By Pat Malin

John Briant retired from the New York State Police in 1982 following a distinguished 28-year career, including 10 years as a uniformed officer, four years as a station commander and the last 14 years as a BCI Investigator. Thanks to his second calling as an author, however, it’s almost as if he never hung up his uniform.

He now lives vicariously through his alter-ego “Jason Black,” a retired trooper whose dogged pursuit of the criminal element in the Adirondacks has led Briant to pen six novels in the Adirondack Detective series. His next book is due in the spring.

Q.What prompted you to become an author?
A.I always had a desire to write. When I was a kid, I used to write little poems and short stories. When I was still on the force, I wrote some short stories and they were published. One was about an escapee I helped apprehend in Lake Placid. I had my poems and short stories included in 12 anthologies even after I retired.

Q.How did you get started?
A.It had entered my mind a few years before I retired. My first book was called, “One Cop’s Story: A Life Remembered” and it was my autobiography. It was first published in 1995 and reprinted four times.

Q.Were you surprised by the reaction to your first book?
A.I was very pleased. My friend, Dick Case [columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard] wrote a story about it when it first came out. It’s still available, but it won’t be reprinted. I saw it listed for sale on one website for $260. Apparently, I had autographed the book. It might have been the first edition, and the seller claimed I had written a letter to him.

Q.Why do all your books take place in the Adirondacks?
A. I try to have my storyline within the Blue Line [the park’s boundaries].  My wife [Marge] and I decided to retire here. The next one will also take place in the Adirondacks.

Q.Where are you from originally?
A.I was born in Theresa, outside of Watertown. In 1937, my brother, sister and I and my parents moved to Westvale in Syracuse. Later, we lived in Throopsville, outside Auburn. My father did a lot of things, running a gas station in Watertown; a salesman for Nabisco, and he operated a restaurant called the Suburban in Watertown. We also lived in Carthage. Then when my father moved to Syracuse, he worked for the government at the naval base.

Q.Did you always want a career in law enforcement?
A.No, I didn’t plan it. I graduated in 1948 from Port Byron Central School and then attended Auburn Business School. At that time, I wanted to be a teacher. I was about 17 when I first considered becoming a trooper. When I was a junior in high school, I joined the 27th Infantry Division-108th Infantry in Auburn. I trained for three summers at Camp Drum from 1947-49. I went out to Kansas City and enrolled in a radio and TV school, but I was not successful in getting a job. I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and assigned to food service and radio. From September 1951 to September 1952, I was stationed in Keflavik, Iceland. I was a mess sergeant, but my training was equivalent to that of an executive chef. I was honorably discharged in August 1953. Then I went home to Auburn and my father told me about the upcoming exams for the state troopers. I remember that there were 5,000 applicants and only 125 were considered. I was one of the 50 who was hired.

Q.Where were you stationed as a trooper?
A.I reported to Division Headquarters in Albany, and then on Dec. 16, 1953, I was assigned to Troop D Headquarters in Oneida, and my starting salary was $1,600. We got an additional $4.25 a day for meals. I also worked in Pulaski, Ovid, Waterloo and Herkimer. I was the station commander at the Lafayette barracks from 1960-63. From 1953 till 1960 we all lived in the barracks. I also patrolled the Dewitt and Elbridge areas. In 1973 I transferred voluntarily to Malone and Massena.  In 1976, I transferred to Lowville and spent a year there before going to Syracuse. I also trained 13 troopers during their training phase as a senior trooper. In addition, I was a speaker at many community functions. I retired in 1982 at the age of 52.

Q.What types of cases does Jason Black handle? Where do you get your ideas for the plots?
A.Jason’s investigations are very similar to the cases I worked on.

In a coaching career that has spanned more three decades, he has been called one of the “winningest” coaches in Section III hoop history;  he has racked up more than 450 wins, captured eight Section III titles and 23 league championships, and  his teams have  made three state final appearances.     He is in the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame and the NYS Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

He has served as Commissioner of the Syracuse Department of Parks and Recreation and is currently project coordinator for the City’s  Department of Aviation at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

He stays in touch with many of his former players and, several of these men have gone on to coach basketball at the high school and college levels, themselves.

We caught up with Coach Wilcox a few weeks before he starts another season with the Liverpool Warriors.

Q. How long have you been coaching?
A. My very first team was in 1964 —  CYO at St. Brigid’s.

Q. What schools have you been at?
A. I was at Ludden for 17 years.  Then I coached West Genesee for 10 years.  I think this is about our 10th year at Liverpool.

