The story behind the picture:

"That picture brings back so many memories. It was from a camping trip that Charles, Geralyn, and I (and our two dogs) went on. We spent a long weekend up in Lake George. On that particular day Geralyn and I decided to go for a hike and Charles stayed behind, or so we thought. The hike turned out to be brutal, but fun. Four hours later when we returned to camp the first thing we see is Charles sitting at the picnic table playing cards, just loving life, and being in the moment (in true Charles fashion). I took the picture as we arrived back from the hike. He then asks us if we liked the view from the top of the hiking trail. We did, it was spectacular, you could actually see the entire Lake George area. Charles agreed and commented on how far you could see because it was such a clear day. Then it occurred to me, how did he know about it? It was a difficult hike for us, and if Charles could do it he would have done it in record time. Plus, he would have had to have enough time left over to tidy up the campsite, start a campfire, prepare dinner, and settle into a game of solitaire. It was at that point he tells us that he drove to the top, and it only took 10 minutes. That night after dinner we three jammed on some African instruments that Charles brought along. One was called a "Thumb Piano" and Charles was so good at it. I have a really great recording of a jam called, "Brothers in Salaam" that Dan, Chris, Charles, and I did. On that song Charles plays the Thumb Piano, I will include it on the Greatest Hits CD. He loved that song. But, I digress...I'll save those stories for the CD liner notes."

David J. Echevarria, Ph.D.

University of Texas Health Science Center

Dept of Pharmacology/Morilak Lab

7703 Floyd Curl Drive

San Antonio, TX 78229-3901

rodentmodels@yahoo.com