01/03/2005 | N9CJT I had worked Bill KC8PAR before, both times back in 2001. Both times he was short and to the point and signed off before I could find out anything about him. My SKN contact with Bill was quite different. I found out that Bill had hungered after a ham ticket from early childhood, but never found an elmer as a kid. It was in his fourth decade of life that he got his start in ham radio through a chance meeting with a ham at a state championship meet for competition shooters. When I had worked him before, Bill was struggling with his new hobby without the benefit of the many elmers I had, so there was a reason he had given me a 577 in our first QSO and then not had a clue why I asked questions about my tone. Bill had to work hard to afford his station, a nice FT-840 and a G5RV, and is proud of the fact that his wife is now licensed, and that his daughter earned her General ticket at age 14. He observes that, related to ham radio, his daughter is getting a lot of opportunities that he never had, but that related to her future, he's afraid that because they live in such an economically depressed area his daughter will "have to leave here to do anything." It's getting to know real people like Bill that make this hobby worth my time and effort. SKN makes it a bit more likely for that to happen. Thanks! -- N9CJT