Thursday, December 31, 2009

When Dreams of a White Christmas Come True...


Lydia prepares a snowball to throw at Grandpa


Joshua loved "helping" with the dishes


Adam and Joshua ride the toboggan down the hill


The Crider kids playing in the snow at Edler Lake


Adam, Lydia and Joshua on the toboggan. The little ones couldn't get enough!


Adam takes the disc down the hill

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Our Family Christmas Party 2009

Friday, December 18 was the night of the family Christmas party. We ordered a 6' sub from Ned's, and met at 5:00 at the northeast corner of the Phoenix Zoo parking lot. We easily located a picnic pavillion (the park was empty) and set up for dinner. Everyone was there except Emily's family who had to spend Christmas in Utah this year. After we had all eaten, we walked over to the Zoo Lights show. It was beautiful, and the kids really loved it, especially the talking giraffe. Almost all the children rode the carousel before we left the zoo, then we went to Cynthia's. We had Owen and Adam in the back seat of our car on the way back to Mesa. Owen said, excitedly, "Adam! Wasn't that fun? The zoo was so cool! But now we're going to the funnest part - eating donuts!" Owen told a story about two little boys named Owen and Adam who were best buddies who played together and had sword fights.

We all gathered together at Chris and Cynthia's place for hot chocolate and donuts. We passed out the Christmas presents and visited. It was a low-key evening; no schedule to adhere to, no sky-high expectations, just being around the people I love the best in the world. What more could I want for Christmas?

Monday, December 14, 2009

How's that again?

I recently was a judge in the annual VFW Patriot's Pen essay contest for grades 6-8. This year the topic was "Honoring our Heroes." Here are some sentences that I really got a kick out of.

"If stuff was mandatory everyone would do it so that's another way we can but its not all about fun stuff because I am sure that the war wasn't fun for our courage's men that fought there I think that everyone should have a flag in the yard."

"I don't know about this holiday (July 4th) but every time it comes around I feel really happy."

"One of them is the days that we have parades for the 4th of July. It gives thanks for the winning of the Civil War."

"Guns and mustaches do not make up a hero."

"When they come home is the best time to honor them would be when they come home."

"They (veterans) are the freedom fighters and fight for us. They are the bravest in the whole world, the whole universe, the whole galaxy. They will keep on fighting until death, until the end of the human race."

And my favorite:
"There sacrifice not to be in vane. Supporting our troop, the sacrifice not to be chosen. It's a duty and they gladly serve are country. They are ones who leave a reality stable and good society, to go to the farthest outreached of the world."

Come again? Last year one of the kids wrote that his grandfather had been "a tailgater on an air plan."

Thursday, December 3, 2009

But I WANT it!

I have been thinking a lot recently about a story told by Elder D. Todd Christofferson at October conference.

An incredulous female friend asked a young adult woman, committed to living the law of chastity, how it was possible that she had never “slept with anybody.” “Don’t you want to?” the friend asked. The young woman thought: “The question intrigued me, because it was so utterly beside the point. . . . Mere wanting is hardly a proper guide for moral conduct.”

As we look around at the world today, how many troubles do we see that are the result of people expecting to get what they want? The recent news reports of the world's greatest golfer are a good example of people not knowing how to deny themselves of what they want. In my work, I deal every day with people who demand that the Town buy something we cannot afford, simply because those people want it. But wanting something does not mean you should get it.

I believe that one of the worst things parents can do for their children's moral development is to give them whatever they want. Those children will grow up believing that they are entitled to have whatever they want, simply because they want it. At the same time, they do not value what they receive, because they did not have to earn it. They never learn to tell themselves, "No. I can't have it. I can't afford it." As parents, we want to give our children what we didn't have when we were growing up, but we need to be careful to give them what we did have, too.

Our whole society is groaning under the weight of people who think they should have whatever they want, and they think other people owe it to them. Look at all the people who bought way more home than they could afford, because they wanted a spacious home - because everyone else had one. Living beyond your means is a sign of moral failure.

I am sure this posting will raise some eyebrows, but that is ok. Raising eyebrows lets more light in when we are examining ourselves.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

On My Honor...


I received some very exciting news this week. I am being awarded the Silver Beaver by the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America. This is the highest award a Council can give, and I can hardly believe I was nominated, much less chosen! I will actually be presented the award in January, but they let me know now. When I think of the Silver Beavers I know, including my father-in-law, I am humbled to think I have been admitted to this club.

I love the Boy Scouts of America. It has been an honor for me to work with them in shaping the lives of young men. This is the last remaining organization I can think of, outside the church, that stresses personal character and integrity, and that teaches young men to make moral decisions.

