January 2017 Page 1 of 6 SIR Branch 35 Trail Tips

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Branch 35 web site: www.sirinc2.org/branch35/ January 2017

3rd Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Elks Lodge, 4249 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Social Hour 11 a.m. – Lunch 11:55 a.m.

Please, IF BRINGING A GUEST OR NOT ATTENDING!

CALL 650-823-0702 or E-MAIL sir35notify(at)gmail.com

by SATURDAY, January 14 (Leave name and badge #)

PROGRAM Speaker: Tom Gregory Topic: Drones: Should we love’em or hate’em? What comes to your mind when someone mentions the word “drone”? Beautiful views of the mountains? Mapping archaeological ruins or inspecting buildings? Inspecting a bomb or chemical fire that’s too

dangerous for people to be around? Rescue missions to deliver survival supplies to a person stranded on a cliff? Probably not. People usually cringe and think of their creepy neighbor spying on them all day every day, or a robotic futuristic helicopter/airplane comes to mind, firing missiles at everything that moves. Which camp are you in? Tom Gregory graduated from Cal Berkeley and retired from NASA-Ames Research Center after 37 years where he worked with wind tunnels, simulators,

computers, and flight test aircraft. Much of that work was on remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) or "drones" as they are called now. Tom is currently studying and flying quad-copters with interest in package delivery. He will discuss this exciting field and the concerns of citizens, regulators and entrepreneurs. The presentation will use slides and videos of quad-copters, hybrid winged quad-copters and other concepts. The presentation will cover a little history, some contemporary civilian and military “drones” (including one of the RPVs in the Smithsonian Museum at Dulles Airport), as well as a glimpse into future aircraft.

The Big Sir Says . . . Now, that was a Holiday Party! A count of 235 of us (near capacity for the room with round tables) came together on December 15 for a very nice time. Good food, wine, decorations, favors for the ladies, and most of all, good companionship. And the Madrigals from Mountain View High School were superb! Our own Larry Wray entertained us as speaker at the November luncheon. His descriptions of The Commercialization of Space were fascinating He described how our aerospace contractors are working with government customers to change the landscape of government purchasing more toward commercial practices—and lower commercial prices. This was, of course, right at home for at least half of our group. His descriptions of new commercial entries in the space industry were remarkable (even when Space X plans to get to Mars!). Congratulations to Bob Garten who was inducted as our newest Honorary Life Member at the November meeting. This honor is so well deserved; Bob has been the leader of our huge golf activity for years. At the same time, Jack Dyer became our second Senior HLM. Under the capable leadership of Gary Waldeck, 2016 was a very good year. We were within budget, and at year-end our reserves were about $20,000, more than two years’ spending (plus additional reserves in the golf program). We grew our membership by about 25—a 7% annualized growth rate. Keep up that recruiting in 2017! We improved the website so be sure to visit it regularly. And we started two new activities—Bridge (Jerry Ososkie) and Trail Bums (Instrumental music, Don Cameron). Check ‘em out. Looking forward to 2017, be sure to pick up your membership roster at the February luncheon. It contains not only the roster but also a complete listing of chapter leadership, activity chairs, and other useful information. See you at the January 18 luncheon!

Duncan

Tom under a drone at Hiller Aviation Museum

January 2017 Page 2 of 6 SIR Branch 35 Trail Tips

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ROSTER CHANGES

Active Members: 369 Net Monthly Change: -4

SIR golfer George Cooke passed away on December 17 after a long and brave battle with cancer. He was a fighter to the end just as he was a great competitor on the golf course. George contributed to the SIR 35 Golf Club as tournament scheduler for a decade and made SIR 35 the envy of many other clubs. Our golfers enjoy the opportunity to play nearly every public and even some private courses from San Francisco to Monterey thanks to George. He applied his computer skills in helping to create the workbooks we use for tournaments. He was always willing to step up and provide his talents to the club when needed. George was an accomplished golfer and tennis player and continued to push himself to participate until he could no longer physically do so. George Cooke was a special and wonderful person who lived life with joy and integrity on and off the golf course. The SIR 35 Club Championship Trophy will be named the “George Cooke Trophy” to recognize his memory and contributions to SIR 35 Golf.

JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES: 10+ YEARS

John Wong 18 Dick Knock 14 Jim DeLong 17 Stan Barkey 13 Wendell Lehr 17 Bill Schatz 13 Walt McNeill 17 Don Gfroerer 12 Don Willoughby 17 Larry Bjork 10 Herb Fischgrund 14 Boyd Fair 10

JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

During the social hour before every luncheon, 11:00 a.m. Bring a few and take a few – FREE! After the meeting, residuals go to Friends of the Library of Los Altos. January is Mystery month. Share some great books that you don't think you will read again.

Rehearsal: 2nd Wednesday, January 11, 10:00 a.m. in the Choir Room, Los Altos Methodist Church. Pre-Meeting Rehearsal: January 18, 11:00 a.m., Elks Lodge. Parody Writers: Bob Simon, David Skurnick Accompanist: Don Cameron David Skurnick will write the parody for the January meeting. All are welcome to join our singing.

..TENNIS BILL SCHICK 650-948-8768 billschick(at)att.net

Every Monday and Thursday, starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Rinconada Park Courts – Located on Hopkins Avenue, off Newell near Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. We play a relaxed doubles spin in open format. Sirs and non-Sirs alike are welcome.

Fourth Friday, January 27, 2017. Meet at 10:00 a.m. Wives & Guests are welcome. Location: Skyline Ridge Open Space We will meet at the Russian Ridge parking lot off Alpine Road at Skyline Boulevard. The hike will be about 5 miles round trip. Elevation gain will be about 400 ft. Hike will pass Alpine Pond, be in open grasslands with some oak trees and will circle around Horseshoe Lake. Views to the west and of the ocean possible (weather permitting). Some of the hike is along the Bay Area Ridge Trail. A pit toilet is located at the trailhead. There is also one near Horseshoe Lake. Contact me by phone or email if you plan to attend this hike. This will let us know who to expect and we can provide additional driving directions and hike venue details. We can coordinate car pools if desired. I send out an email reminder about a week before each hike. If you are not receiving the email and would like to be included, let me know and I will add you to the list. Note: We set a modern day record on our December hike at Monte Bello. We had 18 hikers!

2Nd Thursday— January 12, 2017 11:00 AM Wives ands guests welcome Rain cancels; Helmet required Stevens Creek Trail & Shoreline Park (Mt. View) Ride: We will ride a flat 14-mile round-trip to Michael’s Restaurant in Shoreline Park, plus an optional 5-mile loop to the Palo Alto Duck Pond, near the Palo Alto Airport (a total ride of 19 miles). Lunch will be at Michael’s. Directions: Meet at the south end of the Stevens Creek bike path at the corner of Sleeper Ave. and Franklin Ave. From Palo Alto, go south on El Camino, to Grant Rd.; turn right. The first street past the 3rd traffic signal is Sleeper Ave.; turn left. Go 8 blocks to the end of Sleeper Ave. to a small park. Park your car along the curb. If you plan to ride or have questions please contact Jim Lunt as above or Gordon Tong at gordy6850(at)gmail.com. The SIR Branch 35 monthly bicycling is a combined activity with all SIR Branches in Area 16. The objectives of the monthly rides are to continue to promote fellowship, share experiences, get some exercise and above all, have FUN! Planned SIR rides are announced in each SIR Monthly Newsletter and by email to all interested members. The rides are on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Wives and guest are welcome. All that a bicyclist needs are a bike, bicycling helmet, and a jacket or vest if it is windy. Rain will cancel the planned ride. We ask that all participants exhibit a positive attitude, exercise good judgment when riding such as maintaining a safe distance between riders, obeying all traffic signs and stop lights, etc.

Ben Adelman Rog Grainger Joe Mullen Russ Atkinson Bob Herman Ron Murphy Richard Blackborow Ralph Hunt John Richardson Chuck Cory Ken Jablinskey Joe Scheid Dick Costa Bill Milam Jim Steinmetz John Faucett Les Miles Ranney Thayer John Files Cal Morris Ron Wilensky David Gobuty Tom Moulton Harold Wong

BOOK SWAP JOHN GERICH 650-969-6679 jgerich(at)juno.com

TRAIL BIRDS DON BOECKLING 650-965-2659 donboeckling405(at)gmail.com

HIKING DELL SMITH 650-968-5006 dellnmolly(at)sbcglobal.net

BIKING JIM LUNT 408-252-6804 jamesdlunt(at)yahoo.com

In Memoriam George Cooke

January 2017 Page 3 of 6 SIR Branch 35 Trail Tips

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Member Profile P RON NAKAMOTO 408-440-2330ron.nakamoto(at)yahoo.com

This monthly article highlights one of our branch members. We hope that you enjoy knowing a little more about your fellow members and the interesting life they have had. If you have someone you would like to nominate or if you would like to help author an article, please email ron.nakamoto(at)yahoo.com.