Q. What’s your record?
A. I expect it’s somewhere 450-460 (wins).  I never remember the losses.

Q. What do you see as your greatest accomplishment ?
A. The development of the kids.  What they’ve gone on to do after . . . .  They’ve done pretty well.

Q. What keeps you motivated after all these years?
A. I still have fun at practice.  I think the changes that go on now teaches you how to adapt.   Being with the young kids keeps you young.

Q. How has the game changed in the last few decades?
A. One of the changes Coach mentioned was the three-point line.
I thought then it was a bad rule.  I still think it’s a bad rule, but it’s there forever because it’s fan friendly.  . . . The game before was always predicated on advancing the ball.  Now it’s going in, coming back.  Just technical changes.

Q. What’s your philosophy in coaching?
A. We work on simple fundamentals.   Never make winning or losing a priority.   If we work everybody,  we got a  chance of winning. . . .  Basically come in and work hard everyday.  Try to get better at something everyday.  By the end of their career,  they’re going to be pretty good.

Q. Is there one season that stands out among the others?
A. ‘73 ‘74 — it was my first varsity group at  Ludden.  We were a great team.  We ended up getting tied by CBA on the last day of the season. We  had a special playoff up at Lemoyne and we beat them.   I had 14 kids who could play.  They were a good group.   . . .  ‘78 ‘79  groups — I think four kids in the same team made the first team All-City in both newspapers — Billy Moran, Keith Rhodes, Tommy Whelan and Jimmy Bova.  (During that time Syracuse had two newspapers — The Post-Standard and the Herald-Journal.)   . . . ’87 —  Lenny (Rauch) and Gallagher (Driscoll)  we got beat  in the state championship the last game of the year.   West Genesee— the first two years we ended up in the state playoffs and won the sectionals.  The first two years at Liverpool . . . one of the top teams.

Q. Have you had any inclination to go to college ball?
A. Yeah, I’ve talked to people a few times, but it just didn’t work out for whatever reasons  . . .  I’ve talked to different people over the years.   It becomes a timing game.

Q. How about retiring from basketball?
A. I take it year to year — if I’m feeling good.  If they still want me.  A lot depends on how I’m feeling.  Now I plan to go into the season full tilt.

To say that Syracuse resident and “play lady” at The Nottingham retirement community Ann Barnes has many interests is an understatement. She recently won swim meets in the Empire State Senior Games and is looking forward to being on a volleyball team in the upcoming Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah. But when she’s not in the pool or on a volleyball court, one might just find her directing a musical chorus or traffic around a fire in Onondaga Hill, playing piano, volunteering with Sunshine Friends pet therapy or taking some of the dogs she sits for to a local senior center.

Q. Ann, you recently competed in the Empire State Senior Games, correct?
A. I did volleyball — swimming and volleyball. I didn’t do racquetball this year.

Q. How many have you participated in ?
A. Probably every one for the last . . . since I was 50, so that’s quite a while.

Q. So are you going to Nationals?
A. No. If the volleyball team was going, I would go with the volleyball team. . . . I don’t want to go by myself. That’s no fun. . . . but I am going to go to the Huntsman World Senior Games in October in Utah and play volleyball with the Buffalo team.

Q. How do you train for the swimming, the volleyball?
A. No training. I swim a couple of days a week, but I don’t train.

Q. What do you get from participating in the sports?
A. I think it’s more a social thing now. I don’t think it’s about the competition or getting a medal or any of that. I think it’s just doing it because I’m 62 and I can still do it. It’s more of social thing

Q. You have a great many interests — share some of them.
A. .All my volunteer activities. I’m a volunteer firefighter at Onondaga Hill, and I’ve been doing that for almost 13 years. I don’t do interior attack anymore because I’m too old, but I am an EMT and I do fire police.

Q. You’re in Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
A. I’ve known Anna for five years, [Anna Matthews is Ann’s “little sister” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program] and I got the Big Sister of the Year award, which I was really excited about. That was really special.  I keep in touch with my very first ‘little sister,’ who is about 21 or 22 now.

