Give Thanks...A Modern Sabbath

 

Today, in the noon hour, our family was at the table having lunch. The scene made me laugh. In addition to eating, three of us were on a computer, an iPad, and a phone participating in three separate Sunday meetings happening at the same time.

It's a modern Sabbath.

It wasn't that long ago, as I sat in a third hour-long meeting in a beautiful church, I wondered how much longer the meeting would last. I didn't have that feeling every week, but it happened. I admit...three hours on a Sunday morning or afternoon can drag sometimes, not to mention arriving early or staying late for choir practice.

Oh, to be able to do that again.

Now, Sundays consist of getting up and logging on. We watch the first meeting, then a couple of hours later, another meeting is scheduled. Thanks to the modern miracle of technology, we can participate. In the second meeting, it's interactive. We can contribute, ask and answer questions. For that, I'm grateful. It is truly amazing that I can watch on my TV a broadcast of a meeting taking place blocks from us. I'm pretty sure had this technology been available when I was growing up (or even the last couple of years...), I may have chosen staying at home over getting dressed up and driving to the building.

We recently moved. One of the challenges when one moves is getting to know the neighbors. In the state where I live, there's a high percentage of LDS people so most of the neighbors are LDS. Church is were we get to know each other, where we spend time together, where we learn about them and they learn about us. Now, that's not happening. We moved into a community where people have lived for years, families have raised kids and stayed. Distance worshiping makes all that much more difficult.

I'm guessing the cameras and the broadcasts will continue even after the major threat has passed. Some people are unable to attend meetings for whatever reason and I think they will be able to attend virtually. I hope so, anyway. But for the rest of us, I think I prefer going back, sitting in the pews, watching the speakers in person, singing as a group, worshiping as a family. Even though I am thankful for our modern Sabbath day, I want to go back. Hopefully, that takes place soon.

The Things You Learn--Or Don't Learn--In School...

 I grabbed one of the books we use for homeschooling the other day, snapped a picture, and posted it on social media. I thought about the title, Financial Choices, a lot sine then.

Financial Choices.

Perhaps two of the most important words we'll ever deal with in our lives.

This isn't to say these choices are the most important words in our lives, or should be...no, far from it. But, the consequences of these choices can literally mean the difference between life and death.

We're teaching this book to our high school student. In three years my senior high school class will be reaching our 40th high school reunion. It's been a long time since I took high school classes. There's a lot of things I've forgotten that I once learned in high school. I don't remember learning about making financial decisions.

There's things we don't talk about in our society. Okay, maybe others do. In my family, we didn't talk too much about money. I know my mother--who raised three kids after losing her husband when the oldest child was ten-years old--taught us how to deal with money by her example. She worked in a butcher shop for decades. She sold real estate that she and my dad bought before he passed away. She always fed us, sheltered us, clothed us. 

I learned from her that money was not to be wasted, especially when you have just enough.

But, as it states in the forward to Financial Choices, the things taught in that book, or in any book dealing with how best to organize and deal with money, this book may be the most important book he's written. I wish they would have taught us some of these things when I was my son's age.

The ultimate proof of how well we did (or did not do...) in teaching our kids the best way to deal with financial matters is how they act and what choices they make. We have three adults and one teenager. They have a lifetime of financial choices ahead of them. I can only hope the choices they make will be good ones, ones that help feed, shelter, and clothe their families.

And maybe throw in a vacation every now and then...

I Shouldn't Be So Judgmental...Of Typos

 I posted a picture last week of a sign on a motel. It was missing a letter and that struck me as funny. I snapped a couple of pictures and posted one, complete with a clever (to me...) little caption. 

Maybe I shouldn't have.

I mean, it's really just a typo, except of it being a misspelled word on a page, it's an incomplete word on a sign. Sort of the same thing.

I write a blog post every day. I've published a couple of books and have several short stories out there for all to see. And I'm prone to typos. There may even be typos in this post when it's all said and done. 

Typos are just mistakes. Some have bigger impact than others, of course. There's knock on self-published stories, because they--usually--aren't professionally edited or proofed, and because of that, those in the "approved" publishing world look down on them, and not just the books, but the authors as well. However, I have found typos on books published by established houses before. No one's really immunized from it, or very few, anyway.

I guess it's like taking the beam out of my own eye before I start pointing out the typos in other people's eyes...

Or motel signs that elcome you.

Our Trip To Snowville...

