Swinging In The Rain...At The Baseball Game

Last night the youth in the ward had an activity--baseball. And since it's May in Utah, you never know what the weather will be like. Case in point, temperatures in the 50's and windy rain.

Of course, having a good time (or not having a good time...) is a choice. 

We chose to go, even though the threat of rain was very real. 

 

We chose to stay, even after the rain began to fall.

We chose to remain at the park, finally leaving after 4 innings and the tarp covered the infield.

It wasn't the game or the food or even the rain that made the event memorable.

It was the people we were with.

Thanks to the leaders and the Salt Lake Bees for a great evening!

Here's some more pictures of our good times!

Tale Of The Tooth...

What's small, delicious, and can cause $1,000 worth of damage?

An un-popped popcorn kernel.

It's not a very funny joke.

Neither is the bill we'll be paying to my neighbor dentist--a nice man, who may or may not have a boat payment. My guess is he doesn't.

You've probably heard a similar story before, a delicious half-eaten bowl of popcorn sits invitingly on the counter, a reward for a 10-hour shift at work, tempting, it's deliciousness beckoning its helpless victim to come closer. 

Come! Partake! Enjoy the fruits (or vegetables...) of your labor! Live life to the fullest! 

Granny, YOU LIE!

You evil, evil un-popped product! You lie...

Of course, this may not have happened at all had not the un-popped kernels been so yummy and had I followed my wife's admonition: "Don't eat the un-popped kernels." I love them. I must eat them. The popcorn must have sensed my weakness for there appeared many "grannies" in the popcorn bowl. As I'm chowing away I found an extra hard kernal between my teeth. But something was different about this one. The texture was smooth, almost like glass. I took it out of my mouth, examined it, then set it aside just in case there were any more kernels like this one.

When I had almost finished finding and eating all the un-popped kernels I noticed something strange with one of my molars. It felt like a kernel shell had lodged itself on top of my tooth. Upon further investigation I found it wasn't a kernel shell, it was a hole where the side of my tooth used to be. I examined the kernel I had taken out of my mouth earlier. It wasn't a piece of popcorn after all--it was a chunk of my tooth!

The temporary crown went on today. The permanent one will be ready in two weeks. The dentist said it could have happened any time. Many of my molars are full of metal fillings and the dentist said these are the ones he puts crowns on the most.

Have I learned my lesson? Will I continue my destructive behavior? Will the tiny seed overcome the human with a brain?

Time will tell, my friend...time will tell.

When Big Boy Comes To Town...

It's 132 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds, it's call Big Boy, and it lives up to its name. Even if you aren't into trains or train engines, just looking at the thing will impress.

I only wish my camera could capture just how big Big Boy is. As I walked around the train, with a couple hundred other fans, I tried to capture that feeling I felt, but as I look at my pictures afterward, I feel I didn't do it justice.

They made only 25 of these huge engines and none are currently functional. This one is on its way to Wyoming to be brought back to life. I can't imagine trying to put something together in which only 25 were originally made. There's probably a good reason (or many good reasons...) why no one's tried.

I have a friend who's a train nut--he loves them! I sent him a note on Facebook saying I was going to be able to see the big engine up close. He lives in Washington State and replied that they were considering traveling down just to get a look at it. He said they'll wait until it's refurbished.

I hope to one day see this thing again when it can move under its own power. My great grandfather worked on steam engines and at one time, worked in Ogden. He even worked on the steam engines at Lagoon Amusement Park. Maybe that's why I really wanted to see Big Boy today. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I did. It's history, American history, a glimpse of how the country was built and will most likely never return. 

In the decades and centuries to come, the importance of steam-driven power, I believe, will be raised in its significance. Without steam engines so much of world history would have changed. Looking at this engine today allowed me to imagine what life was like when these things ruled the world.

Here's more pictures from today:

Rescued Memories...A Short Story

 Time For Another Short Story

This week's picture is interesting. I don't know if they've ever used a painting instead of a photograph for their picture. But that makes it more of a challenge. Here's the challenge--use the above picture and a few randomly-chosen words and write a short story. If you'd like to give it a shot yourself, just follow these official rules:

1) Use the photo and five randomly-chosen words in your story
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday night to link up your post.
4) Add your story (Blue Link) at Leanne's, Debb's or Tena's websites.

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

Here are your five words:

River
Circus
Ravioli
Hazard
Weather

Let's have some fun!

