From Bill:

I have been retired since January 1, 2000 - Y2K was my final contract. I love retirement. I was a marginal student and a fair employee but I am really good at retirement. I have really hit my stride in the last 20 years. The only bad thing is the pay.

The major things I have been involved with in the last 20 years are:

Travel – See the map.  A button has been placed on every international locations we have visited.  I have listed the top 11 things we have done:

1. Visited following archeological sites.

• Phillip of Macedon’s Toom.  It was discovered in Greece intact in the late 1970s and was beautifully preserved.


• Ice Man’s Mummy – The Ice Man lived 5,000 years ago in northern Italy.  He was discovered intact in 1991.  The museum beautifully displays his cloths, tools and even provided possible narratives explaining the circumstances of his death.


• Olduvai Gorge – Site of oldest fossils and human remains found.  They were 3.7 million years old.


• Inca Ice Maiden– Visited the museum in Peru to see the mummies found in the Andes mountains.  They were thought to be sacrifices.

2. Attended the SF Giants Fantasy Camp - Even though I was available and got a hit against Vida Blue, the Giants did not offer me a contract.  This was the closest I got to achieving my childhood dream of being a professional baseball player.


3. Rode in a fox hunt in Scotland. We caught and killed the fox.


4. Visited most of the US Presidential Libraries.  I plan to eventually see them all.  The libraries highlight the most important events that occurred during the president’s term.  Seeing these libraries made me feel very proud to be an American.


5. Visited Easter Island (saw Moai) and the Galapagos (studied Darwin’s theory of evolution).


6. Played Polo in Argentina.  I was not much good.  All we did was ride our horses around and hit each other with the mallets.


7. Visited the Valley of the Kings, the Great Pyramids and Karnak in Egypt.  Everything was well preserved. The reds and blues were very bright and everything was huge.


8. Saw the Taj Mahal and charmed the dreaded king cobra in India (you can see me charming the snake at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agAi3stuFjk )


9. Walked on the Great Wall and saw the Terracotta Soldiers in China


10. Attended Space Camp where we participated in a simulated shuttle mission and rode the centrifuge (I pulled 4 Gs without any problem)


11. Attended Sumo tournament in Japan.  Those guys are big, ugly and greasy.  If Bob Barkeen had to face any of these guys, the only thing he would win is the beauty contest.

 

Roy Rogers - He was always my childhood hero.  I now have a horse that is a big palomino and his name is Trigger.  He is now is 22 years old and starting to slow down.  That is good since I am starting to slow down myself.  He is still good enough to take me through the creek, over the meadow, up the hill and home.  It takes a couple of hours and we do it a couple of times per week.

Tennis – I play tennis 3 or 4 times a week with a group of college professors.  They are all in their 50s and 60s.  I’m sorry to say I am by far the poorest player.  They let me play anyway.  There is one area that I hold my own and that is trash talk.  I hand out more zingers than I get back.

Boris Johnson – When I see him on television, I think of Dean Knight.  Dean always pointed out a woman at CU that had a similar hair style.  He said she looked like she combed her hair with an egg beater. 

The good life - I don’t know how I could be happier. I have my health, a sense of humor, my ranch, trigger and a smart, considerate and pretty cowgirl. What else could a guy want?

Sorry but I am going to have to miss this year’s reunion.  I will see you in 2032.