 We went on another driving tour last Sunday. In the past month, we drove north to Idaho, east to Logan, west to Promontory Point, and so the last major road heading out of town goes northwest.

We drove to Snowville, Utah.

And there isn't much there.

This should in no way be interpreted as a slight against Snowville. I'll bet if you asked anyone who lives in Snowville they would say the same thing. It is not a big town. Search the town's population and as of the last census in 2010 the population was 167.

167.

I wonder if there's still that many people living there. You exit Interstate 84, turn north and you'll see two gas stations and a diner. There's also a restaurant that's closed on Sundays. We kept driving north for a mile or so. We passed several homes and the smallest elementary school we'd ever seen.

I have so much respect for people who live in these small communities. They each have a story (as do we all...) and I'm sure there are some fascinating people there...

Just not that many.

Performing...In The Time Of Covid

 I've blogged about an event that happened last week. I blogged about the experience before it happened to recruit participants, I blogged about the show itself to see if anyone wanted to come and see it, and I blogged about shopping for, finding, then wearing a plastic face shield that we used while performing. I also used one of my pictures from the evening as that day's Pic Of The Day.

Needless to say, I've milked the event.

Sometimes I need to do that when coming up with things about which to blog.

Still, doing a show, albeit one that consisted of one rehearsal, one run-through before the performance, and the performance itself, is an adventure. It's always a challenge...there's always a rush. And, because of the times in which we live, any performance, any chance to be on the stage is not just an everyday ordinary thing. It's special.

The show went great. I missed a line, but my fellow actors were pros and covered for me. We even had some audience members in attendance. Anytime there's more people watching than are on stage is a good thing. After the bows and applause, Bryce, the organizer said he had fun and he would not be opposed to trying something like what we just did again in the future. And if that ever happens we all wanted to be a part of it.

With my daughter being so busy with her own things and us moving away from the theaters where I usually performed, and covid shutting down everything, I've sort of figured my performing days were in the past, at least, the way I used to do shows. That may still be the case, but on a crisp winter Friday evening in a basement black box theater in Layton Utah, I was able to help out and have a good time.

Performing in the time of covid--kind of like it's always been....

With a few changes, of course.

NASA's Perseverance Rover...Aptly Named

Humans possess an innate desire to explore, to search, to learn about the world around them.

And not just the one world.

Last week the planet watched as the Perseverance Mars Rover safely landed on the Martian surface. I have not done a lot of research on the project...I'm kind of a casual observer. I did hear yesterday how the rover got its name. There was a contest to name it and the winner was a young man who wrote an essay about perseverance. You can read about him by clicking: HERE. 

Perseverance...

Well named.

So many things were put on hold last year, so many unfulfilled dreams, events that didn't take place, weddings without friends, funerals without family. I can't imagine what those in charge of the Mars mission thought when the whole world shut down. Years--decades, even--of planning hung in the balance. Billions of dollars, life-long work all at risk. Yet, the rockets left Earth, the spaceship traveled to Mars and the payload touched down.

The mission found a way to succeed.

Since I don't work in that environment, I have no idea if they could have delayed the launch, put the mission on hold like so many other things. They didn't. They persevered. They achieved their goal.

When the rover was named, the young man could not have imagined how much more apt the name would be. I guess that's why it was so perfectly.

Well done, to everyone involved.

Promontory Point...Not Where I Thought It Would Be

 A week ago Sunday my wife and I went on a drive. There's places in Utah I've always wanted to see, but apparently, not enough to actually go there. Promontory Point was one of those places.

I can cross it off my list.

I think every child growing up in Utah has heard the story. On May 10th, 1869 the last spike was driven into the first transcontinental railroad. It literally brought America together. It changed Utah and the entire country. In 2019 the site celebrated the 150th anniversary. I've known about the famous site ever since I learned about Utah history. I thought it a strange place for the railroad lines to meet. When I looked at maps of northern Utah, Promontory Point was surrounded by water and I thought when they built the railroad tracks, whey did they not meet up a little higher, away from the water?

When we moved north, I knew we were close to the historic site. Still, I thought it was due south from where we lived. Turns out, it's due west (and a little south...). We kept driving west to reach it.

There's a couple of buildings at the site, one where the train engines are housed, then the main building...a combination of ranger station, museum, and gift shop. Winter is not the time to visit the site. It's best in spring and summer when they actually bring out the trains.

