Right after summer baseball I moved to Denver and waited for the draft. From June '66 to June '69 I was in the Army. Half of that was spent in Seoul, Korea as a personnel specialist (typist with nice legs) and playing baseball and softball for the 8th Army. It was cake until the North Koreans took the Pueblo. Sat in a c-o-l-d bunker looking North for a couple weeks, but that was the only thing close to war I got. The rest of the time was R&R at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma playing ball for the 4th Army. Some of my teammates and I moved to Houston, Texas for a year playing ball in the amateur city league.

A couple of my Army buddies and I moved to Hawaii in '70 to '75, with a 6 month stop in LaJolla, California. We went back to Paradise until I drank my way out of one of the best jobs I ever had, Assistant Manager of the Sheraton Waikiki. Hawaii is unquestionably the most beautiful place I have seen on Earth. If you have not been there, go. It is the single most concentrated experiences of the senses you will ever visit. The laid back lifestyle, the incredible mixture of beautiful people from around the world, and the weather alone is heavenly. Around every corner is another alluring song and aromatic feast.. If at all possible, Hawaii is where I would spend my last days.

In '75 it was time to get back to my education. I had a wonderful time at Kearney State College (now UNK) as a chemistry major. I started playing fastpitch softball for Broken Bow, Nebraska (Dr. Ron Simmons). My life since then has been dominated by fastpitch and pharmacy (Graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy, UNMC Class of '81). As the result I have been fortunate to travel most of America and a couple interesting Canadian cities (Victoria, B.C. and Vancouver are a must see again).

If there was one regret from HS days, it would be the lack of effort I put into classes and sports at HHS. Fastpitch became an obsession to me, especially in "paying the price" to compete at the highest level. In '82 I played for the Clearwater Bombers in Clearwater, Florida. A past 10 time National Champion, this town is loaded with former All-Americans and great coaches. In '83 I returned to Omaha and coaching the Creighton Lady Jays. This connection got me into teaching pitching to girls, something I continue to do in my clinics twice a week in the winter. www.eteamz.com/ronozpitch. Eight of my former students went on to become All-Americans and teach pitching themselves.

At the age of 40 I got married. Two years later divorced. Yes, I was married, but now I am happy. Happy because I got Mandy, now 16, from the marriage. She plays for the Blair Chicks and Blair HS. All my work in Title IX back in the early 90s is wrapped up in her, also any money I have left. How did our parents EVER raise SIX kids? My life now is work, clinics, but only when Mandy is not playing. I follow her teams everywhere. www.eteamz.com/BlairMerchants.

Life has been good with a little sadness. I miss my Dad who gave me the desire to taste all of life. My Mom is a retired nurse living in her new condo in Kearney. She gave us the love to live through anything. Ken is a retired Navy pilot in Florida, Dale is a genius computer wizard in Indianapolis, Linda a respiratory therapist in Omaha, Greg runs Casey's in western Kearney, and Brian is a computer graphics artist in Holdrege, straight across the the street from where the old Jr.High used to sit. I loved that old building. What character.

My future looks like working contract relief pharmacy close to where Mandy will be, at least until college is paid for. I work in different retail pharmacies throughout Western Iowa and around Omaha. One is an 1888 original with a working soda fountain. Wonderful people in a town much like Holdrege. Mr. Norris was one of my heroes of those HHS days. Spent a lot of time sipping down sodas there, as well as seeing the girls at Elstuns.

I remember with great affection a day of ice skating at Sam Shrock's pond and hot chocolate and cherry cokes at Elstuns later. A couple coins in juke box with the greatest love songs ever sung. And ended with a warm goodnight kiss, on a cold Holdrege porch ,that would last a winter. Lots of days I miss that life.

I am still pitching fastpitch softball , currently for an age bracket team out of Lancaster, California. We never play there, I just meet them at a tournament somewhere and play for the Masters (40 plus, 45 plus) or Seniors (50 plus) Nationals. This year I will be going to just to the 50 in Prescott, Arizona in July. This is the team that has made me an All-American twice ('96 and '99). Great guys and as diverse as California itself. Total fun!

I am anxious to see you all. Certainly we have been blessed to last long enough to see each other at this age.