One part of my motto states “people I know”.  With this being my actual first “real” post, I’d like to use this opportunity to remember one of my dearest friends.  On Tuesday, June 26 2012, Jim Krumal passed away. This man helped me greatly when I first left the Air Force and went into the private sector.  I was hired by TRW Information Networks Division as a Field Tech supporting their proprietary LAN interface devices (who remembers the ACU and the LAN Loader?). Jim worked out of the TRW office in Torrance, CA and decided to transfer to Dayton and support the AFITNET and MEDLAN projects.  After he and his family relocated to Dayton, we spent many weekends together.  Grilling out was one of Jim’s favorite things to do. My first summer working for TRW I never went hungry thanks to Jim and his wife, Terrie. They made me feel like I was part of their family.

There are so many good memories of the times I shared with Jim.  The TRW bowling league, travel for work, Aftermath, Scarpelli’s basement parties, Redd Foxx on the flight from LA to Detroit, coffee, Chinese food, more grill outs, business, and helping me move several times.  One of my favorite memories is from the Dayton Air and Trade show in the summer of 1988.  Myself, Jim, Barney Leslie, and Sam Smith all worked the trade show demoing the various TRW products.  During one of our off periods away from the vendor booth, Jim and I went out to check out all the aircraft lined up on the runway.  We happened to run into one of the local meteorologists (her name escapes me now).  I snapped a picture of their meeting thinking I could use it as “blackmail” against him.  After the picture was developed I gave him a copy. I always told him it looked like this woman was making a pass at him. We laughed about this picture for many years.

Jim will always be a special part of my life. When you look at the picture from the Air Show, just think what a good man he was.