DUNCAN MACVICAR

Wouldn’t you like to know a little more about your incoming Big Sir? I did and so initiated a request for a “Member Profile”. Duncan readily agreed and we met in early December to craft this introduction. Of course, we must start with a real life story in Duncan’s own words.

“In 2001, my daughter Bryn was in graduate school in New York City. Jeanne and I travelled there to help her move home the weekend of September 8-9. On Monday, September 10 we all went to the Newark airport for our flights home. We saw Bryn off on her flight and then went to wait for our flight to San Francisco. We learned that our flight was delayed due to wildfires by the runway. Eventually, they told us that our flight was cancelled since our plane had not been able to make it to Newark. We were given two choices: stay in Newark and fly home the next day or; grab our luggage and take a taxi (in rush hour) to JFK airport. I consulted the airline guide I always carry for work and told Jeanne that we could just stay in Newark and fly out early tomorrow. Jeanne decided that she’d rather take the chance on making the JFK flight. We took the taxi, made the flight and flew home. When we woke the next morning, we learned of the horrific 9/11 attacks and the downing of United Airlines Flight 93, the flight from Newark we were supposed to catch that morning.” Duncan was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a doctor and his mother, a nurse. He was the younger of two brothers. At the age of ten his family spent a year with his grandparents in New Jersey. One day, his grandfather drove him to visit the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was mesmerized with the panorama of parade grounds, the big stone buildings in formation as if in a permanent state of “Parade Rest”, the cadets walking around in their student uniform. He was smitten and vowed to come back as a cadet. Duncan returned to Ohio and attended Worthington High School. Never losing sight of his dream, he excelled academically and was Co-Valedictorian of his graduating class. He served as Class President in his freshman year. He played Football and Cross Country, and earned several letters in Wrestling. (He made the varsity wrestling team as a freshman.) Upon graduation, the faculty voted and awarded Duncan the prestigious “Hall of Fame” award for outstanding student. When Duncan applied to West Point, he learned that his congressional district did not have an opening that year. Disappointed, he applied to MIT using his National Merit Scholarship (given to less than 1% of high school graduates). But, on his last day of school, he received a surprise phone call from his congressman offering him an appointment to West Point. Duncan entered West Point in 1961 and graduated in the Class of 1965. He finished in the top two percent of his class and qualified for follow-on graduate schooling, for which he chose an MA in Physics at UC Berkeley.

Post graduation Duncan was assigned to Vietnam and served in the Army Corps of Engineers as a staff officer and later as a company commander of a combat engineering company.

