When my dear friend Gordie Hood asked me to become the author of this bimonthly column, I little thought that it would become my sad duty to write his obituary.

Aside from my continued joy at spending a 39th Christmas with my wife, Randi, the high point of the Yule season in 2013 was my receipt, in the mail, of a beautiful 63-page book with a glossy cover displaying a wonderful picture of our former pres

Charlie Abbe, my high school friend and freshman roommate, returned, as usual, to Concord, New Hampshire, from his Englewood, Florida, winter watering hole in April.

In the last column I briefly mentioned that I had received a call from Frank Dickinson. What I did not spell out was the broad spectrum of Frank’s current activities.