It is our hope to start

meetings early in 2021.

Board Meetings and lunch dates (once they resume):

March 8 April 12 May 10

No Ladies Day June 14 July 12

August 9 September 13

October 11 November 8

December TBA

Volume XXXV Issue 2 BRANCH #1 CURRENTLY 90 MEMBERS February 8, 2021

FIVE CITIES RETIRED ACTIVE MEN, INC.

Web Page http://rams1.org

BIRTHDAY RAMS February

8 Wayne Huggins 10 Mike Johnson 15 Larry Harlan 16 Bill Morrow 19 Bob Gosney 23 Dan Gaddis 23 Roger Lindley

Submitted by: Paul Holden Membership Chairman

Golden RAM

Acting Big RAM Ramblin’ Hope everyone out there is doing well. I have many friends that have gotten their vaccine shots, so there is hope that many like myself are on a list. Admittedly the distribution effort has been poor. On the bright side, it looks like the Governor has lifted the ban and we can get out for an outside lunch and/or dinner, and some outdoor

activities. Keep up your spirits! One thing I’m sure, everyone misses is having a monthly speaker. We can’t do that again until we meet, but we can share sto-ries. We are currently using travel experiences, or special hobbies, etc. Paul Holden is doing a travel piece this month. We are good through March for bulletin articles, but we need you to offer new articles and ideas. Contact Sandy, or Dave Block, or myself if you have something to offer.

We finally got some rain this January. I hope it continues into February and March. I’ve got over 700 gazanias growing on my hillside that are now just starting to bloom. With more rain they should be a wonderful site. I encourage everyone to stay in touch with phone calls and possibly small gatherings in the next couple weeks and months.

Terry Buterbaugh, Acting Big RAM

Committees 2021 Poker Jim de Vos Publicity Hank Yasumoto Song Leaders Richard Roberts Don Frommelt Special Events Terry Buterbaugh Telephone Chairman Gordon Hall Ukuleleist Richard Roberts Friendly Walkers Paul Holden We Care Terry Buterbaugh Web Page Terry Buterbaugh

Committees 2021 Annual Events Terry Buterbaugh Bridge Chairman Bulletin Editor Sandy Eastman Chaplain Don Frommelt Golf Chairman J. P. Webster (18) Don Frommelt (9) Historian Don Frommelt Librarian Ken Turknette Lucky Buck Bernie Hawkins Ray Douglass Membership Paul Holden Photographer Chuck Valente

Officers & Directors 2021 Big RAM Little RAM Dave Block Secretary Jim Coalwell Assistant Secretary Dave Scheeff Treasurer Chuck Crockett Assistant Treasurer Dick Buckwalter Directors Terry Buterbaugh Paul Holden Bob Johansen Ray Lovelady John Nelson J.P. Webster

THE RAM's CREED

The purpose of RAMs is to assist retired men to renew old friendships and provide the opportunity to make new ones. THE RAMS ARE JUST FOR FUN . They espouse no political party, religious organization, or philanthropic enterprise. Members are men who have retired from full time gainful employment at least once.

Retired Active Men, Inc, is a non-profit organization for retired men, devoted to the promotion of independence and dignity in retirement.

Retired Active Men, Inc., is a non-profit organization for retired men, devoted to the promotion of independence and dignity in retirement. All tours, golf and other activities arranged by Retired Active Men, Inc., and its branches are for the convenience and pleasure of the members and their guests who desire to participate. Retired Active Men, Inc., its branches and its individual members do not assume any liability for the well being or safety of the participants or passengers or their guests or property in any manner pertaining to said tours, trips, golf or other activities.

Branches Meeting Place Meeting Time Phone Five Cities (#1) Elks Lodge, Oceano 2nd Monday, 11:30 343-6010 San Luis Obispo (#2) Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo 3rd Tuesday, 11:30 773-5142 Santa Maria (#3) Merrill Gardens 4th Tuesday, 8:30 739-1026 Morro Bay (#6) Morro Bay Community Center 2nd Tuesday, 8:30 995-3738

Past Big RAMs Dave Burgeson 2020 J.P. Webster 2019 Jim de Vos 2018 Bud Johnson 2017 Bob Rampton 2016 Sandy Eastman 2015 Harry Yasumoto 2014 Sandy Eastman 2013

Terry Buterbaugh 2012 Dan Gaddis 2011 Chuck Valente 2010 Dick Higuera 2009 Bob Skaggs 2008 Frank Mackie 2007 Roy Moss 2006 Howard Miura 2005 Bob Cary 2004