Rescued Memories

"I can't believe you found this!" Marsha said to her little sister Natalie as the older sibling opened her birthday present. "I thought this was destroyed in the fire."

"Nope. Amazingly it was preserved."

"So, this survives and grandma's Tiffany lamps basically melted."

"That's right," Natalie said, laughing. "Of course, this has more value." Marsha shot Natalie a curious glance. "Sentimental value."

"Of course." Marsha lifted the hand-painted work of art away from the wrapping paper. Their mom painted it years ago--their mother a student from the art schools of early impressionist styles mixed with something out of Stephen King's The Shining. Marsha looked at the painting and allowed the memories to flood her mind. "Do you remember that day? You were I think, five-years old and I was seven."

"I remember those dresses that Aunt Betty made. Just look at them."

"I remember mom yelling at us." In her best imitating voice (which was pretty good...), Marsha said, "Don't stand so close to the river! Because if you fall in, I'm not coming in after you!" 

"There was no way I was going in that water, especially with my new Easter dress on," Marsha said. Except if it meant getting away from you, I would have jumped right in."

"What are you talking about?" Natalie asked surprised.

"Back then you used to drive me crazy! A shadow would be jealous of how close you had to stand next to me. It got to be a hazard. Remember that time I was walking backwards and sent you flying down the stairs like a circus clown?"

"Oh yeah," Natalie said lifting her arm. "And here's the scar I got from that little experience. Why were you walking backwards, anyway?"

"I was testing out an experiment."

"What experiment?"

"I thought the weather might change if I walked backward."

Natalie looked at her sister speechless. Finally, she said, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Not now, but when I was four it made sense. It had to do with time going forward and weather went forward, too, so if I walked backward, maybe the rain would stop and the sun would come out."

"You're nuttier than a ravioli in a Caesars Salad!" The sisters laughed at the phrase their mother used to say whenever either--or both--of them turned silly. After a moment they stopped and turned their attention back to the painting.

"I miss her, you know."

"Yeah, me too," Natalie said. "She was a great mom, but a pretty terrible painter."

They laughed again, and after more than a few tears fell Marsha said, "I can't believe you found this."

Word Count: 442

Auditioning...A Great Way To Wake Up

There's nothing like an early morning audition to get you going in the morning.

I seem to go in cycles when it comes to doing shows. If you enjoy performing, you might understand why. It's because when you're in a show, you're part of a family, albeit a temporary one. You put in a lot of time and hard work and before you know it, the show's over. 

But there's a part of you that doesn't want it to end, so you audition for the next possible show--sometimes auditioning for a show that rehearses while you're already in a show. I have friends who do show after show. One friend did shows for a year solid--that's two months rehearsing (almost every night...), then doing the show for a month. He rehearsed for eight months and did shows for four.

I understand the draw. I really do. But when you're in shows, working hard and having fun, other things get ignored, like writing projects and other projects, not to mention spending time with the family, those who matter most.

This morning I auditioned with my daughter and my wife. It was a great way to wake us up. We'll know next week if we made the show. Summer's a good time to do a show. Then again, depending on the perspective, there's never a bad time to do a show.

Painting The Deck...

I realized this morning that within the first few minutes our little "project" was going to take longer than we originally thought. 

And it did.

And it was worth it.

Today we painted our front deck, something that needed doing for several years. It reminded us of when we built our house more than a decade ago. We ended up doing A LOT of sweat equity in the home. Luckily, we lived right across the street and we could go over every night and work and work and work. Even us grabbing a quick burger for lunch today and eating it as fast as possible reminded us of all those fast food dinners we had when we built the house.

It took us all day to put two coats of stain on the deck. We're tired, but it looks great!

Proud Of My Son...

Tonight friends and family gathered for a school activity, and one of the events was an oral test my son was required to give. He and his fellow classmates stood before everyone and answered questions about what they learned in their class this year.

We've all been in situations that make us uncomfortable. For many it's speaking in front of people. My son had an out--he could have taken the test at a later time with no one in the audience. To be honest, I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I know certain things make him nervous.

But when the time came for it to be his turn, he stood, walked up in front of everyone and answered the questions. I could tell he was a little nervous, but that's because I'm his dad. If you were watching him tonight, you wouldn't have seen him be nervous at all.

He's our second child. I was a second child. I know how much attention the first child gets and how much the second child gets. I hope he knows I'm proud of him. I hope he knows I love him. I hope he knows he's a great kid with amazing talents. Because if not, I haven't done my job. Well done, son!