Professor Doctor Colonel Tom Kiehne found

By Tom Obert
Roundup Reporter
Three weeks ago, fully-armed with a car, camera, and a generous expense allowance from Trailboss Stan, this reporter, with the invaluable assistance of guide Ruthie Sacagawea, set off in search of elusive '65 classmate, the Professor Doctor Colonel Tom Kiehne.

We began by heading west into South Dakota where the posted speed limit is "asfastasyoudare" and where the posted gas prices were "beyondyourmeans." We then went south through Nebraska and Kansas, which turned out to be surprisingly green for this time of year (apparently many "Kansanians" were quite taken aback to discover that water actually falls from the sky).

Hey, we know Ray Farley!
We spent the first night in a Wichita motel. When we drove into the parking lot, a pick-up with an "OU" flag flying from its window had backed into another pick-up, the only other vehicle on the lot, and hooked the rear bumpers together. As we watched the scene of attempted separation, all we could think was . . . "Boomer Sooner!" And as is so often the case on these adventures, we met a couple there at breakfast the next morning who were from Minnesota. They were snowbirds heading back from San Padre Island to Itasca, Minn. and are close friends with the Ray Farleys. Ray was a junior high science and math teacher in Alexandria.

On the road again, we began to hit the road kill transition area where from north to south it changes from squirrel, skunk, and deer to 'possum, armadillo, and longhorn steer. There is no sharp line of demarcation - more of a gradual merge. Maintaining a constant trip speed during these encounters is often challenged by a desire to provide proper interment to those poor creatures who lost their confrontation with an internal combustion vehicle.

Late on the second day, we made it to the Kiehne abode in Lakeway, Texas, in the hill country outside of Austin. You may have noticed that Dr. Kiehne has, to date, been loathe to submit his life story, or even a fragment, to the reunion blogsite. In the interest of fair and partial disclosure, I hereby toot his horn.

Voted most popular professor in his category
Tom was a West Pointer, a classmate of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (yes, I had to look up the spelling) and just a couple years behind Wesley Clark. Tom retired from the Army as a colonel and has been teaching and researching at the University of Texas for the past 14 years.
While we were there, he received an award as the most popular mechanical engineering professor at the university. Kudos, Tom! We enjoyed the hospitality of Tom and his wife Anne for several days and were treated to two rounds of golf at their home course, The Hills. The Hills is a Jack Nicklaus design course that will be hosting a Champions Tour tournament at the end of April. If you should watch that tournament, please know that Tom and I were both times able to hit the green (or nearly so) on the signature waterfall hole.

Booty shaking a felony?
While in Texas, we also visited with two sets of friends in San Antonio and the boyhood home of LBJ in Johnson City. To reflect how quickly perceptions can change, we were excited to find gas for a mere $2.01 per gallon in San Antonio. The major news stories in the state while we were there involved proposed legislation to prohibit "booty shaking" by high school cheerleaders (sigh), though it was not clear whether such backfield-in-motion would be considered a misdemeanor or a felony; and the prosecution of a judge for urinating in public (his defense was that he has prostate cancer). Both cases seemed disparate to our perception that the deeper one goes into the Bible Belt, the more likely one is to see roadside "gentlemen's clubs."

Enroute to St. Louis on the return trip and for the Final Four, we drove through some beautiful piney woods country between Texarkana and Little Rock, where we made a brief visit to the Clinton Library. In St. Louis, we met up with old and new friends from various Final Fours in the past - Ruthie's mom and sister drove over from Indiana to join us for the social events (incidentally, Purdue's new basketball coach is Ruthie's sister Rita's nephew).

We were only gone for two weeks - incredibly in that time Terri Schiavo, Pope John Paul II, Frank Perdue, Saul Bellow, and Prince Rainer all died, and we lost a dear neighbor to cancer in San Diego on the day we left. Much needed rain today - enjoyed it while listening to the Kingston Trio (hint: not a rap group).

p.s. To Trailboss Stan - I believe I may have a third party link to Dorothy Diment. She allegedly lives in Woodbury - will advise further when confirmed.