Alumni Sandstorm ~ 01/06/12
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4 Bombers sent stuff and 1 Bomber Memorial today: 
Jim BLAKE ('52), Larry MATTINGLY ('60)
Gary BEHYMER ('64), Mike DALEN ('72)
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BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Larry MATTINGLY ('60)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Lora HOMME ('60)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Patricia REDISKE ('63)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Allyson SMITH ('67)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Sharon STRATTON ('67)

BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
    Click the event you want to know more about.
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>>From: Jim BLAKE ('52)

Re: Hello from Texas

Don LYALL ('52) is visiting at Jim BLAKE's ('52) home in Ft.
Worth, TX. LYALLs are down for the Cotton Bowl and enjoying the
Dallas area. My health is improving so this visit has been fun
for both of us. Remembering old times. LYALL plans on being at
our 60 year reunion, BLAKEs will try, depending on my health. Our
best to all Bombers.

One last note from Don, GO HOGS. 

Maren, I will cheer for the TIGERS also [Good deal, Jim... FYI, 
I went to LSU... Smyths left Richland the summer of '64 after I 
graduated from Col-Hi.   -Maren]

-Jim BLAKE ('52)
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>>From: Larry MATTINGLY ('60)

Re: A brush with disaster

New Year's Eve at Dutch Harbor, AK. The huge, complex display was
ready to fire yesterday about 3PM. All we had to do was tow the
2 trailers out 1/4 mile to the shoot site. We had agreed to move
the shoot site a few hundred feet to get out from under the
potential for avalanche from hanging rims of snow several hundred
feet up the mountain. I was on the way back from checking
visibility at the shoot site when the storm cell blizzard struck.
High winds and heavy snow suddenly dropped visibility to 40 feet
at most.

I was driving carefully and doing OK when suddenly I felt very
bad and started to pass out. I grabbed snow from the outside of
the truck and washed it over my face. Feeling better I drove on
and the attack struck again, worse. I stopped and washed my face
with snow again. Weak and barely conscious I realized I was at
the turn into the Medical Center. I struggled to get to the door
half walking, half crawling, and very scared. They were closed
but a worker was laying carpet, and in response to me banging on
the door, he responded, helped me in, and called 911.

By the time the doctor, nurse, and lab tech arrived I was feeling 
slightly better. But they put a medi-port in a vein, and got a
EKG started, Stat. The EKG panicked them until I remembered to
tell them I had WPW syndrome. (it is a false signal that causes
some irregularities to appear on the EKG). (It was discovered
during an employment physical at Hanford). The lab report showed
heart stress enzymes. After speaking with a Cardio doctor in
Anchorage they ordered an evac by Life Flight. I was told I 
would spend the night wired and sleeping in the clinic under
observation. And that is when the trouble began.

When I said I had to fire the display at midnight, they had a
small fit and said no way, So I said I would go no mater what,
get me a release to sign. The lady doctor said "You could die out
there". I explained I had a legal responsibility for the 1/2 ton 
of explosives, and as an entertainer, the show must go on. They
shook their heads NO! So I said "I have a solid will, my estate
is in order, I am at peace with God, and if I die shooting that
display I will die happy doing what I love". Now, you figure out
how we can get it done or give me the release paper". Doctor says 
"My god, you're serious". I am not being dramatic, that is what 
was said.

Then the nurse agreed to take me out there, stay with me and
bring me back. By this time the weather had cleared and the crew
had checked in and said they would position the trailers per my
previous notes. 2 More EKGs and Labs later the results were
actually better and they agreed I could be the overnight guest of
the family of my crew chief, (I could not be alone) but still had
to evac to Providence Hospital in Anchorage the next morning.

Interesting thing here... I have had numerous opportunities to 
buy emergency evac insurance over the years and have dropped them 
in the garbage. Early in this past December I got an offer as a 
Life Member of NRA and supporter of several of their efforts, an 
offer for this same kind of insurance and could include Jackie. 
It was $128 per year. Knowing where we are going in April I felt
it might be handy. So I bought it. With only 2 questions they
covered that $19,000 Life Flight. Or, if Medicare pays part of it
they will pick up the rest. But what was nice is that they called
Life Flight that night and said he's covered, pick him up.