Q. How many Little Sisters have you had?
A. Three.

Q. You play piano professionally.
A. Looking for work any time. I play in the libraries. I have a trio.

Q. You have a great passion for dogs. Tell us about it.
A. I dog-sit . . . I had a therapy dog . . . Ted. He was a great therapy dog. He died suddenly. He was about 11. They have a plaque in Mundy Library with his picture on it. We started the reading Tails To Tell program there. I knew I didn’t want to get another dog. [She now dog-sits for more than 30 families.] I do a lot with the dogs. I take them to work with me. I take them out to the Heritage on the Loretto campus. There’s something about going there. The residents absolutely love it, and they’re so appreciative. No matter what kind of mood I’m in when I go there, I’m entirely different when I leave.

Q. What is your job at The Nottingham?
A. Play lady. I do trips and outings and I also direct the Nottingales Chorus. We just performed at the State Fair at the Art & Home Center. They got a standing ovation.

Q. How long have you been at The Nottingham?
A. A little longer than six years.

Q. What is it about that that you like?
A. I work a lot, but it’s part-time, but I have amazing flexibility. I can plan outings at night. I can plan them around my personal schedule. It’s getting to a point where the residents are really signing up for a lot of things. My mystery outing — I have six people on the waiting list already and it’s not ‘till the end of the month. I take them to the symphony, the opera, wherever they want to go. But their most favorite, besides the Mystery, is going to McNamara’s in Camillus for dinner and dancing. We go every Wednesday. They absolutely love it.

Q. You have no plans on slowing down, so what’s next for you?
A. I think the World Games are going to be a big thing. . . that’ll be really exciting. I would like to drive a race car. And I want to go to Alaska. I’ll probably end up doing that next year.

Q. You’re 72 and just sold your business — how’s retirement?
A. I don’t have any down time because I’m just as busier than ever. For me, it’s just part of a natural evolution. I’ve owned and operated 11 companies, and have bought and sold companies, and each time I sold a company, I went on to other things.

I’ve been at the Syracuse New Times for 26 years. It was time for another change, not retirement, but just another change. My wife Shirley and I both remain active with the company as consultants.

Q. What are you doing with your free time?
A. Because I do have other business ventures, I don’t really have substantially more free time than I had before. I’m devoting more time to the Zimmer Motor Car Co., whereas before it was just a very limited, part-time thing because I was quite busy with the New Times. Of course, I’m spending time consulting with the new owner, but that will wind down over a period of time.

I also am a counselor for SCORE. We do counseling for people starting a new business and for people who are in business but need some help. I’ve always done volunteer counseling but now I am doing more of it.

Q. Do you plan to become a “snow bird?”
A. No. I love Central New York and am staying in Central New York. Of course, I’ve been an avid skier all my life, and many times have left to go somewhere else like Vermont or Colorado where there is more snow. My wife and I travel south during the winter for limited periods of time, but not long enough to be called a snowbird.

Q. Do you miss the excitement and energy of meeting a weekly deadline?
A. Being the owner and publisher of the New Times was a very fun and prestigious job. The New Times was the most popular of all newspapers in Central New York, and the publisher of the most popular newspaper was a very prestigious position in the community. So I’ll have to admit there’s a little bit of that which I miss. It’s not that I had grown tired of it. I’ve been in the spotlight for 26 years.

Q. What aspect of the business do you miss the most?
A. I think the day-to-day interaction with the staff. Because the New Times is such a unique and special type of business, we attracted a very unique and special type of employee. It was quite an exciting and fun day-to-day activity working with these people. Generally speaking, they were in their own ways very superior-type people, so working on a day-to-day basis with them was fun and exciting. I guess I do miss that.

Q. Are you still active from a managerial standpoint?
A. No. I’m totally out of it as far as management is concerned. Basically, what I do is meet quite regularly with the new owner and we just sit down and talk for several hours about every thing that is going on and the decisions he is making. He wants to know my input and what I would do if I were there based on my 26 years’ experience.

Q. How is the Zimmer Car Co. faring?
A. Slow, like all car companies. But actually I have seen in the last couple of months an up-tick in the interest and inquiries that I’ve been getting. I’ve got two or three deals cooking that look like they will probably be sales. When you do a Zimmer sale, we’re talking $150,000. It’s not like selling a $20,000 Chevy.

Q. What is your favorite car you own?
A. My favorite day-to-day drive is a Chrysler mini-van. It sounds pretty bad when you produce $150,000 luxury cars. But in the past when I was with the New Times, it was such a practical vehicle. You can use it as a truck or bus.

Q. You have been a huge influence on Syracuse theatre. Are you still active in producing plays? What is your favorite aspect of being involved in theatre?
A. I was producing the annual “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s,” and our final production this year was in June.
The “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s” franchise went with the New Times. It was owned by the New Times, so I turned it over to the new owner. Next spring when it’s time for the next “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s,” I won’t be producing but still will be consulting on it.

