CLASS NOTES (among other things). Good to know the old boy is in the middle of a hellhole and still able to fixate on the attractive women. As Dave Grimm would say, “I’m just sayin’...” How would you like to hear an update from Mark “Duke” Ellington? Duke separated from the U.S. Army in about 2012, having served most of his time in Africa, which was convenient, because he had spent most of his youth there growing up largely in Africa as the son of missionaries. After his retirement from the Army, BR Ellington accepted a position with the African Development Bank and is posting this fall to Pretoria, South Africa. Duke hopes to connect with BR Laban and also issues an invite to anyone passing through the area. He also hopes to do some big game hunting in Africa. (BRs McCullough, Miller, Fuller and Spivey are loading the trucks for that trip.) It was great to hear from you, Duke, and I hope you may make it back to the Mother I and a reunion sometime. As a point of order, if we can get updates from two BRs living in Africa, can we agree that it is not unreasonable to expect an update from John Rapacki? Or Tim Young? Or Mike Grochowski? Or Karl Kuhrman? Or Billy McTyre? Or Jim Pingree? I think I’ve made the point. Your BRs are on the stoop! They’re straining! They want to hear from you! Late July saw a monumental event, as Donna McCullough managed to pull off the surprise of the year in offering a surprise birthday party for Todd. It was actually hosted at the hacienda of Dave and Janelle Grimm, and Papa Grimm handled the grill duties of wings, barbecue, ribs
and even some yard-bird. I can speak for all in saying it was awesome chow. Papa G. knows his way around a pork butt, I’m telling you. We were unable to make arrangements for BR Jaworowski and his famous home-brew, so Jeff Smiley stepped in with some craft brew called National Bohemian; you may have heard of it. One website describes it thusly: Today, Natty Boh is brewed according to the strict traditions that made it the beer of choice. Using only the finest ingredients – sparkling pure water, fine grains, choice hops and our special strain of selected yeast – every batch of Natty Boh is patiently aged resulting in a medium-bodied beer with a smooth color, a distinct hop aroma and a superior taste. Frankly, that’s not the way I remember it, but it makes for flowery prose. Back to the McCullough party: Donna, with the aiding and abetting of Dave and Janelle, pulled off the surprise and certainly shocked one former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer McCullough, T.W. In attendance and giving overall good account of themselves, especially at the food buffet, were: Bob Cabell, Dave Grimm, Clint Hubbard, Jamie Inman, Rob Mason, Dan Monahan, Ken Cobb ’89 (Todd’s dyke), Kurt Owermohle ’81 and Rich Howell ’77 (Todd’s brother-in-law). If you’re wondering about what gift to give a 50-year-old man, liquor seems to be the gift of choice, and BR McCullough is wellstocked for a while. Of note: (1) When Todd walked into BR Grimm’s backyard, he had the evident look of surprise and the realization that he had been “owned.” BR Smiley made the remark, “Look at the surprise on his face; intelligence officer, my
Class of 1987: New Market Day 2014 at the Joint Staff J7 in Suffolk, Virginia. From left, front row: Randy McMath, ’99, Mike Ernzen ’74, John Cummings ’62, Dan Gaskell ’92, Bill Pennypacker ’74 and Dave Sadowski ’80. Back row: Gerry Tertychny, Dale Durlach ’99, Boyd Gaines ’80, West Whetstone ’00 and Bill Blazer ’84.
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Class of 1987: Brig. Gen. Mark Johnson’s headquarters window at the Defense Supply Center in Richmond, Virginia. ear.” (Actually, Jeff didn’t reference his ear, but rather another body part that is decidedly larger, wider and sagging more than his ear.) (2) When they were lighting the candles for Todd’s cake, it actually set off the smoke alarm in BR Grimm’s kitchen! (3) Bob Cabell did not bring his infamous ‘Yak’ to this party, but he was pounding Shirley Temples at a pace that would keep up with Ben Walker. (4) Rob Mason passed along that his son, Blair, who is a rising 2nd at the U.S. Naval Academy, is ranked second in his class as a computer science and aerospace engineering major. You may recall that BR Mason was ranked second in our class, as well – just at the opposite end of the academic spectrum from his son. (5) We all hugged Kathy Smiley and offered our apologies and condolences – that woman is a saint! (6) Jim Jenkins wasn’t there. But you probably knew that already. Miscellaneous minutiae: According to Facebook, Chuck Steenburgh is eating well and often. Steve Gray and Mike Lakos have both hung up their U.S. Air Force blues and are growing beards. Ruffians! Retiree Tim Spivey is yelling at the neighborhood kids to stay off his lawn. I would say BR Spivey has become a grumpy old man, but that would infer that he was cheerful before. Gordon Poindexter is firmly ensconced in the 19th century and devoid of cell phones, emails and texting. But remember, he’s from Waynesboro, Virginia. It has been confirmed that Bob Cabell’s 50th birthday party (in February) was paid for by a grant from Pfizer (makers of Viagra) in appreciation to one of their most loyal customers. The word on the street is that the Pfizer Foundation has now received grant applications from Gordon McKinley, Chuck Steenburgh, George Sheild, Tim Perez and most of New Barracks. Now, that shot ought to get the New Barracks guys chiming in! You’re not going to sit there and take that, are you? Speaking of HOGs ... well, no one really was, but I’m bringing them up now. Dion Scaglione has retired from the Air Force and is living the good life in south Florida. His newest toy is a big HOG motorcycle that he rode all the way to
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