Some Highlights of my life (and some ordinary dates)


     Born 1941  in Michigan, then moved to Texas, then to Florida
     Fall 1947  Entered 1st grade in a 4-room/8-grade school at Harold, FL
     Fall 1949  Entered 3rd grade at Chumuckla, FL, school
  October 1949  Halloween "King" (I think my father put $5 in the "vote" jar!-)
     Fall 1950  Entered 4th grade at Sylvania Heights (Miami, FL) school
   Spring 1950  Moved to Glen Oaks Farm about 13 miles north of Milton, FL
     Fall 1951  Entered 5th grade at Allentown (now Central) School, FL
     Fall 1955  Entered 9th grade at Milton (FL) High School
     June 1956  Won Florida State 4-H Club Public-Speaking Contest
   Summer 1958  Attended Florida Boys' State
Graduated 1959  Valedictorian & National Merit Scholarship Finalist
     Fall 1959  Entered Graceland College (now University), Lamoni, IA
      May 1960  Received my "Novice" amateur-radio license (KN0BCC)
September 1960  Met Nancy Borland, my (future) wife, in Calculus class
      May 1961 Graduated Summa Cum Laude (78 hours in four semesters!)
     June 1961  Received my "General" amateur-radio license (W4WKV)
     Fall 1961  Entered University of Kansas (Harvard on the Kaw?), Lawrence, KS
          1961  Received small RCA Scholarship while at KU
          1962  Received small Boeing Scholarship while at KU
    BS EE 1963  Graduated Summa Cum Laude
   Summer 1963  MTS @ Bell Telephone Laboratories (a TERRIFIC place to work!)
    MS EE 1964  Colorado State University (on an NSF Scholarship)
  Nov. 22 1963  Proposed to Nancy (JFK had his problems, but life goes on)
  Married 1964  Nancy Jane Borland; "Until death do us part"
                http://mcalhoun.sdf.org/GiveMeYourHand.jpg
                http://mcalhoun.sdf.org/GiveMeYourHand.mp4
September 1965  Edith, my daughter, was born in Phoenix, AZ, hospital
   Summer 1966  Engineer @ EG&G (Las Vegas/Jackass Flats; "Q" clearance; don't ask!)
   PhD EE 1967  Arizona State University (on a three-year NASA Fellowship)
     Fall 1967  Joined Fairchild Semiconductor R&D Lab (SYMBOL computer)
      May 1968  Omner, my 1st son, was born in Stanford, CA, hospital
          1969  Certified for Life to teach California Adult-Education Program
 November 1970  Aaron, my 2nd son, was born in Stanford, CA, hospital
     Fall 1971  Moved to Kansas (and have never regretted it!-) to become an
                Assistant Professor in CS & EE Depts at Kansas State University
   Summer 1973  Consultant, DIT-MCO (8008 microcomputer-based cable testing)
     1973-1974  Consultant, Unified Industries; Alexandria, VA
          1974  Consultant/Reviewer, Science Research Associates; Palo Alto, CA
          1975  Pastor'd a small church in Blue Rapids, KS
          1975  Officiated my first baptism ceremony
          1976  Associate Professor, now just in Computer Science Department
          1977  Officiated my first funeral ceremony
          1978  Consultant, National Semiconductor Corp; Sunnyvale, CA
          1978  Consultant, Irons & Sears (Patent Counsel); Washington, DC
          1979  Consultant/Reviewer, Reston Pub. Co. (Prentice-Hall); Reston, VA
          1980  "Dr. Calhoun is a son of a bitch, but he's good and he's fair."
                (student statement in a Deans-and-students-only meeting.)
   Summer 1984  Eglin Air Force Base (Florida) (8086 micro-computer software)
  October 1985  Received "Advanced" amateur-radio license (now W0PBV)
   Summer 1986  Micro-Electronics & Computer-Technology Corporation (MCC)
     Fall 1986  Fulbright Professor at University of Benin, Nigeria, Africa
     June 1987  Weeklong "detention" in Nigeria (the SSS thought I was a spy!)
     Fall-1987  Back at Kansas State University (KSU)
          1990  Officiated my first wedding ceremony
          1990  Received the KSU William Stamey Teaching Award
   Summer 1990  Argonne National Laboratory (more atomic stuff; don't ask)
          1992  Became a docent on KPBS, the Konza Prairie Biological Station
  January 1997  Retired (and I'm still loving every minute of it!)
    April 1997  Started driving a schoolbus (mornings-only; kids are asleep then!)
   Summer 1997  Volunteered at both NRA Whittington Adventure two-week camps
    March 1999  Started helping with planned burns of KPBS watersheds
 December 2000  Served on a jury for nine days (civil case; "acquitted")
   Spring 2001  Taught Electronics at Manhattan Area Technical College
   Summer 2001  PIT archaeological survey in west-central New Mexico
     Fall 2001  Visiting Professor at Graceland University (my 1st Alma Mater!)
  January 2003  Turned 62 and started receiving Social (in)Security payments;
                all you still-working people have my heartfelt thanks!
     July 2005  Wife Nancy (finally) retired!
  January 2006  Turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare (Thanks again!)
      May 2006  Retired again (after driving a school-bus for nine years)
     June 2006  Became a Kansas CCH (Concealed-Carry Handgun) Instructor
 November 2007  Took my first (and probably last) Caribbean cruise
 February 2009  Tried to remove my left index finger (see my home web page)
    March 2011  Visited a 16-year-old grandson whom I had not seen in 13 years!
 December 2013  Became a GREAT-grandfather! (a girl)
     June 2014  Graduated my 39th/last CCH class and certified my 293rd trainee
   August 2015  Suffered an "eye stroke" (CRAO); I am now blind in my right eye
    April 2017  Now have TWO great-grandchildren (one girl, one boy)
          2020  Left eye is now going blind; getting old "sucks" big time!
 February 2021  Received 1st Covid-19 vaccination (and regular boosters
 thereafter)
     June 2022  Caught Covid-19 anyway and slept almost 24/7 for two weeks!
 December 2023  I am still married to Nancy (now almost 60 years!) and
                I am still on the top-side of the daisies!

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Six boxes preserve our freedoms:  cash, soap, ballot, witness, jury, & cartridge
Barbershop Tenor and Life member of SPPBSQSUS
Amateur Radio Operator (WØPBV)
Life Member of both the NRA and GOA

This page was last modified on Sunday, 14 April, 2024.