Tagged Again! She MadeMe Do It

Seems I'm supposed to list my quirkiest quirks. Well, I have plenty to choose from. How's about if I list my top ten?...it works for Letterman.

Sooo, I'm taking a big breath, which is always the proper action..just before you spill your guts!

10. What's wrong with an occasional ketchup sandwich? I mean, I wouldn't serve it to a guest, but it's a kind of ok snack.
9. I used to bite my toenails. Yes, used to! I quit
8. I fell asleep at my own New Year's Eve party. Woke up and everyone was gone.
7. I also fell asleep at the theater during LOTR, and it has a very loud sound track, too.
6. I snore. Not at parties or movies though.
5. Recent self-description: I'm like a scruffy old stuffed animal, missing an ear and an eye, but still soft and squeezable.
4. I have a child--like fondness for echoes.. It's fun to yell a group of words and see how many get echoed back. Strictly limited to remote locations.
3. My feet were born to be free! No shoes and no covers at night make them very happy.
2. I've been known as the midnight weeder. Prime time is from about 10 pm to midnight.
1. I'm an unrepentant rebel! This tag stops here. I refuse to send it on! Neener neener neener.

Caution: This post may self-destruct. There you go, Shanna. all done!

Ghost Chickens in the Sky

We used this crazy song, a spooff on Ghost Riders in the Sky, at Colin's Eagle court three years ago. It was held around a campfire on a chilly autumn night. Trevor Eyre accompanied himself on the guitar and sang it for us. Someone told Patrick McManus's story of the night the bear ate Goombah, and a couple of other rough-and-tumble nature stories I'd dug up. Joel Hunt played his harmonica and we had a sketch of some incidents from Joseph Smith's life that showed he was a good and honorable man, worthy of listening to. We served chilli and a good time was had by all.

Now, what shall we do for Shane's Eagle court? Let the ideas flow forth!

Washburn Reunion 2009

Jesse Daniel and Christy Olsen Washburn request the honor of your presence at a Washburn family gathering to be held July 30, 2009. The place to be is Fish Lake Utah.

Any question contact Elaine Lones, Erva Fredericksen, or Kristiane Pederson.
Please spread the word.

This is a letter we received from Erva. She's the daughter of Grandpa Tyrus's sister, Zelma. I have copied their email addys and will provide them if needed.

Johannes and Me

Dan's dad was a great fan of the prolific writer, Louis L'Amour... and I wasn't.I came to this opinion without ever having read any of his work though. And I might never have changed my mind had it not been for the book club I belong to. Because we'll be discussing it this week, I just finished The Lonesome Gods by LL and, wow, what a fun read! I am going to read more from him, and then Grandpa Tyrus and Iwill have something new to talk about when we meet up someday in that great hacienda in the sky.

I copied down one longish quote from the book that I may bring forth at a later date, and I've memorized this shorter one that I want to opine about now. First, what do you call The main character in a book or play around whom most of the action is based? Oh yeah, the protagonist. Well in The Lonesome Gods, the protagonist is six-year-old Johannes Vern, and we get to watch him grow up, enemies and hardships multiplying as he grows. At one point, a friend and sort of adviser says to him,"We have enemies, Johannes. But enemies can make one strong. And we will be strong." I love this message, and I think Heavenly Father set it up that way for us for a reason.Trials, or how we handle them, can make us or break us. And, once in awhile, weneed to be broken! In 3 Nephi 9:20 Jesus said, "And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, and they knew it not."

Having your heart broken causes a lot of pain. That may be the understatement of the year, huh. But hearts can recover. And when at last they do, through the power of the atonement of Christ, they are stronger than ever. So please stand firm, resist those enemies, chiefly Satan, and all will be exceedingly well in the end. Take it from Louis L'Amour, Johannes Vern, and me. And take this too: it's another of my childhood favorites, Buttons and Bows, sung by Miss Dinah Shore. That's what my dad liked, music from the early days of radio, and I liked it right along with hhim. I wonder if we're passing any of our interests down.

Momentous

A great deal of mental and spiritual energy are expended in choosing the right words to have carved in stone. But it's done. Words and stone chosen, sketch drawnand approved, contract signed, money paid. Jordan's small, deeply meaningful, granite monument will be set in place in four to six weeks, so I'm told. A mother who lost her 9-year-old son to leukemia 3 and a half years ago wrote to me that she still hasn't been able to bring herself to undertake this weighty task. I send up a prayer for clarity of heart and mind for all parents who have this decision ahead of them, and another prayer of thanks that it is behind us at last.

I taught the lesson on the great plan of salvation last Sunday. All things pale in significance in comparison to it, and it "ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven's best gifts to mankind." said the beloved-by-many(including me) and despised-by-others Prophet Joseph Smith. So what is this plan?Squeezing its vastness and majesty into a too tight nutshehll, it is designed to give us, God's children, the opportunity to become like Him, forever living with Him and our families in a state of perfect, unending, purposeful joy. There is so very much more to it than that, for it is marvelous and glorious and worth every effort to understand and comply with.

