I've known Al for a couple of years, now. He's somewhere north of seventy. One of the most fascinating people I know. Usually, when I take wood to him, I spend most of the day with him. Goldie and I will be going back down to his place this coming Saturday and spend the whole day cutting a few trees and getting him some more firewood. He always helps out, as much as he can. He has 7 or 8 acres, mostly on a hillside.
But when we take a break we always go up to his house and he schools me on Ham radios. He collects and works on his own radio equipment. He has about as many radios as I have saws. Which is a LOT. He has the new stuff, but he also has the old stuff, too. 50-70 year old stuff, that still work. Because he works on them, too.
The first thing you see when you arrive at his place, is the antennas. They're everywhere. I mean everywhere. He even made an antennae out of a live tree. It's really fascinating to watch him spin dials and flip switches and start talking to someone on the other side of the planet.