06/26/2006 | N2IKR This was my 1st FD after getting my station back on the air from six years ago. I was 1D at my new house. The magic this year came from hearing the young, sometimes semi-hesitant voices calling for contacts. When I would hear a youngster in the pileups I'd just hang there and wait silently willing the operator commanding the frequency to "come back to the kid!" And they would! Without exception each operator that came back to a kid was patient and made sure the exchange was correctly received. It was magnificent! Perhaps I didn't look hard enough, but it also struck me that everyone was patient and nice to everyone else. I was impressed with how many times an exchange ended with "73 and good luck in the contest!" or "73, and have fun this afternoon!" These kinds of exchanges, especially during contests, are amateur radio at its best, and this was a wonderful re-introduction to the contest air after having been gone for 6 years. Bravo, folks, and 37! -- N2IKR