Give Thanks...For Memories Of Performing At Christmas

 A good friend posted a picture on social media earlier this week. Interestingly enough (at least for me...), it was a picture I posted to social media several years ago. The picture--a show poster for a production of Scrooge we did decades ago.

Ah, the memories...

I believe the show was performed in 2001 at Rodgers Memorial Theatre (which no longer exists...). It was the second community theater production I did. I also had my son in the show with me...he was seven years old at the time. If you have the ability to zoom in on the poster, cast members wrote Christmas wishes to my son. I thought it would be something cool he could hang in his room as a reminder of his time onstage. I wonder if he even remembers doing the show.

We decorated the house last Sunday. In one of the boxes of stuff was a Christmas calendar from another production of Scrooge, this time in a new theater, Centerpoint Legacy Theatre (which thankfully does exist...). I apologize but I don't remember who went out of their way and made these calendars for everyone in the cast. The casts are huge so that was no small feat.

There was a time when I did five Christmas shows in the span of six years. So many rehearsals, so much time away from home. Thankfully, I did most of those shows with my daughter--always best if I can do a show with my kids. I've said many times, being in a show at Christmas is the best time of the year to do a show, but also the toughest time to do a show.

When my friend posted my picture, it brought back so many amazing memories. I'm so grateful of those memories, of those friendships, of those experiences that hopefully made wonderful memories for the patrons, because I know it did for me. Thanks, Dave for bringing some of them back.

Saying Good-Bye...To Pie

I didn't want to do it, but...

It was time.

It's been more than a week since Thanksgiving. We actually, observed the holiday on the following Friday so all our family could attend. Who knows? We might carry it on next year--it worked out great. So, because we celebrated just over a week ago, the food left over from the great meal has sat in our fridge for just over a week.

Food has a shelf life, be it in a refrigerator or on an actual shelf. In our house, we usually save food for a week. It makes things easier when it comes to throwing out the uneaten portions. "When did we have that meal?" we often ask ourselves. If it's been more than a week, it's gone. Easy peasy. 

Then came the Costco apple pie.

We don't normally purchase our pies from Costco. It's not that we don't like pre-made Costco-brand food, quite the opposite. Since moving, we can't just drive two towns over to the local Costco whenever we want. This year, a guest brought the pie to our feast that they didn't finish the day before.

Maybe it's because I had been on virtually a liquid diet for almost a week before the meal. Maybe it's because I had not tried the apple pie from Costco, but for whatever reason, that pie was extra delicious. And because it came from Costco, even the left-overs were enormous.

I tried to eat it all...I really did. But, the week came and I had to toss it. I didn't want to, but it was needed. I'm trying to eat better, cut back on the sweets. In my defense, I could have had even more of that pie than I did, so there's that...

Friday morning the garbage truck stopped briefly in front of our house, picked up our semi-full garbage can, emptied it of its contents, place it back on the street, then drove away, taking the remaining apple pie from Costco with it. I don't know if next year we'll have a similar opportunity to enjoy a Costco apple pie. But, if we do, there's a good chance I won't be able to finish it next time, either.

That Time The Pictures Didn't Load...

For some reason Blogger will not allow me to post pictures to this blog post. I don't know if this is something I did, or something whacked with the Blogger program. I suppose it doesn't matter--I can't seem to get a picture to accompany this post.

I've been posting a daily blog since January, 2011, and I think I started adding pictures on the second or third post. It felt incomplete without a picture. I've included a picture (or pictures...) on every single post since then.

I don't exactly know why, but if you go back a decade or so, many of those pictures I added to my blog posts are gone. They have the oval with a line through it for all the pictures. It used to bug me, but then I realized there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I let it slide off my back. Actually, there is something I could do about it--I could spend many many hours researching what pictures I used and try and add them to the original posts. That would take so much time, time I'd rather dedicate to that task.

So, the only picture on this post will be one that won't load. I just hope this isn't a permanent thing. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Almost 1,000 Pieces...

 We're not a puzzle family, but we're not necessarily a non-puzzle family. We enjoy doing puzzles on occasion. Usually those occasions happen around the holidays. Last week we gathered and broke out a puzzle of a cat...a Christmas cat.

There are only a few true frustrations when it comes to puzzles. Most can be overcome by just putting in the time and slogging through it. However, there is one frustration that cannot be overcome...

The missing of puzzle pieces.

And, unless you specifically remember that a piece is missing before you begin, the only way to know if any pieces are missing is to almost finish it. The truth only shows itself at the end, or almost the end.

