Mke Hardester writes: "My point is this -- facts and figures about a person are nice, but that tells us virtually nothing about the person as a whole. We DO need to preserve this for future generations. "Comments, Mr. Krumudgeon?"
The proverbial nail has been pummeled on the noggin when it comes to what ties a group of people together, whether it be shared blood lines, such as in genealogy, or a shared, esoteric, weird hard-for-outsiders-to-comprehend hobby. I inherited the genealogical hobby from my parents, but I wanted more than dates of birth, death and marriage for ancestors, descendants, cousins and spouses. Family history means who they were and what they did ... and, in my case, I'm trying to find as many living cousins as possible. If all we know about a fellow DX hobbyist is the number of stations he's heard and the equipment he's used, t'ain't that easy to establish relationships. DX'ing can be a lonely hobby ... it's certainly not a spectator sport ... but from the very beginning of my becoming involved in the hobby, I've been interested in who my fellow hobbyists are. In fact, when I invented DX'ing in 1947, I spread the hobby to three of my fellow 7th-graders at Franklin School in Corvallis, Oregon. (It took a couple of years before I realized that Medium Wave DX'ing was a worldwide phnomenon.) I guess my interest in the who of DX'ing as well as the what is exemplified by the many photos I've taken, at conventions, at regional get-togethers and even at DX'ers homes. There are a number of subjects that show up on the various DX lists that hold little or no interest for me, but I know they are interesting to others on the list. I don't have to read them, but I certainly wouldn't deny their availability to those who are interested. John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Retired Newspaper Editor, DX-oyente, Krum TX (AKA Qal R. Mann, Krumudgeon) _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
