Career Change and New Generation
Years from Elementary to Secondary to Higher Education, and the Metamorphosis from Child to Adult
All of a sudden the 1980’s were upon us, and as you might imagine this was the one year hiatus in the 54 year run of our Christmas letter. As such, I don’t have much detail in my ready memory to recount the year. The hiatus lasted only one year because of the hue and cry received from those who missed those yearly rants recounting previous yearly activity. The one thing that seemed to be apparent was Bruce and Suzie were not working out very well. One positive event highlighted 1981: George earned his Eagle Scout Award. (DVI-1).
From a professional point of view, things were really looking up. I think the corporation was beginning to see the possibilities, and why they not only approved but encouraged my trip to Arcata CA. The final report on the feasibility of satellite acquired imagery in regional forest management decision making capability completed by St. Regis, the Laboratory for the Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS) Purdue University and funded by NASA, settled it. During this period of time (1980-’81), our technical forestry group moved from the Heckscher Drive Mill location to a brand new “High Rise” (5 stories) building named Interstate North. A good description since this single building sat on the northern boundary of Interstate 95. We were on the 4th floor, and I had the fortune to land the southeast corner office. Huge windows facing east and south provided great views and sometimes entertainment.
To the west of the building and parking lot was a large pond that always had wildlife activity going on around it. Looking east from my eastern looking window, there was a long field containing several bushes. I suppose the field was about 3/4 mile in length and 1 ⁄ 4 mile in width from the access road to the Interstate right of way. To the north of us and the access road was mainly undeveloped woodlands. Various hawks lived over there and utilized the pond and field as a major source of food. On several occasions in the morning I would see a Marsh hawk heading east skimming the surface looking for prey. The hawk’s direction at that time of day assured his shadow would be behind it, and by the time the prey realized the danger it was already skinned, sauteed and ready to serve. One day while sitting there looking out, an Osprey (fish hawk) flew by my window with a huge fish wiggling in his claws. Without warning, a Redtailed hawk swooped down on the Osprey forcing it to drop the flapping fish in the parking lot. Too bad I didn’t have a ground floor office, I would have had a nice dinner ready for pick up. But no, the Red Tailed hawk swooped down and scooped up the fish and off he went. Even more fun was watching the police K-9 unit training in the field. That too was pretty routine. Usually early in the morning a car would stop in the parking lot, and a couple of guys would get out and go into the field where they would look for a concealed place to hide. A few minutes later the dogs would arrive in their special truck and handlers would unload them. At that point the dogs would be really excited and all wiggly. The handler would take a dog and let it smell a piece of cloth or glove, and let it loose. Most of the time the dog would make a bee line for a bush or shrub and nab the guy hiding there with no hesitation whatsoever. How they did that without even sniffing around, I could never understand. It was fun to watch.
One day I was talking on the phone to Rig Joston (my NASA project manager) in Clear Lake City Texas, when down the Interstate came a trolley (street) car. I interrupted my conversation with him to exclaim that a dang street car was coming down the Interstate. After a brief silence, he demanded what the heck I was talking about. Well it was a real trolley car but with regular tires on it (of course) It was beautifully painted with advertisements and everything you would expect. Rig just groaned and asked why I seemed to have all the fun.
Well enough of Interstate North for now, except to say that the entire mapping and survey department moved over with us, which was perfect since we were both focused on spatial characteristics on land and in space. This gaggle of equipment, technical expertise and boosted by newly developed geo-positioning satellites (GPS) has formed an entire new discipline loosely labeled “Geographic Information Systems” (GIS). Such systems had the potential of placing our ground collected numeric data to specific land masses (parcels) cast in three dimensions (X-north/south, Y-east/west, and Z-elevation). The possibilities were legion, and today (2021) this technology has taken us beyond our wildest imagination (and my comprehension).
The results from our three year cooperative agreement and NASA funding were in. Results were presented in a two day conference attended by senior management personnel from St.Regis, NASA, and LARS. The results were well received, but the important lesson learned was that the next day’s principal speaker should not host a rousing reception in their hotel room the night before. The next morning I felt so bad that I thought I would have to get better to die. So it was, the serious development of an operational forest resource information system (FRIS) was launched including a newsletter published on a quarterly basis (the notion of a website was not in sight as yet). Of course, the domestic landscape was not benign during this time.