By Patricia J. Malin

Whenever Ibby (Isabel) Chiquoine walks along the village green in Clinton near Utica, she has an ability to turn heads and stop traffic. She’s not a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She is a model of a peace activist. Rain or shine, spring, summer, fall and winter, Chiquoine carves out a place on the edge of the small, rectangular park that cuts through the heart of the village. She carries just one homemade cardboard sign, “Honk for Peace.”

Every Sunday afternoon, as reliable as the bells that peal from the church tower across the street from her grassy platform at the intersection of Park Row and state Route 12B, the 82-year-old carries out her self-appointed duty.

We recently caught up with her about her Sunday ritual.

Q. What prompted you to become a peace activist?
A.  It started in 2001 when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

Q. What did you think of the events of 9-11?
A. It was a horrible thing, but from what I read, there were a lot of goofs in the U.S. government who didn’t pick up on what was going on. In March 2002, we invaded Iraq. Then the Mohawk Valley Peace Coalition began getting together on Sundays to protest here and at other places in Utica and in New Hartford.

Q. What type of reaction do you get?
A. Most of the time there’s no traffic. When we were in Utica, the police came and asked us what we were doing. Now the City of Utica tells us we need to get permission in advance. I talked to the mayor [David Roefaro] and he said he wanted to know what was going on. We wouldn’t do it during 5 o’clock traffic. I don’t want to be a distraction to the drivers. The reaction is almost always good.

Q. How much time does it take? How many people are involved?
A.  I spend an hour here in summer and a half hour in winter. We’ve had as many as 20 or 30 come here for our candlelight vigils.

Q. Do you think your protest makes any difference?
A. It gets people thinking about the war in Iraq. War is not the answer to problems.

Q. Did your upbringing influence your interest in social activism?
A. I’m originally from Montclair, N.J. My parents were very involved in Planned Parenthood. My mother was active in the League of Women Voters and was president of the New Jersey state chapter. I think I grew up with a lot of social consciousness. I always wanted to be in the League of Women Voters because I grew up with them. When my husband was working on his PhD at Cornell University, I got involved in some anti-war demonstrations in Ithaca. We also lived in Princeton, N.J., and St. Louis, Mo.,  I came to Clinton in 1966 when my husband became a biology professor at Hamilton College. In 1970, I was part of the group protesting at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. [She joined the infamous Berrigan Brothers to protest the storage of missiles]. I was mostly a stay-at-home mother with my five children. They now range in age from 44 to 56.

Q. What is your educational background?
A. I enrolled at Swarthmore College to study pre-med, but then I changed my mind. I received a B.S. in educational science. My husband and I met while we were students at Swarthmore. I obtained my M.S. in teaching from Hamilton in 1970. I began teaching second grade at Clark Mills Elementary School in 1970 after my youngest daughter, Kate, started school. I taught for six years until the school closed.

Q. Did you ever consider running for political office?
A. I never thought about it. My nephew, Bill Morehouse, is a member of the Common Council in Utica. The League of Women Voters deals with political issues, but it’s mostly to inform the public about candidates for office. But it’s non-partisan. They’re not involved in the peace movement, but I think it’s the most important issue of our time.

Q. Did you ever imagine you would live to be 100 years old?
A. Never in my wildest dreams, I’m one of the few to live this long in my family. I have a cousin in Canada and he’s in his 80s.

Q. How do you describe your health?
A. I have all of my marbles and that’s the most important thing to me. I can remember everything. I even remember a friend in grade school who had two different colored eyes! I have some trouble walking, so I use my wheelchair most of the time.

Q. Not many people reach 100 years of age. To what do you attribute your longevity — any secrets you could share with us?
A. I don’t smoke, never have, never will and I don’t drink alcohol.

Q. What do you do on a typical weekday?
A.  The nurses here get me up and ready for breakfast. Then I read the newspaper from one end to the other. Later in the day, I bring the articles to dinner and share them with my friends because some of them have a hard time reading the paper. I like to keep them up-to-date on the news. When I was a younger girl, I used to run outside to get the newspaper everyday for my mother-in-law.

I also enjoy knitting. I’ve crocheted afghans for all 14 of my grandchildren. Right now, I’m knitting mittens.