I fell in love with train travel when I lived in Europe. Growing up, I didn't get the opportunity to take trains very often, nor have I since returning. We just don't use them like they do. The joining of the rail lines conjures a world of the old west, of men, women, and children working hard to survive a brutal land. There's romance in the thought, a sense of wonder. And when I thought about what happened 152 years ago this May, it occurred in a place I thought was somewhere else.

Trying Out The Face Shield...

 Friday night, I had the opportunity to return to the stage. It was a small play, but due to the theater restrictions, everyone in the room needed to wear a mask. I've seen people wearing alternatives to the traditional face masks and since I had lines to deliver, I thought I'd try one of those alternatives...

A Face Shield.

I put off finding one until the day of the show. In the afternoon we did some searching online. I could order face shields from almost every place we checked, but very few had them in stock and the ones they did have were big and bulky and expensive.

Still, I thought I'd see what they had. Before the show I made a Costco run. Next door to that particular Costco is a Lowe's. Lowe's was one of the places that had the big bulky expensive face shields in stock. I went to Costco, picked up the things I needed. While I was there, a fellow shopper strolled wearing a face shield, a non-big, non-bulky one I wanted.

Usually, I don't chat with random shoppers in Costco or in other stores. But, since time was getting short I decided to break with tradition. I asked her where she got her face shield and she said at that very Costco...

Score!

Because there were multiple masks in the box, those in the case without face shields used the ones I bought. We were all the same. I don't know if it made for a better show, or if it didn't make much of a difference. I know the audience could see our faces--hopefully, that added to the experience.

I don't know if I will be wearing the new shield much. I tried it out when we went shopping at our local grocery store the next day. I did get a few weird looks, but it did not fog up, which right there, is a big plus.

Of course, I'd prefer to throw all masks and shields right in the trash. I hope that day comes sooner and later.

Brigham City Temple...

 We live approximately twenty miles from the two grocery stores from which we do most of our shopping. Because of this distance, we take our trip into town once a week--sort of like the settlers of America's history when they hitched up the horses and went to town for supplies. In or modern world, we hitch several dozen horses (fueled by gasoline and not hay...) and do the same thing.

Normally, we'd go in the mornings, but the last couple of weeks we've been driving in to Brigham City at night. And one of the incredible buildings in that city is the LDS temple. Announcement that the temple was to be built took place in August 2009. They broke ground in July the next year, and it was completed in September 2012.

Before we moved up here, we hardly ever saw the building. We'd see it whenever we drove north to Idaho, and of course, when we came back home. Now, we're seeing it at least once a week, and at night, you can actually see the double spires from our house...they're really small, but you can see the building.

A week ago, we picked up groceries from one store. As we drove away. I looked back and saw the temple spires rise above the Smiths Grocery Store. I snapped a picture and posted it with the caption "Smiths...Temple." It generated a lot of comments. I wrote what I wrote to point out the two buildings, a Smiths and a temple. I think people might have thought I meant I was implying this was one building, not two. So, instead of the Brigham City Temple, I was saying it was the Smiths Temple.

Not really what I was going for.

A week later, and without the grocery store in the shot, I found myself at an intersection with the temple and the tabernacle all lit up. I prefer the second shot, unobstructed by commercialism. Don't get me wrong...I'm not anti-commercialism, just not in the shot.

It's a beautiful building, and it looks spectacular at night.

It's Where They Make The Rockets...

When you've lived in the same town for decades, you pretty much know the area. You know where the roads take you. You know where you can get a Mexican Coke at 2am (well, we used to know that before everything changed in 2020...). You knew the people, knew which roads were cleared first when it snowed, and which neighborhoods had good yard sales.

But, when you move, you're starting from Square One. Something my wife and I have been doing on the weekends is going on Sunday drives. Last Sunday, we got in the van and took a trip south, then turned west, then north a little, then west again. We drove out to Promontory Point--the spot where America's first continental railroad was completed. We decided not to spend the $20 for a tour (we'll do it another time...) and we headed back. 

We drove east until we reached the main road, a road that goes right by the Northrop Grumman rocket-building facility, formally Morton Thiokol. I'm sure they do other things, but the site is most famous--for good or bad--as the place where the booster rockets for the Space Shuttle were built.

And they had one on display.

I grew up in the space age. I remember watching the Apollo moon launches on TV. I don't remember much--I was 3 1/2 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, but I remember the ones that followed, watching the astronauts be picked up from the ocean, seeing the big orange and white parachutes.

