Blog Posting

I didn't realize that this new blogspot has an auto-save function. The last time I wrote in this missive, the computer shut down with a "serious error". I though all was lost. Meg showed me that it wasn't...but when I reviewed what I had written, I deleted it because it wasn't all that interesting AND it was already old news. Blah!

The week finished without me. I took Friday off in order to accomplish some things, but really got nothing more done than some R and R before the weekend. Since Meg had a class assignment due on Friday night (sometime around 11:00 PM), she had already forewarned me that she probably couldn't take the children to Muncie until Saturday morning...and we had spent Thursday evening doing other things to get her ready for her assignment as well as a big-deal party at her work. (I worked with the children; she worked on homework...then she worked on homework while I fixed party food.) In any case, I volunteered to take the children to Muncie on Friday evening...in her vehicle because it has a DVD player in it...and because we really did need for the children to be gone in order to get through the rest of the weekend.

Today, I was up early for Coats for Kids. Have posted about this event in previous years. Coats for Kids is an event that is sponsored by Tuchman Cleaners (who cleans donated coats), WTHR Channel 13 (which provides news celebrities and advertising), and The Salvation Army (which provides hundred of volunteers, the venue, and the can-do experience to bring it all together to provide thousands of winter coats, free, to thousands of Indiana's children. SATERN, of which I am a part, provides communications for the event. Today was the day. I only had three radio operators on both shifts, but we managed. Everything went very smoothly! It was a warm day, so 'twas probably hard for parents to shift gears in looking down the road for winter temps, but there was a loooong line at the beginning of the day. It dwindled as the day went on, but we were serving folks until 4:00. My guys (and me) left at 3:00 because things were totally under control.

The SATERN operators that have worked with me on this event for probably 5-6 years now are the best! One fellow, N9XOQ, has to be commanded to take a break. KG9QJ and his wife are faithful and professional. This year, we had N9JPS with us. He has added a lot to the radio club and to our missions. Good guy! (And I don't think he is even a SATERN ham! Will have to fix that...)

Although I dread events such as these because I am overstressed at home and work, I always come home feeling good that I have done something to help others. I suppose they can function without radio communications, but it would be tougher. I know that there are thousands of children in the Indianapolis area who now have winter coats...and I helped in a very small way.