It’s April 19, 2026, which makes it 73 years since Ronald Tammen disappeared from Miami University at the age of 19. That would make him 92 if he’s still living, but I really don’t think the term “living” applies to him at this point. As I’ve stated before, I think Ron died sometime between June 2002, when the FBI purged his fingerprints 30 years ahead of schedule, ostensibly because he asked them to, and December 2010, when the FBI sent me his missing person records without bothering to ask me for third-party authorization. Rest in peace, Ron. You were quite the enigma, that’s for sure.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dig deep into what we think happened to him. From what I can tell, Ron Tammen lived an exciting, eventful life—maybe a historically significant one. It’s a story that needs to be told. We just need to pin down the pesky details. Thankfully, I think I have a couple of those aforementioned details to share with you today.
Before we get started, I have a memory to share about Miami from the time I went there. It was the end of August 1978, and I’d returned to campus to start my junior year. I was moving into Brandon Hall, in the North Quad, and the area was swarming with students. Everyone was busy carting their dorm stuff to their new rooms or hanging around outside talking to friends they hadn’t seen since spring. I remember it being nice out—hot, but nice.
Somewhere down the street, on Tallawanda, several guys were playing Frisbee on the front lawn of their fraternity house, shorts on and shirts off, blasting the tunes. By far, the most memorable part of that moment was the song that was being blasted. Those guys, who were probably attempting to look cool for the women moving in, were playing “Whenever I Call You Friend,” sung duet-style by Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks, on their speakers full blast. Even back then, I remember thinking “huh” 🤔. I admit that it’s a catchy song with a distinctive intro and killer vocals, but if looking cool was the objective, there were way cooler songs from that summer, all of which (to my amazement as I fact-checked this post) appeared on albums that were released during the first nine days of June that year. They could have been playing “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones, “Just What I Needed,” by The Cars, or, good Lord, “Prove It All Night” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Instead, they were cranking Kenny Loggins (released in July) all the way up and, to this day, the memory stands out for me as rather sweet. And now that we all have that catchy little earworm playing on a continuous loop in our brains, let’s move on to the topic for today, which is the people who Ron Tammen had called “friend” after he disappeared from Miami University.
Of course we’ll be doing this as a Q&A. Also, as always, I’ll be using the word “who” instead of “whom” indiscriminately throughout this blog post because I don’t have time to think about which one is right and, moreover, that’s how people talk. Sorry, but it just is.
Also, because we’ll be discussing a number of interrelated topics and I have a lot to say about each one, this is going to be a four-part series. The last part—the epilogue, so to speak—will be a quiz in which you can win a very cool black and silver unisex string bracelet, made by an artist in Turkey, with the words “Ron Tammen” spelled out in Morse code. There’s also a bonus red string bracelet for luck and a pop of color. The first 10 entrants who email me after getting all of the answers correct will be our winners. It’s by far the best prize I’ve ever given away on this blog site, so please give it a try.
As I’ve done in the past, I’m releasing all four parts plus the quiz today so you can read them whenever you have the time. As for the quiz, some of the answers to the questions will be contained within the four parts, so I encourage you to read all the way through before taking it. OK, I’ve said enough. On to Part 1!