I was out of the country for the first shuttle disaster. The world turned to that same plant as questions were answered and blame dispensed. Still, seeing that huge rocket beside the road was amazing. It's another cool thing about living here. Not everyone can say they live so close to a place where they make NASA rockets.

But we can.

Doing A Thing..."$100,000 For A Wife" Live Radio Show

 

Tomorrow night, a group of performers will come together in a space--socially distanced, of course--and create a bit of art.

I'm so glad it's happening.

I'm so glad to be a part of it.

My friend Bryce asked me to help out--it's always an honor to be considered for such a project. I get to play three characters. I'm used to playing several characters in a production--never thought twice about it. This time, however, since this is a "radio show" format, we'll all be reading the script and the entire story will be delivered audibly, sound effects and voices. This time, I've got to be completely different people using only my voice.

It's a challenge.

We had a rehearsal earlier this week. I wasn't sure which voice I would apply to each character, but when the time came, I went for it. For me, it worked and those will be the ones I use tomorrow night.

If you'd like more information about this, click: HERE for the show's Facebook page. This is a free event. The space is not huge, but if you'd like to come and see several people return to the stage to create an artistic experience, drop by. It's in the On Pitch Performing Arts (OPPA) Theatre in Layton.

This is a good thing, in my opinion. Humans have a need to create and they'll do it no matter what stands in their way. This is a short fun little play. The people involved want to have a good time and if you'd like to join us, we'll see you there tomorrow night.

On A Hill...Overlooking A Valley...Eggli's Pine Trees Still Grow

 It was my wife that told me about the place. "Did you know there's an abandoned Christmas Tree Farm just down the road?" I, in fact, did not know there was an abandoned Christmas Tree Farm just down the road. I don't know what I was expecting when I finally drove by, but not that. 

Seeing a hillside full of trees isn't uncommon, though a group of pine trees this large is usually found in higher elevations. If the aging sign with the faded paint were missing, I would have driven past the trees and not thought much about it.

It's the sign that tells the story...

It's the sign that denotes a mystery.

We're new to the area. Ask me about events from the past fifty years in the town we left, there's a good chance I know something about it. Here...I know practically nothing. Seeing the trees and the sign sends my mind spinning. What happened to the business? Was there a family situation that caused the business to close? Did someone retire and no one wanted to take over? In the end, was it just too much work for the return?

So many questions.

What fascinates me is that the trees still grow. Even though they are no longer harvested and new trees planted to replace those sold, the trees don't care. They grow as a testament to life. They exist because there was once a time when they were capital and now they live as if to tell us humans that they survived...they persevered...

They won.

Maybe we'll be here long enough to see the next chapter in the abandoned trees. But, even if we don't, considering the story--the mystery, has been most interesting.

...Like It Was Never There

 Took a trip to my old stomping grounds yesterday, and I literally mean, my old "stomping grounds." As a kid, teenager, even adult I walked, ran, biked, skateboarded, drove, tracked, and stomped over the sidewalks, roads, trails, parking lots of Farmington.

We drove downtown. There's not much there, as far as downtowns go...a few buildings, government offices, mostly. Like most small towns, the growth has occurred away from the center of the city, where more people now live. We drove by the old Davis County Courthouse, or Davis Covnty Covrt Hovse, as it is engraved in the granite above the main entrance. It's where Jay Hess gave a speech after being freed as a Vietnam P.O.W. and where I dressed up with hundreds of other elementary school-aged children and welcomed him home. 

It's where I ran around with my friends, playing hide-and-seek, investigating the building like buried treasure was somehow hidden inside. It's where I served for my one and only time on jury duty. It's were I voted as an adult and completed other adult functions, like registering my car and where I attended American Legion meetings.

We learned before we moved the building was to undergo changes. Basically, they were returning the building to its original condition, smaller. Back when it was built, the government didn't need all that space. Now, since the government has grown exponentially and numerous buildings have been built to handle all they do, the old court house wasn't needed.

Change.

It's interesting. We drove by the building and I noticed that the original outside walls, that were inside walls for decades, and are now outside walls once again. Experts and craftsman will restore the building, plug the holes, and generations will grow up never knowing that the building was more than double the new size. They'll just see an old relic of generations past. They'll know the building the way the ones who built it knew it.

It's like the additions never were there.

Change is good, at least, it can be. Might as well accept it because it's the only constant. 

How Did We Honor America's Presidents, Past And Present? Why...By Buying Furniture, Of Course

 It wasn't the plan to go furniture shopping today--it just worked out that way. We had appointments south and we thought we'd check out some furniture on our way out of town. Turns out, we found a couch and chair we feel will work well in our front room so be bought it.

