OLDEST PHOTOMAPPER COMMITTEE REPORT

Omaha, NE    September 2006

   Number-wise this has been another good year for the Oldest Photomapper Program. Since the last reunion 18 additional Association members have enrolled. This brings the total since the Program's inception to 167. As to losses, we were notified of the deaths of five of our members. And this year we have a new loss category, and that is those that are not current with their dues. We lost seven via that route. I'll say more about that in a second. The bottom line is that we had a net gain of six members, and to me any year we can show a net gain is a good one! Another good indicator is that our three youngest members all signed up this year; and that bodes well for the longevity of the program.

  Now back to those we had to remove from the Program due to not having their dues current. As I hope you are all aware, the Oldest Program has no membership fee or dues, but its Charter DOES require each member to be current with Association dues. As a part of your Board's effort to control printing and postage cost, it audited our membership roster to see that all members were current. I was shocked to learn that 35 weren't! So, I put a note in the Photomapper Newsletter explaining the requirement, begging those delinquent to pay up, and warning that those who didn't would be removed from the Program on 30 June. That brought a good response and cut the number of bad guys to 19. I then wrote personal letters to each of these begging again for them to pay. 12 more responded, leaving the seven who were deleted. Although I hated to lose anyone, I didn't feel too badly about six of the seven as I think we adequately described the requirement and gave adequate warning. However, one, Carmon Schiller, we could not find. We used three of the personal locators on the internet and found several potential addresses for him in or around Oklahoma City, but we couldn't locate him. I even finagled an unlisted phone number for a C. Schiller in Oak. City, but I ended up talking to a hard-of-hearing female in a nursing home. We had a horrible time understanding each other, but I concluded that unless he has become a transsexual, she is not our Carmon! Anyway, if anyone knows where Carmon may be, please let me know. I only tell you all of this to encourage you to check your address labels each time you get a Newsletter and keep your dues current. The audit of our roles will now be an annual thing, and I sure don't want to lose anymore members!

  Next is the status of the VIP's in our Program. At 93 years young, George Braceland continues to be our oldest. Though what he does continues to boggle my mind, he tells me he is "aging gracefully". He has cut his gym visits from three days a week to one, but has compensated by hiring a second personal trainer to come in one day a week. Now he swims and works out in his pool everyday as it is easier on the joints. Also, he has converted one of his five huge flower gardens from annuals to perennials as they are less work. Mentally he is as sharp and inquisitive as ever. In his large greenhouse he has taken up experimenting with hydroponics-gardening in water rather than soil. Currently he has 23 different flowers and vegetables in that experiment.

  Our second oldest (and former oldest), Bill Sapp, physically has had a better year this year than last. At 91 years of age it seems he plans to hang around awhile. He became a Life Member of the Association this year. For you that know him, you know how astute he is concerning anything financial. Since the Life Membership fee equates to 10 years worth of annual dues, I can only conclude that he plans to be with us at least that long. Enough on our old guys.

  At the other end of the age spectrum, we have a brand new Diaper Dandy, and he's only 60 years old. His name is Jerry Saieg. Several of you probably met him last year as he and his wife, Linda, were at that reunion. He wanted to be here again this year, but was obligated to attend the graduation from Air Force Basic Training of one of his nieces-and we can surely understand why he chose that! Ordinarily I would have great concerns about our Baby-especially one so young. But, I don't think I'll worry about Jerry. He's used to being the youngest, so he's learned to cope. He entered Air Force Basic on his 17th birthday, and that made him the youngest military guy at Lackland at the time. His first and only operational assignment was with the 1373rd Mapping and Charting Squadron in the Photo Lab. Again, he was the youngest person in the Squadron. When he separated from the Service after four years, he went to work for the Southland Corporation, and at just 21 became the youngest manager of one of their 7 - Eleven Food Stores. So, you see, he IS used to being the youngest. But to quote Bill Clinton just a couple of weeks ago when HE turned 60, "I was used to being the youngest at whatever I undertook; but now every time I attend a function, I find myself the oldest in the room!" Well, if Jerry can ever say that at one of our reunions, he will have won our trophy and plaque because that is PRECISELY the goal of our Oldest Program!

  Lastly, the moment you have all been waiting for-my annual tips for assuring longevity and giving Jerry Saieg a run for his money. As you will recall, for the last three reunions these tips have come from my exhaustive studies of our two oldest members to date as, after all, they have had the BEST luck at staying alive. I think I've milked them for about all I can; so, this year I've turned to those who had the LEAST luck at staying alive-those on our Deceased List. I thought there might be something to learn THERE when I noted every time I heard of a death, it wasn't one of our oldest members nor one of our youngest; but invariably one from somewhere in the middle of the list. So, I dusted off my Statistics 101 text and performed a statistical study of those 23 who have passed and then applied the relevant statistical indicators to our membership as a whole.

  But before I could do this, I had to assure myself that we do comprise a statistical "population", and that my sample was adequate in number to represent this population. I concluded that since we are all male; all were born within about 30 years of each other; all chose to join the Air Force, the AFPMA, and the World's Oldest Photomapper Program; and all were healthy enough at one time to pass an Air Force physical that yes, we did have enough in common to be considered a "population" for this purpose. Since my sample of 23 constitutes about 14 % of those ever enrolled in the Program, it was an adequate one. Crunching the numbers, I first learned that the Average (or Mean) age at death was 76.4 years and the Median (that is, the same number died younger as older) was 74.5 years. I then calculated the Standard Deviation (or Sigma) of the Mean which indicates how reliable the Mean is; and this turned out to be pretty good at 1.5 years. So, we've learned that statistically a member can be expected to die at 76.4 +/- 1.5 years-or between 74.9 and 77.9. I then computed the 3 Sigma number which identifies outliers; that is, people who statistically fall outside the population. (Have I lost you yet? Hang on, it doesn't last much longer).

  Statisticians say that for these outliers NOTHING can be concluded statistically, and they should not be considered in any conclusions or predictions based on the statistical indicators. In other words, in our case that would be anyone older than 81.0 or younger than 71.8. Well, I'm no professional statistician, so I'd rather say that since the stats don't apply to these guys, we can assume ANYTHING we want about them instead of saying NOTHING about them.

  Okay, now for the punch lines-my advice for longevity. It appears we have to divide our membership into three groups. First, those out of the population on the high side i.e. those over 81.0. These guys have been so successful at staying alive that they've already outlived the stats. So, to them I say, "Just continue to do whatever you're doing, and you'll probably live forever." Next, those out of the population on the young side i.e. those younger than 71.8. I'd recommend to you, "Eat, drink and make Mary, 'cause no matter what you do, you WILL live to be at least that age!" That leaves those of us between 71.8 and 81.0 to worry about. That includes me, so I thought long and hard about what to advise. Then it came to me. It's just "Keep breathing until we're 81!! What could be easier? Combine this hint with those of previous years and we have: Play Bridge, plant seeds and grow things, try at least one new thing each year and keep breathing. Do those four things and we'll all be around to attend the reunion next year!

  Well, that was sure worth waiting for, wasn't it? Now before you start booing and hissing, remember the Oldest Program cost you NOTHING, and you get what you pay for!