Erick Westphal:  

Hi everyone, I truly hope your life today is blessed and enchanting in all the ways you can make it. This is more lengthy than I thought it would be... I imagine that I remember more of you than you do of me! I didn't attend Silver Creek all that much. I moved to San Jose in '70. Lived at the beginning of Yerba Buena; few blocks away from the small white bridge. Went to Quimby Oaks (what an interesting name: Quimby.) then attended Silver Creek for about a year and a half. I didn't think I did all that much but looking through the year book I was in football (got on the field to play only once - was pretty much skin & bones!) water polo, wrestling & I was fortunate to also be in a play. Without going into to much story my family life was rough and I ended up in a group home. Around March of '75 I came home for about a month. I didn't fit into that setting anymore (I realised how broken our home was). During my time away I missed my sisters dearly, and though that was so on April 14 (4 days after my 17th birthday) I chose to go in the Army. I went to Louisiana for training then lived in Germany while everyone graduated HS. I was an infantry soldier and got out in 1978. In High School I was pretty lost. No fault of my own I just didn't have healthy parents. It was a good thing I left home. Knowing what I know now I would have been just like my parents. I was starting to see the bad (same) choices that would destroy any hope of a wonderful fulfilling life. After my time in Germany (which was very cool for a 17 to 19 year old) I traveled around the country; hitch hiking a bit (Florida to CA once), worked as a carny for a summer, lots of diff...Expand for more