No, we didn't mean to honor America's presidents by purchasing furniture--it just worked out that way.

Growing up, I remember two competing furniture companies in our area vying for everyone's business. The years have strengthened one (RC Willey) and eliminated the other (Granite Furniture). Oh, and I remember the ads...if I were an alien visiting from another planet, I would think that Americans could not celebrate a holiday without visiting a furniture store to pick up a dining room set, a new mattress, a big screen TV (to watch the latest major sporting event...), or a major appliance. 

Personally, I've never thought about furniture much. In my childhood home, we had the same furniture for years, decades even. As long as it was comfortable, I didn't pay much attention. We had a large sofa system, a green and white thing we lovingly called the "Sofa System of Love," more for alliteration fun than a historical description of the couch. When I moved out in college, we unloaded the sofa system at the same time and moved it into the house where I lived. That couch had been in my mom's house from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. A good investment.

I have no idea how well our new couch and chair will last. Maybe decades, hopefully so. Who knows? It might someday be moved into one of our children's homes or basements. Of course, time will tell.

Give Thanks...A Valentine

 I don't know where I saw the above meme, so I apologize that I cannot give proper credit where credit is due. February is the time of year when we see a smattering of Valentine's Day memes, some heart-felt, some sappy, some sarcastic, and many hilarious. It's up to you to consider which of these is the above picture.

But, when you strip away all the candy, the flowers, the cards, the special meals and gifts, there's only two people who love each other, or should, in any case. It's Sunday, a day I usually try and comment on something for which I am thankful. Today I give thanks for my wife.

Having eclipsed the half-century mark, I've gone back and forth when it comes to Valentine's Day. I've hated, welcomed it, belittled it, honored it, and accepted it. For the past decade or so, I've acknowledged it. We don't do anything extravagant for the day. Like all special days that societal norms dictate we spend money on these days, we participate, but within limits.

Since I'm not a woman, I cannot with authority say the sayings on the candy hearts in the above picture are accurate or not. It's a funny little reflection on what one person thought about men and women. I hope wherever you are, you've had a good day. And if you happened to eat some delicious chocolate or smelled a beautiful flower, so much the better.

I am thankful that a woman decided to spend her life with me, a woman who may or may not have said any one of the above candy heart quotes to me or to others. And if she did, I'm completely okay with her doing so. Because, all things considered, remaining together is the most important thing. Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.

Sometimes I Wonder Why I Even Have A Phone...

 I missed the call. I miss a lot of calls. At 7:11am this morning I was still asleep and since I have my phone on silent mode, it just rang and rang. When I picked up my phone an hour or so later, that's when I noticed the call this morning came from Greece.

Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure I would not have answered it, but since it originated from thousands of miles away (or, at lest, that's what my phone said, anyway...), I would have been intrigued.

I'm pretty sure it was a scam call. Though possible, I seriously doubt I know anyone living in Greece, or anyone who has a phone originating from Greece. In the off chance I do know someone from Greece or someone with a Grecian phone, I doubt I know them well enough to have them give me a call. Anyway, it's a moot point--they did not leave a voice-mail message so whomever it was, they did not feel it necessary to leave me a message.

As you can see from my call record, most of my calls are are spams. I did make two calls since Thursday, but the others...pure junk. I have not been a big cellphone user. I used a Tracfone for more than a decade because I just didn't make a lot of personal calls and it worked for me. I was either at the office (had an office phone...), or at home (used the landline...). Now, my office is at home and we ditched the landline. I do need my phone--I'm just not using it a lot.

In our modern world, a cellphone is as important as a car was to earlier generations, and I think it'll be even more important for generations to come. A phone connects us--for better or worse--to the world. We no longer have maps or books or calculators or watches or stereos or fax machines or cameras. We have phones, and they do it all.

They even allow spams calls from Greece to show up when we're asleep.

Oh Pronunciation...How Important Art Thou?

When you think about it, the fact that anything ever gets written is amazing. And that things get written correctly...well, that's a miracle.

And it happens every day...

And it also doesn't happen every day.

I have problems completing a written message from time to time. I'm doing better--I suppose practice can help to make things perfect. I used to make more mistakes as I wrote a daily blog post and wrote in my daily journal (the journal has so many errors, spelling, grammatical, penmanship--you name it...). I believe I'm improving, at least in the digital form. How do I know this? My wife has said to me, "Honey, you have a typo." after she accesses my blog post less and less lately.

