All: I started work at Bryce Canyon as the "Historic Structures and Landscapes Specialist" the week before the Bryce Astro Festival and the concurrent ALCON. I knew about the possibility of this job back in March, so I hesitated to volunteer to help with either event, except to commit to the four nights of public viewing for the Astro Festival. I lost my internet access at my place in Tropic and I'm only rarely able to respond to this group, at least until I have Patrick change my email address. Today I took time to clear out the nearly 200 messages that had accumulated on this account - not all of them spam (unless I count some of your comments. ;-) So forgive me for re-hashing what is by now old news, but I thought some of you might be interested in what I've learned as a Park employee. First, Richard Blake is a great guy to get to know and I consider him a good friend. We all make mistakes, and if Richard has at any time appeared to be overbearing or rude I would attribute it to the stress of what he's doing. If I were judged on the basis of my occasional slips I would not look too good. Anyway, I enjoy his friendship and I look forward to working with him, Kevin, Geoff and the other "interp rangers" throughout the summer. Since the astronomy programs are not in my job description I can volunteer to help. If they were part of my job description, I couldn't volunteer. Funny federal regs - go figure. Some of you have alluded to a run-in at Bryce Point (not the venue for any official events during that week) between some telescope users and other Park visitors. Let me give you some more background. The people who sit patiently and cheerfully at the entrance/fee stations in the hot sun and cold rain were treated VERY poorly by some people who arrived with telescopes and expected free entrance and other accommodations by the Park. The law enforcement folks who told me about this emphasized that they did not seem to be SLAS members but perhaps ALCON visitors who did not know the rules. (Funny, I thought that treating people kindly and with respect was a rule we all learned by Kindergarten.) It was, apparently, some of these people who set up scopes at Bryce Point. When one of the LE rangers went out to talk to them, I believe after receiving complaints about their behavior to other visitors, they were EXTREMELY rude and abusive to the ranger. The ranger, who is one of the nicest people I've met here (see below), lost his temper - I was told for the first time in his career - due to the behavior of these astro visitors. So, a handful of very rude and obnoxious people gave all of us a bit of a black mark. Again, the LE rangers did not blame SLAS but I felt a bit responsible as an amateur astronomer. I wish we (not WE in any official capacity) knew who was responsible. We could ask that they never again come to Bryce, SLC, SLAS events or Utah. We already have enough screwballs here, right? For the record, everyone I've met here is very nice. These are great people who do more than you can imagine, for low pay and sometimes for seasonal or otherwise insecure employment. Even my job, though full-time, is not permanent. In four years when the funding runs out, so does my job. But in the meant time, I would be very disappointed if I heard that any of you were in the neighborhood and didn't look me up. Come anytime and we'll go observe together under some of the greatest skies I've ever known. Sorry to take so much time, but there's an unrelated matter I want to let you all know about: Yesterday morning I got a call from long-time SLAS member Dwight Ball. He is in intensive care at the VA hospital. His heart is failing him and he says that he is likely to need a transplant in a few months. I was rather alarmed by his call, as it seemed that he had called to say goodbye - he didn't expect to live. I called him back last night and was pleased to speak with him and know that he's still with us. He was in better spirits and sounded better, too, but he will be in the hospital for at least another week. If any of you who know him, or even those who don't want to give him a call or go see him, I'm sure that he would appreciate it. He doesn't have a lot of family, so his SLAS family is very important to him. His cell phone number is 801.336.0635. He can take calls at the hospital, but I don't know in what room to find him. Take a moment if you can to cheer up another good friend. If any of you want to email me, my email at the Park is kim_hyatt@nps.gov. Take care all, Kim