As mentioned earlier, the1980 details are sketchy, I guess the stars were lining up for the years to follow. While the 1980 details are dim, the 1981 events were not and was a trumpet sound for the rest of the decade. In fact, the decade of the eighties ranks right up there with the most interesting and fascinating decade of our married and professional lives. First of all, Mom was back teaching kindergarten, and if you could have seen the glue, paper and streamers around the house you would believe it. Added to that, Diane decided she needed to broaden her experience base, and left Jacksonville Beach for a suburb of Philadelphia (“North Philly ”) where she shared a unique row house (typical and famous for that Pennsylvania region). We drove up to visit her in June. On the way there we spent the night in Virginia Beach, where we made a few side trips to places like Chincoteague and Wallops Island as much for the names of the places as what was there. No question, we were in the “Outer Banks’ ‘, this thought was reinforced on our way home with stops in Kittyhawk, Kill Devil Hill and best of all, Nags Head.
Gram and I got into square dancing again during the summer. The Dixie Chain Gang was the name of the group led by “natural” Frank Clemons. Every time we executed a tricky step he would shout out “Galowry”, and when we didn’t (mostly the case) he would groan “Murcee ”. We had a lot of fun and actually had the kids involved in a junior club for a little while.. The big event for the season was a square dancing rally being held in Myrtle Beach SC. That was a fun town to visit, with a lot of things to do (DVI-1).
After a final night in Myrtle Beach, we arrived home to find out there was one more added to the family, and our name was to be forever expanded. The “one more” showed up on July 9 as a little girl named Alaina Michelle delivered by Karen to Barry and the rest of the world. Our names became obsolete and were immediately replaced from Mom and Dad to “Gram” and “G.P.” Joyce and Bob are seldom used anymore (except for my computer’s password). Even between us, the salutation has become “Hey”, or “Yo”. Needless to say, most of the summer was focused on the new addition, who was baptized in September at Jacksonville’s Arlington Congregational Church. This brought us in a hurry to the fall, which turned out to be active as well.
Fall also brought on hunting season. As usual we went through all the motions with great expectations, and would arrive home empty handed. One evening I left George off at a predesignated site and went to my location. As I was getting out of the car, I heard a rifle shot, and just assumed it was from someone else (anyone else for that matter), and spent the better part of the next hour watching armadillos digging holes all over the place and an occasional red tailed hawk who would land on a fence post near by and wait his opportunity. By then it was close to dusk, so I headed back to pick up the kid, and the kid was standing by the side of the road with a six point buck laying at his feet. In my entire life, I have not killed or even shot at a deer, and yet George has been doing it pretty consistently every fall since.
It looked like George made another “killing” in another sense. John and Erlette Owens were members of our church and they had two daughters. The oldest one Christie was in my senior Sunday school class, and the younger, Karen Ruth was in George’s class and they interacted in plays and skits centered on George Schultz’s comic strip (Peanuts). Well it had since blossomed so she had become almost part of the family to the point I felt I had to introduce her in my Christmas letter for 1981. Trouble was we now had two people with the name of Karen within voice range of each other. Had to come up with unique tags. For Karen Ruth Owens it became KRO, and for the household Karen it became KB (and still is).
