SKN was extra special for me this year.

After several years of near-QRT following a life-threatening medical condition, I fired up the radios and dusted off my straight key.

The first very pleasant rag chew was with AE6C, Denny in Fremont CA.  His QRP signal was strong and steady, just like his SKN fist.

I switched bands and started reading the mail on 40 meters.  To my amazement, I heard two old guys chatting about a radio club I had belonged to nearly half a century ago.

At the close of their QSO, I called K7EP and worked the Elmer that had not only instructed me in Morse, but even administered the Novice CW exam to me in 1970.  I had not seen Art, (ex WA7OSQ) in decades.

The SpeedX key I used for SKN was my actual Novice key from those days gone-by.

This was a poignant QSO that could not be topped, so my SKN consisted of only two contacts.

The 2015 SKN was the most memorable in my 45 years of Ham radio.

Carl
WA7CS
ex WN7QJY