I wasn't much of a Scout when I was a Scout. I was scrawny and didn't really have the vision of the whole thing. I never made Eagle (I had to settle for eternal Life!), but I have been a dedicated Scouter ever since catching the vision at Woodbadge in 1998. That experience, along with all the other Scouting experiences I have had as an adult (Woodbadge staff, Philmont, Order of the Arrow), changed my life for the better, and hopefully for good. It is easy to be of service to a cause you really believe in. Thank you, Boy Scouts of America, for what you have done for America's youth for the last 100 years, and for this old man in the last 12!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Hold on!


This morning our Stake President drew this exponential curve on the blackboard in our Priesthood leadership meeting. He asked us where we thought we were on that curve, and most of us said we were somewhere around the area I have circled below:

I agree. The rate of the growth of evil in this world is increasing, and Satan is parading things around as "normal" that were not even talked about in polite company just a couple of years ago. Little children are being exposed to evil in ways my generation can hardly comprehend.

When we visited Emily and the kids last September, we spent one morning at the park. They have a merry-go-round there. I have always enjoyed those things.

On a merry-go-round, if you are out at the edge of the toy while it is spinning around, you are going to feel a LOT of centrifugal force, trying to push you off. The only safe place to stand on that toy while it is spinning is right in the center. Any distance from the center increases the force pushing you off.

That is how it is in the world today. If we are not centered, we will not be able to stand the forces that are coming. The center is Christ, and the best place to stand to stay close to Him is the Temple. We simply must spend more time there if we and our family are going to stand. We need to make our homes like the temple - free of the noise and confusion and distraction of the world, free of the influences of evil. So much is at stake. I hope everyone in my family will renew their efforts to hold to the Center (Christ) for safety.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

We want the spirit in our home...

We had a wonderful adult session of our Stake conference this afternoon. Pres. Milt Jensen told a story about how his wife disciplined their children that I thought was just too good to forget. I wanted to pass it along.

When their children would misbehave, instead of grounding them for life, Sis. Jensen would say, "You know, we want the spirit in our home. It wouldn't be right to invite people into our home to visit or play if we didn't have the spirit in our home. So it is important that you learn how to play together (or whatever it was) so that the spirit can be in our home again." I thought that was really a great thing to say. Teach the little ones that the things they do influence the spirit in their home, and make friend visits contingent on the spirit being in the home.

Ours was not a perfect family; there were many times I dropped the ball in our family having prayer together, or reading the scriptures together. But we succeeded more often than we failed, I believe. I believe that every generation tries to give their children a better life than they had; to give their children what they didn't have. It is really important, however, that parents give their children what they DID have - a home with the spirit of God in it. Reading the scriptures together every day, praying together every day - these are vital factors in building a family that lasts. We want our family, all of it, to be together forever. That is how it is done.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Another Friend Found!


This picture was taken in August, 1970 when I was in the Language Training Mission (LTM) in Provo. The Stuttgart District was a unified group of guys, half going to Munich, half going to Berlin, working hard to learn German.

Last Saturday we were in Albuquerque for a wedding when I noticed a man in the group that looked really familiar to me. I couldn't think of where I knew him from, but I thought his name was Rod. I asked Jan if she knew him, and she said she had never seen him before. I was really puzzled.

After the wedding, I walked up to him and asked him if I looked familiar. He said no. I told him my name, and he said the name was familiar to him. His name was Rod Williamson. We talked for a couple of minutes before we figured out where we knew each other from. We were both in the Stuttgart District in the LTM 39 years ago! Neither of us had even thought of the other one in all that time. He is the third missionary from the left; I am the fourth one from the right. He went to Berlin.

We had a good time talking to each other after the wedding. He is a retired scientist from Sandia Labs in New Mexico. I invited him to stay with us if we are ever in town; he said we would always have a place to stay when we are in Albuquerque. I was amazed that I could remember his face after all this time. I showed the picture to Jan, and she couldn't pick out which one he was.

Life is pretty amazing sometimes. How fun to reconnect with old friends.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Let me get this straight...

Obama's health care plan will:

* Be written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it.
* Be passed by a Congress that hasn't read it (but exempts themselves from it).
* Be signed by a president who smokes (and also hasn't read it).
* Have funding administered by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes.
* Be overseen by a Surgeon General who is obese.
* Be financed by a country that is nearly broke.
* Run as effectively as the US Postal Service.

What could possibly go wrong?

And if I oppose it, that makes me a NAZI RACIST. Huh???

Monday, August 17, 2009

Brrrr!

