Never Knew About The National Monument To Our Forefathers Before...

 There's a family that used to live in the neighborhood (and up here, "neighborhood" means several miles away...). They moved away last month. It's too bad...we don't know that many families here. Hopefully, that will change.

My wife helped them move, which was a nice thing to do. In return, she was given a statue. They have a 3D printer and they like to make things with their 3D printer. One of the things they made was the statue they gave to my wife.

The National Monument to Our Forefathers.

I'd never heard of it.

Granted, I don't travel much. I've never been to Massachusetts. I've never been to New England. The closest I ever got was a lay-over at LaGuardia on my way home from my mission. That was in 1987. Thing is, if I ever went to Boston or Maine, checking out The National Monument to our Forefathers would not have been on my list of "things to do."

However, after receiving this little statue, I'd love to go to Plymouth and check it out. Looking at pictures of the monument, it feels like something that was built by aliens, by people who lived so much differently than us, by people who cared about this country...loved this country. On the statue are carved the words: Faith, Law, Education, Liberty, Morality. There are other words carved into the statue--according to the many websites dedicated to the monument--but those are the only ones I can see on my 3D-printed version.

Yes, it would be fun to see this thing in person, see a visual representation of a philosophy, of a way people looked at life. At least I have the statue.

Give Thanks...Preserving History

 Before--and after--I visited my dentist who dug out an old filling and replaced it with a new non-metal one, I noticed something. In my old home town, they like to preserve history. I saw it inside the dentist's office--a photo montage of famous buildings in the city, and I saw it outside the office--restoring buildings and putting up markers.

Without history, you cannot understand the future.

One could say I've tried to preserve history, and in some small way I have. As I get older I can't seem to get enough of historical photos, memorabilia, basically anything having to do with history. I wish I had studied it more in my youth.

There's an effort to re-write history. I'm not going to get into the pros and cons, but I think it's a dangerous thing. History, even uncomfortable history (especially uncomfortable history...) must be preserved. It must be studied and known so it will not be repeated. 

It was refreshing and comforting to see the lengths at which the small town is going to preserve history. I'm sure it's happening where we now live--I just need to go check it out. I"m thankful for those who chose to do the work it takes to preserve history.

I have no idea if my blog posts or journal entries will be preserved. I mean, I'll do my best to preserve them, but once I'm gone, what will happen to them? I'll have no control at that point. Heck, every digital entry I've ever written could be erased in the blink of an eye. And all my journals could fly away in a tornado or get destroyed in a fire. The important thing is to do what we can to remember the way things used to be.

The Piano...That Lived

Have you ever tried getting rid of a piano...in Utah? I did some very basic research (checked KSL Classifieds...) and there are dozens of pianos on their site that are free--well, when I say "free," I mean, the lucky person getting the free piano usually has to pay to move it, or find several burley guys and/or gals to transport it.

Free is in the eye of the provider, apparently.

About fifteen years ago, a friend and co-worker asked if our family would like a piano. His mother-in-law passed away and they were cleaning out her house. We had four kids and we wanted them to start taking piano lessons. This was a win-win situation. We hired a company to move it for us and it sat in our living room for a decade and a half.

It was time for the piano to go. I asked friends and family if they wanted it--I even blogged about it. I got no responses. Not surprising--so many homes in Utah already have a piano, either an upright, a baby grand or grand, or they might have an electric keyboard, many of which sound incredible. It seems the piano's days may be coming to an end--it had served society well, but it was its time.

No, the piano's future did not look bright. In fact, we were even watching YouTube videos on how to disassemble a piano.

Then, I had an idea. I texted my friend and now retired co-worker to see if they might be interesting in having the piano return to his fold. The instinct to contact him was inspired. He had a cousin that needed one for his kids. A quick call to the movers and, just like that, it was gone.

Anytime any of us look at the corner where the piano once stood, it's strange not seeing the big beautiful instrument. I don't know if this latest move will be the piano's last. It almost was when it came to live with us. But, thanks to some fortunate circumstances, the piano yet lives...

To play another day.