[VHFcontesting] The Boys of Summer

[Dave Olean]

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 at highnoonfilm.com>
To: <vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu>; "VHF Contesting Reflector" 
<vhfcontesting at 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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