After I fired the display the nurse had tears in her eye and
hugged me saying "Now I understand your passion". All I heard
while waiting for the evac plane was how fabulous the display
was. Some people said there were comments on FaceBook. Trying 
to keep this long story short...  I got to Providence Hospital
bouncing around in a small plane until I was sea sick, at about
5pm. Jackie was there waiting for me. That did wonders for my 
low morale and level of fear.

For 2-1/2 days they worked me over in a battery of tests and 
near torture. I had 21 needle sticks, over 40 BPs, 8 EKGs and
countless contact tabs stuck on and ripped off (ouch), 3
different sonograms, 2 CT scans, 2 sessions of x-rays, constant
questions by doctors, nurses, and techs. Finally when I said NO 
MORE, the cardio doctor said "Ok let's talk". I actually liked 
him. He was said to be the best in Alaska. I was impressed with 
his candor. He pointed out the small dead spot in the heart 
muscle I had seen in one of the sonograms and said I could live 
with it. After all the tests and results, he felt what I had was 
a "Transient Incident.". Yes, the very thing discussed on this 
net a couple of weeks ago!

Also, my BP was jumping up and down all over the scale. He felt
that was caused by a combination of my anxiety, the rigors of the
testing, lack of rest, and moderately elevated cholesterol. He
also concluded the lab tests did not definitively identify a
heart attack. But he would not rule a minor one. So I said "So
where do we go now? I am tired of being stuck, prodded, grammed,
and x-rayed". He laughed and said "You took it better then I
expected" and hugged me. Then he said let's do one more tomorrow
morning. If it is ok you will be released with some advice and
meds. If it is not good, you and I will decide how much more you
want to go through.

The Nuclear Stress Test. At 10am I was injected with Technetium99
and my heart was scanned twice, face down for 8 minutes, and up
for 15 minutes. The scanner was new last spring and cost $700K.
Then I got hooked up to a 12 lead EKG and constant BP cuff. I got
on the treadmill at 1.4 mph for 5 minutes. 2.1 mph for 5 minutes,
and 3.3 mph for 5 minutes but I went 6 to be sure they got good
data. Then 2 glasses of water and I was back on the scanner for
another round. 2 hours later, I was overly emotional when doctor
said they found nothing they did not already know about, and I
was released. Other then about 12% occlusion in my neck blood
vessels there were no indicated blockages of any kind. "Take an
aspirin every morning and the Statin (to lower and maintain low
cholesterol) every night, watch your diet and you could live many
years yet". I walked out the door at 4pm.

Jackie and I celebrated at our favorite Chinese buffet. I had 2
rounds of several kinds of veggies and sesame chicken, with Jello
for desert.

What an ordeal, but how can I criticize the results? You gotta be
ready... you never know.

-J. Larry MATTINGLY ('60) ~ Totally elated and looking forward to 
     birthday Friday when I can gratefully celebrate 70 years on 
     God's green earth.
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>>From: Gary BEHYMER ('64)

Re: Carmen Baby

Park Y Drive-In Theater ~ Richland ~ Visits U.S. Supreme Court
   RABE v. WASHINGTON, 405 U.S. 313 (1972)   

Re: Doctors going broke 

"…recent steep 35% to 40% cuts in Medicare reimbursements for 
key cardiovascular services, such as stress tests and
echocardiograms, have taken a substantial toll on revenue."

Pentz is thinking about an out. "If this continues, I might
seriously consider leaving medicine," he said. "I can't keep
working this way."

"The times they are changing." ~ Dylan

-Gary BEHYMER ('64)
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>>From: Mike DALEN ('72)

Re: Barb BELCHER Valinske '72 email link bounces

Hey Maren,

Tried to send emails to Barb BELCHER Valinske who posted today 
[1/5/12] about 40th reunion this summer. My emails are bouncing; 
maybe a typo in the address?

Oh, and ROLL TIDE !!!

      [Sure! Maybe your typo.... which email did you use?
      The one at the top of her entry (below her name:
      valinske@charter.net) or the one at the bottom? The one
      at the top should work... the one at the bottom is one
      that Barb typed herself so I can't verify that one. 

      Oh, and GEAUX TIGERS!! -Maren]

-Mike DALEN ('72)
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Bomber Memorial

>>Fred SEGREST - Class of 1957 ~ 1939 - 2011

Bomber Memorials
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That's it for today. Please send more.
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