Chris Webber:  

e since there were no Army aviation units close by and kicked around for a few years not doing much of anything. I met my second wife about this time although we didn't get married for some time as my divorce from my 1st wife wasn't final yet. We sang together as a duet in Old Town Portland but never managed to really get that well known. We took a vacation to Seattle in 1985 at the invitation of an Uncle who lived there and I have lived in the Puget Sound area ever since. We ran a couple of semi-successful business for a few years; a mobile catering service and a software developing and publishing company, but eventually the businesses failed and so did our marriage. By 1989 I had lost my wife, lost my house, lost my car, moved to Everett and transferred to the Army Reserve. This was probably the lowest time in my life. The only thing that kept me going was a friend, who was going through a divorce at the same time, took me out to a country bar one night where I was introduced to country dancing. That became my life. I struggled through for a few years doing odd jobs and dancing. I eventually got to be pretty good and danced competitively for awhile and did some teaching. During these dark days I met a wonderful cowgirl who lived on a horse farm with a bunk house in the barn. She gave me a regular roof over my head and I became a professional cowboy. We soon became much more than just boss and hired hand and she helped me to recover what little was left of my self esteem. Over the years I had learned how to fix things and was a pretty good Handy Man. My new girlfriends brother-in-law owned a small circuit board manufacturing business and I would do odd jobs for him. He finally offered me a full time position. I really loved that job. One of the draw backs of building self esteem and discovering who you are, as I found out, is that you get bored with the routine and mundane. After several years things had changed at work and it wasn't fun anymore. My girlfriend was no longer exciting to be around and I was looking for change. From the time I was a kid I had had a fascination with Heraldry, the art and science of Coats of Arms. By the time I was in my thirties I was recognized as a bit of an expert on the subject and would give lectures at local Historical & Genealogical Societies. I even taught a College level class once. One evening while giving a lecture at a local Genealogical Research Library I met a young lady who would take my life in an entirely new direction. I had found the change I was looking for. We were married in 2000 in a Renaissance wedding. There have been plenty of struggles but we have made it through them all. As a member of the National Guard I was called up after September 11th and have been deployed three times since then. In 2004 I took a full time position with the National Guard and am having a blast. I spent five years as the Sr Supply Sergeant for the State HQ. In 2008 we competed for the Supply Excellence Award and won the Region VI level. On January 1st, 2010 I celebrated 30 years of military service. In April 2011 I was transferred to the 741st Ordnance Battalion and also was offered a 1SG position with one of the 341st MI Bn companies. We bought our first house in 2007 in a fantastic neighborhood of Lakewood where you all are welcome, of course. One of my new neighbors is in the Barbershop Harmony Society so I have gotten back into singing. Last summer I took Bagpipe lessons and bought a set of pipes a few months ago. I also started making my own wine a couple of years ago. In 2010 I built a winery in my basement and am in the process of getting my license to sell. It took a long time but I think I finally figured this life thing out. I have learned a lot of great, hard lessons along the way, but they have made me strong and sure. I want to thank everyone who had a part in it. Especially the hard parts. Those were the best lessons.