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| Steve (left) and Tom (right) outside Starbucks |
My family and I spent the week of June 16, 2013, at a beach house on the Outer Banks in Duck, North Carolina. We had a wonderful and memorable week: sandy beach, Atlantic Ocean, grandchildren hunting for a pirate treasure, freshly prepared family meals at the beach house, Wright Brothers' Memorial. What added to my personal joy was to have met up with Steve Lautermilch at a Starbucks in Kitty Hawk, NC. We spent a couple hours renewing our friendship and sharing our life journeys. I immediately recognized Steve in his smile and his facial animation. His eyes were unmistakeable. Originally from Tiffin, Ohio, Steve left the Josephinum in 1962. He earned his Doctorate at the University of Michigan in 1972. He was a professor and gained tenure at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Upon retirement, he settled on the Outer Banks in Kill Devil Hills, NC. Steve writes poetry. (He shared with me a copy of his first book of poems.) He hikes and camps in remote areas of the West, e.g., Utah, New Mexico. He studies petroglyphs. Unfortunately Steve has severe allergies and these hamper his social activities.
In 2012 I had discovered that Steve lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. At that point I expressly intended to visit him. When my family planned our week for the beach on the Outer Banks, I planned to look Steve up. To have done so has been a delight! Semper pax tecum, Steve!