Richard Roberts 2003 Scott Metcalf 2002 Bob Christianson 2001 Ted Beasley 2000 Jim Webster 1999 Dave Nicolas 1998 Walt Puzio 1997 Milt Whitley 1996 Tony Brescia 1995

Gene Gates 1994 Jim Murphy 1993 Bob Hoagland 1992 Pete St. Peter 1991 Chuck Newbee 1990 Fred Appleton * 1989 Fred Appleton * 1988 * RAM Founder

Five Cities RAMs Board of Directors January 11, 2021

Members present: Terry Buterbaugh, Dave Block, Paul Holden, and Jim Coalwell. Some members have moved out of the area. Dave Block volunteered to prepare an email to them (for Terry to sign) asking their preference for retaining membership. We do not have dues for this. COVID year and former members are always welcome to come to our meetings. Paul Holden has submitted his Travel Log article and we will need additional volunteers for continued Newsletters. We will need additional volunteers for the Spotlight also. Given the absence of meetings during COLVID, there will be no formal audit of the books this year. Ladies Day, usually in May, is cancelled this year. Hopefully, we will be able to have our Christmas Party - we don’t know yet.

Pismo Golf Results

January 5 . .. no tournament January 12 Low Gross. 1st place .... Al Augustine . net 28 2nd place ... John Walker .. net 29 3rd place ... Gordon Hall .. net 29 CTP(#6) .... Low Putts .. January 19 Low Gross. 1st place .... Ray Lovelady net 29 2nd place ... Don Frommelt net 29 3rd place ... Gordon Hall .. net 30 CTP(#3) .... Don Frommelt 15’- 7” Low Putts .. January 26 .. no tournament

Five Cities RAMS

Monthly Tournament January 21 at Rancho Maria Low Gross Paul Holden 89 1st place Ray Lovelady net 63 2nd place Dave Davies net 65 3rd place Jim Gregory net 68 Closest-to-the-Pin Contest: Front Nine: Chuck Lewis (#9) Back Nine: John Deniz (#15) The next tournament will be held at Morro Bay on Friday, February 19 at 9:00 am. For info or sign-up, call: J.P. Webster (481-2117) or webster255@att.net

Oh Sedona Paul Holden

My wife Anne and I own a timeshare studio in Waikiki. We visit every couple of years but trade it often for some other fun place to go. The last few years we have used it to discover America. This last November we traded it for a week at the Sedo-na Pines Lodge located a few miles west of Sedona. Through friends we had heard of good and fun things to do there. So, we looked forward to the trip as it came to departure time. It was nice that it would be drivable for a couple of reasons. We would not need to get on an airplane during COVID and we could pack up Anne’s sewing machine (she is an avid quilter) and my golf clubs. The drive looked like it could take 12 hours, so we broke it up and made it 2/3rds of the way to Kingman, AZ, where we spent the night and had pizza. The next day’s drive proved to be extraordinary. Just be-fore Flagstaff we headed south to Route 89A that takes right into Sedona. What the map (Google) didn’t show was that you were going down 1500 feet to the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon, where

Sedona is located. As we went down and down and down, the canyon walls rose higher and higher. We were planning on going to the Grand Can-yon during our stay, but I began to wonder if it could be much more spectacular than the canyon walls which now surrounded us.

We arrived at our destination to find the accommodations to be separate adobe units. The size of which were like a single wide mobile home with ceilings and lots of windows and sky lights. It was just right for the two of us. We were pleased that the lodge had a nice Italian restaurant, which meant we could set-tle in and didn’t have to go far for our first night out. There was also an Olympic sized pool and two hot tubs on the premises. We enjoyed them a lot. I really enjoy a swim first thing in the morn-ing to get me started up ;<} One of the best benefits of a timeshare is they normally come with a full kitchen. So, you don’t have to dine out all the time and it feels more like a home away from home. Well, the next day Anne set up her quilting corner and I went over to Cot-tonwood (10 miles west) to golf. That evening we planned out the rest of our stay. One of the most popular things to do is take a jeep tour of the red rock countryside. So, we signed up for a tour. We chose a

mild ride and enjoyed it very much. The guide filled us in on some of the Hollywood history of the area. John Wayne’s movie “Tall in the Saddle” had been filmed there and he was giv-en some property to live on up until he passed away. Walt Disney had continued on page 4

