A couple of weeks ago, I was spending a very pleasant hour or so waiting in the front yard for the mail carrier to deliver some packages of vintage radio parts I had ordered a few days earlier. My neighbor’s cat Stephen was lounging around with me, and it was one of those perfect afternoons where time almost stands still. It was warm, with a slight breeze and as Stephen and I lay on the garden path looking up at the sky, I nearly forgot the reason for my being out there in the first place.

Eventually, the mail carrier arrived and Stephen took off. He’s an indoor/outdoor kitty, so mistrust of humans he doesn’t know is a valuable trait. The mailman handed me two packages packed with vintage dials and other parts – and another, smaller packet from my friend Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL. Inside was a kit to build…