Thanksgiving 2008

I remember a few years before Ardie, my dad, and my mom died, all of my father's family got together for Thanksgiving dinner at his home in Orem.  At the beginning of the dinner he stood, and with great emotion, expressed how grateful he was to have all of his family together at the same time.  So first, I would like to express my gratitude to John and Miriam, especially Miriam, and the kids for making this a very special Thanksgiving.  As I see my family moving even further apart in the next several years, I wonder if I will ever see them all together again.

Let the eating begin.  The fellow next to Hed is Bruno.  He is originally from Brazil and his name is quite common there.  I like him a lot because he is a camera buff and I can ask him all my stupid questions.

After dinner it was necessary to burn off a few calories so it was out to the garage and the air hockey table.  It was a single elimination tournament so if you lost, you were out.  Now, maybe it is just me, but I am like, 65 years old.  Don't you think my children would have made it single elimination except for me?  You know, give the old guy a couple of shots at it.  But, oh no.  You lose dad.  You're out.  Wow, the hurt of it all.  The in humanity of men towards men.  I have long held that competition is of the devil.  God wants us all to be winners.  I think I have some very substantial proof of my feelings.  Please notice the eyes in the next two photos.

Sure, I know what you're saying. "Just red eye."  I took these photos to a professional developer and he couldn't even get it out.  He said it was something he had never seen before.  He just kept looking at the eyes and after a few minutes he started throwing stuff around and screaming.  I felt it best to leave. 

The competition raged on, without me, I might add.  would it have killed anyone to have given me just a few more chances?  Here are a couple shots of the final match.  Once again, please notice the evil in John's eyes.  Now I need to go back about 40 years.  I am in a small kitchen in Springville, Utah.  There is a 5X8' sheet of plywood being held up by the counter on each side of the kitchen.  I stand at one end on the table with ping pong paddle in hand.  Ardie is at the other end.  I am slamming the ball mercilessly at her time after time.  Problem is, she is returning it.  Day after day we played.  Until today I would have thought her the most competitive person on earth.   In the picture above I am wondering the same thing you are.  How does she see anything?

AND THE WINNER IS????  ARDIE, oops I mean HEIDI.  Always was and I guess, always will be.  The girls in this family want it more than the guys.  Sorry John.  Please notice the great humility with which Heidi accepts her trophy.  You can't get any more Ardie than this.

 

I was grateful to see John take his loss with love and kind feelings towards his sister.

Well, the turkey is eaten, the games played, and now for a little napping and the like.  Here is Mirm expressing her gratitude at my taking her picture as she begins her nap. Here she is coming to take a closer look at the camera.  By the way, Mirm, I talked to the  repairman.  He said it will still be a few weeks before the camera is useable again.  I will send you the bill along with the bill from the doctor who had to remove it from, well, you know.

AH, TRYPTOPHAN

Here we are at the Beau Thai restaurant.  Great food and even better company.  

I think what Steph is saying here is: "Daddy, they won't let me watch Rainbow Bright."  Does it never end?

The girls had to check out a few of the shops on the Avenues.

We were entertained by wonderful music.  Megan and Abigail became very good at their duets.

One of the happiest memories I have is that of going to the kids choral concerts when they were in high school and college.  I know it also brought great joy to Ardie.  Here the kids, along with Mirm, who also sang in those choirs, sing together.  It was simply like dying and going to heaven.  When they sang, 'Oh Come, Oh Come, Emanuel", I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.  Thanks kids.  It was the best part of my Thanksgiving.

Well, all great things do come to and end.  It was time for a few pics of the grandkids and then off to Utah, with a stop in Boise on the way.

 

 

  The "BARFMOBILE" heads out for Utah.  A great time with great people.  Thank you from a very grateful father and grandfather.  Thank you John, Mirm, Aaron, Megan, Josh, and Zach.  And thank you Heidi and Rick, for making your home, once again, a gathering place.  I really love my kids.  Thanks to all of you for making this time so special.

DAYS OF WONDER

During my life there have four events which I consider to be of great historical significance.  The first occurred on Sept. 2, 1945 on board the battleship Missouri, in the Pacific.  There, General McCarthy signed the treaty ending WWII and the great evils associated with that war.

Being only two-years-old at the time, I had no idea of the significance of that moment.  In later life, as I read thousands of pages on the history of that war, I developed a greater appreciation for that great moment in time.

The second significant historical event of my life occurred in November of 1989.  It was on that day the Berlin wall came down.  In March of 1966 I had the opportunity of passing through the entrance into East Berlin.  The distance between Checkpoint Charlie and the entrance into East Berlin is the greatest lesson I have ever had regarding freedom.

