When All The People Have Gone...

 I cannot tell you how many hours I spent there. Not only did I begin working at Lagoon Amusement Park when I was sixteen-years old, but for at least a decade I spent every summer day (except Sundays...) as a kid running around the park and swimming in water fit to drink.

Hours and hours and hours.

There was a time when I could tell you when the park installed their new rides...it was usually two a year, sometimes less. I knew every uneven surface of blacktop--because I used to wash down the park every morning beginning at 4am. I knew every uneven terrace picnic table--because we swept and papered every terrace picnic table beginning at 4am. And I knew every pinball machine that gave out free credits--because after a long day at the pool, we hung out at the Penny Arcade and we rarely had money.

I'm sure millions of photos are taken every year at the park, but while staying late for Frightmares rehearsals, all the people with their sounds and smells and laughs and cries and screams were gone. The place is very photogenic when people are there. At night when they've all gone, it's beautiful.

I can think of a thousand places to take amazing photographs of the park at night. Last week I stood in one spot and shot what I could see. The Mother Goose Shoe that's been in Kiddie Land before I ever went to the park (and that at one time we used to be able to climb all over...), the crammed kiddie rides, boats, the jr. speedway, helicopters, and the spaceships with those unforgettable laser sounds.

People come to Lagoon for many reasons. Some love the rides, others the games, others a chance to see their kids having the time of their lives. Some come just to see the other people who decided to go, and some for the entertainment.

Me? 

Other than the swimming pool, I wasn't really a rides person. Even now, after working there for several seasons, it's been years since I rode a ride. No, I go now because they pay me to be part of an amazing team, putting on an unbelievable show. I've gone to the park when there are tens of thousands of people, and I've been there many times when there are almost none.

This is what part of the park looks like...

When all the people have gone.

Traveling...At Night...In Cars

 At my side gig, when I tell people where I live, I first see shock in their eyes as the do the math in their heads.

"You drive from there?"

"Yes."

The thing is, if they commute from anywhere south of Sandy, Utah, there's a good chance it takes them just as long or longer than me to get to work. It's all about perspective.

I never really notice driving in the dark, until it gets darker earlier. I guess we're all like that. Usually, when it gets darker it also gets colder. And when it gets colder, I like being inside...preferably at home. It's not that I don't mind driving at night, per se. 

Some of my earliest memories come from being in a car traveling at night. I remember driving the same road over fifty years ago in the backseat of my dad's early 70s Buick Electra 225 as we traveled to Idaho to visit family. I know I slept on those trips, but I also remember looking out the windows at, well...basically nothing. Not much to see on I-15 north of Ogden at night back then.

Because I'm keeping my side gig, I've accepted the long commute. I'll continue the commute every weekend between now and the end of October. It means, traveling...at night...in cars. 

Thankfully, I enjoy that long commute.

Anyone Want To Buy...The Pie Dump?

 I've only eaten there less than half a dozen times. It is the very definition of a small-town eatery. It's called The Pie Dump...

And It's For Sale.

I think you should buy it.

Of course, when I say "you," I'm not speaking to anyone specific. I could be talking to "me" when I say "you." Personally, I think buying a local institution would be extremely challenging, but also rewarding. If you bought it, would you change things? Would you keep things the same so the locals will still continue to come in?

Or, would you tear it down and put in a strip mall for insurance companies and mattress dealers to set up shop?

The area where I live is growing and is expected to explode in the next couple of years. People need places to eat up here. I think we would have eaten more at The Pie Dump but it's only open for breakfast and lunch. Still, even a place that does not serve dinner will be missed if it were to go away permanently. 

I'm sure much of the charm of the place comes from the family that runs it. When they go, no matter how much the new owners try to make it stay the same, it can't. Non-chain restaurants owe their uniqueness, in part, to their owners.

I have no idea what will happen to The Pie Dump. I do know it won't be me that buys it. I hope that whatever happens, people will be please with the results.

Give Thanks...For Community Theater

 My daughter is currently in a production of Singing In The Rain at the adorable Heritage Theatre in Brigham City, Utah. I was fortunate enough to see their second showing. Loved it. Usually, I've also been in the shows (mostly because my kids needed someone to drive them to and from...). The real reason is I love doing the shows, too--especially when I can do shows with my kids.

It's been several years since I was on stage. Covid then moving are the main reasons I haven't been as active in the theater as I once was. I used to do shows with my oldest son. He's married now and hasn't the time. Then my daughter caught the bug and she and I have been doing shows since 2006.

I wonder if we'll ever do another. Maybe...maybe not.

I am incredibly grateful for community theaters. In Utah, they're everywhere. It's almost more incredible that they do all those shows with unpaid talent. People come out of the woodwork to be in a show. Without the volunteers, community theater in Utah--and, I imagine most places--would die. I have friends who have met their spouses in shows, careers have been made, friendships formed, lives changed, and that's just in the casts.