A few years ago I was in a dollar store and they sold puzzles. I thought it would be awesome if those puzzles purposely had a missing piece, one random piece not included. And if you know that going in, it would be fun and not frustrating.

Then again, maybe it's just me.

Yes, on this particular puzzle one singular piece was nowhere to be found. Maybe the dog got to it...maybe the cat. After we almost finished it, we loaded up the pieces and put them back in the box, which was stored in the basement closet. Will we put that one together again? Time will tell. Will we know there's a missing piece? We didn't this time, so what does that tell you?

What Garland Utah Looked Like...On A Beautiful Sunday Morning

 Usually, when I pull up to the historic Tabernacle in Garland, Utah, I park on the north side of the street. That way, after the meeting, I can leave the church and hop in my car. The car is already aimed in the right direction...I get home a split-second earlier.

But, last Sunday, parking spots on the north side of the street were occupied by earlier-arriving parishioners and I parked across the street...car faced away from the house so I'd get home a split-second later.

No big deal.

The meeting over, I left the building before the clock struck noon. Of course, I looked both directions before entering the street. I looked again halfway across. 

I actually stopped as I reached the center line.

And I snapped a couple of pictures.

As you can see, I probably didn't need to look both ways either before stepping onto the road or while crossing it...not many cars on this particular road just before noon last Sunday.

For most of my life, I attended another beautiful old church built by pioneers and pioneer stock. There's also a road running through the town right next to the church, only I would almost never stop in the middle of that road...too many cars no matter what time of day.

What you see in these two pictures is from the quaint hamlet of Garland, Utah. It makes the small town where we live look big by comparison. Though much has changed since the church was built around a century ago, much has stayed the same. As I stood in the middle of the road taking out my phone and capturing the views looking due east and due west, I realized just how beautiful were the views I saw.

And I wanted others to see them, too.

It's Not How My Car Looks, Necessarily, But...This Is Me

 I ran across a meme the other day--even shared it with my wife. Unfortunately, I can't remember the source. I thought it was funny, then didn't think much about it. Today, while looking through my photos, I spotted this meme again and I realized, "That's me."

Of course, I don't wake up in the middle of the night thinking about what would look "sick" on my car, but I do find myself quite often waking up in the middle of the night thinking about other things...

Story ideas, sports, politics, even religion...those are the topics that sometimes keep me awake.

I've known people who say they only need around four hours of sleep a night and since I don't live with those people, I have to take their word for it. Still, I believe there are people who only need a few hours of sleep each night and I've always been a little jealous of them, wishing I too only needed a few hours to sleep.

If so, what would I do with all that extra time? If I only needed half the time I usually take to sleep, what would I do? Would I starting writing a new short story or begin a novel? Would I solve the world's political problems, or dream of my favorite teams winning various championships? Even if I did those things, or dreamt of those things, I probably wouldn't be very productive. I'd probably do what I usually do when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep...

I'd play solitaire on my phone.

The Agony Of Sports...Oh, I've Been There

 I lifted this picture from the Real Salt Lake Instagram page. Since Sunday night their Instagram page has been flooded with pictures showing athletes clan in cobalt and blue celebrating an incredible win, a win against odds, a win that--on paper and in most people's minds--should not have happened. The soccer team is ecstatic, overjoyed, very very happy.

But, there's something else in this picture...

The fans in blue.

The fans feeling blue.

We see a dozen or so fans and not a single smile on any of their faces. No, for them, the joy of the athletes is in direct contrast to what they are feeling in that moment. For almost an hour, the fans in Kansas City were confident their team would not only keep the lead, but be ahead at the end of the match. After all, Sporting Kansas City is a superior program. They beat this same team years ago to win the MLS championship. They have played better this year and many other years. In all fairness, that 1 - 0 lead they had should stand and the team should move on.

But in sports especially, fairness many times simply doesn't exist. 

Oh, I've been there. I've been one of those fans--almost never wearing blue--but feeling blue after I've watched the teams I've backed fall, sometimes in close games, sometimes in blow-outs. The final score doesn't really matter if your team has fewer points than the other team...a loss is a loss. Of course, the closer the game, the tougher the loss is on the fans. At least, that's how it is for me.

I celebrate Real Salt Lake's past two victories. They went on the road and beat two higher-ranked teams sending fans of both teams home feeling like crap. They have another game where they'll go on the road and face a team they're not supposed to beat. Will the home fans go home happy, or sad? Will I be the one sharing the joy of my team, or will I have the look of those fans in Kansas City, looking blue?

We'll find out next Saturday night.

Go Real!