Give Thanks...For The Memories

 A week ago several of my past high school classmates met and celebrated forty years since we were all required--by law--to be together for organized public education.

Forty years.

I did not attend the reunion. 

Not that I didn't want to attend, but because they changed the date from the summer to a weekend in September, I had work conflicts. Bummer. It would have been fun to go and spend time with such wonderful people.

Many who attended posted photos and memories on social media. One Facebook friend posted a link to his cache of high school photos. He was our school photographer and he did a fantastic job. It's amazing to think that all those photos were taken on film, film that had to be developed...it was pretty pricey. Now, you can take a thousand photos basically for free.

I was not the most popular student at Davis High School Class of 1984, but I wasn't the most unpopular student, either. I enjoyed my time walking the (literally...) century-old halls of that old school...a series of buildings that no longer exist, by the way. I found all the photos I was in and I am including them here. I want to thank Vance Brand and his wonderful photographic eye that made these photos possible. I hope it's okay to post them. If not, I'll be glad to take them down.

So, I present a series of photos including me and my great friends. I'm thankful for those people and those times. Forty years...can't believe it's been that long.

The Beauty That Is...A Truck

 Our youngest son bought a truck. He went to school for construction and it made sense he would need a truck for a future job. We looked for several months and found this one. Yesterday we used it to haul away some old tires...tires too big to fit into a car or even our old van.

That truck is beautiful.

Okay, okay, I know...it's a Ford and many out there are saying to themselves (or even, out loud...), that Fords are less than desirable. I'm not up on my "which trucks are the best" knowledge. Personally, I say whatever trucks run are good (and no jokes about Fords not running...).

Driving that tuck to deliver stuff we no longer needed was amazing. It made me question why we didn't get a truck earlier. I do know the answer to that question...money. We never really needed a truck before. Of course, we could have used one, but never to the point where it was a necessity. 

Too bad for us.

For now, we have access to the big Ford F-150. That may change if/when the son moves out to experience new adventures. When that happens, I know we'll miss our son...

And the truck.

"Sunset"...By Langston Hughes

 Last night, I found myself in our backyard looking skyward. I took a picture of the sunset. Humanity has expressed their thoughts and feelings about sunsets for as long as there have been humans to see them. Below is one man's thoughts.

"Sunset"

O, great god Sun-

Wrap me in your golden hues-

As the day fades, our souls unite-

In your fiery embrace, we find solace.

Langston Hughes

Just Another Thing You'll See...At Lagoon's Frightmares

 Last week I needed to take a picture for my Pic Of The Day, something I've been posting close to fourteen years. I found myself in a location where there are literally thousands of interesting things to photograph. Actually, most places have thousands of interesting things to photograph, but that's another story. I was working at my weekend gig, so I walked around and found a charming subject.

A scarecrow.

A scarecrow that's neither scary nor a crow.

If you attend Lagoon Amusement Park's Frightmares this season, the first thing you'll see after entering the park are dozens of scarecrows lining the entrance, each unique, each kind of amazing. I found one I especially liked, a "society lady" complete with a cute doggie in her arms. If you go, she's one of the first scarecrows you'll see.

You should, of course, check out all the others. You should also check out the show in which I'm involved, Séance. You will not be disappointed.

And, if you go and you see me, you'll see probably the best-dressed employee on the park (as long as I'm in my suit...). Please come say "hi."

Frightmares runs each weekend between now and November 3rd...plenty of time to bring the family, or friends and have a great time. Hopefully, I'll see you there.

And you can snap a picture of my scarecrow as well.

The Organist...

I entered the chapel, the previous congregation leaving and a few of us early birds passing them as they left. I know almost none of them, friendly faces pass me, we share a smile and perhaps, a nod. I find the pew--my pew--the same pew an hour earlier another family also claimed as their own--and put down my iPad. After getting ready, showering, dressing, driving to the church, parking, and walking inside, I finally sit and let out a well-deserved sigh.

Not all worshipers have left, or are leaving. Groups of people stay and talk. I look around and notice a lone figure sitting at the century-old organ, his fingers and feet in tandem providing music, atmosphere, a spiritual farewell to the meeting and the room.

