Yesterday I think I set a new record in the air.

I must have asked well over a dozen Italian hams if they knew where they lived.

I had heard that there was a guy on the 20 meter band in Patagonia so I fired up the rig and started shouting "CQ Patagonia", meaning calling any Patagonian station.

It is pretty much a specific call, not really open to anyone unless they are a Patagonian. A very rare exception might be a case where someone needed the guy for an award or something. Then he would generally precede his call by saying he needed the caller for an award. Any good operator would cheerfully make an exception for that. I know I would.

Still, it seemed that every time I called out "CQ Patagonia!"

I'd be responded to with an Italian callsign.

Of course, I would stop for a minute and ask the Italian if he knew where he lived. It generally makes them stop dead and think, "Huh?" Then I would explain to them that I wasn't looking for Italy, I was looking for Patagonia and ask them what part of Italy Patagonia is in.

They generally pout and slink off.

I have generally said the Italy produces very, very few middle of the road operators. They are either the finest operators out there...or the worst. There doesn't seem to be much of a halfway for some reason.

Someone asked me why I didn't call "CQ Patagonia and not Italy," and I told him I refuse to because it would be a slight to the excellent operators.

It would be the same as hanging a sign on a store saying that blacks or Jews or women were not allowed in. I'd never insult an entire group like that. It's just plain wrong. So I deal with things on a case by case basis.

It was after I had dealt with a few of these recalcitrant Italians that something cool happened. Another 'Ital-Lee Zoo-Loo" interrupted my quest for Patagonia. I was just finishing with the usual "Do you know where you live?" spiel when another Italian ham interrupted.

"Excuse me, DX station," he said and then proceeded to blister the hell out of the hapless little guy telling him he was tired of lids like him giving Italian operators a bad name. Then he apologized to me for his outburst.

"Hey!" I said. "Stick around. I'm a real magnet for these guys and it would be a joy to have you instill a little discipline into them. Just let me play with them first. I like asking them if they know where they live."

I started calling out for Patagonia again and after a couple of minutes another Italian lid threw out his call. I asked him if he knew where he lived, listened to his confusion and then called in the other Italian and was treated to hearing an epic blistering.

I never did get Patagonia but it was a treat listening to a good operator chew out a couple of lids.

Then I posted on the ham forum of a website I am a member of that I set a new record for asking Italians if they knew where they lived and broke my previous record of a dozen by an additional two.

It was really an exaggeration. The number was about half that but the point is that I had spoken out about poor operation and more importantly, so had one of their countrymen that was upset of being dragged down with the poor operators.

It was a good thing to see and I wish we'd see more of it. It's time for people to speak out.

Right now in this country Muslims are taking a real beating and to some extent this is rightfully so simply because the freedom loving Muslims are not speaking out against the radical terrorist Islamist movement.

The blacks in this country are taking a beating because the successful blacks are not speaking out and condemning the mentality of ghetto gangsta types.

The truth is that it was great listening to a fine Italian ham operator speak out and straighten a few people out. 

The sad part is that it was over something so trivial as a hobby.








To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY