March 14, 2013
Seems like only at few months ago, wait it was, Susanne and I were driving up the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to Sacramento and now I'm looking at the Atlantic Ocean on Amelia Island.
Last month Charlie Hines phoned Susanne and I informing us his doctors gave him approximately nine months to live with an inoperable brain tumor, same type tumor that took the life of Senator Ted Kennedy. Going backward, Charlie was an air traffic controller trainee on my crew at Offuit AFB, Nebraska in 1981. We became friends and have kept in contact since. Charlie just retired from the FAA as a supervisor in the Boston air traffic control center, with over 30 years service.
As I'm driving across the country I'm wondering what Charlie's condition is. Guess it's human nature to hope for the best and be ready for the worst of situations. Well, it's my pleasure to report Charlie's doctors say he's in the top 10 percent of patients living with this condition. He looks and acts the same as when we were in Nebraska. However, doctors also report his condition can go south without any warning. We had a few beers over dinner last night and laughed about old times. One fine individual.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi table tennis is alive and well thanks to Mr. Albert Weaver. At 72 years old Albert still has an intense love of the sport and will talk to anyone with any little bit interested. It takes a special person to watch air force table tennis players come and go from Keesler AFB while they stay and keep the game alive in Mississippi. Albert should be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall-of-Fame.
Fort Walton Beach TTC opened my eyes to how important it is for a club to welcome new/visiting players. Their web site says advanced players welcome on certain days. They mean it. I lost only one match, to their top player, but it seemed like an all out attack for one of their players to beat me. Four tables with eight players each closely looking at the rubber and racket I used. Each had to rub a ping-pong ball across the common brand of rubber to make sure it wasn't an outlawed rubber. However, they never offered to show the brand of rubber they were using. I had a good work out, however never expect to return to that club.
Relaxing/visiting with Charlie and Cheryl, walking on the white beaches of Amelia Island, and looking out at the Atlantic Ocean day dreaming about Susanne and I vacationing in Denmark May and June.
Wasn't it Mel Brook's movie, "History of the World Part I," when the King of France said, "It's good to be the King!"
See you along the trail,
Andy