It was downright chilly this morning! I woke up all wrapped up in my sheet and comforter, and finally screwed up enough courage to jump out of bed and close the bedroom windows. Then I hurried downstairs to close a couple of windows there, too. I couldn't find my outside thermometer, but I'll bet temperature this morning at 6:00 was in the high 30's to low 40's.

Danged Global Warming - still messing with my mind.

I am posting this to mess with the minds of all my loved ones in the Valley of the Sun where this never happens! Love you all.

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Worst Day Golfing...

...is still better than the best day at the office. Last week I participated in the GFOAZ Summer Training golf tournament at the Hilton El Conquistador course in Tucson, affectionately dubbed "The Perspiration Open." It is a four-man-scramble format, and is always a lot of fun. There were prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes, as well as prizes for longest drive, longest putt, and tee shot landing nearest the pin.

The 6th hole was the "Nearest the Pin" hole, and the green was about 155 yards away up a hill, invisible to the tee box. I shot a 6-iron, and landed on the green (the only one in my group) about 30 feet from the hole. At the time, it was closest to the pin, but I knew in my heart it wouldn't hold, since there were really good golfers behind me. Imagine my surprise, then, when the next day I was awarded a $50 gift certificate from Best Buy for my tee shot! Then it was announced that my team had finished in 2nd place at 2 under par (1st place was 3 under). So I got another $50 gift certificate from Best Buy for that, making $100 in golf winnings. Not bad for someone who only plays once or twice a year, just to keep my game sharp.

The final day of the conference there was a drawing for an iPod Shuffle, and my name was drawn out of the hat for that. That's a lot of winnings in one week for someone who never wins anything. I was almost tempted to stop on my way out of Tucson to buy a lottery ticket. Of course, I didn't.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

An Old Friend Found!

Ever since I returned home from Germany in 1972, I have been trying to make contact with one of my old companions, Christian D Roode from South Africa. I have inquired about him with every missionary returning from there; I have Googled his name; I have posted queries on the Internet - everything I could think of. All to no avail.

Saturday, July 25th, 2009, I got a phone message from someone I have never met, telling me of Br. Roode's whereabouts. This young man had been looking at the South Germany/Austria website (don't know why) and saw that I was looking for Christian D. Roode. He phoned to tell me Br. Roode lives in Las Vegas and he gave me his phone number and address. So last night, almost 38 years after I last spoke with him, I called him. He was so surprised! It was so nice to hear my old friend's voice again. He has lived in the US for years, teaching music to elementary school children. They must have a lot of fun in his class - he is a hoot!

What an enjoyable evening. I will have to look him up next time I am in Las Vegas.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Hiatt Reunion



I think the picture says it all. The annual Rudge and Ruth Hiatt reunion is a kid's paradise where children can play with lots of other children and eat Red Vines all day. Seriously, what a blessing it is in our lives to be part of this wonderful family. This family has been a source of strength to us and our posterity, and we hope we have been a source of strength in their lives, too. This year was harder than usual because so many of our grandkids had been, or were, very sick.

It is always a bit of a challenge, finding sleeping places for 162 people (and growing), but the effort is well worth it. There is no one in that vast crowd that does not love and support every other person in the family - even those that are not blood related. Often our Japanese friend Shinji shows up because we all love him, too. We miss everyone who doesn't come. The Hiatt's have built a family that hangs together because we want to, and that strength comes from a temple going posterity. Mom and Dad aren't able physically anymore, but their posterity keeps going.

The high point of the reunion for me is always the Sunday family meeting. This year was special because I got to participate in giving my father-in-law a blessing after his difficult week. When the meeting was over, Emily told me that Jackson had never seen anyone get a blessing, and he wanted to know if it would be OK for him to get a blessing, too (he had been sick most of the week). I was so pleased to know that Jackson would seek out a priesthood blessing. We went upstairs in the cabin where John and I gave Jackson a blessing. We then gave Emily a blessing too, after her very difficult weeks of sick kids. When we went downstairs, we found out that Lydia had come down with what was going around, so Brad and I gave her a blessing. She recovered almost immediately. Having the opportunity to use the priesthood to bless four beloved members of my family in one morning makes this a reunion I will long remember.

Thank you, Mom and Dad Hiatt, for raising such a special family!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Writing English Real Good

Here is George Orwell's list of rules for good writing:

(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
- George Orwell, On Politics and the English Language

Here is my list of rules for good writing:

Verbs HAS to proper go with its subjects.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Don’t use no double negatives, not never.
And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
It is wrong to ever split infinitives.
Avoid clichés like the plague.
Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
Be more or less specific.
Never use a big word where a diminutive word will suffice.