(Editor’s note: Combat engineers - also called pioneers or sappers - provided construction, demolition or road clearing duties under combat conditions.) War is hell and Duncan returned to California with many of the symptoms of what was known then as “shell shock” from his war experiences. His next assignment was as a junior physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Duncan met his wife Jeanne, a single schoolteacher, in 1970 at a party in Livermore. (At that time, Livermore was a sleepy agricultural town in the Tri-Valley area with not much to do.) It was love at first sight and the couple were engaged in January 1971 and married in April. (Editor’s note: Jeanne was the guest speaker at our September luncheon on the topic of “The Orphan Train”. ) They have one daughter, and two granddaughters. Duncan and Jeanne love to visit their two granddaughters in Colorado. Periodically, the couple also “Inn-sits” at a Bed and Breakfast owned by good friends. Duncan’s second big life change in 1971 was deciding to leave the military for a marketing position at Hewlett Packard. He spent the next eleven years in various jobs, eventually landing an executive position in 1980. After a short stint marketing laser systems at Spectra-Physics, Duncan decided to pursue a role as a management consultant specializing in strategies for the high-tech industry, new business planning and evaluation, strategic plan development, and mergers and acquisitions, with a worldwide clientele. Through the course of his career he founded three high-tech companies, one of which exited successfully, and he co-authored Managing High-Tech Start-Ups. For 30 years, Duncan succeeded in all that he undertook but continued to suffer from what is now known as combat-induced “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." Nightmares, flashbacks and flare-ups were visible symptoms of his condition. He was so sensitive to loud noises that a truck backfire would find him under the table. The symptoms were so severe that his wife (thank goodness men have wives) forced him to seek therapy, which worked out well. One day in 2008, Duncan learned that a young man he’d recruited for West Point, Sargent Binkley, was on trial for armed robbery. Binkley suffered from PTSD as a result of working in the mass graves of Bosnia and fighting Central American drug runners. He also was hopelessly addicted to prescription painkillers for an injury. For three years, Sgt. Binkley had gone from VA hospital to VA hospital to service his addiction. Eventually, he ended up stealing from local pharmacies armed with a gun. Duncan attended his trial as he was convicted but found insane and sent to a state institution. This tragedy was personal to Duncan as he knew that there should have been an alternative where the traumatized yet deserving veteran received medical treatment, not incarceration. A man of action, Duncan researched existing law and in 2009 drafted a bill to improve the state’s alternative sentencing law, which allowed judges to sentence troubled veteran defendants to treatment vs. incarceration. He sought out the various legislative members and lobbyists, eventually getting Assembly Bill 674 passed in 2010. Although not a lawyer, he co-founded the California Veterans Legal Task Force (CVLTF), an organization that advocates for special Veteran Treatment Courts (VTCs) throughout California. In this arena, he helps to assemble teams of criminal justice professionals and service providers and he guides them toward creating the appropriate form of VTC for their jurisdictions. Since inception, CVLTF has assisted in establishing about 20 of the 31 VTC’s in the 58 counties of California. These VTC’s cover approximately 90% of eligible veterans. From the Sacramento Bee: “Bruce Bronzan, President of the Network of Care, an organization that aggregates information about services available for veterans, said the need for a veterans’ court is acute throughout the country. Veterans courts help address the ‘underlying issues’ behind veteran criminality – mental health problems, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others – that often develop from time in combat.” Further, “…the suicide rate among veterans Charley C - Duncan’s radio call sign as Commander,

C Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Vietnam 1968

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is higher than the rate of combat deaths, according to data released by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2013.” After six active years Duncan is looking to downshift to other interests. He has found time to volunteer at his church, city and school district. He previously served as President of the Board of Community Services Agency and co-founded a group working to build homless/low-income housing in the area. He was recognized as the “Hometown Hero” by the CSA in 2012. Duncan loves singing and directing choral music. Here is a story from his time as president of the West Point Cadet Glee Club in his own words. “The Glee club was invited to the Ed Sullivan show in 1965. We were required to show up all day to prep for the live show that evening. I spent the day in the chaotic backstage, as talent, extras, stagehands, etc. were all running around preparing for the show. I was thrilled to meet Rudolph Nureyev, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Petula Clark. When the Glee Club director introduced me to Ed Sullivan, Ed decided to interview me on the air. So at show time, I waited in the wings rather than taking my place with the Glee Club. But at the last minute, they ran out of time and had to cut the interview from the script. So I didn’t get to be on the show at all! Talk about show biz.” I hope this Member Profile accomplished its intended purpose. All of you now know a little more about Duncan MacVicar, your 2017 Big Sir. His parting message for all is to “Volunteer! Have a reason to get up in the morning. We all have talents and experience; let the world gain from them.” *******************************************

Assistant: Walter Weber 408-371-8925, walterweber08(at)comcast.net New Year Adventures. There are opportunities to start the new year with a SIR travel adventure.Take advantage of the following two activities. March 6-12, 2017: Spring Training and Southwest Adventure. Fly to Phoenix and enjoy two spring training games and visit the Desert Botanical Gardens and Frank Lloyd Wright's Tallesin West. Day 4 travel from Scottsdale to Sedona and tour Sedona and the Grand Canyon area. Tour includes home pick up and RT airport transfers, professional guide, 6 nights accommodations, admission fees, baggage handling for one suitcase and all taxes. Cost $2495. Contact Brian Serpa, 408-227-7658 or Rollo Parsons, 408-268-5245. May 10-25, 2017: 100th Birthday of JFK on Cape Cod. Tour highlights include JFK Presidential Library, tour of Hyannis, JFK Museum, Hyannis Harbor cruise, Cape Cod Maritime Museum, whale watching cruise and tour of Nantucket. Cost $2395.00 includes RT airfare, deluxe motor coach, 8 meals, tours and 5 night accommodations. Contact .John Pletsch, 408-274-2992 or Mike Console, 408-246-1080. There are still many SIR travel opportunities featured in our Travel Bulletin including a 7-day land trip to Yellowstone Park with over sixty species of mammals and a 5-day tour featuring the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Read the Travel Bulletin on the Branch 35 webpage under “Travel Tours.” Our Challenge remains to demonstrate that Branch 35, the largest Branch in SIR can exceed last year's SIR statewide average of 15% travelers!. Tell us about your last or best trip of this year so that we can share your experiences with all our members.

