| HELLO ’68!! Is it spring, yet?? As a Mid-Atlantic
East-Coaster, I am clearly not accustomed to the extraordinarily long
winter embrace we experienced this year and am looking forward to some
warmer temperatures so we non-Eskimos can all thaw out. CLASS NEWS ONLINE: Hopefully, you received notice from the AOG that our class news would not be printed in the June edition of Checkpoints, but would be posted online. The decision was made so the magazine could serve as a tribute to the 60th Anniversary of the Academy and would be published in a hard-cover, coffee-table style larger size book as a keepsake. If you failed to receive or read the notice from the AOG, then this spring 2014 column may also be found on our class website. 
“68ers
Link-up at MOAA Meeting in D.C. L-R: Tony & Brenda Robertson and Mark
Torreano.” MOAA RENDEZVOUS: The photo above of Tony and Brenda Robertson and Mark Torreano was taken on April 8th during MOAA's annual "Storm the Hill" event in Washington, D.C.. Tony is on the Board and Mark is President of the Hawaii State Chapter. In addition to his official business sessions, Mark made a quick visit to Northern Virginia to spend a weekend with his son Mark and his granddaughter in Loudon County and then left right after the Thursday session to drive to NYC to visit his oldest granddaughter who is in college just north of the city. To complete the "Torreano Grandchildren Tour," he then flew to Las Vegas to spend spring break with his three grandsons. And, for those wondering what happened to the Robertson's after Tony retired from Boeing, they are securely ensconced in two states. Cold weather months are spent at their home in Fort Myers, Florida and warm weather months (roughly from Memorial Day through Thanksgiving) are spent at their abode in Centerville, Ohio (near Dayton). Tony assured me that the welcome mat is open to classmates regardless of which house he is living in at the moment. '68ER AIR FORCE CIVILIAN HANGS UP BLUE BLANKET: J.B. Schroeder wrote to let the Class know he is "finally letting go of the 'blue blanket'." In J.B.'s own words, "On the 31st of March, I will retire. I have been employed at the Air Force Research Lab (at Wright-Patterson AFB) since 1987. Adding my civilian time to my active duty and Academy time gets about 38 years in government service. I may be one of the last of our class to leave the Air Force. . . I am sorry I missed the 45th reunion, but I am planning to make the 50th. Please pass along my regards from OH - IO."  "Jim and Marcia Reese Soaking in Sun and Warm Weather in Mendoza, Argentina." DELTA EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: Did you ever ask yourself, "Wouldn't it be great to just get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and spend a few days somewhere else?" Apparently, at least one of our classmates decided to do something about it by taking advantage of his status as a Delta Global Services employee. In his New Year 2014 correspondence, Jim Reese wrote: "We were sorry to have missed the reunion, the only one since the 20th. It fell right after a business trip to Berlin and right before a long-planned vacation to Argentina. I just couldn't make it work. But we are already making plans for the 50th in '18. Hopefully we will both still be able to 'go long!'" (Scribe Note: Going long was the football play that Jim and I used to call while we were roommates and were playing pick-up games at the Academy on the weekends. We discovered at various reunions over the years that "going long" seemed to be resulting in much shorter distances than back-in-the-day when we were cadets.) Jim continued, "We're doing fine. I'm still working at Delta Global Services in the pilot training arena. This is what took me to Berlin (and Bangkok before that). Marcia is still involved in lots of activities, mostly revolving around grand kids. We really enjoyed our trip to Argentina. The photo attached shows Marcia and me standing near vineyards in the town of Mendoza (the Argentine wine region). That's the Andes in the background blending in with my own white top."Jim ended his note by extending best wishes for the New Year. AUTHOR! AUTHOR! During the comings and goings of our 45th reunion, I was made aware of books written by our classmates Dennis Busch and Skip Pardee. Dennis' book is titled Psywarrior and is a humorous true story about events that took place during the Vietnam War. It is a firsthand account of a young pilot's year-long tour in the latter years of the war and provides details of just how much trouble an insolent airman can get into when provided with the use of an airplane six days a week, a random grunt for a crew, a mission of dubious importance, minimal risk, and half of South Vietnam for his playground. It will never go down in the annals of great American heroism; there is NO blood, NO guts, NO glory, certainly NO heraldry. Warriors in Valhalla will not stand up and cheer for this adventure, but they will get a good laugh and so will you. Skip's book is titled Skip Pardee's 10 Principles for a Healthier and Happier Life. It was written from notes he took over a number of months that described what it took for him to be happy while being outwardly successful but battling depression and wondering where life was taking him. It is a book of inspired thought and finding life's true center.  "Mish Family Legacy Continues. L-R: Shaleigh, Kylie, Jerry, Jayne, and Steve." THREE GENERATIONS WITH SILVER OAK LEAVES: Prior to our 45th Reunion, I received the photo of Steve and Jayne Mish's son Jerry's pin-on ceremony to lieutenant colonel. He represents the third Mish to attain that rank following in the footsteps of Steve's father and himself. Jerry is serving as the Director of Operations for his C-130J training squadron at Little Rock AFB. As for Steve, he said he is still upright, breathing, and has managed to keep his golf handicap in single digits. When not traveling to see the grandkids (daughter's family lives in Las Vegas), he has become a golf rules official. EAST COAST REUNION: The next East Coast Reunion will be held at Ed and Karen Eberhart's home on June 21st. Start time is 6:30PM. REESE AFB 70-01 PILOT TRAINING REUNION: The 45-Year Reese AFB Class of 70-01 Pilot Training Reunion will be held in Albuquerque from 18-21 September. Questions? Contact Reunion Chairman, Jim Lozito at vlozito3@comcast.net. THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS: Please keep Mike Nash in your thoughts and prayers in the loss of his wife Sue on April 14th. THAT'S A WRAP: Mind the flak; keep 'em flying, and keep those cards, letters, e-mails, and photos coming in to Pat Russell and me. Ciao for now. Tim |
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