Volume IV                                            Issue III                               December 1997

Where has this year gone? Christmas is just around the corner and I am not even prepared for it. Someone asked me the other day why I haven't had any issues out. I realized this person did not have a computer so they never even got a chance to see my last issue done several months ago and posted on the Web.

I will try to print that issue out and get it mailed to those who were not able to check the web site. I intended to do it but time got the best of me.

This issue will differ from those of the past because I do not have the time to devote to producing one of my award winning issues. I did want to get one out though and to let you all know what is new in my life and that of some others.

I read in an Ann Landers column a few months ago how some people hated getting "newsletters" from people annually bragging about their families accomplishments, etc, then a bunch more people wrote in saying how they loved getting them. I assume you all wrote in, in favor!

Ann Landers
 
 

I recently got promoted to a "C" Technician at work, which meant I got a raise (I work for eti so it was a pitiful one!). They have yet to hire a Shop Technician to replace me, but I have been out in the field some and will be working on a special energy savings project we are involved in. I am still aiming to go into the computer field, but until I get more classes under my belt and a find that ideal job, this will suffice.

I have been a "Bouncer" at a country bar, The Cadillac Ranch since late August. It is going good, not too much action, more fun than work. We were recently bought out, will have a new name and new format. Country one night, Comedy and then Top 40 dancing on Thur - Sat.

This should create more business and if all goes well I will be doing more bar backing which is better because I get 'tipped-out'.
 

All is quiet here in my Pleasanton Palace. My roommates are doing well, Jamie, just got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Fernando and Pam and Harold are playing on a doubles Tennis League.

The PWC Taskforce that I am a member of with the State of California's Boating & Waterways has little going on. I was asked to submit an application for an "advisory safety committee" that will be formed per a Senate bill passed this year (See "WaterCraft" for more information). I just turned it in and am awaiting further word.

Other News. Spike

I just got back from Las Vegas, Jeff "SawaMan" and myself drove down there the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving and met up with my friends from LA, Ken and Andy, whom Jeanna and I met on our way back from Hawaii a couple years ago.

We were able to meet up with them several times and, and one day we all walked down to the Stratosphere, the new 110 story tower. Jeff and I rode the "Slingshot" free fall ride, and after a near death experience, Jeff was ok!

Ken and Andy were smarter (chicken) and stayed on the killer observation deck while we rode the two rides they have.

(Above; Ken, Andy & Myself)

Jeff and I went to lovely (cough, cough) Victorville on Thanksgiving Day and took Jeanna out to dinner and went back and played what else??? Rummy, her favorite game. Amanda spent the day and night with BJ and we picked her up on Friday. We just kind of hung out and spent some time together.

Jeanna bought a new Honda a few months ago and we cruised around in that, we watched some of Amanda's dance recital video, and ate some more. (We ate way too much in Vegas!)

Ken and Andy came up the weekend of December 6^th and met Jeff, Mickey, Raelene, Karen and myself for the Brooks & Dunn / Reba concert at the San Jose Arena. The show was great, I managed to get tickets six rows back from the stage! Raelene is this new, "high energy" girl who I work with. We have become "buds" and Karen is her friend who I met a couple weeks ago.

I got to have dinner with and see Mickey the night before the concert. Her little girl, Melyssa is getting so big. Due to our schedules, I had not seen them for a few months, and boy has she grown. Mickey is doing well, and she too was at the concert with us.
 
 

Steve Press and the entire Press Racing team are about to move into their new house, just up the street from The Davis Clan.

Lee has been dating a very nice girl named Jennifer that he met at the Cadillac Ranch. Stay tuned for wedding news… just joking!

My Niece Michelle's cheerleading squad was chosen to go to Disney World in Florida for the finals, which will be seen on ESPN… and on Jill & Steve's TV for years to come. Good Going!

My condolences go out to the Cannata Family, in their loss of John's dad. It is never easy, and my prayers and thoughts are with you.

A recent bill was passed that changed a few laws that will affect us. The minimum age limit was raised from 12 to 16 for operators. Also, you cannot jump a boats wake within 100 feet of that boat. I will have more on this as the Jet Ski season nears.
 
 

Saying it before it's too late! -Spike

I along with many of you was shocked to hear that Ric Reynolds had a heart attack. Ric was on his way to the hospital for neck surgery when he started to get ill. Ric just thought it was heartburn, but Jeff and Eileen convinced him to go the emergency room.

When the doctors realized Ric was having a heart attack and not heartburn they raced him into the emergency room. The Doctors did not allow Eileen in to see him for some time and there were moments of fear on both sides. Ric was overcome by the fear that he was going to die, and that he did not have the chance to tell his wife Eileen, his family and friends that he loved them.

Ric and I talked about this for some time afterwards, and needless to say, it was a very emotional conversation. Ric is a teddy bear, a big guy with an even bigger heart. A man everyone loves as he loves most everyone. But did they know he loved them?

For some reason some people, especially men have a hard time telling people they love them. Some of my friends have never even heard it from their parents. How sad to grow up never hearing this. We couldn't go outside to play without my mom telling us she loved us. Is it a "Macho" thing? Is it fear or embarrassment?

So here Ric and I are discussing this, just a couple days afterwards and he was still in ICU. After I got of the phone I was a bit shaken. I stopped and thought about all that was said, and I wondered, "if I died tomorrow, would everyone know I loved them?" Many would, I never end a phone conversation with Mickey without telling her I love her, the same with Jeanna. But for some reason I don’t say it to others and if so, maybe not often enough.

I don’t know why this is, I love all my sisters, I love my friends and the rest of my family. You don’t see one guy friend telling another "I love you" too often, and maybe it doesn’t need to be said, but it should be known. How do you know if they know? If you can't say it for some reason, show it.

Before my mom died, I knew my friends liked me. When my mom died, I realized my friends loved me. Many never said so, but the support and help they provided to not only me, but my entire family said it all. I could not have asked for better friends.

To be told you are loved is one of the greatest feelings. Some who hear time and time again may quickly dismiss it out of routine, but inside they are aware of it. Those who never hear it or never say it may be left wondering, perhaps until it is too late.

I can guarantee you that all of Ric's friends and family knows he loves us, as we do him, but even he, someone who is an emotional and open person, was left wondering.

So this Christmas and each day on, stop and think, have you let your loved ones know your love for them? This is often a cold, cruel world and we hear way too much about the ills of society, and not enough good things. Brighten someone's day; tell them you love them.

Ric is at home now recovering, and I thank God for that. He has a new lease on life and I bet you he will live it in a new way. One in which he will stop and appreciate things a little bit more.

It is sad that this happened, especially to such a great guy and friend, but it can also be a lesson to all of us. Learn from it; don’t wait until it is too late. There are many things we do in our lives that we know we should change, quit or start. Why not today?

Ric also learned life is or can be too short to stress about the things you cannot control and to let them go. Let the past be the past, move on.

The AMA would also like for me to pass on that regular exercise and a healthy diet is important to a long, healthy life. Think about it!

In ending this, I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and more importantly to say that "I love you all" and that you mean the world to me. I consider myself a very fortunate person to have such great friends and family.