Greetings from the Tennison Home,

First things first--all survived the great earthquake in safety--some in the thick of it, and others from a Mississippi Riverboat outside New Orleans (Ray and I).  Mark and Pam were in the city--Mark in a hotel with 4000 guests who needed to be fed and sheltered without any power, and Pam in her own and friends apartments without power, etc.  But, being young, they survived in grand style... 

Ray's business travels keep him on the road, or rather in the air, a great deal of the time, but I have managed to sneak along on some of his various outings--to New York City and Washington, D.C. in April, to San Diego the end of August, to New Orleans in October from whence we officially vacationed and then went on to Orlando, Florida to the world that Disney created.  Various family members made two trips to Phoenix, one in March and one in November, for cousin's weddings.

Lloyd began his own corporation selling computer hardware and software at the beginning of the year.  He identifies his business as a "value added reseller" meaning, you add value to whatever you get...  His 1989 Nissan Pathfinder gets his equipment to and from necessary locations.  He and his partner attended "the big" computer convention once again in Las Vegas--seems like a strange place for a convention...  The milestone for him was the big 30 this year!

Mark's third promotion this year at the Hilton in San Francisco now finds him as Assistant Banquet Manager, driving a 1989 silver Nissan 240SX, and living in a newly purchased condo.  Enjoyed a trip to New York in April where he visited friends he had worked with at Club Med.  Then he went to Chicago in August for his ten year high school reunion, somewhat disappointing, but that's how these things often turn out.  He is looking forward to better skiing conditions this season than last.

Pam is with Broad, Schulz, Larson, & Wineberg and along with various other female associates is still trying to get through to the male dominated partners in the firm, but without a great deal of success to date.  The big case in Sacramento on which she was an associate for nine long months was won by her firm.  She celebrated with a trip to Club Med Turkoise and just missed evacuations from Hugo (no free trip and just missed the second largest natural disaster in the U.S. this year).  She's looking forward to a visit from some Canadian friends over the holidays whom she met during the great hurricane vacation--if they are game enough to come to earthquake ridden San Francisco, that is.  She enjoys her typical San Francisco apartment on the famous Union Street in Cow Hollow (too near the Marina for comfort).  She and her grand-mother attended a performance of Madame Butterfly in box seats at the opera recently--they're all class, those two. 

Dave is now the manager of the Lafayette store of the chain he works for, so they have their home in Orlan up for sale and are looking forward to moving back to "civilization."  This store is the number two producer in the twenty-six store chain, so this is quite a big step.  Ironically, it is the store in which Dave first worked when in high school.  This may put a cramp on their perpetual water skiing at Black Butte Lake all summer which they have enjoyed the past several years.

Gail's undergraduate teaching of exercise physiology at California State University at Chico, plus her guest lecturing in graduate courses while she obtained her Masters in Exercise Physiology has kept her busy.  These, of course, were done while she taught aerobics on the side (like a 6:00 a.m. class) and various other projects while she and Dave handled the ever growing antics of two-year old Monica.  Gail has attended several educational conferences in San Diego this year, is still teaching aerobics and will begin at the California School for the Blind teaching adaptive education in January. 

They vacationed in San Diego, went to the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo, and spent time at the ever popular Disneyland--Monica loved it, but I'm not sure about Gail and Dave.  Monica is three feet tall (Gail just measured her), talks incessantly (can't imagine where she gets that from) and is modestly described by her parents as a "little genius."  I'm certain the "little" part refers to her stature, not her intellectual capabilities.  Speaking as a grandmother, she is a sweetie.

Bev changed careers early in the year.  Retail management was not all she wanted from life, so she is now teaching four and five year olds in a pre-kindergarten program at a private school in Pleasanton.  Since starting there in July, she has gone from the second teacher in a team teaching situation to head teacher in November, with the same age children, now having a second teacher and a teacher's aide working for her.  She took a canoe trip down the Maramac in Missouri over the July 4th week-end with Ricky and friends and will visit Chicago again following Christmas to spend time with friends and with Ricky's family.

Paul attends the community college full time presently in preparation for entering an engineering program in the near future.  He continues to work for Long's Drugs for which he has worked since high school.  He and a friend have just rented a house WITH A GARAGE and are in the process of moving in.  That means the pieces to the truck which are neatly lined up on benches and the "something or other" which weighs over 100 pounds and is directly in the path to the back yard must be moving also.