I am an amateur ("ham") radio operator. For those interested my call sign is K4NYM. I am fond of the CW mode (Morse code). I participate in a program called Parks-on-the-Air in which ham's operate from state and national parks for the purpose of using international portable amateur radio operations to promote emergency awareness and communications. Last weekend I was at a state park and was in midst of having a morse code QSO (conversation) with a station in Germany when a hiker came out of the park and heard the "dits and dahs" coming from my transceiver. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was having a ham radio conversation. He said, "Cool!" and gave me a thumbs up. A few minutes later there was a break in the action and I saw the hiker at the vehicle next to me putting away his gear. Since my window was down I told the hiker who I was and what I was doing. He thought it was fascinating. He asked if could take a picture of me and my set up so he could share it with his wife. I said, "Sure!" and posted for a photo. The hiker said that he writes books and would be honored if I would accept one of his books with his autograph on the inside. It turned out this hiker was Patrick Morley, the author of the book "The Man in the Mirror." How great is that? I remember studying his book in a men's group 25 years ago. Both the book and Patrick Morley are still going strong.