On the professional front, things were also moving along briskly after our NASA/LARS project conclusion was positively received by both St. Regis and NASA. Once the Saturn rocket testing was complete and that rocket was considered operational, the Government was desperate to involve the private sector in land based operations to help justify the considerable cost of the Saturn project. A paper company with its thousands of acres of forest and wildlands (1.6 million acres in the southern region alone), would be an ideal partner providing test areas for the new satellite technology being developed. I was invited by the Space Applications Board of the National Research Council to serve on a committee meeting in Snowmass Colorado (near Aspen) in August of 1982. All expenses were paid except those involved getting there (air fare, rental car, etc.) and the Company had no problem with that. They simply loved this prime public relations opportunity. I burst home that night with the news that we, yes the both of us, were fixing to have a great trip. We flew from Jacksonville to Denver and rented a car. We proceeded west on I-70 until we reached the exit for Leadville CO., south of I-70. We were not that impressed with Leadville, which seemed to be exactly what it was, a washed up mining town. It was trying to make a comeback by establishing a variety of ski resorts, slopes and trails in the surrounding hills and mountains. U.S. Highway 24 leads southwestward and upward to one of the highest passes accommodating a US highway in the country. Even in August the pass still contained a fair amount of snow. From here we proceeded north and down the western slopes of the Sawatch range and the Elk Mountains until reaching the river bottom of Roaring Fork River. We had dropped down to about 8,000 feet where in this remote area of the Rocky Mountains lay the town of Aspen, just 11 miles west of the Continental Divide. From there and proceeding some 10 miles or so along the river we arrived at the winter sports village of Snowmass. With a population of some 2,850, Snowmass was about 1/3 the size of Aspen and boasts of the large ski area carrying its name. The Snowmass ski area was the largest of the four surrounding ski areas. All four operated collectively as Aspen/Snowmass. Continuing on highway 24 another 20 or 30 miles or so it intersects with I-70 at Glenwood Springs CO. Here the Roaring Fork runs as a major tributary into the mighty Colorado River as it flows through Glenwood Canyon.
The area described above pretty much described our playground for the next 5 days. Not that the committee didn’t do its work. It was really pretty intense, but not continuous so we had plenty of time to explore. Since our group was focused on primarily renewable resources (forestry, agriculture) I knew some of the members of the committee from other activities. One such person was Chris Johansen from the Purdue agricultural department. He brought his wife also, so Mom had someone to talk to. Most interesting though, was the committee chair. His name was Dick Baldwin. Dick was president and CEO of Cargill, the largest grain company in the United States (if not the World). He had brought his wife also, and she and Mom hit it right off. At the beginning I had known he was a key player in agriculture, but not to the extent he was, and he knew I was a forester and worked for a paper company. We also hit it off right away at the opening reception. He represented corporate top management and I barely represented the bottom rung of corporate middle management. But all that didn’t matter to either of us. One evening early on he approached me and asked if Mom and I would like to join them a few nights from then for a concert at the Aspen outdoor theater. Well, of course we would even though I hadn’t a clue who was performing. Turns out it was none other than Yo-Yo Ma the well regarded American cellist (and child prodigy, who’s first performance was made at 4 and a half years old). What a wonderful summer evening that turned out to be.
Besides the meetings and related social activity, some of the other points of interest included an afternoon riding the extensive chair lift network including the one that went up to the highest point (DIV-1). It was here that Mom was featured sitting at the very top. This little plateau would just accommodate a few people and the chair lift station. Looking down the lift gave a broader perspective of the view (almost breathtaking). What really made it breathless however, was the “Jack Ass’ ‘ riding up (as we were going down) with a giant “boom box” on his shoulder blasting out at full volume. Why they let him even into the general area with such an obnoxious thing is beyond me. We spent one morning in Glenwood Springs and Glenwood Canyon watching the rafters run the rapids. Need to do that someday, it looks like fun. Finally we spent one afternoon just south and west of Aspen looking around the abandoned marble mines in Marble CO. We were surprised to see an active community church still serving its congregation. The only thing we regretted was not being able to visit and test out all the exquisite restaurants in the area. Oh well perhaps in another day (like so many other things).
Friday came and it was time to go home. This time we followed the serpentine I-70 east back to Denver. On the way we stopped for the night in Vail CO, the famous and heavily visited ski resort set up like a theme park. Over commercialization can take the bloom off the most beautiful of places, and I think Vail is a good example. Give me Snowmass any time.
As we arrived home, Mom and I marveled at how active the new decade (the ‘80’s) had already been. What with Alaina in July of year 1 and Snowmass in August of year 2, how could we possibly top those? Well try this: January of year 3 Alyssa arrived to join up with Alaina in the May household. Baptism followed shortly thereafter. Like Alaina before her she was baptized at Jacksonville’s Arlington Congregational Church, where (unlike Alaina), she snagged my glasses with a wild sweep of her arm and almost dumped them into the baptismal font. My mom (Mimi) made it down for the occasion, and we had a houseful of folks for the weekend. Overall we had a great celebration.
