Wes McKusick:  

6/14/09 - Updated & edited w/ spell check, this time¿ This year has been busy and getting busier... In March, Beverly & I traveled to Phoenix at attend a wedding for our daughters BFF from HS... We also visited cousins & family there. We ventured north to Flagstaff to visit a 1/2 brother & family, then to Las Vegas. We met with 4 step-brothers & sisters w/ their better halves (one lives in LV, others from LA)... Beverly & I entered several "Texas Hold'em" tournaments. I placed 4th & 7th in 2.. Beverly placed 5th & 9th in 2... The other tournaments (4), we did not do as well. Along with playing slots, we did play on "House" money for the trip, saving our entire gambling budget... Returning from this trip we learned that there had been a severe storm which hit out neighborhood. Our roof was severely damaged along with the siding, no leaks fortunately. I was given a 1 1/2¿ diameter hailstone from the storm. But I have been fighting with insurance since. We just had our roof redone last week. Still there is more work to be done including residing the whole house. Later this month, we are heading to Amarillo & Ruidoso, NM, to spending a week with another 1/2 brother & his wife from Denver. In late August, for Beverly's B-day, we fly to Anchorage to take a week long "Celebrity" cruise to Vancouver. We are looking forward to this trip. I hope we can survive all the shore excursions. Arriving in Vancouver we will spend most of the next week sightseeing before returning. We are looking forward to next year¿s reunion. Next September 2010, we have scheduled a week on Maui, Hawaii.... I have completed the "Neuro-stim" test & am now working with a neurosurgeon to get approval for a permanent implanted neuro-stimulator. Hopefully this will reduce my pain level to tolerable or better and reduce the amount on pain medication I take. We still have not sold our ¿flip¿ house. ******************************* "LIFE SINCE HIGH SCHOOL"...(revised) During my senior year and the following year, I worked for a dance concert company (Scenic Sounds Productions). We would put on dance concerts throughout California, many at the Rose Palace in Pasadena. I was able to work with most all the popular rock & roll bands around. Great Fun !!! Hey anyone remember "UNCLE JIMMY " ?? Yeah, my VW. One of the first Hot Rod VW's in So. Cal. at the time... After receiving a low draft number, I decided to join the Air Force (3/70), instead of being drafted into the army. Wise decision, as I did not want to go to Viet Nam. I only wish that I could have kept in touch with my friends, over the years. For the next 7 years in the USAF, I worked as an air traffic control operator. Great job. I was first stationed in Oklahoma City, OK. In Dec.'70 I met Beverly, my soon to be wife. We dated for about 6 months, and then married (5/71). May '73 I was sent to Thailand for a year. I was able to get permission to have Beverly come to visit for 2 months. Thailand is a beautiful and a friendly place to visit. Leaving Thailand, I was restationed in Oklahoma City, again. In Dec.'76, our first daughter was born, Jennifer. After separating from the USAF (3/77), I worked in construction waiting for the FAA to hire me as an air traffic controller. 9/78 I was hired by the FAA, assigned to Houston, TX. Within several months there was a plane crash in San Diego, PSA. The crash destroyed a house my dad grew up in. Additionally, after PSA 183, hit the other airplane, but prior to crashing, the pilot, the co-pilot & the engineer all asked the air traffic controller to pass their final thoughts & love to their families. Even though I was not involved, I decided at that I would never be put in that position, I quit the FAA. I still get goose bumps when I think about it. Dec.'78 Beverly & I moved to San Diego. I found a job as a carpenter, Beverly worked as a nurse. Starting in '74, I started night school working on a construction degree. Sept.'80, Elizabeth was born, our native Californian. In '83 ...Expand for more