I also take advantage of the activities here at Loretto. Lately, I’ve been shopping, to Lights on the Lake and to different musical entertainment downstairs in the auditorium. I also attend church every week; I’m an avid churchgoer.

As a gift from my previous employer, companions from Life’s Changing Seasons visit with me three times per week for four hours each time. We play scrabble, Yahtzee, go for walks outside, really anything I’d like to do.

Q. Is there anything you look forward to doing each day?
A. I look forward to visiting with my granddaughter, Jill, receiving phone calls from my huge family and friends. For my 100th birthday celebration, I had 75 people at my party! I also like spending time with my friends here at Loretto. The staff calls my good friend, Esther, and I the, Bobbsey Twins!

Q. Before you retired, what did you do?
A. I retired at the age of 92. I loved my job. I was the caretaker of a private estate in Old Forge at the Adirondack League Club. I managed staff, took care of the books and hired employees. My husband was in charge of the outdoor work. We were treated like family, eating dinner with the whole family on a regular basis. Then at the end of the day, my husband and I returned to our camp, which was just a couple of miles down the road. I worked there for about 45 years.

Q. Do you miss anything about your job?
A. I miss it terribly, but the family I worked for always comes to visit me, calls me and sends me lovely gifts. When I was 99, I went to the estate and spent the day. It was great! The family bought two benches for the Town of Old Forge Library, in honor of my 100th birthday. The benches are located in front of the library, with plaques to commemorate the occasion.

Q. You wrote a book about your family. Tell us about it. How many pages does it have and what did you write in it?
A. The book is called, A Fabric of Memories Thread by Thread. When I lived in Old Forge, I took writing classes and loved to write and write and write. I published some of my writing in a collection among other writers called the Old Forge Anthology. My granddaughter, Jill, thought we should put all of my stories together. So, we started an outline and included things like my wedding invitation, photos of my family, photos of me when I was a child and things about my family history and life. The book has about 120 pages and we printed 30 copies for my family and friends.

Q. What do you think younger people could learn from your life?
A.  I wish they would dress more appropriately, pay attention to what their mother and father say, stay close to family, listen to your grandparents and have a relationship with faith.

By Nate McDonald

Q. What do you think about being 90?

A.  I never think about it. I haven’t been ill like most people my age are. Lately I’ve had a few problems, but I’m able to go to my doctor who takes care of them right away. Interests keep me going. If you don’t have interests, you sit around and think about yourself. One of the joys of being involved in the community is everyone gets to know you, and I love that. I love it when I go out and people recognize me and come up and talk. I don’t know why, but I never focus on tomorrow. I just enjoy today.

Q. Do you do any special exercises to stay active at 90?

A.  I hate exercising. My husband [Joe Allerton] is a health nut, though, so he takes care of all of our vitamins and supplements. I have a lot of interests, and I enjoy them very much, and that’s very important. I love to read and knit and watch politics on the television. We live on the river and I love to watch the squirrels and ducks, too. I’m also involved with the Salvation Army in Fulton, I belong to the Press Club, I’m involved with the Thanksgiving Day Dinner in the community very deeply, and I’m involved in a church. I’ve been involved with a number of organizations throughout my life. I was with the College Council and was a trustee with the Fulton Public Library for a time. I think it’s very important to have things you love to do.

Q. How are you still involved with the Professional Journalists and Communicators of Oswego County.[formerly Oswego County Press Club]?

A.  I was a charter member. I’m 90, so I’m not in any position to do anything other than sit by the phone and make calls. I call all of the members and make sure they’re coming [to the monthly meetings]. That personal touch is very important. Some people don’t have their minds made up at the time I call, and a personal phone call can make the difference. I was once the president in the early days and have always been interested in it.

Q. You were mayor of the city of Fulton from 1987 to 1991. Can you talk about that?

A. One day I was asked to fill in for the mayor’s secretary for a few days, because she the secretary was sick. I ended up being there for nine and a half years. I learned a lot and helped to run some political campaigns, which taught me a lot as well. The incumbent mayor decided not to run again one year. So I received a phone call one Sunday night. It was the leaders of the Democratic Party in Oswego County. They didn’t have a candidate for mayor and asked me to run, so I did and I won. It helped that I had been involved with the community and wasn’t a stranger coming off the street. My opponent said I was too old to run, and I think that may have lost him the senior citizen vote. [laughs]  Everyone was wonderful to me. I had such a warm welcome from everyone in the mayor’s office and in the community. I was very happy to be there. It was a successful time.

