5 minute freewrite 2796 prompt what’s the frequency?

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This is my post for #freewriters 2796 prompt what’s the frequency? hosted by @mariannewest

My Dad liked to sit at his ham radio and talk to people around the world. I remember when he changed antennas, he got what I will call a tower. It had three sides with cables anchored into the ground. I am thinking it went up 75 feet, and with us right on the beach, there wasn't any interference to get in his way.

He called himself Old Hen, his name was Henry. He became friends with a man who called himself The Rambler, he lived in Panama. I was amazed at how he could talk to someone so far away.

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I guess they talked a lot because the next thing I knew, Dad and my Stepmom were going on a plane to meet The Rambler and his wife in Panama. We kids were not told until right before they left. I asked lots of questions, but did not ask about their talks, like what’s the frequency? Or, how well do you know him? And I did not like my Dad being gone, Mom left us, but he had never left us.

I remember hearing their stories about the plane. I have never been on one like that, or even seen one, and they let Dad sit in the cockpit where the pilot sat. They said the plane had two levels to it, in the middle there were stairs, and at the bottom was a piano with someone playing it, and the stewardess was pouring glasses of champagne for everyone who wanted it.

When they landed, they were supposed to look for a woman in a red dress, but the Rambler's wife had a problem with her red dress and wore a yellow one, but somehow they found each other. They had a great time and stayed friends until Dad no longer had his radio.
photos are mine

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11 comments
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I love that story and the photo! Those were the days when people dressed up to go on an airplane. I've never been on an airplane with two levels and a piano. I don't suppose those things exist any more, certainly not the piano.

I do remember flying from Oregon to Texas when my brother was commissioned in the Air Force, in the late 1960s. It must have been a very important occasion for my parents to spend money to fly there for it. My sister and I went along, too. We flew Northwest Orient Airlines. The stewardesses changed clothes several times, always fancy outfits.

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Yes, they did dress for flying, and the women also wore gloves. My first flight was in the 1960s, too. There was bad weather, and the plane shook as I was drinking hot chocolate, and it went all over my nice dress.

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In a way, the ham radio community was the precursor to modern internet forums and communities like Hive. Call signs were like our user names here. My grandfather was a pioneer of ham radio in the 1930s, and I wonder what he would think of today. He died after Myspace and Facebook existed, but he never joined the computer age.

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My Dad was the same way as your grandfather, he lived to see the internet but never learned how to use it.

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