In 1978 I left for basic training in Georgia and arrived in Germany in the spring of 1979, where I met and married Carl. Both of my children, Kamilyn and Joseph were born in Germany and I got out when my daughter was born. When my son was nine months old, we were transferred to Little Rock Air Force Base where my husband worked as full time army in the National Guard and I remained a stay at home mom. Fall of 2004 I came back to Washington on vacation and escaped being married to an alcoholic. I haven't remarried because I felt my focus needed to be on raising my children. Now they're grown and I do enjoy going out and having fun with friends when I can.

Trying to make ends meet was difficult and I finally gave in and went on DSHS in order to go to college and get a degree. (Not my proudest moment, but better than being destitute.) I graduated from EvCC in 1989 with a degree in drafting and design and was hired by Boeing. I've been there for most of the last 20 years doing various jobs. Like many of my co-workers, Boeing offered me an opportunity to find another job after 9-11, but I chose to go back to school. I earned a second degree in Forensic Science from Green River CC in Auburn. (Thank goodness the gas prices were under $2/gal back then!) I looked for work and got a job as a process server, I knew I couldn't make a living wage with only an associates degree in Forensics, so I jumped at the chance to go back to Boeing when the offer came. I've been back almost 3 years and am the project focal for Flight Controls, working on the functional schematics for the new 747-8. My former positions were mechanical, so this is a real stretch for me.

As I mentioned above, I have two children, Kamilyn who is now 27, and Joseph who is 25. Kamilyn is happily married to Gerard, a fine young man from Trinidad who also works at Boeing. They have four children, girls Cyleste, 9, Paisley, 7 and Kaleigha, 4 in September. They also have one son, Giovanni who will be 3 in September and another one due late July or early August.

Joseph has twins, Ryan and Serinity, born this past January. He is an apprentice in the carpenters union in Everett and loves to do finish work.

Outside of work my hobbies include quilting (view sample), reading, and learning Spanish. My local neighborhood is about 25% Spanish speaking and I want to be able to talk to my neighbors. I just went back to school this week and am taking a class called Chicano/Mexican Culture. I'm learning a portion of American history that we never learned in school and am saddened to know it won't be added to the curriculum unless someone raises a big enough fuss. In the fall I start formal Spanish classes. I have a friend who is helping me with my Spanish and I do Spanish karaoke on Friday nights. It's fun and gives me an opportunity to interact with more Spanish speaking people and learn about the culture.

This past spring I just had a total knee replacement and am learning to enjoy life again. I hope by the end of the summer I'll be able to ride my bicycle. I'm having to learn how to navigate stairs again the correct way, but best of all, I am able to keep up with the grandchildren now.

Debi Pennington
CSI-Seattle at Comcast.net

Some of you may remember my brother, Dan Robbins (played several brass instruments and was good in math) and his wife Julie Smith (I think she played the clarinet) from the class of '79. While I don't feel free to send out his e-mail address, if you want to contact him, I'll forward your e-mail to him.