Reconnecting

In doing this blog I have never really determined just who it is I am writing this for. I suppose its for us, though I know several of you follow our ramblings on occasion. However I am sure that means a lot of these people and places will be meaningless to those of you who are so bored with life that you have time to read our day to day musings. Oh Well, here we go, sorry you don't know these folks but they mean the world to us.
Sheryl and I feel that the greatest joys in our lives are our family and friends and the time we spend with them. The move to Corvallis has precipitated a reconnection with old friends, many of whom we haven't seen for 40+ years. Yeah, 40!
In 1975 we first met Tom and Gloria Thetford while lost in Japan. So were they. We hadn't seen Tom and Gloria since the day Mt. St. Helens blew up in 1980. Tom was a Corvallis kid and they now live in Salem and they honored us with a visit this summer. How fun to catch up with their lives. They introduced us to The Stouts, for which we will always be grateful.
Dean and Sue Roberts moved to Klamath Falls in 1976 when we did. They were great friends, fishing, basketball, house remodels, and loving baby Andy. We have hardly seen them since then, so it was great to reconnect with Dean and Sue and hope to see more of them as well.
My Theta Chi fraternity brothers have started to slowly emerge as if out of the fog of 40 years. Dave Smith, a very good friend came to visit and then we went to Portland and five of us gathered for dinner and had an outstanding night of sharing stories, pictures, lives, and we vowed to make it annual. What a great group. My only regret is that we let 40+ years slip away so fast.
And of course there are so many of the Klamath friends we have seen this summer. The Reeders and Pines at Diamond Lake. Jim Ferguson came by and fished the Willamette with me. Don Lentz, Ed Holcomb and Monty Delhinger went fishing in Canada and we had a great day with the Wards and Sturgeons wine tasting around Eugene.
Our entire summer has just been a whirlwind as we have also had lots of time with the kids and grand kids.
As I write this it as been exactly a year since we moved and Sheryl and I feel very fortunate to have spent so much time here in Corvallis reconnecting with so many of you. Our door is always open.