Trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and that all those gifts you ordered from Amazon via our Class Web site were the highlights of your package rippin’ & tearin’!  Ever heard of Tristan da Cunha?  That’s where I spent Christmas Eve.  A “News at 11” tease...the Court will come to order!

How come we haven’t heard from JAY TAYLOR on another global jaunt? Good question...JAY ‘splains: “I purchased a house last December and have been remodeling it myself ever since. I have temporarily become a slave to my house and can't wait to finish the work and return to bolting all over the globe. My aircraft (B-737-200) pilot base was moved from Orlando to Atlanta. I'm still living in Pensacola where my aviation career began. Life is good!”

KELLY CALLISON passed along a great press release detailing his appointment as Vice President/Deputy General Manager of NCI's Homeland Security and Civilian Services Group for NCI Information Systems, Inc. (NCI).  “Mr. Callison will oversee the operation of NCI's civilian agency programs in DOJ, DOS, HHS, EPA, VA, GAO, GSA and the US Senate.  His responsibilities also include development and implementation of new business initiatives within those agencies.  He will report directly to John Lauder, NCI's Senior Vice President/General Manager of Homeland Security and Civilian Services Group.  "Mr. Callison's experience in business development and program management, as well as his expertise in decision support systems, will bring NCI to the forefront of the growing homeland security market," said Lauder, . "We are very pleased to add him to our management team."  Prior to joining NCI, Mr. Callison worked at the CNA Corporation (CNAC), where he served as Director, Decision Support Systems.  Callison's previous experience includes positions with Battelle and the U.S. Coast Guard. While At Battelle, Callison was responsible for Federal Information Technology Operations and brought in over $400 million in IT contracts.  In his last assignment in the Coast Guard, Callison served as head of the USCG Academy's computer science department, as well as the director of its computer center. Early in his career, he led the team that developed the Coast Guard's first major distributed computing system.  Mr. Callison holds a bachelor's degree from the United States Coast Guard Academy in math/computer science. He also received a master's degree in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School.” CONGRATULATIONS KELLY...should resumes be sent directly to you?

KELLY wasn’t finished...he sent in a report of dinner with PUBA.  “BOB GONOR and I met over dinner Thursday night, November 20th at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, VA overlooking the Potomac River and Downtown Washington DC from the 19th floor.  It was a great meal and we really did talk about business.  BOB was in town for two days of meetings.  As with most of the class he looks great and remarkably young.  Its amazing how low stress and clean living can do that to a person. We of course both lamented missing the DENNIS CLEAVELAND arranged blowout in Boston the week before.”

Blowout in Boston?  Could he possibly be reporting a Vespers service? A somewhat reliable source desiring to remain anonymous for obvious reasons reports:  “Boys Night Out was held in Boston on Friday 14 Nov. The event was centered on the presence of PANCHO due to important financial business.  Seems the price of corn in Nebraska was in flux. Speaking of corn, plenty of that was supplied in the body and of course stories from MOONERS.  As usual, the events of old took on new life as they were recounted about as many times as the hanGing chads in Florida.  Also in attendance were SIERRA, BEADS, SLY, PECKER, PETER CARROT and VANN the Sailor.  All gathered at the Black Rose at 1700 for libations and lies. Once the machine was adequately oiled, it lumbered to Fiore's on Hanover Street for a great dinner and more lies.  Near the end of dinner SLY's youngest and her roommate joined us.  You should have seen the faces brighten and the guts get sucked in by the mere presence of two good looking young ladies.  The group, now 10 in number, retired to the Cigar Bar after dinner.  Rounds of apres dinner drinks and a few stoggies (for those who needed the oral fixation) lasted to just after midnight.  All retired to accommodation in or near town; i.e. no driving after drinking. This was due to either an increase of wisdom or the fact that we are just old.  Plans were made to gather again in early summer in the Newport RI area once again centered around the banker from Nebraska's travel schedule. Bottom line, a great time had by all!”  Rumor has it that there may be photographic evidence...the Court awaits submission!

You knew JAY couldn’t keep milking that new house story:  “Greetings to all from Santiago, Chile.  I decided to take a break from heavy duty remodeling of a house I purchased in PNS (aviator for Pensacola) to play Joe Tourist around the Santiago area for a while.  This place sure is peaceful after a recent political past from one extreme to the other. The communist government of President Allende was terminated by a military takeover in 1973.  Notorious torture camps prevailed and the military rule continued for 17 years under President Pinochet.  Finally, elections were held and an ambiance of tranquility exists today.  I'm not generally a fan of big cities but Santiago is not bad with nicely maintained parks and some older Spanish style colonial buildings intact.  Very little poverty is evident in the city compared to other large South American cities.  Mountains provide a scenic backdrop but also can help trap air pollution similar to LA.  Fortunately, the winds have been brisk and visibility has been excellent during this visit.  The General Cemetery is a museum in itself with most of Chile's presidents buried there.  Ornate Christian tombs exist next to Muslim burial crypts.  A memorial lists the names of the  "desaparecidos" from the military dictatorship years.  Quite a mix of folks from all over Europe settled in Chile.  The hero of the independence movement was General Bernardo O'Higgins.  Quite a few places are named in his honor.  A traveling man cannot just hang around big cities so I took a 2 hour bus ride to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on the Pacific coast.  Actually, Valparaiso (Valpo, for short) is the second largest city in Chile but has the flavor of an old small coastal town.  Valpo has many inclines constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's to ascend the cliffs.  Old houses and other edifices along the cliffs are interesting and colorful. Vina del Mar is only a 5 minute bus ride from Valparaiso.  The main attraction in Vina is the beach.  Rats!  It's time to return to the USA to continue work on the money pit.  Hasta mas tarde.”

Great photo of Grampy with his reasons to be thankful on THANKSGIVING.  “Yes, I'm thankful that I (still) have hair even though it's graying.... okay, gray... okay, white.  Oh, and there's grandkids, too!  That's Leah on the left, Jake (I'm not in the mood for a picture) in the middle, and Ally with glasses on the right.  Since daughter Dee and the three munchkins have been living with us since last winter, all three grand-kids contribute equally to the graying hair thing.”

Tristan da Cunha?  It’s the remotest island in the world, 1250 miles from St Helena and 1750 miles from the nearest mainland, the Cape ofGood Hope in South Africa and has a population of just over 300 proud and hospitable people with only seven surnames among them. Sounds like a great Christmas Eve liberty port doesn’t it?  I’ve contracted with Princess Cruises this season to be Ice Pilot on their inaugural Antarctic cruise, a 24 day jaunt departing from Cape Town and ending in Valparaiso.  While MARY JANE might have been able to get away for the entire cruise, arranging care for Kurt for that period of time, particularly over the holidays, would have been very difficult.  So I negotiated a Seattle to South Africa round trip ticket.  MARY JANE and I left Seattle December 6th and arrived in Johannesburg December 8th to begin a 2 week African adventure.  Break out that atlas so you can follow our itinerary...Sandston, safari-ing in Kruger National Park (Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!),  Elandslaagte, Isandlhwana, and Rorke’s Drift (time to buy or rent ZULU!), Durban, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, and Stellenbosch, and Cape Town.  The ROYAL PRINCESS arrived on the 19th, and we’ll enjoy her accommodations for our final night in Cape Town.  Grab the Atlas, slide ZULU into the DVD, nuke a bag of Orville, and standby for a complete report with photos in the April edition...we’re adjourned.