that MP3 player or I-Phone---cue up Don Henley's
"Boys of Summer"...I'll hum along and wait for Spring.
--
--
73,
Les Rayburn, N1LF
121 Mayfair Park
Maylene, AL 35114
EM63nf
6M VUCC #1712
AMSAT #38965
Grid Bandits #222
Southeastern VHF Society
Central States VHF Society Life Member
Six Club #2484
Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light
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