Editor's Note:  Long-time PARC stalwart Ron Mayer, K7BT, pulled up stakes in Portland a couple of years ago and resettled on the Big Island in Hawaii.  We have published bits and pieces of his arounds and abouts since then, but he still hasn't gotten anything on the air so we can talk to him directly.  Hopefully, he can do this before the bands completely go to pot!  The pictures here are of him tending the fruit trees that have sort of become the focus of his life, as he and Mary are settling in.  The material below comes from e-mails received from Wayne Schuler, AI9Q, and from Ron, himself. This is the only photo of Ron I currently have. The other was of just me and a pineapple.  Hopefully, Ron will find time to send the rest.  This photo was taken Feb 22, 2003 in Ron's front yard when I was visiting him this year.  Ron is still getting settled in and has quite a bit of 'stuff' yet to unpack. His current focus is getting the yard landscaped by putting in a stone wall which was nearly finished when I was there. Ron has had several visitors. -AI9Q

We are starting our 3rd year in Hawaii.  Still haven't done anything worthwhile in ham radio.  The local club not very active.   I still hope to put up a vertical antenna and use my Drake TR7 on 10-15-20 but most of my time last two years has been working on house and yard.  Had rock walls built and have planted quite a lot of things.  Just this week we are seeing our first banana tree beginning to show fruit on it.  Came up very suddenly.  I will attach a picture of  the cluster of bananas.

the sPARC gap is great in recent issues.    I imagine Lea Ball is putting it together. Back in early 1980's when it was first published Lea did most of the typesetting at his shop but then for a time I put the articles together, typing them on my old TI computer and shooting negatives in my darkroom, then making plates and printing it on the old Davidson offset printing press.  My print jobs weren't very good and sometimes the pictures (which were all black and white) weren't very good, either.  Then I found  that we could get them printed cheaper at Office Depot. 

Back in the late 1950s I hand set type and put out a page or two called PARC News.   It was a tedious chore and didn't look like much.  I may still have a copy of that effort.   

Yes--the bananas are a lot of fun.  We have been buying a good supply at a local farmer's market.  I don't think our home grown ones will go very far so probably keep on buying them each week.  We have about 4 banana plants growing but this first one is breaking new ground in letting us know what they look like and how long it takes to produce fruit.  Our papayas have been very prolific and we have almost a continuous supply of fresh ripe papaya.

I still haven't put up an antenna for 20 meters but still plan to do so.  We've been here two years now and I am still busy with house and yard chores. We're watching our first crop of bananas ripen on the tree.  Enjoying lots of ripe papaya.  For flowers Bird of Paradise, Heliconia, and Lilikoi are doing very well.  Sure is fun with year around nice weather.

We are a bit bothered at times with VOG which is a haze in the air caused by the tons of gases being put into the air from the Kileauea volcano which is 100 miles away  on the southeast side of this island.  You get used to it but strangers sometimes wonder if there is a sewage treatment plant nearby.  At times the wind carries the fog clear up to Honolulu on Oahu which is several hundred miles northwest of here.

-K7BT