49ers

 Twenty meters was half open to the US this morning. In a series of QSOs with guys in the East Coast to the Middle West, whose signals were pretty weak, I got a call from Dennis WA2USA in Indiana. His call sounded familiar at first look from the suffix. But I was cautious not to mix it up with another friend of mine WA0USA. 

He told me he had been glad to see me after a long absence. It has convinced me of our QSO in the past. My old index notebook I used to keep before starting with the PC log about 10 years ago told me we had had the 1st ever in 1989. He was pleased to know our 1st ever was back such a long time ago. He told me he was 71 years of age now. 

I have told him the following story; I am in the same age. There are a lot of hams with the same age. We call ourselves as 49ers, sometimes, almighty 49ers. 

I was surprised that he had mentioned of John K1JD as another example of 49ers. i answered to him that he had been the guru of 49ers. Dennis has agreed that and told me John had been the main person. 

 Not too often but sure sometimes, I have fun to see those with the same age. In Japan, 49ers are the last generation of the baby boomers after the WWII. We 49ers have fought in the competition of entrance exam for universities, of that for "good" companies and so forth. We have got through the same mile stones of life for the past decades. Even though the situation might not be quite same in the US mainly due to their experience with a series of wars out of their country, we might share many things in the past time. It makes us feel close each other. While talking to Dennis on the almost closing band, I was thinking of such a thing.

Our generation might go away from the history not too long. But until then, may we have pleasure to share our own histories as 49ers on the air.

John in his young days; the right, the left is K1MEM when he was still alive.

Me and my wife in early '80s when I came back on the air from a resident house of a university hospital, taken at the campus.