Jump 6 months until June and the scene changes to Athens, where Bruce (his divorce from Susie finalized over the summer) has settled in. Forestry as a profession is history and picture framing and photo restoration have become the centerpiece of his career, enhanced in no small way by Pam, both of which had now become his main focus. We along with George ended up in Athens, and celebrated with a grand meal at Charlie Williams famous restaurant after spending a day visiting Anna Ruby Falls in the North Georgia mountains (DVI-2).
To top off year 3, I was the proud and surprised recipient of the St. Regis Order of Merit Award. This included a thousand dollars, and the corporate jet to pick up my mom in Bridgeport and fly her down to Jacksonville for the event and return her to 3030 Park Ave. when it was over. I think the nomination and selling the nominee as a viable candidate was the work of George Park and Cleatus Turner. Both my supervisors over the years, they were also my mentors. Seldom does this award go to field “grunts’ ‘ but rather to some hot shot money maker in the sales department or technical engineering. How lucky can a guy be to have such people stand behind them? My mom was delighted to have a second opportunity to visit the zoo while an almost endless badminton tournament was underway in our backyard (and boundary bushes) (DVI-3).
The year 1984 began benign enough at least through January, then in Feb. Diane announced she and Jeff Houston were going to tie the knot. “Oh”, we said, “in the fall?” Of course not, how about April (in 2 months). Not only that, but it will take place out of town in a small village east of Charlotte NC. It was a delightful location, with an old house and a large backyard surrounded by a well managed hardwood forest. Karen and Barry were there (of course) with 3 year old Alana and 1 year old Alyssa, who provided entertainment for one and all. It was quite an event when both families had an opportunity to interact. Shortly after the wedding, Diane and Jeff headed west to Tribune KS (two time zones west).
Diane and Jeff were just the beginning. Followed in August of ’84 was George and Karen (KRO) Owens, where the service was conducted in our own Arlington Congregational Church. Shortly after, we helped them move to Panama City FL where George had been recently employed by St. Joe Paper Co. What a move that was. Of course both cars were loaded down with “small” stuff. Our first look at the house they rented, we couldn’t believe it. It rested atop a steep hill and looked nice enough until we realized that there was no visible driveway up to the house. Why? There was none. About mid-afternoon I was looking for Joyce and I noticed a great bundle of “soft” goods moving slowly uphill with a lampshade on top and underneath no great surprise was Mom struggling to get to the house, and she made it with no help, thank you very much. Finally they were in their first digs
As a “Mop-up” to this nuptial parade, Bruce and Pam tied the knot (the second time for both) in October. This was a small but comfortable service carried out in Athens GA. Pam was a wonderful person and a good match for Bruce as has been born out over the years (DVI-4).
But the joy of winning awards or tying wedding knots, was quickly replaced with the announcement in November, 1984 that St. Regis was now part of Champion International Paper Co. While the full significance of this move would have to wait until the final deal was worked out, there was no doubt our timberlands operations would be impacted in a major way especially in my case because space technology was not much prevalent in the forestry profession (at least not at this time). So the table was set for our final speaking tour. I was on the program being held in Scottsdale AZ, with another one scheduled for Flagstaff later in the week. This would take us from the desert southwest northward to the top of the Coconino plateau and the Grand Canyon. “Mom”, I said “we are about to embark on a fantastic trip, as perhaps a finale` for our St. Regis career. Her response: “What are we waiting for?”
To get to Scottsdale, we had to fly to the Phoenix airport, where we rented a car for the week. The flight was uneventful, but the moment we landed, wow the heat. With extremely low humidity, the hot air felt like a heavy blanket was draped over you. On the way to Scottsdale and our lodgings for a couple of days, we had to drive through Phoenix. The time was about 2:00 PM and we were amazed by the lack of people visible anywhere. It turns out that it was part of a long mid-day siesta simply because it was too hot to do anything else. Come back, we were told, at 5 o’clock and the place will be hopping (that was true). When we got to Scottsdale, we checked into our hotel and immediately headed for the pool, which was happily actually cool. The humidity of the area was such that when we got into our room, not only were we dry but our swimsuits were as well. I mean, absolutely dry, and needed no hanging up to get it done. Amazing region, this southwestern desert part of our nation. We had enough free time to visit the local botanical gardens that were completely immersed in nature. Hard to believe the number of cactus species there were. In fact a significant portion of the botanical garden was reserved for leaf succulent plants. While we would have enjoyed more time to explore this new (to us) environment, we had another conference to attend in Flagstaff and we had to leave (DIV- 5).
