[South Florida DX Association] Grant, N4GM Silent Key

[Bob Patten]

    Grant was the hi-tech member of the Guano Reef Bashful Perverts 
Field Day group for the past four years.
He pushed us to get the bonus points for alternative means of 
communication such as satellite, APRS, SSTV,
and Packet.  He worked especially hard over the past year to perfect his 
equipment and talent to garner some
satellite QSO's in this past June's FD.  What a shock when we showed up 
at Grant's house on the morning of
FD only to find out that he was already in trouble and too weak to make 
the trip.  He had even bought ARRL FD
shirts for the three of us at the Dayton Hamfest, so of course Kevin and 
I wore ours for the event.  We also
brought Grant's telescoping mast and ladder to erect our forty meter 
dipole.  I guess it's appropriate that our FD
site for the past thirty eight years is to be closed next spring and 
condominiums built on the KOA property.

     Our last field trip together turned out to be the QRP "Flight of 
the Bumblebees" last August.  Grant and I drove
down to Fiesta Key at MM70 (our usual spot for FD) and alternated hours 
operating for the duration.  Typical of me,
I forgot to pack headsets, but we found a little girl at a nearby 
campsite who loaned us the earbuds from her Walkman.
The wind was blowing that day, so we turned a second picnic table on end 
and used it for a windbreak.
And speaking of QRP events, Grant would often find me beaconing my usual 
F1 CQ in some obscure QRP sprint
and run through six bands with me for that elusive Florida multiplier.

     I tend to be too competitive, while Grant always pushed to "be the 
best he can be".  I admired him greatly for that.
Forgive the cliche, but we WILL miss him!  Our Field Day this past June 
certainly wasn't the same without him,
and I will miss his booming signal from just off Oakland Park Blvd.  The 
Field Day ladder is back in his garage,
but he is instead using that same Stairway to Heaven that Peg loved so 
much.  Rest in peace buddy.

-- 
73,     Bob Patten, N4BP                Plantation, FL

E-Mail: n4bp at arrl.net                   Website: http://www.qsl.net/n4bp
QRP ARCI #3412    SOC #1    ARS #799    SMIRK #6625          FISTS #7871