BRAD MOYER

Most Recent letter

Brad and Nancy Moyer
4316 Mentone St.
San Diego CA 92107
Ph (619) 226-2592
Friday, February 27, 2002

Dear Family,

As always, it is nice to receive the family letter and catch up with the Mickey side of my family.

I am still employed as a Mechanical Engineer at Quantum Magnetics. We have been extremely busy since 9/11. My company has a very diverse product line, but a major part of our work is geared towards airport security. Needless to say things are jumping. I spent the better part of 2001 outfitting a humvee with land mine detection equipment. This has been an enormously challenging and rewarding task. I had mixed feelings on the day that we shipped it off for field-testing. Although I felt pride in seeing my efforts through to a successful conclusion, I also felt some regret that such an interesting job was coming to an end.

Well, it is official: I have completed my Associates degree in Engineering. In fact I picked up my diploma last week. It's nice to have all of that work behind me, and most important, to have something to show for it.

Last February, I injured my back while hiking. I have since learned that I have a congenital weakness in one of the vertebrae in my low back. I am told that 30 per cent of the population experience the same problem. I have spent much of the last year working to strengthen my low back and stomach muscles. I still walk, but I have had to cut back on the distance and frequency of my walks. I began doing yoga last summer. This has really helped to ease my low back pain, and has definitely increased my flexibility. I would certainly recommend it to any of you that have back problems.

Nancy has taken the past year off work to give full attention to some chronic health problems, so she has spent a great deal of time with doctors, dentists, chiropractors, and therapists. Our local YMCA finally started a PACE class (People with Arthritis Can Exercise), and Nancy is experiencing wonderful results from this class. This is a "land" exercise class. Most PACE classes are done in the swimming pool since it is easier to move. Nancy highly recommends that any of you with arthritis check into the PACE classes in your town. Call either the YMCA or the Arthritis Foundation.

Amanda will be going to Togo with the Peace Corp this fall. She was originally assigned to go to Lesotho last May, but her new assignment is better suited to her interests and skills. She will be working to improve the self-esteem of young Togolese women. The Peace Corp selected Amanda for this assignment because of her degree in psychology. We don't have much information about Togo yet, but our initial impression is that Togo is more like the image that people have of Africa than Lesotho. In Lesotho, 80 per cent of the population was Catholic. In Togo, 70 per cent of the people practice indigenous beliefs. Lesotho is a dry and mostly barren country, while Togo has a tropical climate and is heavily forested. While the animal population in both countries is low, Lesotho has few wild animals, while Togo has lions, elephants, hippos, and giraffes. No doubt this will be an interesting experience for Manda.

Nick is doing quite well. He still lives in Peoria Illinois, and is working as a bartender. He is on the verge of completing his Associates degree in Science. His fiance, Rae, is about to graduate from Bradley University with a Bachelors degree in Physical Therapy, and plans to go on to earn her Masters in Chiropractic Care. Nick will continue his education at the University of Illinois at Chicago once they relocate this coming summer.

This weekend, Nancy and I will be taking a "before hours" tour of Condor Ridge at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. In addition to condors, with their eight-foot wingspan, the Condor Ridge area includes bighorn sheep, hawks, prairie dogs, and other North American animals. We'll get to learn about the condor conservation effort, and then get up close and personal with two of the animals. We're hoping one of them is a condor! Next year's letter will include pictures of us with the animals. As usual, we've enjoyed reading all your letters

Have a wonderful year!

Love to you all,

Brad & Nancy Moyer