Lona and I hope your Christmas will be delightful.

We have just returned from a wonderful experience in Rolla, MO where UMR honored me with a Professional Degree of Physics at the winter commencement.  When the invitation came, I was most surprised.  I thought surely they had mistakened me for someone else, so I quickly accepted before they realized their mistake.  Receiving this honorary degree was a very emotional experience.  The occasion was one of the high points of our life.  We waited to send our greetings so we could tell you about it.

While I was there, I gave a seminar to the Physics students about my career in industrial physics. I also related to the faculty what the physics alumni at the University of MO - Columbia have contributed to the department's success.  I am the past president of that group.  The UMC physics alumni have given annual career seminars and workshops to the students and advised the faculty.  In our early years, we gave feedback to the University administration that the department needed to expand. This resulted in approval for several new faculty positions.

In my retirement, I am doing things to give back a portion of what I have received.  Most important is to donate platelets every month. Someone donated the platelets that helped save my niece's life when she had bone cancer as a teenager.

Last winter we had our best ski season ever, including Christmas at Sun Valley.  It was beautiful there.  Last summer, however, we really got down to work and improved our house -- new double-pane windows, gutters, garage door, and house paint.  With the new furnace and air conditioner we had installed the previous summer, the place is now in quite good shape.

We worked hard and rehabilitated Lona's leg to the extent that we were able to take delightful, weekly hikes in the coastal mountains again.  I coached her and massaged her cramped muscles so she could continue to increase her distance.  After about a year, she no longer cramped up and we were able to take hikes as long as 11.5 miles with steep hills.  We continue to have an active cultural life.  I took up golf again and play even worse than before.  Retirement is good.

Make it a great year!

Don (but Lona improved it)

Photographer: Don Packwood
Photograph: Sunrise alpenglow on Mt. Muir from the summit of Mt. Whitney -- 1977
Technical Details: Nikkormat Ftn, Kodak Kodachrome 64, Scanned by HP ScanJet 5370C