Travel Quote of the Month

“ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Every Friday, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Wives and guests are welcome. Location: Bocce Ball Courts (between second and last wing), Los Altos Senior Center, 97 Hillview Ave. (just off San Antonio Rd.) Parking near baseball fields. We are glad to welcome new players and new Branch 35 members and their guests to our weekly games. Recently we were joined by new Branch 35 member Bob King, who joined the branch in October. He has become a regular and it is great to have him be part of our group that plays on Fridays. If you know of someone in Branch 35 who might like to try a new activity, why not suggest Bocce Ball – no cost, convenient locally, participation that fits each player’s schedule.

Every Tuesday, 1:00 p.m., at Homestead Lanes, Homestead & Stelling, in Cupertino. The Autumn-Winter session is winding down, with the next session starting on January 31. If you have been thinking about joining, the end of this month will be the perfect time. The cost is only $15 per week. That’s a small price for all the fun we have!

AUTUMN-WINTER SESSION - WEEK 13 1ST PLACE – Jim Dinkey, Nancy Jones, Chuck Huff, John Faucett 2ND PLACE – Ruth Ososkie, Jerry Ososkie, Patrick Wong 3RD PLACE – Ken Jones, Doug Anderson, Joe Enos 4TH PLACE – Al Delfino, Harold Kaye, Darryl Walker 5TH PLACE – Les Fisher, Fred Schwalbach, Doug Ericsson 6TH PLACE – Ranney Thayer, Carl Moyer, Ron Nakamoto 7TH PLACE – Rick McColloch, Fred Emmenegger, Bob Taggart 8TH PLACE - tie– Bill Webster, Arnie Satterlee, Candy Eastham, Tim Eastham 8TH PLACE - tie– Roy Robinson, Jim Holman, Jay Jonekait 10TH PLACE – Hutch Hutchinson, Alan Gaudie, Phil Vanderwerf

HERE ARE THE LEADERS – Week #13 HIGH SERIES - SCRATCH 1st – John Faucett : 546 2nd – Darryl Walker: 496 3rd – Ron Nakamoto: 485

HIGH GAME - SCRATCH 1st – Joe Enos: 203 2nd – Phil Vanderwerf: 184 3rd – Tim Eastham: 181

HIGH HANDICAP SERIES 1st – Les Fisher: 640 2nd –Arnie Satterlee: 629 3rd – Ken Jones: 616

HIGH HANDICAP GAME 1st – Bob Taggart: 236 2nd – Chuck Huff: 226 3rd – Jerry Ososkie: 214

TRAVEL ED PAUSA 650-324-0322 clements.e.pausa(at)us.pwc.com

BOCCE BALL NORM PASS – SCHEDULE/ CANCELLATIONS 408-737-7639; normpass(at)sbcglobal.net

FRED SCHWALBACH – PLAYER DEVELOPMENT 408-257-9713; fpschwalbach(at)aol.com JOHN RICHARDSON - SUPPORT 650-996-7787; jlr(at)rcgc.com

BOWLING BOB TAGGART 650-321-2654 cbtaggart(at)earthlink.net DOUG ANDERSON 415-407-4000 marktinti(at)aol.com Prizes: Alan Gaudie

January 2017 Page 5 of 6 SIR Branch 35 Trail Tips

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GOLF BOB GARTEN, GOLF CHAIRMAN 408-253-5860, xonon1(at)comcast.net

(Golf Committee members are listed on page 7 of the Membership Roster.) SIGN-UP for the following by January 14 with John Gerich, 650-969-6679, jgerich(at)juno.com

GOLF RESULTS

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All activities arranged for or by Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, and its Branches, are for the convenience and pleasure of its members and guests who desire to participate. Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, and its Branches do not assume any responsibility for the well-being or safety of the participants or their property in any matters pertaining to said activities.