Squelch Tale
JULY 2000
Central Missouri Radio Association
K0SI 146.760/146.160
The 2000 CMRA Hamfest / Arrl Mo. Section Convention
Minutes From the June Meeting
Meeting opened at 7:05pm
Minutes read Introductions all around
Dewey
WM0H
Old Business
Field Day coming up. John N0EG is planning on a great time and if you miss it shame, shame Hamfest: Still waiting on vendors to come beating down our door. (We have heard from some.) Meeting was adjourned After the meeting we had a program on weather. Merle foster, KB0KWC, from Centralia presented a film on TORNADOES. It doesn't matter how many films you see on the destructive power of those things there is always something new.
New Business.
New Members:
Don Moore KC0IBW
Gene C Berck W9KGJ
. Other Business.
Info:
WOW WOW WOW - The net on June 21st was great. We had 18 check ins and some of them were DX. We had a couple from Kansas one from Bell, Mo. We had several from here in Missouri that we never hear from so you know the propagation was something else. If you want to have a great time try Net Control sometime. We should all be able to take that job anytime the situations dictates.
Dewey
DUES are due.
$15 Individual
$20 Family
73- WM0H Dewey
Treasures report
Checking:$1401.60
Savings:$69.92
Central Missouri Radio Association
PO Box 283
Columbia Mo 65205
The CMRA is a not-for-profit Mo. Corporation
Check out our web site:
http:// www.qsl.net/cmra
To submit articles, contact the Editor,
AB0IV, Mike Tolivar via email, ccom2@socket.net
CALENDAR FOR JULY
Each Monday evening (except the second) join with the members at the club station on Worley.
Each Wednesday is Club Net at 9:00 p.m. If you're interested or willing to volunteer for Net Control or if you have questions contact WM0H, Dewey.
11th Club Meeting at Boone Electric's conference room.
Second Saturday Club breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Time 8: a.m.
BULLETIN BOARD
Remember Field day Will be here before you know
it. If you have any ideas, or want to volunteer for any
committees contact our new Field Day chairman for this year. N0EG
John. We need to jump right in and make this the best Field Day
Ever.
AB0IV
Mike
NOTE'S
If you have any changes in your Mailing address or E-mail
Send it to me AB0IV (Mike) to:
AB0IV@arrl.net or ccom2@socket.net
VE CORNER
Well the ARRL has caught up on the thousands of upgrades that came with restructuring. The new tickets are still coming in, so hope you get yours soon. I am still waiting for some new VE's. If you are good at taking test it should be a snap to upgrade to EXTRA now. We are still giving the test on the third Monday of the month at the club station. If you plan on taking a test please bring a copy of any CSCE- license- QRZ paper or anything you think you might need to send in with any test.
Dewey
WM0H
Enjoy Ham Radio
TRADING POST
For Sale
Do you have something to sell, trade, or buy let me know if we have room I will put it in newsletter
Mike AB0IV
A THOUSAND MARBLES
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it. I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles."
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."
"It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."
"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."
"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. The one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE SPECIAL! :)
To renew your membership for 2000, Please complete the form below and mail along a check for $15.00, ($20.00 per family) to:
CMRA
P.O. BOX 283
COLUMBIA, Mo. 65205
Note: If 2000 appears on your address label your dues have been paid. Thanks!
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