Leah Yeager:
CLASS OF 1989
Saugus High SchoolClass of 1989
Saugus, MA
Leah's Story
Hello Class of '89! How are you all? I am doing great and currently live just north of Dallas, TX.
After graduating SHS, I went to Bridgewater State and got a BS degree in Aviation, then moved to Florida for grad school where I got a Master's in Aviation Safety. Even though I earned several flight ratings, I decided against a career as an airline pilot and instead focused on the forensic reasons of why airplanes crash (I know...strange). I had also met a WONDERFUL guy named Jim, whom I would later marry.
After graduation, I accepted a job as an Air Safety Investigator with Cessna Aircraft Company, in the great metropolis of Wichita, KS (BIG adjustment for a New Englander). It was a great job, and I made a lot of great friends in the aviation industry BUT after 4 years of watching the corn and wheat grow, I was ready to get back to the east coast. As luck would have it, there was a position open at the National Transportation Safety Board, in Washington DC, and I was offered a position as regional Air Safety Investigator. Jim and I got married, moved to DC, and Jim went to work for Trans World Airlines, that was later bought out by American Airlines.
Life in DC was GREAT! Then September 11th changed our lives forever. We lived and I worked about a mile from the Pentagon. It was a chaotic time. Jim was immediately furloughed from TWA/AA and I found myself standing alongside my co-workers at Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills Land Fill assisting the FBI in trying t...Expand for more
o find the flight records from both jets that were flown into the WTCs. The only words that I can use to describe that experience would be "overwhelming" and "heart-breaking." It was a life changing event.
Two years later, we moved to Texas and left the rat race and politics of DC behind. Jim went to work for a dirt-bag freight operation to get back in the game of flying and quickly found himself as a Captain on the DC-9. After two years of crazy sleep patterns, he left freight-dogging behind and decided that flying high-end business jets around the world was more his style. He's never been happier and it will be a tough decision to go back to American Airlines. I made a lateral transfer to the NTSB office here in Arlington, TX. We have been in Texas for 5 years, and both love it! The people, the history, the food, and mild winters are what will keep us here for a very long time. Plus, the cost of living is very reasonable...shhh...don't tell anyone.
Jim and I have been married for 9 years, and have two lovable Labra-Hounds and two goofy cats. Life is Good.
I think about Saugus often and what my childhood friends and classmates are up to these days. I don't get a chance to get back there much anymore, and I have no idea who still may live there. But, as awkward as High School was, I honestly think we had a great class of people. I look forward to seeeing you at the next reunion. By the way, are we having a 20th?
Take care,
Leah (Riddle) Yeager
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