Because we're in an uneventful period just now, I suspect my postings will be less frequent for the next while. If anything noteworthy occurs, I promise to make haste and report it. I think you can subscribe to post Atom, whatever that is, and possibly be notified of new posts so that you don't have to check back before a new one comes along. Until then, may God bless us all, and may we always remember to turn to Him in good times and bad. He is the Rock of our salvation!

Oh, wait, wait. This is less daunting..I'm working on my own epitaph now. This is what I've come up with so far:
Was blind,
But now I see!

Land of Hope and Glory

Jordan and I took in the news of the terrorist attacks together seven years ago. He was newly arrived home after 15 month's of working in Utah, and was preparing to enter the MTC in less than a month, eager and excited about his call to the Philippines San Pablo Mission. My heart was full of the memory of him and all the 9/11 victims as I listened to the dedication of the Pentagon Memorial this morning, alone. I know he would have been inspired by the remarks of President George W. Bush and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as well as the stirring music, if he had been here this day. Perhaps he was listening, or maybe he was even there with the top brass in Arlington, Virginia!

I found it to be a personal blessing to have been able to listen to the ceremony. My gratitude for this great nation and its remarkable leaders soared. I drew from their example of determination in the face of opposition, the resolve to stick to goals and principles that have always been of great value to me. My sister Julie's two sons and two sons-in-law, who are about halfway through with their second deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq, were heavy on my mind, too, and I felt impressed to pray even more fervently for their protection, and for the welfare of their families in their extended absence. Joseph, Christopher, Mike, and James, thank you for your steady, courageous service not just to our nation, but to the world!

Secretary Rumsfeld spoke movingly when he said:

This morning we gather to dedicate this ground, where a great building became a battlefield, where stone became dust, steel became shrapnel; and where flame, smoke and destruction stole the lives of 184 men, women and children.

This memorial tells the story of their last, terrible moments on this Earth -- moments when families were destroyed, when a symbol of America’s strength was scarred, and when our country became, in the words of an American poet, “acquainted with the night." Today we renew our vows to never forget how this long struggle began, and to never forget those who fell first.

Remembered and honored are fellow workers, friends, and family members. They were men and women at their desks in the Pentagon, who one morning kissed their loved ones goodbye, went off to work and never came home. And they were the passengers and the crew aboard Flight 77, who in their last moments made phone calls to loved ones, and prayed to the Almighty, before their journey ended such a short distance from where it began.

Each with different backgrounds and different dreams, it was here that their fates were cruelly merged forever. In the flag that flies above this memorial, we will be reminded of what they had in common. They fell, side by side, as Americans. And make no mistake, it was because they were Americans that they were killed here in this place.

Those of us who were in the Pentagon on September 11th share -- and we will always share -- a very special bond with each member of their families and with each other. We will not forget the way this huge building shook. We will not forget our colleagues and friends who were taken from us and from their families. And we will not forget what that deadly attack has meant for our country.

In the sinister logic of its perpetrators, and in the suffering of its victims, September 11th was among the darkest of days for Americans. But it was also the day that America can be said to have rediscovered its special grace -- the American people’s capacity for courage, for goodwill and for sacrifice.

Here, beneath the sloping fields of Arlington National Cemetery -- fields that hold our nation’s fallen -- this building stands as a silent monument to the resolve of a free people. And so too this memorial in its shadow will stand not only as a symbol of a nation’s grief, but as an eternal reminder of men and women of valor who saw flame and smoke and stepped forward to save and protect the lives of their fellow Americans on September 11th. Let it also remind us of each of those who have volunteered to serve in our nation’s armed forces, before and every day since. Our nation’s military has stood guard in this new age of peril, determined that what happened here, seven years ago, must not happen again.

We have been “acquainted with the night.” We have taken its measure. In the darkest of times, we have stood together. In defiance, our nation has pressed on toward morning. With resolve renewed, and with the certain strength of the American people, our nation will force the dawn.

My constant prayer is that God will bless the families of those we remember this day. And that the good Lord will bless all of those who have lost loved ones in the long struggle that has followed. We are deeply in their debt. And each of us will remain so for the rest of our lives.

President Bush recalled: Seven years ago at this hour, a doomed airliner plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building, and changed our world forever. The years that followed
have seen justice delivered to evil men and battles fought in distant lands. But each year on this day, our thoughts return to this place.

Here, we remember those who died. And here, on this solemn anniversary, we dedicate a memorial that will enshrine their memory for all time....

As we walk among the benches, we will remember there could have been many more lives lost. On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose: Pentagon employees ran into smoke-filled corridors to guide their friends to safety. Firefighters rushed up the stairs of the World Trade Center as the towers neared collapse. Passengers aboard Flight 93 charged the cockpit and laid down their lives to spare countless others. One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice. We ask a loving God to watch over our troops in battle. We ask Him to comfort the families who mourn. And we ask Him to bless our great land.

Vicissitudes

I've got music for any that come my way. Sad times? I listen to Pink Floyd's High Hopes over and over and over again...until I'm finally ready to start feeling better.


Or the new-found quiet after the storms are past? That's the right time for listening to Leona Lewis' Footprints in the Sand.