planned to build an amusement park there, but permitting became so difficult that he built his ‘Disneyland’ in LA. Sights along the jeep trail were beautiful. We took a couple of stops along the way for photo ops, and at one stop the guide broke out a divining rod and let us try our luck at finding a magnetic vortex near the stop. That came easy for a few of us. Renowned Vortexes for spiritual healing are found throughout the Sedona area. The Sedona Pines Lodge put on a few free shows/demonstrations during our stay. One was with a Native American whose ancestry had vast experi-ence with the local Vortexes. Another evening we were treated to a local Na-tive American flutist. He played several of his flutes for us. It was very en-joyable to listen to with one’s eyes closed, letting the music take you on a mystical journey. We loved going into Sedona from our lodge as the red rock canyon walls rose up and surrounded the town. Perhaps the most beautiful town set-ting I have ever experienced. The most memorable experience of the area for me was touring the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is a beautiful chapel carved into the cliff side. It was a bit of a climb to get up to it, although there are free taxis that take you to the stairway entrance. Once you enter the chapel, which was inspired by a Catholic couple, you can light a candle in remembrance. As you walk forward in the chapel, you can’t help but be struck by the crucifix in the front. It is a larger than life bronze like metal sculpture of Christ on the Cross. As I approached near to it, I felt overwhelmed as he looked down on me as if to say “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” One day we did a day trip to the grand canyon, about a 3 hour drive. All I can say is that there is not a picture that can do it justice. It is so huge and awe inspiring. We treated ourselves to dessert at the El Tovar Lodge, which was built in 1905 (14 years before the Grand Canyon was named a na-tional park), a beautiful historic lodge right on the south rim, where the wait-ers are in black tie. It was very nice and fine dining. Well, we were told that going to Sedona the first week of November we

could experience bad weather and snow. But as luck would have it, we had lovely weather with many 70’s in the day time up until the end of the week. We were treated to a thunder storm one evening. A couple of days before we were scheduled to depart, the forecast indeed called for a major change in the weather with snow and cold rain predicted for our last day. So, we cut our stay a day short and headed home with thoughts of returning some day.

Member Spotlight for February, 2021 Larry Meredith

Larry Meredith was born in June, 1940 in Santa Monica, CA and lived in the greater Los Angeles area throughout his childhood and college years. His father moved among several employers in the burgeoning aerospace industry of that day. Larry attended grammar schools in Burbank and in Westchester, and graduated from

Westchester High School. In fact, Larry was a member of the first graduating class to go all the way through the full three years of high school at Westchester High. Immediately following high school, Larry enrolled at Santa Monica City College and obtained an Associate of Arts degree before transferring to Cal State Northridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He then enrolled in graduate school at USC, where he earned his MBA in marketing in 1965. The next thirty years of Larry’s life and career found him moving among a number of main-frame, minicomputer, and microcomputer companies in the LA and Orange County area, where he held various sales and headquarter marketing positions. The mainframe computer companies where he was employed included Honeywell EDP, Scientific Data Systems (SDS), and Basic Four. Mini-computer companies included General Automation, and Sperry Univac Minicomputer Operations (MCO). Larry then joined his favorite company, Apple Computer, at their Garden Grove, CA facility, which was Apple’s Accessory Products Division. Here Larry was the product marketing manager of all graphics and communication products. When Apple moved the Accessory Products Division’s marketing organization to Cupertino in the bay area, Larry left Apple as he and his wife elected to remain in Orange County. Larry then joined Epson (many people may not know or remember that Epson made microcomputers as well as printers). A couple of years later, Epson shut down their microprocessor division, and once again Lar-ry found himself at a crossroads. In the mid 1980s, Larry decided to change careers and joined his wife’s (Joyce) family in their retail ‘autograph and movie memorabilia’ business. After learning the business, with his wife’s fami-ly blessing and help, Larry founded his own autograph and movie memorabilia business (Sterncastle Collectibles in Irvine, CA) specializing in vintage Hollywood (1930s and 40s) Scifi/Horror/Fantasy. He operated Sterncastgle Collectables for ten years, during which time he wrote a monthly column for Autograph Collector Magazine. In 2005 he was named Autograph Dealer of the Year by the Univer-sal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC) organization. With that feather in his cap, Larry decided to retire later the same year (2005). Then in 2013 he and Joyce moved to Nipomo (along with seven of their Orange County friends), where they live at Blacklake. In addition to his wife, Larry has a daughter and two grandchildren. His hobbies include genealogy research as well as researching and authoring articles on cosmology (e.g. astronomy and astrophysics) and related subjects (even including UFOs, now called UAPs - Unidentified Aerial Phe-nomena), which he sends to many of his friends. The RAMs are very happy that Larry landed in Nipomo and joined the RAMs in early 2019.