There is nothing here at the checkpoint to impede one's movement, but the concrete barriers can be easily seen in this photo which marked the entrance into East Berlin.  What cannot be seen here are the two machine gun placements on each side of the barrier and the several rows of similar barriers behind this one.

On the evening of that day my companion and I stood here looking at the Brandenburg gate.  It was beautifully lit and the wall was not yet built in front of it.  As we stood watching the many guards with there automatic weapons and dogs a West German police officer approached us and asked us if we knew we were standing in East Berlin.  The barriers you see here were not present at that time and the wall was well within East Berlin.

It was not that the destruction of the Berlin Wall was so significant on its own merit, what what the destruction of that wall would preface.  Within a short time the USSR would crumble and communism would become a thing of the past in the nations of Eastern Europe. 

I will preface the last two most significant historical events on my lifetime with an experience I had as a young boy.  My father built our family a beautiful little home in Pasadena, California in 1955.  It was a stone's throw from Devil's Gate Dam, and the arroyo that lay behind it.  A virtual haven of adventure for a young boy.  Almost everyone has indirectly heard of this arroyo because it would later become the home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Only a few years after moving to Pasadena my parents came home one evening from a neighborhood meeting.  I could see my father was very upset and I was old enough to ask him why.  He said they had just come from a meeting of the neighbors in the area and the discussion had been regarding the selling of homes in the neighborhood.  He said they were told not to sell their home to someone of Japanese descent as they would turn around and sell to a black person.  They wouldn't do it on purpose, mind you, they just didn't have the brains keeping them from doing something so abhorrent.  His disgust at what had been said formed my attitude about discrimination for the rest of my life.  My father was later to engrain his feelings of non-discrimination more deeply within me by calling a man of Japanese descent to serve as his counselor when he was called as bishop.

My children have chided me for being prejudice many times during my life and it is certainly true that I have found many things about individuals of every race of people I did not particularly care for.  That is why the next two events may be a surprise to them.

The first occurred on the evening of June 9, 1978.  I walked to the mailbox to retrieve the evening newspaper.  It was a beautiful late Spring evening.  I took the paper out of the box and opened it to look at the headlines, as I always did.  What I read caused me to stop dead in my tracks.  In a matter of moments, tears were freely flowing from my eyes as I read the news that all worthy male members of the church would be allowed to hold the priesthood.  I had never been completely comfortable belonging to a church which seemed to discriminate against people I had been taught not to discriminate against.

The last, at least to this moment, occurred tonight, November 4, 2008.  I sat and watched a young man deliver an acceptance speech as the president-elect of the United States of America. His words were inspiring and uplifting and promised hope for the future.  The fact that I disagree with many of his political leanings was unimportant.  What was important, and almost impossible to believe was that this young man was black.  Not just black, but the son of an immigrant from Kenya.  The very people my parent's neighbors had sought to keep out of their neighborhood, had just become the next president of the United States.

I am very grateful to have lived to see these moments in time.

Family Outing to Mt. Hood, Part IV

I think I finally have this about where I want it.  And yes, it is all about the pictures.

On the way up the mountain, I stopped at this at this beautiful little lake. Heidi has camped here before but it was very crowded this weekend. Before turning off on the road to our campground I passed this beautiful meadow. I arrived well ahead of everyone and spent a great deal of time looking through several camps for a site large enough to fit Heidi, Rick, Abi, Connor, Em, Holly, Hed, Me, Steph, Jake, Jaxon, and Sage. When Heidi and Steph arrived we finally found one and settled in. Lake Timothy is a beautiful lake further down the Southern flank of Mt. Hood than the lake above. It is a perfect lake for kids to play in. The weather was perfect and the kids got in the water before dinner.   Some friends came along and let the kids pet them. The owner assured us they wouldn't hurt anyone. You be the judge. Sure, the one in the foreground looks friendly enough, but look at the dog next to Em. He is looking at Holly like she would be a perfect meal. "Yes I'm going swimming. Do you want to try and stop me?"  "I'm sure I saw some cute boys down the road a little ways, let me get this helmet on and we'll ride down and check em' out. "Hi grandpa. What are we doing?" Oh, nothing, just checking out the bike. What we are not doing is getting ready to go and check out the boys down the road." "Look Sage, he has his camera. Just give him a big smile and he will go away and we can take off." Finally, time for dinner. Nothing like cold tortillas to get the stomach rolling. At this point I am heading down the mountain to McDonalds. No, Jake doesn't look like that because he is on drugs. At least, I don't think so. The girls of camp, or least most of them.  Sage and Holly took off down the road on the bike for some reason. After dinner, a belated birthday celebration. This just may be the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Simply perfect, and Step's best creation to date. After dinner, a trip back to the lake. I love this shot of Abbie pointing out over the water to the mountain. Back to camp for the ceremonial roasting of the marshmallows. Look at Connor's right arm. In a few short hour he would fall into the fire and his right hand and right arm, up to the elbow, will look like cooked meat. Breakfast. It all tastes soooo good in the out-of-doors.  Sage is asking Holly if she wants to go back down and see the boys again. Time to hit the lake for a little boating.     Here is Heather going out with the kids.  And here is Heather coming back with one of the kids. We sat and watched them maneuver the boat for quite a while. We could see they were trying to get back to where we were, but the harder they paddled, the further away they got. Finally, Connor and Abbie bailed out and walked back and Em rowed while Heather pulled. Good thing they didn't get into deep water. We then took off on a short hike up to the pacific crest trail. You will notice Steph and family are missing. They took off early to head up to Jake's parent's house in Washington to take care of other family business. Here in Oregon, there isn't much color to look at in the fall. Just a lot of green, and then there is the green, and oh, look at that beautiful green, and oh, my goodness, I don't believe I have ever seen that shade of green before. You get the picture. Soooo, when I saw this color, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough.

