Truckless In A Truck-Filled World

 I've been posting a daily picture on social media for over thirteen years. Every once in a while, a photo will generate some conversation on the interwebs. I like it when that happens...it means something I did caused others to take action, even if it's only posting a simple comment.

A few weeks ago I left church and noticed something funny...my little Subaru dwarfed by large pickup trucks, in a row, in the church parking lot. I should admit something here. I actually set up the picture--not completely--but subtly. When I pulled up to park, there were three trucks already backed in and waiting for their drivers to return after the meetings were over. There was one spot in between two of the trucks, so I backed in. I laughed when I came out...several other trucks had lined up.

I snapped a picture...

And posted it.

It was funny, but the photo also shows something about where we now live. I joke that we're "truckless in a truck-filled world." It's not completely true--not everyone owns a truck--but it certainly feels that way sometimes. Trucks are incredible machines. They serve an important function in our society, especially up here. I don't bemoan anyone who has a truck. Heck, I'd like to be numbered in their ranks, but for now, I love seeing Donk, my little Subaru parked wheel-to-wheel with the big boys. Now, Donk can't tow a travel trailer, or pull other trucks out of a ditch, but it'll get me home on snowy roads and do it using less gasoline.

Yes, my little car looks strange among the giants, but for me, I believe it belongs.

Gliding You Hand Over A Finished Puzzle...Why Is It So Satisfying?

 We finished the last of a four-puzzle set yesterday. They were good puzzles...challenging, deceptive. We saved the one we thought would be the easiest for last. It turned out to be the most difficult. Through trial and error, we persevered and got it done.

Finished.

Why is gliding your hand over a finished puzzle so satisfying?

Maybe it's the tactile feeling fingers finding the ridges between the individual pieces, the bumps and dips created by the interlocking puzzle. Then again, maybe it's because after spending all that time of trying to manipulate the pieces until they find their home, there's a sense of accomplishment that comes through when you slide your hands over the finished product.

I don't know what it is, but it's real.

We're not the biggest puzzlers in the world, but when we finish one, we join others who are. I wonder if others like gliding their hands over a finished puzzle, too...

I'm guessing, they do.

Give Thanks--I Thought We Were Done With These...Nope

 Last week my wife and I sat on uncomfortable bleachers and watched teams of teenagers complete in a dance competition...

We thought we were done with all that.

We were wrong.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

My daughter's been involved in ballroom dance for almost a decade. She's graduated from student to teacher and last week we watched, not her dancing talents, but her teaching skills. She and her boyfriend teach a group of students from Central Utah and it was the dance troupe's first competition.

The kids did great.

When I say "we support our kid's activities," parents know exactly what I'm talking about. If they do sports, the parents/grandparents have spent time on either hard bleachers or uncomfortable lawn chairs. If they play music, you've sat for hours and hours on folding chairs or church pews, theater parents...theater chairs. We've sat and watched as our children/grandchildren hopefully improve their talents.

My daughter stopped competing years ago. People turned to her and her boyfriend to teach their children. Saturday was a start. I'm thinking we'll be attending more competitions in the future (we really should invest in those amazing stadium chairs that make everything better...). 

We're grateful we're able to still support our children in their endeavors. Sure, it's a different type of support, but support just the same. We thought we were done. Silly us.

Censorship...It's The New Black

 Why do we want to stop others from seeing things we ourselves don't want to see?

That's the question.

I suppose it's because we don't want people to think a certain way, to act a certain way, to speak a certain way. We want them to think the way we do, to act the way we do, to speak the way we do. How do we get others to obey, to conform?

We limit the information...

And everybody does it.

Do an internet search and enter the word, "Censor" and (depending on the search engine you use...), you'll see thousands of examples of censorship. The latest high-profile example is found in the literary world...the changing of author Roald Dahl's classic works. The political cartoon is from Jeff Stahler and it appeared in Logan Utah's Harold Journal.

I'm not an attorney. I'm not a psychologist. I'm not a historian. Others with more knowledge and experience will point out that changing Mr. Dahl's words is completely different from a company editing DVDs, and legally, they may be correct. However, the end result is the same. We're good and because we're good we need to change things to spread our goodness to others.

Of course, you can either approach censorship from a position of altruism or selfishness. It doesn't matter...the end result is the same. Both instances believe the receiver cannot--or should not--make decisions on their own. They need help. They need guidance. They need a manipulated message.

Whether or not those changing classic literature have the legal right to do what they're doing, they don't have the moral right to do it. They think they're helping. 

They're wrong.

My 10-Year Old Self Would Be Laughing So Much...

 During the great T.P. shortage of '20, some turned to alternative cleaning methods. Fortunately, we survived the paper dearth, as did so many others. One thing people used to survive the apocalypse was to install a sanitary item called a bidet.

We're now Bidet-ers.

And boy, my 10-year old self would be laughing his...butt off.

Actually, when I was 10, I had no idea what a bidet was. I think the first time I ever saw one was when I was in Europe...Denmark, specifically. I remember wondering what it was--the thing I was looking at. I had to ask someone what it was. The answer, admittedly, made me giggle a little inside.

A few months ago we did a little shopping in that particular department and we saw these bidets you can attach to a regular toilet. Our interests were piqued. The cost of the items at the hardware store caused us to search for other options.

Enter, Amazon.

We ordered one for a third of the cost. It arrived, we installed it, we use it.

And when I think about it, it still makes me giggle a little inside...

And outside.

Remembering Lagoon's Mini Golf Courses...Good Times

 I found an Instagram post while surfing the other day. It's from a good account, if you're a fan of Lagoon Amusement Park in Northern Utah. It's called Lagoon History, and you can access the Instagram account: HERE.

The posts takes me back. Lagoon was so much a part of my childhood. The latest post centered around a feature I loved, something I thought would last forever...the miniature golf course. The old timers (me, included...) remember the first course, but I spent more time on the second course.

If you go to the Instagram account, you can link to an incredible page of history, photos, and memories. You can access that webpage: HERE. They have pictures of the original course. I had forgotten most of those features.

The photo at the top of this post was taken from that website (it's the 8th hole, by the way...). Many of my friends and I would go to Lagoon and golf a round. We were very competitive in those days (my friends were all sports people who liked to win, myself included...). I filled out many a score card from that course.

If you remember the course, check out the sites. You'll be transported back in time as well.

A Follow Up...This Seems To Be Working

 A few days ago I posted a blog about bugs, more specifically, pesky gnats. We have been inundated with them, so much so, my wife and I would constantly try to kill them by clapping. We were, for the most part, unsuccessful. I wrote about the problem and several offered suggestions on how to win the tiny war.

While we were at the hardware store, I ventured over to the "How to Kill Small Bugs" section of the store and I spotted something I thought might work...sticky tape. It wasn't the things you hang down to catch flies (flies aren't due for several months...). No, this is tape you can hang and it will trap the buggers. 

I thought I'd give it a try.

Turns out, it's quite effective.

The proof is on the tape.

All those little specks on the photo are gnat corpses. And this is not the only tape we hung in our windows. Each of the three strips we set out contain dozens and dozens of expired bugs. Though I'm not a fan of death, I have to say seeing the evidence pleases me.

There are other things we still need to try (pennies, for example...), but as my wife and I sit in our main room tonight, there's a lot less applause...

And that's a good thing.