I'm grateful to live in an area where these shows are supported and appreciated. People fill those seats.

The Heritage Theatre is small, quaint, lovely. They did so much with so little as far as the stage and the props are concerned. And the show only succeeded because people worked hard to put on the best show they could. I'm glad I was able to share the stage with so many incredible people over the years. It was--and hopefully will be in the future--an honor.

Why, 4 a.m....Why?

You not be able to tell from this picture, but it was taken at 4 in the morning. 

There's a bit in one of the episodes in Friends where Phoebe has a run-in with a smoke detector. It's hilarious because many have had such a run-in, not to the ridiculous extreme as was depicted in the television show, of course. But, yes...I believe we all have had a story to tell.

Looks like our family has another one.

What I don't understand is, why do the batteries in a smoke detector decide to die in the middle of the night, specifically, 4am? Is there a timer in the darn things that makes them go off at the worst possible times?

Truth be told, it was my fault that we allowed the "change the batteries in your smoke detector when you change your clocks for daylight savings time" to be ignored. Yes, we did. In our last house, we failed to swap our the batteries for the past couple of years. I think that attitude carried over to our new place. The house has been completed for two years so the batteries in the smoke detectors were two years old.

At 4am they went off. I must say, they are effective--woke us all up. Then, it was a scramble to get them to stop, then get them to stop again when they started up again a few minutes after. I didn't even know what type of batteries they took. The first one we opened took AAs. We thought they all took AAs, so we checked the junk/battery drawer and found six AA batteries.

Great. We have ten detectors.

My wife was about to jump in the van and go to the gas station to pay exorbitant prices for batteries to get the blasted thing to stop alarming. I caught her just in time when I cracked open another detector and found it took 9volt batteries. Luckily, we had lots of those.

After an hour and a half (and bringing in the tall ladder...), we had all the batteries replaced and we all went to bed praying they things wouldn't go off again.

But, why 4am?

I guess it's to drive home just how important it is to change those batteries.

So...It Begins Anew

 Tomorrow night, far from here, the dance begins anew. Another year, another chance for greatness or despair, glory or heartache, pleasure or pain.

Oh, why do I care?

I really shouldn't. I'm a man in my mid-almost-late 50s. I have grown children, an incredibly stable job, and a loving wife. Why do I allow myself to get caught up in the hype, the promises, of what will happen? And the worst part is, I went through the same thing last year, and the year before that, and the year before that...

Sensing a pattern?

I used to follow almost all pro and many college sports leagues. I know I spent WAY too much time watching games, thinking about games, etc. It's unhealthy. I've given up on most of the sports I used to follow with religious fervor. Actually, most of the sports I no longer follow gave up on me. It doesn't really matter how the split occurred, but it did.

Still, there's something about college football that still draws me in. The problem is, the best league has the shortest season. If I still followed the NFL, or MLB, or NBA, I can watch those games almost all year long.

Another reason I both love and dread the season is because this year's University of Utah football team is projected by many to be one of the best in the country. I think even those who hate U of U football would agree that the talent is there, the coaching experience is there. But, will they--can they--do it? I've been a fan for decades. Each year they seem to break my heart.

When I see a Utah Drum and feather, or a beautiful Interlocking U Flag (like the one posted by Scottsdale Ute - @UteFanSARGE on Twitter...), something stirs inside. Will they break my heart again? Probably. I guess that's why it's good hearts can heal, because next year, I'll probably be saying the same thing.

There Was A Time...When This Was Very Very Cool.

 Man, it's hard for me to express just how cool this map was. 

Turn back the clock, thirty-five years. I was a missionary living in Denmark--the first time I left the United States. When you first arrive in the country, you buy stuff you'll need...a down comforter, a bike, lots of pastry, and a city map of Copenhagen, or København to the natives.

But, this was not just any map. It was an expandable map, a map so ingeniously designed, you could find any street--even the smallest alleyway--in the huge city. The first time I saw one I was enthralled. With the legend in the back, you find the street, which directs you to a numerical and alphabetical location on the map. You open the map and find the coordinates. Boom! There you go.

I wonder if any of the younger generation has ever seen a map. This isn't a dig, just a fact of living in our modern world. Who needs a paper map when you have a phone that can not only find the location, but give you exact directions as you are traveling to that very spot?

Not many.

I've kept a few things from my mission, many photographs, my journal entries, my Danish books including my Danish scriptures, and the weight I put on from the pastries (actually, back then it was impossible for me to gain weight--what a cruel world...). 

And, I kept the map. It is falling apart--the map portion itself is detached from the cover...still works, though. I think if I ever went back to Copenhagen/København, people would laugh at me if they saw me actually using it to find a location. It would be worth it, though, just to bring back the memories.

The map was cool thirty-five years ago. To me, it's possibly even cooler now.