As we left the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, we headed north toward Sedona and Flagstaff. Here we found a virtual staircase of plant succession as we progressed onto the Coconino Plateau. From the cactus and desert, we moved from the xeric to a mesophytic environment. First came the Grassland/shrub-like plants to predominantly Pinyon Pine, and finally to Ponderosa Pine and other large conifers found in the “not too wet, not too dry” part of the state. It was a fascinating trip, highlighted by the “red rock” city of Sedona. Finally reaching Flagstaff we were at the top of the Coconeno plateau and the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Essentially we were looking down at the bottom of the Coconino plateau where the Colorado river ran (way. way down there).
After spending most of a day at the canyon, we took a big circle east through part of the Hopi and Navajo Indian reservations and the First and Second Mesa area of Arizona. The trip was rather long, interesting and depressing at the same time. It also made for a long day covering several miles bringing us down to the main highway near Winslow AZ. We didn’t arrive back in Flagstaff until after 10:PM. Conference started the next day, and it was good to see old friend and classmate Ernie Kermes, who was a professor at Arizona State University. Also there was Walt McFadden, owner of Airborne Data Inc. which was an aerial data service company that did all our aerial photography work. Over the years we became pretty close friends. He was there with his wife, so Mom had someone to pal around with while we were in session. On the program were two representatives of a new source of space data. The French had just successfully launched a spacecraft equipped much like the American satellites Landsat I and II, but with higher spatial resolutions which provided more precise ground definition.The satellite was named SPOT (System Por Observation of Terrain). They had formed a US company SPOT Image Corporation and were actively recruiting the staff to run this new company. Considering the future with Champion was at best “ify”, I showed some enthusiasm for the change and would let them know when I got home and could assess my situation. They accepted my response. (DVI-6)
Well, Mom and I had plenty to talk about on the way home. But by mid-week of my return, there was no more skepticism. The Champion top forestry people had arrived, and I was informed with little hesitation that this “pie-in-the sky” satellite foolishness would not be on their priority list, and I had better think hard on what else I might bring to the table that would contribute positively to their objectives. They were not very nice about it, in fact I thought they were a bit snotty in their pitch. I talked it over with Cleatus Turner, my boss, and he agreed it looked grim. He was already in the works of starting his own company “Landmark Technologies”. He pointed out that I was eligible for early retirement, with not quite the compensation as if I waited until 62, but I might well not be around that long, and if I was, I would be pushing a pencil in some obscure corner somewhere. That did it. I called my SPOT contact, David Julian, and said I was willing to talk. A date was set and I went to Reston VA where they had set up shop. It was an interesting trip. Except for the new recruits, all other employees were clearly “inside the beltway” people and lived and breathed Washington D.C. Nowadays they would be considered as part of the “swamp”. My immediate supervisor was David Julian who used to be on the staff for Patrick Leahy (still in the Senate in 2021 representing Vermont since 1974!). However my main objective was to see how the satellite data suppliers operated and what issues they faced on a day to day basis. Then as a user I would know what to expect from them. The job they offered me was primarily a test and verify one with regards to satellite viability in land and estuarine environments, i.e. Chesapeake Bay. To that end many academics had joined a preliminary evaluations program for SPOT (PEPS). Some of the universities involved included the universities of Georgia, Florida, and Maryland, Texas Tech., Arizona State, and San Diego State, to name a few. It sounded exciting, so I accepted the job, but I had to be on site by early 1986. Wow.
