In May of 2001, following cataract surgery that permitted me to see without glasses.

October, 2001, visiting Hearst Castle at San Simeon, California. (Click to see fullsize)

I held an Open House Dec. 2, 2001 to show off my new Allen Theatre Organ (Click to see fullsize)

Click here to see photos from that event.

Vikki Carr sang Happy Birthday to me on my 73rd birthday! She happened to be sitting next to me at Tommy Toy's restaurant in San Francisco, where my friend from Tennessee, Mike Nixon, had taken me and his son Thomas for dinner.    What a gracious lady she is!

I framed an 8x10 picture she sent me and placed it in a place of honor on my organ.

Visit Vikki's web site.

Fleet Week in San Francisco is always a big event. In 2002, an estimated one million people watched the celebrations, which, as always, included thrilling flights by the Navy's Blue Angels. I was lucky enough to be on a sail boat out on the Bay, from where I took these pictures. There are more if you click HERE.

Cousin David J. Hyams and myself in September 2003 .

The men of the Hyams family, David K. Hyams, Nathan Hyams, Caetano Hyams, David J. Hyams, Donald Ravey. (On the occasion of the dinner celebrating David and Harriet's 50th wedding anniversary in 2006) (Click for larger image)

I vacationed on the Mediterranean island of Malta from February through March of 2004. Although the weather was unusually stormy that year throughout Europe, my visit was probably the highlight of all my foreign vacations. At left is St. Paul's Bay, where I rented a flat overlooking this fishing boat harbor. At right, I'm in the capitol city of Valletta, Grand Harbor in the background. Please visit my day-by-day MaltaBlog for more photos.

In early May 2004 I stumbled and fell on my right hip (which had been previously weakened during my vacation stay in Malta in February and March), breaking off the top of my right femur. Here are the Xrays before and after my partial hip replacement surgery. (Click to see fullsize)

Here you see my new 2004 Mazda hatchback. After 11 years of driving my old Buick Regal, this is so much fun to drive!

And this was my backyard patio in the summer of 2005, after paving with bricks and buying new patio furniture. (Click to see fullsize)

USS Electra crew members from WW II and the Korean War, when I served, held a ship's reunion in September 2006 in South Lake Tahoe, California. I was in charge of arranging the logistics.

To see many more photos from the reunion, click HERE.

The Queen Mary II sailed through the Golden Gate into San Francsico on February 4, 2007. Too wide to transit the Panama Canal, she sailed from Florida around Cape Horn at the tip of South America,and up to San Francisco. She was escorted into the Bay by the USS Jeremiah O'Brien, a World War II Liberty Ship, which looks like a toy compared with the Queen Mary!

It was a most impressive arrival, greeted with plumes of water from the San Francisco Fire Boats and hundreds of sail boats, on a pleasant, if somewhat hazy day.

(Click on any of these to see full size.)

In 2007 I attended the wedding of my friend, Greg Wojcik.

And this was me in January 2008, at the dinner following the annual membership meeting of NorCal Theatre Organ Society. At the end of the table is Mark Herman, the artist who performed at the concert preceding the meeting.

Here I was in May 2008, at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, "landing" at SFO. I made it, although with a few bounces.

My friend, Craig Kauffman, at the controls of a 747 cockpit mock-up.

In San Diego in September 2008 to attend the reunion of my old ship, USS Electra, and visit friends and familiar places (see this page for more photos). The San Diego skyline has changed dramatically since I lived there! But Point Loma, in the distance in the second photo, hasn't changed nearly as much.

We toured the USS Midway (CV-41) museum and I finally got to sit in the Air Boss's chair in Flight Ops! An aircraft carrier is a vastly different and much larger ship than I served on, but there were many similarities that elicited old memories.

I bought a digital video camcorder in November and have been experimenting and learning how to use it. Click on the montage here to see my video page.

I was flattered to be chosen to be the subject of the Volunteer Spotlight feature of "Moos & Reviews", the monthly newsletter of Hidden Villa in September 2009.

Hidden Villa is a 1600 acre former estate in Los Altos Hills, California. It is a nonprofit educational and ecological institution that conducts a varied schedule of programs associated with organic farming, animal husbandry, hiking, camping, conservation, youth hostel and other community events.

I developed and continue to maintain an online events registration and payment system for their web site. I have enlisted the aid of two other web developers recently, to provide even better support.

After several years of displaying a mustache and goatee, I just decided to get rid of it on October 25, 2009. I don't know that this makes me look any better, but it's faster to shave in the morning.
(Click to view full size--if you really want to!)

Cousin David and me at the 2009 Christmas/Birthday dinner (David's birthday is Dec. 25th!). I gave in and grew back the mustache.
(Click to view full size)