But, then again, writing is like driving...you look away for only a moment and then--bam!

Disaster.

With millions of people writing and posting millions of things every day, it only follows that there will be millions of mistakes out there. The one I spotted tonight on Twitter is a classic. Let's help out CNN, shall we? What adjustments can be made to their little information nugget to help them avoid accusing beloved actor Paul Newman of arson or insurance fraud?

"Authorities are investigating a fire that broke out at a summer camp started by the late actor Paul Newman for seriously ill children and their families."

Maybe re-arranging things might help.

"A fire at a summer camp started by the late actor Paul Newman for seriously ill children and their families is under investigation by authorities." 

No, the same conclusion could be drawn. I think the only way to fix it, is to add a comma and a few words.

"Authorities are investigating a fire that broke out at a summer camp, a camp started by the late actor Paul Newman for seriously ill children and their families."

I suppose that works. I've read through it a few times and I don't see a Twitter response similar to that of T. Allen Horne.

Maybe This Is Our Future...

I noticed a poster at our local grocery store advertising the high school's latest theater production...

Tuck Everlasting

I wasn't involved in many productions in high school, but I have done many community theater productions in the past twenty years. I remember the butterflies and the excitement, making sure everything is ready to go. There's a lot of pressure, but the payoff can be huge. There's nothing like opening night.

But, have you ever done a show to an empty theater?

I wonder if that could be our future.

I checked out the school's website and saw that they are selling tickets to see the show live, but they are also allowing the show to be streamed--for a price, of course. This changes things dramatically (sorry...). I know many of us work at home. Now, we can watch and support arts locally and never leave our house.

As an audience member, I can definitely understand the concern many would have going to see a show. Even if they put a person in every other seat and you're wearing a mask, you're pretty close to each other. I think many will have issues being in an enclosed space with hundreds of other people.

Then, there's the actors and workers at the theater...they need protecting, too. I think we forget about them sometimes. 

We're all adapting, doing the best we can. Allowing streaming gives people the opportunity to see shows they normally would not see. This is good. Doing shows is good. Supporting the arts is good. Hopefully, we can all do more of this safely in the future.

RM's From Denmark...If You Think You Remember Your Danish, Watch "The Investigation"

 I returned home from the incredible land of Denmark in 1987...that's thirty-four years ago. I only lived there twenty-two months, but I spoke Danish every day. There are times when I think I can still remember the language.

Then, reality smacks me upside the head.

On HBO there's a short series called, The Investigation. Though the subject matter is horrible, I was interested in watching the series for several reasons. First, it's a crime story, one which we know the outcome, it's a true story, and it's in Danish...not people speaking English, but Danish actors, filmed in Denmark, speaking Dansk.

The series begins--episode one. The main character, Jens Møller Jensen (played by Søren Malling...) appeared on screen. 

And then he spoke...

And I had no idea what he said.

To be fair, the actor mumbled a little, and this was everyday conversation within the walls of a police station. When I lived in the country I didn't spend a lot of time with the police (thank goodness...). No, my focus was on a different crowd using different language for different situations.

I've often wondered how I would fair if I returned. I know I would be okay because Danes speak English better than many of us. I would like to think I could once again communicate in their mother tongue. Watching a show like this reminded me that maybe I didn't have the command of the language I thought I did. And I'm okay with that. Those with whom I spoke to understood me. What more could I ask for?

Only two of the six episodes are available so far. The series is expertly done. Though slow, it's as fascinating as the subject matter is horrific, truly awful. I admit, as I watched the first two, I understood more and more of the dialogue, so maybe by the end of the series, I might think I can speak Danish all over again.

Yeah...I'm One Of Them

 It's been a most unusual year.

I don't know anyone who's life has not been affected by covid, some more than others. I've admitted before that for our family, sure we've had issues, but we've come through this mostly unscathed (knocking on wood...). One of the adjustments for me is sports.

Or, the lack thereof.

For the first time since my mission in the mid-1980s, I did not watch one NFL game, play-off game, or the big daddy, last Sunday's Super Bowl. I've been wanting to spend less time watching games for years, and it seemed like a good place to start. Maybe it's because most of my college football favorite team's games were canceled in 2020 that turned me off to football. Maybe it was something else.

It's weird giving something up.