I've met the man on occasion. He lives close, but since the boundary separating our group of church-goers from the other group of church-goers to the east separates us spiritually, I have few opportunities to interact with him or his family. It's a shame...a culturally-imposed shame we don't talk more. Oh, I suppose I could go to his house and get to know them better, but that would be...in a word...weird.

His talent evident, the organist finishes the song he played as I came into the chapel. I'd be hard pressed to name it...after attending over three thousand of such meetings in my life, the music can blend together. Even though a dozen or so people remained in the room, mostly chatting with friends, neighbors, I feel I alone noticed the man and his music. I could be wrong--I often am--but I don't think so. How many times have I been in a chapel, an organist playing either prelude or postlude music, and I haven't even noticed, haven't even looked at who was playing, haven't acknowledged the miracle that is music?

Too often to count.

I watch him finish the song...the music, once a living thing surrounding us, comforting and uplifting us, stopped, replaced by the dim of humans in a space built by pioneer ancestors. I watched him humbly gather the music and his personal belongings and leave the stand to join others and continue his sabbath day.

The organist left the room.

Give Thanks...Clear Skies

 I'm no scientist. There's so much I don't understand. Case in point...where did all the smoke go and why did it only take one day to clear it out?

Like much of the country, smoke from wildfires have invaded our little valley the past couple of weeks. Actually, it's been off-and-on for the past couple of months. We're lucky enough to get smoke from west coast fires, Idaho fires, Nevada fires, even Utah fires. The day before these pictures were taken, you could not see the mountains to the east. 

Then, the next morning, I took a couple of pictures of an incredibly beautiful cloudy sky, pretty much smoke-free.

Where in the world did that smoke go?

Did it go east to Colorado, or south to Arizona? I don't think it went north or west, but I could be wrong. All I know is it was no longer polluting the air and damaging our health. I'd like to think it went away so no others had to deal with it.

I'm thankful for the beautiful skies, and in a way, I'm also a little bit thankful for the smokey skies because that makes the smokeless skies that much better. I'm thankful to live in such an incredible place with stunning views. I'm thankful for God's handiwork and that another fire season is coming to a close.

Still...it would be interesting to know where that darn smoke went.

What Sweet Joy...That Is A New Road

 When we moved to this little hamlet in the north almost four years ago, we bought in a new subdivision on the northwest part of town. The existing road, 1000 North (that's how they name streets around here...) that connected us to the world had been around for decades and it seemed to serve the community well.

Then, things change.

That change is more people...including us.

The city improved 1000 North up to a point, then it got narrower and full of potholes. The locals had put up with the crap road for years. Rumor had it that the city had plans to fix the road, but apparently, they had been saying that for a long time. Those living up here took the "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude.

Yesterday, I drove on the newly-paved, newly-completed road. It's beautiful! Wide as the open sky and not a pothole in sight. I admit, we've been spoiled since moving up here with new neighbors and new roads. Not everything was rosy. Teaching my two boys to drive on that road was scary. To avoid the potholes you either had to drive almost off the road in the weeds, or into the other lane--not too bad when no one else was coming toward you, but when they were...

Of course, there's a price of having nice things. Taxes are and will continue to go up. Maybe because the road is nicer, people will drive faster than they should and accidents might happen (I pray they don't...). Still, it's a new road just in time for winter.

What sweet joy it is.

Give Thanks...There's Man-Made, Then, There's God-Made

 You might have missed it, and not necessarily because of your eyes. The picture--depending on where you saw it--shows an almost hidden treasure. If you look in the upper right-hand corner, you'll see something I missed the first time I looked at the photo.

It's something man-made.

I took the photo because the cloud and the sun behind it. The rays extending out were beautiful. I wasn't sure if I'd use it for my Pic Of The Day, but I thought it might work. When I took a second look , I noticed the vapor trail behind a jet. That's when I thought about man-made vs. God-made. 

There's really no comparison. 

On this fading Summer evening, I drove home and watched an incredible Northern Utah sunset. I was driving so I didn't get a photo. That's okay because the scene became part of me, part of who I was. It was another example of God's handiwork. I saw the sunset as I drove a car 71 m.p.h...the car being one of mankind's greatest accomplishments.

Beautiful sunset vs. functioning automobile?

