GBNF: Marlo Mellum, a member of CS-20 and a Falcons Hockey standout, passed away on 14 Sep and was buried in International Falls, MN. Classmates’ memories of Marlo include the following. Brad Lindsey: “We ‘stole’ Marlo’s shoes just before his wedding ceremony and in big, bold letters put HE on the left shoe and LP on the right. Got some good chuckles when they knelt at the altar.” Charles Buck: “Didn't Marlo hold the Academy's hockey record for most time spent in the penalty box?” Tom Peterson: “I will miss his irreverence.” Marlo’s obituary is posted on the GBNF page of 75bestalive.org.
I think this was a record quarter for inputs from ‘75s for Checkpoints. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who took the time to send in a blurb. Several of you also sent in pictures, and I’m sorry Checkpoints only has space for three per quarter. The good news is that I send all of the pictures I don’t use to Bill Estelle, and he posts most of them on 75bestalive.org.
Kudos: Dr. Scott Swanson was recently appointed as the 2020-2021 president of the American Urological Association, a professional medical association with more than 23,000 members worldwide. It is the first time in 117 years a urologist from the Mayo Clinic has served in this position.
Dr. Jim Foster is hanging up his scalpel and stethoscope at Virginia Tech's Carilion Clinic after 20 years as a USAF Doc and 25 more on the civilian side. He was hoping to celebrate his retirement at our 45th reunion, but life got in the way. At least he won't get hit with the "retirement" bar tab!
“Ebola” Bill Lyerly reports he’s “going absolutely crazy not being able to travel internationally for so long.” To take his mind off his wanderlust, he’s been serving as a Chief Strategy Advisor for a $1.4 billion startup biotech company based out of Singapore. He was actually offered the CEO position but told them his heart probably wouldn’t take it, literally!
Vote! Boyd Fritzsche, Class of ‘08 (offspring of one each, Bruce, Class of ’75), is running for a chair on the AOG Board of Directors in February. Bruce unequivocally states that he has thoroughly vetted Boyd and “humbly, without any familial bias whatsoever,” endorses him. Really Bruce? What about that time when Boyd was a teenager and you would have sold him to a band of gypsies for a sleeve of Pro V1s? How quickly we forget.
Better Late than…Remember the trivia challenge from the April issue of Checkpoints concerning classmates who played in Hollywood movies? Rick Layman sent in this timely response. “My ‘bragging rights’ extend to having been on C-Span almost daily for about three weeks back in the early 80’s, and then appearing briefly on a show called ‘Trip Flip’ three or four years ago. Then my family and I were on a PBS show about guest ranches two years back, and we were also in one of Olivia Newton-John’s music videos, ‘Liv On.’ Lastly, I played on the ‘big stage,’ appearing on the jumbotron in Yankee Stadium back in 2012. Alas, no movie or TV contracts, and no credits.” So Duck, you not only missed the suspense by three months, you also didn’t answer the question, and you didn’t have a legitimate claim to any credits! Seriously though, that’s an impressive list of on-screen appearances.
What Pandemic? COVID-19 has been doing a number on everyone, but inputs from several classmates show the “illegtimi non carborumdum” spirit is alive and well. Paul Kent became a first-time grandpa on 17 Sep. When he wasn’t doting over his grandchild, he hiked four days in the Olympic Mountains and five days along the Pacific Coast Trail. He even had his first face-to-face stare down with a black bear, which turned out to be a non-event as the critter turned and ran when Paul clicked his trekking poles above his head.
Carl (VP) Van Pelt hosted a Playboy 19 Mini-Reunion and Golf Adventure in Leesburg, VA, 10-13 Sep. Lucky Corrigan, Rick Sarver, and Buck Rogers spent the days tasting VP’s scotch collection, telling stories that spanned 49 years, bragging on kids, learning yoga stretching from Rick (which carries an automatic revocation of their manly manhood cards), and playing golf. Buck humbly reported that he and Sarv kicked VP’s and Lucky’s derrieres and pocketed enough cash to almost pay for a couple of burgers and fries.
The Desert Duffers, a foursome consisting of Rich Chanick ('75), Jeff Hackett ('75), David Keene ('75), and Jim Crocco ('76), carded a 6 under par 66 at Poston Butte Golf Course in Florence, Arizona on 25 Sep to take tenth place in this year's (Virtual) Falcon Classic Golf Tournament. Not bad for playing in 103° heat!
In July, Ed Zerambo, Bud Calloway, Bob Thompson, Duane Lodridge, and their wives spent three weeks cycling on gravel bikes in Glacier National Park and areas surrounding Seeley Lake, Montana. Jim Schuman drove the support truck and handed out gratuitous encouragement at random intervals. After the Montana adventure, the Thompsons, Duane, and his wife, Michelle Farout, finished with a 3-day portion of Adventure Cycling's Idaho Hot Springs Loop. To observe COVID restrictions, they ate all meals outdoors and drove their own vehicles. Duane planned the trip and recalled that they talked a lot about knees, which is understandable since Bud had one partial knee replacement and another scheduled post trip, Bob had a torn ACL while skiing a couple years back, Ed also had a knee replacement scheduled, and Duane had a recent scope that removed 25 "artifacts." Bob’s and Duane’s wives were celebrating turning 60, which, of course, resulted in both husbands joking about struggling with the thought of being married to 60-year-old women. When one thinks about it, that is a sobering thought.
Robert Hickox sold his house in Minnesota and moved to North Carolina to be near grandchildren and to get warm. Following the move, he completed a 1000K virtual walking challenge in 68 days, a 475-mile virtual cycling challenge in 55 days, and is now in a 1083-mile cycling/walking challenge. He says he’s lost 15 pounds but still can’t fit into his A-jacket.
17. Ben & Ginny Bosma at Charleston Falls Preserve, Ohio. (November 2020)