At this point, 1985 was mostly behind us, and we had a house to sell, and all kinds of details to be ironed out before we could leave Jax. In addition to that, we had our lake property to deal with. It just turned out that our neighbors down at the lake were anxious to purchase our property, and the timing was just right and we agreed to a price and the deal was done. We just had to find some time to clear out all the stuff of value and vacate the property. There were no more orange or grapefruit trees, cold spells the past two years took care of that.(DVI-7)
Early in Feb. 1986, Diane came forth with her first offspring, a boy named Jake. This prompted a short but frigid trip to Tribune for us. It was quite a trip to a snow covered destination. It was our first trip to the area, so there was a lot to see besides the snow. Not only wheat and grains, but several stock yards were scattered over the countryside. The animals looked pathetic standing around covered with snow. As to the farmers, they spent most of their time in one of two ways: 1. Many worked on their equipment in heated barn facilities, Jeff’s dad Lawrence, had a fully equipped facility where he maintained his equipment in mint condition. The successful operations did just that, however there were plenty of places with no barn of any type with equipment just sitting out in the open. Hard to see a long life span on that equipment. 2. Many “worked” the winter in the local hardware or equipment shops around town. We visited several to acquire certain parts of equipment and without exception, there were gaggles of guys around pot bellied stoves or appropriate alternate locations with cups of coffee exchanging all kinds of “war” stories. At least the day has passed. We had so many things in the fire we couldn’t stay long, but within this short visit, we learned a lot.
Once the decision was made, severance schedules were set and of course a retirement banquet was initiated. Although only a one evening affair, it was a celebration atmosphere with many reminisces of the past 28 years. I was surprised at the number of folks that turned up. In addition to the banquet, several in-office shenanigans were carried out, the most memorable were the scantily clad ladies delivering a cake, while cameras clicked all around (never did save a picture). (DVI-8)
As for our principal residence, fortunately, the wife of a colleague and good friend, Bob Sage, was a real estate agent, so we put it into her hands to sell the old 133 Mandalay Rd. The only regret I had was that we just invested in all those new replacement windows. It almost seems that making a large investment in anything is a bad omen of things to come. Moving the house would take a while and someone would have to be here for the sale. That was the role of poor Mom, since I had to be at SPOT by the end of January, when the first PEPS meeting was to be held in Reston VA. It was pretty tough on her rattling around the old house by herself, but she hung in there until after Valentine’s Day. At that point I had rented an apartment and shared it with Rob Lees, a new SPOT employee from Australia. As Valentine’s day approached, we arranged for Mom to visit for a few days and have her look around and get a feel for the area (DVI-8). We had a great couple of days together over Valentines Day, and it was sure tough to put her back on a plane to Jacksonville. We did need a few more weeks though. Our house had not sold yet, but Marvaline Sage, our real estate agent, had some promising leads she was working on. In addition I had to get on the ball and find a house in this area we could afford (and love). Well, my boss David Julian’s wife also was into real estate, and we spent a few days driving around. I finally settled on a new subdivision called Bradley Farms. It was located in the town of Herndon, just south of Reston. It was also just a few miles or so north of I-66, a major E/W highway from downtown DC to Front Royal, Strasburg, and I-81, the major regional N/S Interstate highway. Just south of I-66 was located one of the many large shopping malls in the area (forgot the name in spite of the near fortune we left behind there). Our address for the next five years was: 13110 New Parkland Drive. The fact that I was the sole scout and decision-maker on our new house was a daunting thought and I just hoped Mom liked it and the area prospects as much as I did.
By early June we had finally finished selling our Jacksonville home, supervised the loading of stuff into either the moving van or our car with a lot of smaller and more valuable items. The movers were going to take a couple of days in transit, so we took our time as well. One thing we didn’t have, and who we dearly missed, was Mandy. We had to finally put her down at age 17, and with several terminal issues with which she was dealing and we (the Vet and us) didn’t think she could successfully make the move. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I showed up at the vet’s where the waiting room was almost full of dog patients and their owners. I went up to the receptionist and quietly explained why were there. To my horror, she swiveled in her seat and bellowed out “the euthanasia case is here!!” A guy came out to pick up poor Mandy, and wanted to know if I would like to come to the back also. I declined, and left the building after passing through the waiting room, where I felt every eye boring right through me. Now with the dog gone, and the last of the siblings married and out of the house, the move to Virginia seemed to be the logical thing to do, especially in light of the corporate merging in process at the time.