It was a great camp out. I loved being with my family in the mountains. The best part of this camp out?  I got to talk with Evans in Zambia, Africa.  He is a huge part of Heather's and Heidi's life.  He was very excited about going to boarding school.  As I understand it, his only chance to attend anything like a high school.  Heather and Heidi have committed to financially help him further his education.  The school costs $1,000 a month.  This is an impossible amount for most Zambians.  These are some of the nicest pictures I have ever taken. My thanks to John, Heidi, Hed, and Mark.

Family Camp Out to Mt. Hood, Part II

Whatever I said before, plus pictures. On the way up the mountain, I stopped at this beautiful little lake. Heidi has camped here before but it was very crowded this weekend. Before turning off on the road to our campground I passed this beautiful meadow. I arrived well ahead of everyone and spent a great deal of time looking through several camps for a site large enough to fit Heidi, Rick, Abi, Connor, Em, Holly, Hed, Me, Steph, Jake, Jaxon, and Sage. When Heidi and Steph arrived we finally found one and settled in. Lake Timothy is a beautiful lake further down the Southern flank of Mt. Hood than the lake above. It is a perfect lake for kids to play in. The weather was perfect and the kids got in the water before dinner.   Some friends came along and let the kids pet them. The owner assured us they wouldn't hurt anyone. You be the judge. Sure, the one in the foreground looks friendly enough, but look at the dog next to Em. He is looking at Holly like she would be a perfect meal. "Yes I'm going swimming. Do you want to try and stop me?" "I'm sure I saw some cute boys down the road a little ways, let me get this helmet on and we'll ride down and check em' out. "Hi grandpa. What are we doing?" Oh, nothing, just checking out the bike. What we are not doing is getting ready to go and check out the boys down the road." "Look Sage, he has his camera. Just give him a big smile and he will go away and we can take off." Finally, time for dinner. Nothing like cold tortillas to get the stomach rolling. At this point I am heading down the mountain to McDonalds. No, Jake doesn't look like that because he is on drugs. At least, I don't think so. The girls of camp, or least most of them. After dinner, a belated birthday celebration. This just may be the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Simply perfect, and Step's best creation to date. After dinner, a trip back to the lake. I love this shot of Abbie pointing out over the water to the mountain. Back to camp for the ceremonial roasting of the marshmallows. Look at Connor's right arm. In a few short hour he would fall into the fire and his right hand and right arm, up to the elbow, will look like cooked meat. Breakfast. It all tastes soooo good in the out-of-doors. Time to hit the lake for a little boating.    Here is Heather going out with the kids.  And here is Heather coming back with one of the kids. We sat and watched them maneuver the boat for quite a while. We could see they were trying to get back to where we were, but the harder they paddled, the further away they got. Finally, Connor and Abbie bailed out and walked back and Em rowed while Heather pulled. Good thing they didn't get into deep water. We then took off on a short hike up to the pacific crest trail. You will notice Steph and family are missing. They took off early to head up to Jake's parent's house in Washington to take care of other family business. Here in Oregon, there isn't much color to look at in the fall. Just a lot of green, and then there is the green, and oh, look at that beautiful green, and oh, my goodness, I don't believe I have ever seen that shade of green before. You get the picture. Soooo, when I saw this color, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough. It was a great camp out. I loved being with my family in the mountains. These are some of the nicest pictures I have ever taken. My thanks to John, Heidi, Hed, and Mark.