For the most part, it wasn't a big deal. I've sort of lost interest in many of the teams...not knowing a lot of the good players nowadays. Still, I would have liked to seen Zach Moss, and many of my Utah Ute alumni play in the pros. And I would have been able to see numerous alums play--Utah put so many players in NFL. Good news is that if the Utes continue to excel at the college level, there'll be more to watch later.

Now that the season's over, I don't know if I'm going to watch any pro games next year. I might...we'll see. So, I didn't watch the Super Bowl...apparently, I wasn't the only one.

Small-Town Treasures...The Main

 Friday, an e-mail arrived notifying those in my neighborhood that snow needed to be shoveled at our local church. 

It was our turn.

That afternoon I loaded up the snow shovel in the back of Donk, the Subaru and drove the approximately three miles to the building. When I got there, most of the snow had already been cleared. I did help out a little bit. As I stowed the shovel in the car after my light shoveling, I looked east. That's when I saw The Main Theater.

Incredible!

As I get older, I'm a sucker for old things, old cars, old buildings, things with history. You can almost see it in the cracks, the faded paint, the rust and decay. Still...beautiful. At first, I didn't know what the building was. Upon second glance, I realized it was an abandoned movie theater. Single-screen theaters are as obsolete as eight-track tape players. Before last year, theaters were still a billion-dollar industry. I imagine their future is unknown at this time.

I walked over to it and took a few pictures. According to the internet, the theater opened in 1950 and closed in 1985...a thirty-five-year run. I so wanted to go inside, but at the same time, I would have hated to see abandoned dreams in entertainment form.

I remember reading of an Oscar-winning director who grew up in the same town as me. He talked about seeing films in the old church. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Though I never saw films in that church, I did peek through the small windows through which the films he saw were shown. He talked about how watching films, how those experiences affected his life. As I drove away from The Main, I wondered what life-long memories were formed by those who passed through those doors, who sat in those chairs, who watched the illusion of motion on the large silver screen.

And now, like an old tractor or harvester that died in the field, it sits waiting for nature to reclaim what it once was. I'm falling in love with this valley, and The Main is another of the small-town treasures sealing the deal.

Give Thanks...A Sense Of Humor

The way things are going these days, Lord knows we can all use something to lighten the mood. And thanks to the internet, there are plenty of people out there trying to do just that. Of course, some take things a little too far, but that's okay--best to just ignore those.

I have a few friends who like to download funny memes and pictures on their phones and send them to me via text messages. Because they do this, I must reply in kind. I am constantly amazed at how creative many of you out there are.

Humor, the things that make you laugh, chuckle, snort, giggle, and smile are as important in our daily lives as love, pain, heartache, joy, and everything else. I can't imagine a world without humor. True humor brings people of different countries, cultures, religions together. There are things that are universally funny.

We need more funny in our lives.

I'm grateful for those with a sense of humor and those willing to share. This week, I'm going to try and look for more of the funny, the hilarious, the things that make me smile. And I'm going to share them, because we need more funny. 

Experiencing Technology...Through The Generations

 Over the years of writing a blog, certain topics seem to rise to the top. Stuff like family, sunsets, VWs, thrift-store shopping always find their way into a blog post. Another one is technology.

I just sit back and am amazed at the incredible time in which we live.

This afternoon my mother-in-law dropped in so we could participate in a zoom call. The purpose of the call was to introduce to everyone to my mom-in-law's newest great-grandbaby. Thanks to 2020 Zoom and teleconference calls are so everyday, we hardly think about what we're actually able to do. So much so, some of the younger great-grandbabies complained because of all the Zoom meetings they've had, and they're just kids.

During a lull in the video call, I brought up how wonderful it is to be able to watch multiple families spread across the country communicate in real time. I said to my mom-in-law that we used to call people and have a conversation--audible only when we needed to share information like this. She reminded me that for her generation, a phone call was an advancement. In her day, it wasn't being able to watch everyone on TV, or even over the phone, she said they used to read a letter with a photograph of a new family edition.

Times have changed, indeed.

When I think about what we can do today, I am reminded of my father. 2024 will be one-hundred years since my father was born. He only lived to see just under half of those years. I sometimes try and think of the way we live now and see it through his eyes...what would he think about our modern life?

Today, we were joined by four generations, three in our front room. And the miracle of technology allowed us to share the experience together. 

Amazing.

Incredible.

Saw "The Dig" Last Night...An Example Of Classic Storytelling

 With so many choices when it comes to "what to watch," I rely on recommendations from friends. I saw a couple of posts yesterday from friends who liked a little film on Netflix titled, The Dig.