So with the moving van loaded, Mom and I in our Pontiac wagon proceeded likewise (old company car I left at our new address in Virginia). Our ride went through Georgia, western North Carolina, Tennessee and finally southwestern Virginia, where we joined I-81 north through the Shenandoah valley until we reached the town of Staunton, where we turned northwest off I-81 and drove to the small town of Churchville. The Buckhorn Inn was our destination, and we couldn’t have picked a better place. We were located right at the base of the mountains. We got there on Saturday and left on our last leg on Monday morning. Boy, their Sunday brunch was something to die for (and the menu would assist if you let it). (DVI-9)
Monday morning we were off on our last leg of the trip. On up the Shenandoah Valley to Strasburg, where we stopped at the Inn and had lunch, which was tasty. Maybe it was just the move, but our eating episodes throughout the trip seemed superb. From here we traveled east on I-66 until we reached Chantilly, then north a short distance to Bradley Farms and 13110 New Parkland Dr. which was just south of the Herndon town center, and roughly 2 miles from Dulles International Airport (DVI-9). The next day,the movers arrived and unloaded. The time was near the middle of June, 1986, and we had but a month and a few days before August and its rather full calendar would be upon us. The upper portion of the house was in good shape, and with the help of the moving people, we were able to place most of our big heavy furniture where it needed to go, and that really made the place feel like home. The basement was another story. It was a full basement divided roughly into equal quarters with an area at the center of the space where the stairs, central heating and air conditioning, and space (and fixtures) for an additional bathroom were located.
We got the call on June 13. That’s when Karen called to inform us she had lost her baby (a girl, Melane Brooke) at child birth. Sadness enveloped us all, but of course Karen was devastated. We drove back down to Atlanta to be with her for a few days. We returned with Alaina and Alyssa to give KB a little time to come to grips with the situation (not that she will ever forget). In about a week KB had recovered enough to retrieve the girls. Events currently unfolding forced us to focus on what comes next.
As we feared, August was upon us before we knew it. It was going to be a traveling month, but one we were anxiously anticipating since we both would be going together. The first trip was sort of a reprise of our past experience at Snowmass. Although I had resigned from St. Regis and accepted a position with (ugh) a French company, I was still active in some of the national committees. Once again it was the Space Board of the National Research Council. The difference this time is that the trip was in late summer, where Snowmass seemed far away from any snow. In Fact the meadows were loaded with a plethora of wild flowers and shrubs and downtown Snowmass was a buzz with open-market selling of goods in the town square. One of the highlights was lunch at the Krabloonik restaurant. This eatery was located up top an open field above the Snowmass town center. Now there was a country road that went up the hill past the restaurant, and there was a huge dog (husky) compound across the street from the restaurant. Most of these dogs were high strung and ready to go. It didn’t take much to stir up a squabble amongst the dogs that was well heard inside the restaurant. I guess you could call it Alaskan entertainment. But the food was good and the experience priceless.
While we were there we heard and read about the balloon race to take place on the day before we had to leave. We were there early to watch. The center of Snowmass was in a valley with a couple of fair sized ponds, and our viewing location was on the side of a hill looking down on the action. Couldn’t have picked a better spot. Right beside one of the lakes was the staging area where contestants unloaded their gear, and inflated their balloons. I don’t remember where the destination was, except it was several miles. The first step the balloonist had was to inflate, lift off and drop down and pick an object off the surface of the lake. That was entertaining to watch. If they failed the pick up, they were basically out of the race. Most did ok, however some missed the pickup but continued anyway, a few others not only did not pick up the object, but ended up in the drink as well. Of course they were done for the day. It was really a fun thing to watch, spectacular to see them off on their way (DVI-10). This was to be our last event at our last visit to Snowmass, a place indelibly etched into our hearts.
You would think our Snowmass trip would pretty well take care of the month of August, but no, we had commitments in Anchorage, Fairbanks and beyond in Alaska to fulfill first. Anchorage was our first stop for a paper given before the North Slope Commission. The North Slope was far northern Alaska above the Brooks Range and bordering on the Arctic Ocean. The population of the area is mostly Indian. After my presentation, an Indian contingent approached me and asked if I could give that talk and maybe some advice to their council in Point Barrow (you can’t get farther north without hitching a ride on an ice flow with one or two polar bears as hosts). That would have been a fascinating trip, but the PR benefits for St. Regis didn’t stretch quite that far. We did have a good session and a pleasant evening.
The next day in our rental car, we were off to Fairbanks and the University of Alaska and their fabulous experimental garden which after the trip took most of the day. Because of the long days during the growing season, the size of the vegetable plants were huge.