Q. Do you have a particular diet or have certain things you like to eat to stay healthy?

A. We do try to eat healthy. Fish is very important in my husband’s diet interests, so we eat a lot of that. I have no particular food interests, but my husband does. He’s an engineer, so I suppose they’re interested in things like that and how it works with the body. My husband and I are the same age — he turned 90 in the spring — so it must be working.

Q. How was the city of Fulton changed since you’ve been there, and especially since your time as mayor?

A. It’s like any other community. Businesses close and new businesses open. Everything is changing today, but ultimately communities find their way to new situations and ways to earn a living. It was very important to me to bring people together in the community and have activities to do that. One time, I wanted to have a tight-rope walk across the river, but the police caught wind of it and forbid it. I think a lot of people would have shown up to see that. It’s very important to provide activities to bring people together. That helps build a sense of community. We had festivals and all sorts of things to do when I was the mayor. It worked out very well, I think.

Q. What was the triathlon like?
A. The triathlon was held at Redwood City, which is about seven miles away frowm where the Stanford University crew team trains. It was a neat course because you swim in the bay of the port. It’s salt water and it was warmer than I anticipated. They prepared us for 62-degree water and it was 67. Even that little difference makes it better. It was very comfortable. Everyone but one person used a wet suit. The bike course was unique; it was a very flat, level road course and they laid out a 4.2-mile course with a couple sharp turns and couple sweeping turns. You made three laps around that particular course. What I was not used to was the close racing. It was run so that the 50-59-year-olds went first, then five minutes later the 60-69-year-old men went, then everyone after that. They did the same thing for the women. For the first two laps it was just the guys that were with me in the 50-59 group. We had it pretty much to ourselves. The third lap had a lot of people on the course. You had to be careful. It was some close racing. Once that particular piece was done, you headed back to the bay where your transition area was and they had laid out the 5K run. It was a .76-mile lap and you did four of those. It was very flat and again, by the third lap there were a lot of the other competitors from the other groups filtering in. It was a different experience.

Q.  How did you do?
A. I ended up 32nd out of 110 total competitors, which is good. I was very happy. That includes men and women. There was one 88-year-old man and he completed the whole thing. The biggest number of competitors was the 50-59 men and women, and 60-69 had almost the same amount, and then it tapered off dramatically. In the 50-59 group there were 16 of us men. I ended up at eighth right in the middle, which I was very happy with. When I had qualified for this and done the Empire State Senior games, my time had been about one hour and 22 minutes. My time was one hour and 15 minutes. I think part of that was a function of the course being level and the fact that I got in pretty good shape for the course. I heard some of the other guys talking as we were setting up and many did marathons regularly or Iron Man competitions, the truly crazy stuff. So you had some people that were pretty experienced and in darn good shape. I averaged almost 19 mph on the bikes. I was very happy with that. It was a great experience. You had people from all over the country competing. You were supposed to have finished one or two at your age group in your state competition. I think they opened it up to the top three, because it’s a long trip out there.

Q. How did you enjoy the area?
A. One of the reasons I even did the trip is that my sister lives right on the Oregon/California border, so my wife and I went back to her house for a couple days, which was great. We had spent our honeymoon in the San Francisco area, so it was kind of another little incentive to go back. Stanford University is about an hour south of San Francisco, so that gave us a chance to spend a few days there ahead of the event. It was a nice, great vacation and a great thing to participate in.

Q. Did you see any familiar faces from the Empire State Senior games? Is there a sense of community among the participants?
A. There was a gentleman I talked to from New York in the 60-69 age group from Clinton. The national senior games is a pretty strong organization, and it’s pretty well run, too. They have this all figured out pretty well, and stage it once every other year. If you’re in this long enough you probably do build up relationships with some people. For me, this was my first crack at it. In two years it’s in Houston, which I think I’ll pass on, but in four years it’s in Cleveland when I’ll be in the 60-69 age group and I might have a crack at it.

Q. Do you have any plans to do any more events like these?
A. Not in the immediate future. Of course the Syracuse YMCA does stage a very similar event each year down at Green Lakes State Park and these events are becoming more popular. There’s one in Skaneateles, too. If someone was really inclined to do this, you could do seven or eight of these over the course of June through September. I usually do one or two 5K road races and an 8K once in a while. These are fun. One or two a year is certainly sufficient. These things used to be kind of rare. Now you could do six, seven, eight of these without driving more than an hour in any direction in Central New York.