When I was in my teens, I didn't know that sunshine always followed the clouds. IfI was miserable for a time, I mistakenly thought it was my new permanent condition. Life has taught me that there is always a way up and out of the darkness, back into the light. It is my job, my quest, to rise, and once again seek for the light.

When I was about 14 or 15 years old, I was walking from a class in the main school building to the nearby gym for my PE class. Suddenly, I fell into a deep pit, and I was in over my head! I dug my fingers into the sides of the pit so that I could climb out. But the dirt crumbled away, leaving me nothing to hold onto. Yelling for help was beneath my teenage dignity. What could I do? Once I heard the ominous sound of a piece of heavy equipment coming in my direction, it required no thought at all. I didn't care about crumbling dirt anymore. The pit could fall in on itself for all it mattered to me. I just powered my way up and out of the pit, and was free! I proceeded on to class as if nothing had happened. Never even mentioned it to anyone gbut a couple of classmates.

Lookingh back, that quirky experience has meaning for me. It was an abrupt fall from safety into the unexpected and unknown. I persevered, and I came out none the worse for wear that time. Since then, I've had many sudden changes in circumstances, or vicissitudes of life. Sadly, I haven't always emerged unscathed. I have emerged though, and I guess that's enough for now. I believe that it is necessary to get knocked down in life, and that it is vital to get back up again. Jesus Christ, my Savior, has helped me stand up many times. Not as quickly as I'd like, but the help has always come, eventually, and it always will. Even when life is done here on earth, He will see to it that we rise again, just as He did. In Him, I trust. My trust, my love, my gratitude, He has all three.

Big Big Day

It's Shane's eighteenth birthday! We've all gone out of our way to let him know how much we love him. He's been showered with gifts from friends and leaders. Brianna made him a tres leches birthday cake, I made him one of his favorite treats, a couple of his brothers phoned and emailed him, and the Boy Scouts of America even sent word of their acceptance of his Eagle application! And so its gone all day.. But no one, and I do mean no one, has done more for him today than his good friend, Jack.

Jack has given his all, his everything, for Shane! Thank you, o noble Jack. You have taught us a great lesson in selflessness.

They said he was heartless, but you can see that Jack had the heart of an eggplant.

Precocious pumkin soup

Peerless pumpkin bars

Too Good to Miss

We are in the thick of the hurricane season, which doesn't really endanger us way out west, and also in the thick of the season for political campaigning, which we are enjoying to the fullest. If only the issues could be discussed, clearly and honestly, without the unnecessary hate speech that is so prevalent! Go McCain/Palin! And, go away, Gustav!

In the spirit of the times, I want to introduce you to a funny funny man, Sir Boyle Roche. Boil roach! I'm relieved that's a name, and not the title of a recipe! He was an Irish member of Parliament in the late 1700's, with a unique and memorable turn of phrase. Recently, I came across a few of his sayings that I'd copied down in Braille a couple of years ago. In a quick internet search, I turned up a few more. I don't know if his choice of words was accidental or purposeful, but they are definitely laughable.

STRANGE ANIMALS

Mr Speaker, I smell a rat; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky; butI'll nip him in the bud..
How can I be in two places at once unless I were a bird?

HALVES AND DOUBLES

Half the lies our opponents tell about us are untrue..
I concluded from the beginning that this would be the end; and I am right, for it is not half over.
The cup of Ireland's misery has been overflowing for centuries, and is not yet half
full..
Ireland is today overflowing with absentee landlords..
Ireland and England are like two sisters; I would have them embrace like one brother..
Every pint bottle should contain a quart.

ALL OR NOTHING

It would surely be better to give up, not only a part but, if necessary, the whole of our constitution, to preserve the remainder..
I answer in the affirmative with an emphatic “No”.
We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech..
At present there are no such goings-on that everything is at a standstill..
Many of them were destitute of even the goods they possessed.

OF ANATOMICAL INTEREST

While I write this letter, I have a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other.
All along the untrodden paths of the future I can see the footprints of an unseen
hand.
He is the kind of opponent who would stab you in front of your face and then stab
you in the chest when your back is turned.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

The only thing to prevent what's past is to put a stop to it before it happens.
Why should we put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity? For what
has posterity ever done for us?
The progress of the times...[is]...such that little children, who can neither walk nor talk, may be seen cursing their Maker!

OTHER IMPOSSIBILITIES)

in a letter) P.S. If you do not receive this, of course it must have been miscarried; thereforeI beg you to write and let me know.
Sir, I would anchor a frigate off each bank of the river, with strict orders not to stir; and so, by cruising up and down, put a stop to smuggling.

AND THIS ONE ALMOST MAKES SENSE

I told you to make one longer than the other, and instead you have made one shorter
than the other.

And now we know Sir Boyle Roach a little better~! We also had the pleasure of getting to know another Washburn cousin, Janet from Batesville, IN, a little better.. She is BYUI-bound, and is staying with a friend nearby for a few days. We had a lovely visit with her, and everybody but Dan went on a little walk through the neighborhood together.

Shooting a few hoops.

Jack proudly drives Janet back to her friend's.