Page 5 - ATA FLIP 24 DEC 2016
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A14   LOCAL
             Saturday 24 december 2016


















                  Loyal Readers From Utah Meet Their “Favorite Aruban Author”



            EAGLE  BEACH  -  Lynn  and                                                                                          Les is a remarkable person.
            Les  Long  come  to  Aruba                                                                                          He is a retired US Air Force
            fairly  regularly  (dozens  of                                                                                      fighter  pilot  (Lt.  Colonel)
            times in the last eight years)                                                                                      and an active Porsche pi-
            where  Les  kitesurfs  to  his                                                                                      lot.  In  1996  he  established
            heart’s delight. When they                                                                                          the Air Power Racing Com-
            were  here  in  August  Lynn                                                                                        pany  in  his  home  state
            was fascinated by the first                                                                                         Utah  as  an  independent
            chapter  of  Clyde  Harms’                                                                                          Porsche service, repair and
            “An  Aruban  in  Libya”  se-                                                                                        race  prep  facility  to  sup-
            ries  of  weekly  articles  that                                                                                    port his racing habit. For his
            had just started to appear                                                                                          work, Les travels a great all
            in Aruba Today. She wrote                                                                                           over  the  country,  but  for
            some comments to the au-                                                                                            vacation  he  only  comes
            thor and subscribed to the                                                                                          to Aruba.  A man’s success
            series so she could receive                                                                                         depends  on  the  woman
            them  after  they  had  re-                                                                                         he  chooses  to  have  in  his
            turned to Utah. After every                                                                                         life, and here too, Les has
            chapter  Lynn  would  send    Under a painting of Peru’s iconic Machu Picchu, Les and Lynn Long from Utah met their “favorite   been extremely successful.
            her reactions (occasionally   Aruban author” Clyde Harms and his wife Milagro in the newly opened Asies mi Perú restaurant.  Les is the first to concur that
            Les  also)  and  so  a  virtual                                                                                     his wife Lynn has been the
            friendship  blossomed  be-   author  and  readers  would  and his wife Milagro for din-  owner  of  the  restaurant   key  factor  in  his  reaching
            tween  the  Longs  and  the   meet  in  person.  This  week  ner at the recently opened   and  a  very  close  friend   his goals in life, as a military
            author Clyde Harms.          the Longs returned to Aru-   Asies mi Perú Restaurant in   of  Clyde’s  gave  the  loyal   person and as an entrepre-
            Four  months,  17  chapters   ba  and  they  invited  their  the Paradise Hotel at Eagle   readers from Salt Lake City   neur.  As  the  administrator
            and dozens of emails later,   “favorite  Aruban  author”  Beach.  Jan  van  Nes,  the   a  VIP  evening.      As  both   of  Air  Power  Racing,  Lynn
                                                                                                   Lynn  and  Les  speak  some   not only handles the books,
                                                                                                   Spanish,  they  were  happy   but also takes care of the
                                                                                                   to sharpen their knowledge   logistics  when  their  drivers
                                                                                                   speaking    with   Milagro   are  competing.  This  en-
                                                                                                   whose  native  language  is   tails booking airplane pas-
                                                                                                   Spanish.  They  found  that   sages, transportation, hotel
                                                                                                   Milagro’s clear enunciation   reservations, publicity, etc.
                                                                                                   of the words made it much    etc. I never imagined that
                                                                                                   easier  for  them  to  under-  there  was  so  much  logis-
                                                                                                   stand  her.  Quite  different   tics to take care of when a
                                                                                                   from  the  “the  beach  ver-  team of cars and their driv-
                                                                                                   nacular  he  hears  from  his   ers must move from A to B.
                                                                                                   buddies”.Les  and  Clyde,    Not to be outdone by Les,
                                                                                                   it turned out, had much in   Lynn’s  sports  are  skiing
                                                                                                   common as to places they     and  scuba  diving.  Earlier
                                                                                                   had visited, but most of the   this  month  she  spent  two
                                                                                                   conversation  was  about     weeks diving in the waters
                                                                                                   kitesurfing  in  Aruba  as  this   of Cebu, in the Philippines,
                                                                                                   has been what has attract-   where she once swam with
                                                                                                   ed the Longs to our island.   whale  sharks.  Next  week
                                                                                                   In fact, Les fell in love with   Lynn  will  be  skiing  in  the
                                                                                                   the sport when he saw the    mountains  of  Utah  where
                                                                                                   kitesurfers  at  the  beach   the  Longs  recently  ac-
                                                                                                   next to the Marriott. Clyde   quired a lodge.
                                                                                                   thought  that  it  was  fitting   Lynn  and  Les  looks  for-
                                                                                                   that Les would start kitesurf-  ward  to  be  the  first  ones
                                                                                                   ing on a Dutch island since   to own a copy of the soon
                                                                                                   it is a Dutchman, Gijsbertus   to be launched book “An
                                                                                                   Adrianus  Panhuise,  who  is   Aruba in Libya” written by
                                                                                                   considered  the  originator   their  “favorite  Aruban  au-
                                                                                                   of the sport.                thor” and published for the
                                                                                                   It  is  remarkable  that  Les   benefit  of  the  Queen  Wil-
                                                                                                   started  kitesurfing  (con-  helmina  Cancer  Founda-
                                                                                                   sidered  a  young  person’s   tion.  clydeharms@yahoo.
                                                                                                   sport), at the age of 53. But   comq
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