Monday, July 6, 2009

My Buddy and Me


Well, the six weeks that Emily and Geoff were here flew by. So many of the things we wanted to do and planned to do just couldn't materialize. Geoff was so busy working, putting in long days at Walgreen's pharmacy, Jan worked long days at the hospital, I worked long days at Town Hall, and between us all, the time for things like camping and hiking disappeared.

I did get to spend some fun times with Jackson, as I wrote about earlier. I know he can hardly wait till his Daddy is through with school so they can do fun things together. Here are some pictures - I will post more later.


Jackson learns how to rope a calf from Rex Lamoreaux


Jackson gets his first experience on horseback


Jackson learns how to shoot a .22 caliber rifle


Jan and the kids enjoy Shush Beto (Big Bear) Lake


A couple of cute kids at the Family Reunion


Everyone has fun at the Annual Brooksby Children & Descendents Exceptional Family Gathering at the Hiatt's In June (The ABCDEFGHIJ)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Politicians

A few of my favorite quotes about politicians. Gotta love 'em!

What I say is that no man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.
– Abraham Lincoln

A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.
– James Freeman Clarke

He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.
– George Bernard Shaw

Suppose two-thirds of the members of the national House of Representatives were dumped into the Washington garbage incinerator tomorrow, what would we lose to offset our gain of their salaries and the salaries of their parasites?
– H.L. Mencken

In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
– Adlai Stevenson

Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.
– Robert Louis Stevenson

Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
– Ambrose Bierce

Did you ever notice when someone you know is nominated for high office how you’re torn between local pride and fear for the country?

The politician is an acrobat. He keeps his balance by saying the opposite of what he does.
– Maurice Barres

The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond? In the end, it all comes down to leadership, and that is what this country is looking for now.
– Ronald Reagan

Political bedfellows share not only the same bed, but the same bunk.

Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.
– Charles de Gaulle

Whenever the nation (USA) is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy.
– Ann Coulter

If you think too much about being re-elected, it is very difficult to be worth re-electing.
– Woodrow Wilson

When they call the roll in the Senate, the senators do not know whether to answer ‘present’ or ‘guilty’.
– Theodore Roosevelt

Now I know what a statesman is; he’s a dead politician. We need more statesmen.
– Bob Edwards

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.
– Groucho Marx

A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead.
– Leo Rosten

A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.
– Robert Frost

I have never believed in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.

There is no nation so poor that it cannot afford free speech, but there are few elites which will put up with the bother of it.
– Daniel P. Moynihan

Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.
– Milton Friedman

I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
– H. L. Mencken

Democrats raise taxes. It's their way of paying for programs that buy votes from people who don't pay high taxes.
– Pete Waldmeir

It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.
– Samuel Adams

No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
– Mark Twain

If liberals didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.
– Burt Prelusky

When a man spends his own money to buy something for himself, he is very careful . . . [But] when he spends someone else's money on someone else, he doesn't care how much he spends or what he spends it on. And that's government for you.
– Milton Friedman

When politicians rush to fix things, it's a sure sign that either the intended patient is dead or fully healed.
– Tony Snow

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.
– Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
– George Bernard Shaw

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
– G. Gordon Liddy

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
– Douglas Casey

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
– P.J. O'Rourke

The most important political office is that of private citizen.
– Louis Brandeis

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free.
– P.J. O'Rourke

The best politics is right action.
– Mohandas K. Gandhi

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.
– Pericles

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
– Edward Langley

We’d all like to vote for the best man but he’s never a candidate.
– Kin Hummbard

Washington is a Hollywood for ugly people. Hollywood is a Washington for the simple-minded.
– Senator John McCain

When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.
– P.J. O'Rourke

When government officials talk about ‘creating jobs,’ they usually mean creating government jobs.
– Alan Reynolds

If pro is the opposite of con, then progress must be the opposite of Congress.

The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
– Plato

Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.
– Gore Vidal

Private passions grow tired and wear themselves out; political passions, never.
– Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine

What you guys want, I'm for.
– Dan Quayle

It takes a lot more integrity, character, and courage to be a conservative than it does to be a liberal. That’s because at its most basic level, liberalism is nothing more than childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues.
– John Hawkins

When I have to choose between voting for the people or the special interests, I always stick with the special interests. They remember. The people forget.
– Henry Fountain Ashurst, U.S. Senator from Arizona

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.
– Clarence Darrow

You can say ‘tough’ all you want and still be a wimp. Or a politician.
– Thomas Sowell

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.
– P. J. O'Rourke

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
– Plato

The greatest good we can do our country is to heal its party divisions and make them one people.
– Thomas Jefferson

