Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK) (amateur “ham” radio operators) met for their monthly breakfast at Southern Recipe, 1381 W. Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas on Saturday, 18 August 2012 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM (planned 9:30 AM). Seventeen people participated in the RWK breakfast. Owners and enthusiasts of the classic Thunderbird were also at Southern Recipe; 20 to 25 Thunderbird owners and enthusiasts were present. (Big 'D' Little Birds chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club International meets for breakfast at Southern Recipe weekly on Saturday morning at 8:45 AM.) I was attending the RWK breakfast when a man with the Thunderbird group recognized me from St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas.

Southern Recipe lost electrical power at 8:33 AM, but conversations continued as if nothing had changed. While the electricity was off, an RWK member asked our waitress if they cook on gas, and she answered that THEY DO NOT. Therefore, we became concerned that our meals were in limbo waiting for the electricity to come back on. Thunderbird owners and enthusiasts moved from a dining room that does not have any windows into the dining area where the RWK was meeting. I was surprised at how patient everybody remained; I saw only one party of three or four people leave before the electricity came back on. Electrical power came back on at 8:55 AM, and our waitress told us a few minutes later that she had just called our orders into the cook. We were all relieved that our meals were NOT in limbo while electrical power was off. We were promptly served excellent meals after the electrical power came back on. RWK conversations included descriptions of our radio stations. I gave some reasons that I have not installed my radio transceiver in my truck; one reason being that I am reluctant to spend money on this while looking for my next source of employment. I made three new friends and noted their names and radio call signs.

After breakfast, most RWK members went to visit a member’s ham shack near the Owens® Spring Creek Farm. A few members did not visit this ham shack because the power outage put them behind schedule. Although this ham shack is near the Spring Creek Farm, it has nothing to do with ham, sausage, bacon, or anything else edible.  Amateur radio operators call the room that houses their radio station a ham shack.

Amateur radio operators participate in a wide variety of activities. However, their public service in response to severe weather, tornadoes, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks receive the most publicity. They monitor severe weather and report events that meet or exceed minimum reporting criteria to the National Weather Service SKYWARN® program via amateur radio. Anybody who has a shortwave radio receiver can listen to these reports; however, a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission is required to transmit on these frequencies.

Skywarn® and the Skywarn® logo are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, used with permission.

A flyer posted in the in the Post Office announcing the 2012 Mid-Cities Stamp Expo rekindled my interest in stamp collecting. I enjoyed attending the Mid-Cities Stamp Club meeting in Irving, Texas on Wednesday night 15 August 2012. The members of this club gave me a warm welcome and encouraged me to pursue my interest in stamp collecting. The program about Tin Can Mail service on Niuafoʻou (also known as Good Hope and Tin Can) island in the Kingdom of Tonga in the southern Pacific Ocean was both interesting and informative. I made some new friends and learned about the Dallas Park-Cities Philatelic Society. There are all kinds of opportunities to make new friends, and the more friends you make the more likely you are to find employment possibilities while doing things you enjoy. 

United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas and their spouses visited the Museum of Biblical Arts in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, 11 August 2012. Our guided tour of the Museum of Biblical Art was very informative, viewing the museum galleries at our own pace increased our appreciation of the museum, and looking in the gift shop gave us possible gift ideas. I especially enjoyed seeing the mural of Jesus leaving the tomb, the collection of King James Bibles, the Centuries Tapestry, the 9-11 statues, and the gallery of Jewish objects. Among the Jewish objects, the concept that giving to the poor helps the giver caught my attention possibly because I heard this presented in a career networking group at Jewish Family Services in Dallas, Texas. (I am a United Methodist who benefits from membership in the 50+ Re-employment Group at Jewish Family Services of Dallas.)

The Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 89 families on Thursday, 09 August 2012 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM CDT. Each family that included from one to nine members selected items from the personal shopping table, and received fresh produce, eggs, and frozen meats in proportion to the family size. School age children received a backpack filled with school supplies appropriate for their grade level. Each family received one number-one and one number-two bag of food items for each family member. The number-one bag of food typically contains canned protein (tuna, chicken, salmon, chili, stew, SPAM©, or ham) and three cans of fruit (apple sauce, pears, peaches, mixed fruit, Mandarin oranges, etc.). The number-two bag of food typically contains four canned vegetables or soups, beans (typically a bag of dried beans when available otherwise two cans of beans), and a grain (rice) or pasta (spaghetti or macaroni and cheese). Those with special dietary needs such as diabetes or allergies were escorted through the dry room and assisted with selection of items that meet their dietary requirements. The content of the bags of food changes according to what is in stock in the panty.

The Seven Loaves Food Pantry is stocked by purchases from the North Texas Food Pantry, donations from local grocery stores, through food collections hosted by local employers, and donations from individual contributors. This food pantry depends on food collections and individual contributors when items are not available from the North Texas Food Bank. The Seven Loaves Food Pantry has not been able to purchase canned fruit from the North Texas Food Bank recently. Therefore, donations of canned fruit (size 303 cans are preferred) will be especially appreciated at this time. Donations should be delivered to St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093; items are collected on the east side of the campus in the first floor hallway of the Education building at the entrance to the Youth Commons – enter through the doors at the north end of the Education building. Receipts for donations are available.

Official information about the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Loaves-Food-Pantry-Community-Center/136331916471019. For more information, call 469-385-1813 or email: [email protected].