November 13, 2007

The call sign N9ZKS is a part of the public record and includes information on my address, phone, email and proficiency in amateur radio. It is mine alone as long as I want it. Filling that out a little, here is a brief synopsis of my life. I was born in Lackawanna, New York living near Niagara Falls until I was five. My family moved to Western Pennsylvania where I lived till enlisting in the Army in 1958. I started as an Operating Room Technician and shifted to Nuclear Energy when the opportunity came up. I specialized in the Radiation Protection specialty and returned to Walter Reed Amy Medical Center in DC where I spent 17 of my 20 years in the Army.

I retired in 1979 and moved to the New Orleans area to take a job at the Waterford Nuclear Power Plant nearby. I left New Orleans for central Illinois in 1986 to take a better job at the Clinton Nuclear Station. I took early retirement from Clinton during their rightsizing efforts of the late 1990s. I worked as a contract worker until my retirement in 2005.

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER: This phrase, so popular in New Orleans, represents the fact that I am retired and as the phrase suggests letting the good times role.

Motorcyclist: While I was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone I was involved in an impromptu barracks party. My friend invited me to take a ride down to the Yacht Club on his big 750 cc motorcycle. Lacking inhibition due to the amount of adult beverage I had consumed, I went. Despite the foot peg scraping, I decided I wanted to do it again. I purchased a 185 cc Street-Trail motorcycle and enjoyed riding it on the roads, roads that looked like trails and trails of the jungle. I even supported bicycle races of the local Panamanian Club.

Later in my assignment I purchased that 750 cc Suzuki two stroke water cooled motorcycle known as the "Water Buffalo" on which I had had my first ride and had what my Panamanian friends called a "Motto Grande."

I'm still riding and have ridden in 48 of the 50 states. I hope to get Alaska and the Canadian Provinces soon.

Bicyclist: I returned to bicycling as an adult one summer afternoon in 1971, when my wife and I rented a couple of bikes in a park in D.C. I enjoyed it so much I was soon on a high end racing bike and cycling thousands of miles a year. I acquired a license from the Amateur Bicycle League of America, which became the United States Cycling Federation and competed on a club level gaining a lot of fitness and enjoyment. I also was very active in the local touring club the Potomac Pedalers. My bicycling is at a low point at the present time. I currently referee some road races from my motorcycle.

Ham: While in Panama a phenomenon known as CB took over the country. I had heard of it before I left, but while I was there it blossomed. I even had a friend who would park his CB equipped car by Lemon Bay and stretch a cable from his car to ground it in the salt water of the bay to improve his chances of shooting skip to the United States. When I returned to the States I purchased a radio and antenna and entered the hobby. I even equipped my bicycle and joined the traffic nets on my ride to work. Imagine the surprise when I showed up at a coffee break and they met the Panama Pedaler and realized it was PEDALER, not PEDDLER. Think of that in the context of the 70s.

I joined REACT and was using the CB for communications and public service but lost interest when band deteriorated into the mess we now call the children's band.

A few years ago I found the rules had been changed and I could get a license without learning code, which is not one of my natural abilities. I am now an amateur radio operator, Newsletter Editor and Treasurer of the local club and enjoy public service, ragchewing and some experimentation on antennas. This past spring I upgraded to Extra class.

Scouter: 35 years ago I went to a meeting hoping to enroll my sons in the Cub Scouts. I found that I had to pay a price. I became Cubmaster that night. When I went to Panama I volunteered to help with Scouting and created some surprise in the office where they usually had to cajole people to support the program. I've held the positions of Webelos Leader, Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, Training Committee Member, Training Committee Chairman, Round Table Staff Member, and Unit Commissioner as well as Dance Team Advisor and Chapter Chief Advisor. I've tied my bicycling and amateur radio as well as my job into scouting by teaching the associated merit badges. It has been a rewarding experience, especially when I have had the opportunity to attend the Eagle Courts of Honor for the young men who have been successful members of the program and being some small influence in their accomplishment.

Now I must tie this all together and the search for meaning. I found a tendency to hobbies that take me out of doors and give me the chance to see the country. I love riding on the "Roads Less Traveled". I enjoy camping and observing nature as a part of my scouting. I enjoy the fellowship of people with similar interests. I see a tendency in both my former career in Health Physics, whose ultimate purpose is the protection of the public, and my amateur radio and Scouting activities to attempt to provide some payback to society.

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