Bil. is ...

  - Competent
  - Confident
  - Knowledgeable
  - Dependable
  - Experienced
  - Organized
  - Efficient
  - Productive
  - Reliable
  - Adaptable
  - Flexible
  - Insightful
  - Creative
  - Inventive
  - Imaginative
  - Inspiring
  - An Innovator
  - A Problem Solver
  - A Project Planner
  - A Strategist
  - A Leader
  - A Word Wizard
 

Bil.’s favorites ...

Quote:
- “Don’t let what others
  think or demand of you
  change who you are. You
  must never think that their
  existence is a reflection on
  you.”

Perspective:
- The game is ninety
  percent half mental!

Software:
- MS Office 2010
  MS OneNote 2010
  MS Project 2010
  MS PowerPoint 2010
  MS Publisher 2010
  Visio 2010
  Windows Live
  Office Live Workspace
  Windows Live Skydrive
  Windows 7
  Windows Azure
  Movie Studio
  SharePoint
  Remote Desktop / VPN
  Citrix
  WebDev Tools
  NetObjects Fusion
  Blackberry Desktop
  Paint Shop Pro

Technology
- Blackberry Storm,
  Sony Digital Camera,
  Garmin GPS, Zune,
  and wireless networks

Web sites:
- USPS.com, Netflix.com,
  mlb.com, Magic Eye,
  Dilbert,  New Egg,
  alvernaz.com,  Lumosity,
  Skype,  8x8.com VoIP,
  USDA's MyPyramid.gov,
  BING.COM (search/maps)

 In the Spring of 2003, Diana and I were invited by Former First Lady Nancy Reagan to visit the Reagan Ranch, in Santa Barbara County, California, for the 20th anniversary of me making a special presentation to President and Nancy Reagan. That presentation was originally scheduled to be done at the Reagan Ranch, but World events changed things, so the presentation was made at Hope Ranch, in Santa Barbara. Diana wasn’t able to go with me when I met President and Nancy Reagan, so it was especially fitting that when I finally did get to visit the Reagan Ranch, Diana was able to join me.

I was contacted in March by one of the historians for the Reagan Ranch, which is now part of The Young America’s Foundation. The Chain of Title plaque I had presented to the President and Nancy Reagan in 1983 was one of the gifts they kept when the President left office. There were no other copies of the plaque ... except for my personal copy. Somehow, the original got misplaced and Nancy wanted to be sure the President’s legacy included the Chain of Title for Rancho del Cielo.

I agreed to donate my copy of the Chain of Title for Rancho del Cielo. A presentation was then set for August 21st at the Reagan Ranch. What was most gratifying about this was that Diana not only got to participate in this, but also that the plaque would become part of the Reagan Presidential Museum in Santa Barbara.
 
After hearing about the Reagan Ranch for so many years (including when Ronald Reagan bought it while he was Governor of California in the early 1970s), August 21st, 2003, was the day Diana and I were privileged to spend an entire morning there. You see horses grazing (exactly the way the President wanted it to be) when you arrive.

When you first come upon Rancho del Cielo, it quite literally takes your breath away. There is a certain serenity with the adobe house, the Oak trees, the horses, the rolling hills, and the blue sky scattered with clouds. It is effortless to understand why the President came here so often during his Presidency.

 
There are five horses wandering around the fence area by the house. That’s the way the President always wanted to be, so the Presidential Trust running the ranch now makes sure there are horses. And there is also Wendy, the mule who was the President’s favorite! She is hobbled by age now, but still gets around and she comes right up to you to be petted (also looking for a treat that the caretaker always has handy).

We lived in Santa Barbara during the first term of the Reagan Presidency. Out house was along the foothills which just happened to be the route taken by the helicopters that shuttled the Reagans to the ranch. Our son, Ian, would always go out on our deck, searching for the helicopters. Many times he (and we) saw the Reagans waving out the windows as they fly by. This was at various points during the year, but holidays stick our minds the most.

 
So it was an amazing and humbling feeling to then be standing inside the house at the Reagan Ranch that day, looking at the dining table where so many holiday dinners were served. What is so incredible is that the house is exactly as it was the last time the President and Nancy Reagan were there. They were last there in the early 1990s.

 
President Reagan “worked around the ranch,” too. He personally added rooms on to the adobe that was built in the late 1880s. He laid the tile, put up fences, and split wood. His biggest and proudest accomplishment was Lake Lucky which he turned from a “mud hole” into a picturesque sight! It was big enough for a boat or for a quick swim.
 
Diana and I were given a personal tour of the entire ranch, including the guest house and where the President kept his riding horses. I had  flashbacks to so much I had seen of all of this in the news over the years, including the his chain saw the President used to cut trees and brush. And, there was the chain saw, sitting right where the President left it!

It was such an amazing experience to get this close up view of a place that was so personal to the President and First Lady. Rancho del Cielo will never be opened to the public, because it is will be used as a retreat for The Young America Foundation. Nancy Reagan sold the ranch to The Young America Foundation in 1999, so all of the memories could be preserved. And, when you see the pristine condition of the entire ranch, especially with everything exactly as the President and First Lady left it, you can’t help but smile and think this is the way it should be.

Something else that was so surreal about our visit that day is that at any point you truly did expect to see the President or Nancy Reagan come walking around a corner. It is like they still live there ... and, well, they do in spirit. Now that the President is gone, his quote about his Santa Barbara Ranch takes on even more meaning, best summing up what the experience of being there:

"From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us," Reagan said. "No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does."

 
President Reagan “worked around the ranch,” too. He personally added rooms on to the adobe that was built in the late 1880s. He laid the tile, put up fences, and split wood. His biggest and proudest accomplishment was Lake Lucky which he turned from a “mud hole” into a picturesque sight! It was big enough for a boat or for a quick swim.

The presentation took place in the area just outside the house where the President had meet with heads of states. It was right by where the large tax cut legislation was signed. It was where President Reagan met with Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev.

This ranch we visited that picture perfect day in August was the Western White House from 1981 to 1989. Here is what the news media has to say about it:

• “A true national treasure ... the place to see the real Ronald Reagan.”
  The Washington Post
• “It feels as if he never left ... It is a place rich in history.”
  Newsweek
• “Home was the White House, but Ronald Reagan’s heart was in Rancho del Cielo.”
  The Associated Press
• “There is more of Reagan in this ranch than in all the speeches he ever gave.”
  C-SPAN’s American Presidents: Life Portraits
• “Keeping Reagan’s legacy alive.”
  The New York Times
• “A fitting memorial.”
  The Wall Street Journal
• “The spot where the President and First Lady felt more at home than any place on earth.”
  Fox News

It is sad that President Reagan is now gone, but then I think back to that day when I looked in that man’s eyes. There was a twinkle in his eye and his smile was heart warming. When I stood right there with him, I felt comfortable (though I was well aware of my heart pounding like it had never done before). He took the time to talk to me, even though the Secret Service agents were telling him it was time to go. Our meeting was scheduled for 90 seconds (really, no kidding - ninety seconds!).This man, Ronald Reagan, who had a passion for jelly beans and whose favorite color was yellow, spent nine minutes with me. Time stands still when you’re talking to the President of the United States ... It truly was an honor to meet him!