No comparison.

I'm thankful I captured both man-made and God-made accomplishments in one photo. I'm thankful for both, actually. We live in amazing times.

I Can't Go...But You Should DEFINITELY GO!

 A dear friend is putting on his annual comedy film festival tonight in Layton, Utah. It's at the Davis Art's Counsel Kenley Amphitheater, 7:30pm start.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to attend due to my fall gig beginning tonight. Ever since I found out about this killer event, I've only been able to attend once...a salute to Steampunk and it was a blast--literally. If you know Craig Nybo, you know this show represents his creative mind come to life. Each year, a different theme, each year, a different show, each year, amazing results.

If you're interested, click HERE for more information. 

I've known Craig for about ten years. He constantly amazes me...the man has talent in buckets, and yet, he's the kind of person who will take time out of his insane schedule and ask you how you're doing, ask you about your family, or what you're working on. He's a genuine dude. 

Like I said, I don't know what you'll see tonight when you go to the Gangrene Comedy Film Festival, but I'm sure you've never seen anything quite like it. Come on--give it a shot. Go tonight, if not for yourself, but for me who am unable to attend.

You won't regret it.

Shouldn't Have Called It...Heavy

 This Labor Day morning we decided to do some cleaning, some re-arranging, some discarding. The garage needed cleaning and this morning was a perfect day to do it. We sort of knew what we needed to keep and what we needed gone. The biggest thing that needed to go was a wardrobe my daughter bought last year in anticipation of her and her husband moving into an apartment/home.

That happened over the weekend.

The wardrobe didn't make it on the truck.

No problem--we'll just put in on our local Facebook Classifieds and someone will pick it up. Turns out, others don't think like I do. Last night I took a few pictures of the wardrobe and posted it. I included the dimensions (4' 8" x 6' 1" x 24...). It's a nice unit, well-built and spacious.

But, I did something I shouldn't have done...

I called it heavy.

That's because it is. It took several of us to get it off the truck after we bought it. We parked it in the garage and left it. I mentioned what we wanted for it--at a loss from what we paid-- and even included "o.b.o." a sure sign we want it gone. But I said it was heavy. I immediately included "sturdy." I thought if someone was looking for a good piece of furniture, they would want to be sturdy.

This morning, no hits...not even a whiff. The problem was, we have no place to put it until someone picked it up. We decided to use it for our own storage, so I quickly deleted the post and now it's home for irrigation and gardening supplies. 

Just goes to show you, don't call things, "heavy," not even furniture.

Oh...I Love Living In A Small Town

 I saw this today on a social media page for our small community. I laughed, even though the post wasn't supposed to necessarily be funny. I mean, how can you not find humor in it?

And this isn't the first post of this kind I've seen. It's just part of living in rural America where there's more animals in the country than people. 

In addition to the post, I also enjoyed the comments, which I won't include here. The comments were wonderful. Neighbors coming together...several tagging people who might either own the cow or know who did. Imagine that...putting up this post and having not just one, but many respond by acknowledging the cow may belong to more than one person.

I have no doubt the owner will be found. We are a small town, after all. 

Over the years, I've seen posts of escaped horses, sheep, and now a cow. I've seen in fields a llama or alpaca, but haven't seen posts of any lost (or found...) ones of those. Today it was a cow.

Just another day living in small town rural America. 

My Little Fan And I...

 I saw the post on our community Facebook page. A neighbor had some basement flooding and they were asking for fans. Not much detail was given...important things like how bad was the damage, or if they had what they needed already were not included. My first instinct was to help, but then, I thought...

We have no fans.

Well, no fans that could do any real help, anyway.

I saw a second post soon after and decided I needed to go over. It was around 10pm, but when bad things happen, what time it is becomes irrelevant. On the way out, I grabbed the only fan we had...a small 10" floor fan. I drove the next street over and noticed the dozen or so cars parked every which way in the street and on the driveway.

Good. It was great to see others had answered the call, but it also helped confirm a thought I had earlier. They'd need big fans, big industrial-strength, water-eliminating fans. I picked up my tiny fan from the car and headed inside. 

