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Brad and Nancy Moyer 4316 Mentone St. San Diego, CA 92107 Ph 619 226 2592 Friday, Mar 9, 2001 Dear Family: Well sadly I am the first person to write in the family letter since Uncle Wes’ passing. I only met Uncle Wes on two occasions, and they were both over 30 years ago. Nonetheless it is sad that we have lost four of the elder Mickey generation in the last year. I concur with Cyndie that it is now up to us in the younger generation to keep the family legacy (and the robin) alive. I am still working as a mechanical Engineer at Quantum Magnetics. I am quickly approaching my third anniversary at QM. As I’ve mentioned before Quantum Magnetics is a research and development company that is trying to develop commercial products from our proprietary technology. Most of our work continues to be in the area of landmine detection, although I have been involved in projects for the medical and agricultural communities as well. In my last letter, I said that I was in the midst of my last college course, and that I would probably have graduated by now. Well that was all based on an assumption that I could get a waiver for a required drafting course. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, so this semester, I am enrolled in a basic drafting course. District policy does not allow for a waiver on this particular course, but the teacher is willing to work with me since he knows my skills are way beyond the scope of this class. He is giving me projects that I can work on in my own time, thus I don’t actually have to attend the class. The long and short of all of this is that I will be able to graduate at the end of this semester in June. Also in my last letter, I mentioned that I am in the process of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with a group of people from work. The PCT is a 2,638-mile long trail that runs from the Mexican border to Canada along the crest line of the coastal mountains. We have now covered roughly 110 miles. On our last hike, we backpacked 24 miles over two days, and in the process, I managed to injure my back. At first I thought that I was experiencing bursitis in my sacroiliac joint, but the symptoms have persisted for a month now, and I am now experiencing a pinched sciatic nerve. To be on the safe side, I am scheduled to see an orthopedic surgeon next Monday. Hopefully it is just a strain, and I will be back to my normal activity level soon. When the robin last was here, Nancy had just started a job at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, which is an organization committed to ending youth violence. For various reasons, Nancy will be leaving that job next week. Although we both are very supportive of the Foundation’s work, Nancy feels that the job is just too demanding for her. Additionally, she wants to have time to spend with her daughter, Amanda, who will be coming to spend five weeks with us starting next week. As I mentioned last year, Manda has been planning to join the Peace Corps. She has been accepted, and will be leaving for Lesotho (pronounced La-sue-too) a small landlocked country approx. the size of Maryland, that is completely surrounded by the country of South Africa. While there, she will be doing one of three jobs. The first possibility is to work with women in the rural areas teaching handicraft and home economic skills. The second possibility is that she could work on a potato farm helping them develop new markets for their product, and the third possibility is that she could be involved in teaching business management skills. Her specific assignment will be determined when she gets to Lesotho and goes through her three-month in-country training. Nick is doing quite well. He is living in Peoria Illinois, and has recently become engaged. We haven’t met her yet, but they are talking about moving out to California within the next two years. And he has promised Manda that he won’t get married until she gets home from Africa! Nancy and I bought zoo passes this year, and have spent a lot of time there and at the Wild Animal Park. It had been years since we had been to either place, and there have been major changes at both. The San Diego Zoo is so beautiful, and we’ve enjoyed the early morning programs they have for members! The Christmas season at the Wild Animal Park was fantastic, especially the late night "safari". Seeing the nocturnal animals was a real treat! As usual, we’ve enjoyed reading all your letters. Have a wonderful year! Love to you all, Brad |