MY NAME IS EVERETT HICKAM. I AM VERY NEAR EIGHTY YEARS OLD. I HAVE BEEN ACTIVE IN THE ART WORLD SINCE THE 5TH GRADE IN RIVERSIDE GRADE SCHOOL IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA. IN EARLY WORLD WAR 2. mY PARENTS MOVED TO KANSAS TO A 4,000 ACRE CATTLE RANCH WHILE I WAS IN THE 5TH GRADE. I ATTENDED A ONE ROOM COUNTRY SCHOOL THEN THROUGH THE 8TH GRADE. i RODE A HORSE TO SCHOOL AND WORKED ON THE RANCH WITH A 14 MAN CREW AS A COWBOY. I RODE FENCE FROM THE AGE OF 12, FED CATTLE, BEDDED THEM DOWN IN WINTER, CHOPPED ICE, CUT WOOD AND ALL THIS WHERE WE HAD NO ELECTRICITY UNTIL 1947. hOWEVER I HAD THE WONDERFUL ADVANTAGE OF GOOD PARENTS WHO HAD ENCOURAGED MY ART IN ALL IT'S FORMS, PAINTING, CARVING, SHADOW BOXES. WATERCOLORS, DRAWINGS,  ETC, ETC, I DID EVERTHING FROM REALISM TO ABSTRACTS AND HAVE CONTINUED TO DO SO ALL MY LIFE. I HAVE SOLD AND DELIVERED OVER 1200 ORIGINALS NOW ALL OVER THE WORLD. PRINCIPALLY IN EUROPE (FRANCE IN PARTICULAR) CANADA, ALASKA, JAPAN, KOREA, TURKEY, ERITRIA, AND EVERY STATE IN THE USA. I HAVE A REP. IN PARIS AND IRELAND. I PAINT EVERY DAY AS IT IS AS COMPULSIVE WITH ME AS BREATHING. I DO NOT NEED THE MONEY SO I AM OPEN TO ANY SERIOUS OFFERS, BUT I DO NEED THE WORK. I AM 6 FEET FOUR AND ONE HALF INCHS TALL AND265 LBS. I NOW WEIGHT 45 LBS. MORE THAN I DID WHEN I WAS A MEMBER OF THE 187TH RCT IN KOREA . WE WERE CALLED RAKKASANS MEANING UMBRELLA MEN. i HAVE BEEN MANY THINGS IN MY LONG LIFE BESAIDES BEING A PAINTER. HOWEVER I ALWAYS PAINTED AS WELL. PARATROOPER, PILOT,LINGQUIST, MILITARY  CRYTOLOGIST, WRITER AND SAILOR. HOWEVER MY TRUE PASSION HAS BEEN FLYING SINCE I WAS 17. I HAVE TRAVELED THE WORLD IN SEVERAL CAPACITIES FOR THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE EMPLOYED ME AND ALSO AS A TOURIST MOSTLY ABOARD HOLLAND AMERICAN SHIPS. bOTH MY WIFE WHO WAS A TRAVEL AGENT FOR 23 YEARS AND MY SELF ARE MEMBERS OF THE HOILLAND AMERICAN MARINERS SOCIETY. I ALSO PLAY PIANO. BOTH AS A HOBBY AND PROFESSIONLY. i was a writer of some short stories for men's magazines when i was a student in college. Including " the search for Yamashita's Gold in the Phillipines."  I did gain entrance to the palace in Manilia after the search and saw THE GOLDEN BUDDHA THERE.  THAT TOLD ME THAT MARCOS HAD FOUND THE GOLD BEFORE US.  yAMASHITA HAD INDEED STOLENM THE GOLD RESERVE FROM THE PHILLIPINES IN 1942 AND HAD HID IT IN THE MOUNTAINS. WHEN McARTHUR RETURNED AND HAD HIM HANGED NO ONE HAD BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE THE GOLD.