Everyone was in the basement. I could hear the noise as I started down the stairs. From the amount of cars I expected a lot of people and as I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I was right. I didn't even bring in my little fan into the room...just left it sitting on the bottom stairs.

I wish I could have helped out more, but it did my heart good to see neighbors--many of whom I knew and many I did not--working together to do what they could. Large fans were in place and several wet/dry vacuums were humming along. 

I ended up leaving after a short time. I helped move some stuff, but then decided it would be best to make room for the others. I picked up my small fan on the way out.

I knew what they needed before I went over. I'm glad that others had the goods, even though I didn't.

Scenes From A Storm...

 We finally got a summer lightning storm. 

And it seems everyone saw it.

Everyone around here, anyway.

I've seen pictures and videos of the storms everywhere since it hit two nights ago. 

I like to say we live at the top of the great Salt Lake Basin. North of us...mountains. Mountains to the east and west as well, but south, you can see for over a hundred miles. It opens like a huge carpet flowing to the Great Salt Lake. And when these summer lightning storms roll in, it can be breathtaking. This last storm did not disappoint. 

The pictures are not stellar. Since I'm not good at snapping lightning when it strikes, I set my phone to record and just stand there, hoping to catch some of the brilliance that we get to experience. I then scroll through the video stopping on the bright flashes and take a screen shot. I got a few good pics. 

Hopefully, we'll get a few more storms. And if that happens, hopefully, I'll get a few more shots.

Living In A One Train Track Town...

 I'm no history expert, but I do recall there was a time when a railroad track running through your town meant you had access to the world...

Literally.

Times have changed.

Where we used to live, a railroad once ran through town. In fact, the town owes much of its history to that railroad. It was built by the Bamburger family and because of that railroad, the Lagoon Amusement Park came into existence. The railroad is long gone, but the park remains. 

We moved to a town with far fewer people, but they do have one set of railroad tracks that is just east of downtown running north/south. I think I've seen a train on those tracks less than twenty times in the four years we've lived here.

So, not the busiest railway out there.

The other day I was caught behind the crossing as I waited for the train to pass. It moved along at a slow space--how slow, I'm not exactly sure. Thankfully, there were only five or six cars. I guess that's what it's like living in a one train track town.

Every once in a while, a train will pass.

Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider...

 Last year, we had one of these cool spiders hanging out (literally...) in our youngest's bedroom window well. I'd check on the spider every night as I took out the dog to make sure it was still there. Then, one day, it was gone...don't know what happened, just...gone.

Looks like we've got another guest.

This spider isn't next to the house, but in our planter boxes. It's hanging around like the last one, suspended in air by its web, waiting for food. 

Even though I would not want this little thing to be crawling on me, I love seeing it there. The importance of spiders cannot be overstated. Last year in the spring we paid for a service to kill bugs close to the house. I'm no scientist, but I think it did us a disservice. It seemed we had more mosquitoes last summer...no spiders to eat them. I think the mosquito season hasn't hit its peak yet, but this summer has been much better...without the bug-killing service.

Like I said, I'm no scientist and I have no solid data to back up my theories. 

Either way, I'm glad it's hanging around.

As Seen In A Local Greasy Spoon...

 On my day off my wife and I decided to visit a local restaurant for breakfast. It's the very definition of a "Greasy Spoon" and the food lived up to the reputation. The place was basically empty (slow morning, I guess...) so I took a little stroll looking for interesting things to see.

That's where I found this...

A team photo of Gordon Hayward.

That simple photograph tells a lot about the restaurant.

For those of you who don't know who Gordon Hayward is, he's a professional NBA basketball player who recently announced his retirement after14 years in the league. He played for our local NBA team from 2010 to 2013 when he left in a not-so-amicable manner. Many die-hard Utah Jazz fans would not be thrilled to see this particular photo hanging in a local establishment.

Part of the reason it's probably been allowed to remain is because the owner was not a big Utah Jazz fan. Plus, it's supposedly signed which makes it kind of cool, so maybe the owner thought that the patrons might enjoy seeing the framed photo. Also, we're a 90 minute drive to any local games which a true fan might not want to live so far away from the action. Add to the fact that the restaurant has changed hands three times in the past two years means that the person who originally hung the photo is no longer with the company and will not face any fan backlash seeing #20's face smiling at the patrons.