Last night, we gave it a shot.

We're glad we did.

I'm not going to go into great detail about the story. It is based on real events that took place in England just before WWII began. A woman hires a man to excavate ancient mounts of dirt on her property. Turns out, what they find buried on the land exceeds anyone's expectations.

As remarkable as the story is, what impressed me was the way the story was told. You could call it "sleepy," and you'd be right. The story is in no way boring--it held our attention--but there's no explosions, no special effects needed, no things that seem to be required in modern storytelling. Thanks to the the story and the magnificent acting, we see the story in the faces, in the way people move, in the lighting, the sounds, the music, the way rain creates a mood for tired people trying to do the best job possible.

We find in a family each of us as we try to overcome adversity, health issues, non-appreciation of hard work. And we watch until the end when earth is returned to the land after the discoveries of what lay underneath are complete.

It goes to show that there are as many fascinating stories out there as there are people that live them. All we need to do is uncover the dirt above to find the treasure below. And, when you have a wonderful story, expert filmmakers, and incredible actors that make those treasures shine...well, then you really have something special.

Been Doing A Little Editing...Happy About What I'm Reading

 One of my unwritten resolutions for the new year was to work on some of those old writing projects I started and never finished. It's a respectable goal. As a writer, you can write all day, but if you don't finish the stories you've began, then you've got no product to move.

The first story I chose to resurrect was something I began in 2013 called, The Ward Witch. I chose this one because--like paying off your smallest debt first--this story was the one closest to being done. I have about 20k words until it's finished. The reason I stopped is because I couldn't figure out an ending. I'm determined to get it thing done this time.

Since it had been so long since I last worked on this story, I've got to re-read it, in the very least, to remember the story and the characters. Plus, as I read, I've been doing some light-ish editing. I'm learning something as I read...

It's not bad.

It's funny, when you begin a project, then shelve it for a length of time, you forget things. I had forgotten so much of the story--especially the small details. So much of what I'm reading is an awakening.

I'm averaging a chapter of my light editing a day. In a couple of weeks I'll be done, then I can begin on the ending. I have a general idea of what I'll do, but I won't know until I can dive right in.

I'm glad that the story is entertaining--at least, to me. Hopefully, the finished product will be, too.

Actor(s) Needed...Glad To See People Back Out There

A Friend of mine is putting on a show.

And he needs one, maybe two actors to round out the cast.

Since 2000 I have been involved in numerous community theater productions, and a couple of shows where I actually got paid. I've met some amazing people and had some amazing times with those people. Over the past couple of years, I scaled back, averaging a show a year and sometimes not even that.

Last year, basically torpedoed any chance to perform--not just for me, but for anyone.

But my friend is taking a chance and putting on a show. It's not a show in a traditional way--it's a script reading. The show will be performed Friday, 2/19/21 with a read-through via Zoom on the Tuesday before. I was asked by the producer/director that they need one more actor--maybe two--to complete the cast. If you are in the area (the show is in Layton, Utah...) and you're interested, contact me and we'll see if we can make this happen.

I'm glad people are taking chances again. From what I understand, there will be social distancing measures in place at the show to protect all involved. It's a chance to perform. I know some theaters in our local area have returned to the stage. Since I haven't attended any, I don't know what measures they've put in place. Hopefully, they've done all they can do to make sure the show is safe.

As things come back, slowly, more and more people will be taking chances, putting themselves out there. I hope this little show is just another way of making that happen. Time will tell.

When You Cat Has Amazing Blue Eyes...

 We picked up a kitten almost two years ago. The mother abandoned two and we could only adopt one. Because the one who found the kittens never saw the mother cat, we had no idea what the kitten would turn into as a cat.

Turns out he got big...

And he's got the most incredible eyes.

It's my daughter and son's cat. They named him SamDean Winchester after a couple of television show characters. As a kitten he literally ripped up my arms and legs. We wondered if he would ever calm down. Turns out, he did. Now, because I work ten-hour shifts, the cat his sometimes left alone. At the end of my shift, I'll go into the room and he will rush to meet me, curl up around my feet, and sometimes, attack my toes.

He'll even jump up on the window ledge and pose.

I took out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures.

SamDean is not the most non-photogenic cat we've ever had, but he does okay. Below are a couple of the pictures I took while SamDean looked at me and wondered if I would pet him, give him more food, or allow him to try and trip me up causing me to fall.

Maybe that's what's behind those blue eyes after all.