Of course, my theories could be completely wrong about why the picture remains hanging on a wall in a local restaurant. It is hanging in the hallway that leads to the bathrooms, after all.

Summer Moon...

 Full moon, July, 19th, 2024.

Taking a shot of the moon with my phone camera is always risky, and by risky, I don't mean problematic, but more...the shots almost never work out. You know, photographic risky. A few weeks back, I found myself outside, atop a gently rising hill overlooking a valley bathed in moonbeams.

I took a picture, then another. Then, I sort of forgot about it. I take so many pictures (but, not too many...). Currently the count is over 48k in photos on my computer, over 2k in videos (not so much a videographer...). 

But, I looked at the photo from 7/19/24...not too bad.

I'm amazed at how technology directly affects our lives. I'm also amazed that no matter how incredible the tech, it rarely matches what the human eye can see. It's the old "the photo can't match the real thing" thing. Theh photo lacks emotion, lacks a soul...the soul only the viewer possesses.

Still, looking at the shot reminds me of a full summer moon over a northern Utah valley.

And it makes me happy.

Well...I Guess These Lights Are Technically In The North

 Did a little X surfing (X, as in, the social network...) last night. I came across a post about the possibility--though slim--of seeing the northern lights from were we live. 

Turns out I didn't get any good shots.

Turns out I didn't care as much.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a repeat of what happened when the Northern Lights showed up earlier this year. It was amazing. I wasn't sure if last night's potential viewing would turn into anything, so like last time, I took my Nikon outside at night and aimed it northward. Unlike last time I did not get a tripod to steady the shot (that's obvious...). I used a monopod and hoped I could hold it steady enough to get a decent shot. It didn't work. Plus, not even a hint of the Northern Lights.

If I recall, the post on X said the best time to see the lights last night--if there were any to see--was at 3am. There's no way I was going to wake up at 3am for the chance to maybe see something.

Had we not the light show a few months ago, I might have considered getting up and taking out the Nikon with the tripod to see if I could catch something. Before that I hadn't seen the Northern Lights and really wanted to see them.

I acknowledge, the Northern Lights show a few months ago in northern Utah wasn't "the greatest," but it was good enough for me.

Good enough to keep me in bed this morning.

If Only The Mantis Had Stayed Away...

 There's something you can't see in this photo. Just behind that rise on the garbage can handle is a praying mantis...a big old white one. You know the ones. They're so big they're like ancient monoliths that watch life from a distance having already lived a long life.

And, they kind of freak me out. 

I moved the garbage can and saw it stir. Nope...not going to move the garbage can with that thing hanging out on it. So, I picked up a broom and shooed him away. He landed on the driveway and scampered under my son's car.

Great, I thought. Now I can move the garbage can away from the car and to add more trash and that's what I did. I turned, picked up the trash, opened the lid and dropped it in. When I closed the lid that's when I saw it...the carcass of the praying mantis smushed on the driveway. It wasn't there before. I apparently rolled the garbage can over its insect body. 

At first I wondered if it was another mantis that I didn't see that met a grizzly end, and that's still possible, but the size and color matched the one I tried to save. I don't understand it. I can't see why it would be that attached to the garbage can, but it looks like as soon as it went under the car, it came back and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Poor fella (or, lady fella...). If only it had stayed away.

If You're Like Me...You Can Feel This Photo

 I turned the corner in an abandoned hallway as loved ones gathered in another room. I loved the scene before me so I snapped a photo. Today, I reviewed the pictures I took yesterday and the hallway returned to me.

I can feel this photo.

I can almost smell it, too.

I grew up in the Intermountain West, a peculiar place, both in geography and culture...especially culture. If you're like me, you've stood where I did, even if it were in a completely different building. You've seen this shot, you've walked on the carpet, passed the coat rack complete with wooden hangers, glanced at the bulletin board at the calendar of events. You also know what's inside in the empty rooms and what you'll find at the end of the hall.

It's as if you're home, even if you don't particularly like the home.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen this view, at different times, in hundreds of buildings. And if you've experienced a childhood like me, or spend much time in these buildings, you have, too.

Even looking at the shot now, I'm back in the smallish hall surrounded by memories.