You vote yourselves salaries out of the public funds and care only for your own personal interests; hence the state limps along.
– Aristophanes

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
– Alexis de Tocqueville

The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They’re the kind of people who’d stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Repub-licans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn’t bother to stop because they’d want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.
– Dave Barry

It is useless to hold a person to anything he says when he’s in love, drunk or running for office.
– Shirley McLaine

No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat. Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office.
– George Bernard Shaw

When one of our people gets elected, sooner or later he [or she] stops being one of our people.
– Stan Evans

A thief is more moral than a congressman; when a thief steals your money, he doesn't demand you thank him.
– Walter Williams

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.
– Mark Twain

America is a nation without a distinct criminal class...with the possible exception of Congress.
– Mark Twain

The Founding Fathers did not foresee a permanent political class, out of touch with the people and in touch only with their careers and self-interests.
– Cal Thomas

Sometimes, a man must rise above principle.
– Senator Everett Dirkson

If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing.
– John le Carre

[The Motto of the Democratic Party] We don't know where to stand or what we stand for, and in fact we're not good at standing for anything anyway, but at least we know we can't stand Republicans.
– Peggy Noonan

Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
– Francis Bacon

There is nothing in life so pathetic as a former president.
– John Quincy Adams

The Democratic definition of bi-partisan is: “Do what we want.”
– Rich Galen

Western do-gooders may occasionally swing by some Third World basket-case and condescend to the natives, but for the most part the multiculti set have no wish to live anywhere but an advanced Western democracy. It’s a quintessential piece of leftie humbug. They may think globally, but they don’t act on it.
– Mark Steyn

Politics is not about facts. It is about what politicians can get people to believe.
– Thomas Sowell

In order to become the master, the politician poses as a servant.
– Charles DeGaulle

People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election.
– Otto von Bismarck

In politics, there are few skills more richly rewarded than the ability to misstate issues in a way that will sound plausible and attractive.
– Thomas Sowell

Scratch a liberal and you will uncover a bigot.
– Thomas Sowell

To anger a Conservative, tell him lies. To anger a Liberal, tell him the truth.
– Kent Brooksby

The height of statesmanship is to come home with a dam, even if you have nowhere to put it.
– Will Rogers

In politics, the clearer a statement is, the more certain it is to be followed by a “clarification,” when people react adversely to what was plainly said.
– Thomas Sowell

Most of the great problems we face are caused by politicians creating solutions to problems they created in the first place.
– Walter Williams

During a campaign, the air is full of speeches and vice versa.
– Henry Adams

Lyndon Baines Johnson was a man of his last word.
– William F. Buckley

If this [the U.S. Senate] is the world’s greatest deliberative body, I’d hate to see the world’s worst.
– Senator Barry Goldwater

Beware politicians who peddle fables that cast themselves as the heroes.
– The Wall Street Journal

Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason.
– Benjamin Franklin

In politics, power trumps knowledge.
– Thomas Sowell

Kent’s list of Qualifications for the Presidency:
1. No lawyers
2. No Ivy League University grads
3. No Senators
4. No one who believes in “taxing the rich”
5. No one whose paycheck has ever had the words “US Treasury” printed on it
6. No one who believes “the country needs my leadership”
7. In short – no one who wants the job

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

"Don't Fence Me In"

Last Friday, June 26, Jackson and I went to see my friend, Rex Lamoreaux, to ride horses. Jackson had never been on a horse before, and I couldn't stand the thought of another generation of my posterity not experiencing horseback riding. Rex was really kind letting us take an hour of his time for a little boy to dream of being a cowboy. Jackson's eyes were the size of plates as we walked up next to "Speedy." "Is THAT a HORSE?" he exclaimed. He thought they were a lot smaller, I guess.

Next thing you knew, Jackson was up on the back of old Bert, legs dangling over the sides of the saddle because they couldn't reach the stirrups. Rex led Bert and Jackson around the pen a few times, telling Jackson how to tell the horse to stop and how to use the reins to steer him. And within a couple of minutes, Jackson had control of the horse and was riding him around the enclosure. Bert was really gentle and an easy ride for a new rider.

Then it was my turn to mount Speedy. Speedy was well named, I can tell you. He likes to move. We were in a pen perhaps 30 feet long full of pine trees, and all Speedy wanted to do was lope or gallop. Finally I got him out of the pen where he could move more freely, and move we did. He was a great ride, if a little spirited for someone who hadn't been in the saddle for a couple of years.

Finally, Rex took Jackson over to the roping area and taught him how to throw a lasso. Rex is a professional roper, so he has ropes and practice steers on his property. Jackson got the hang of roping pretty quickly. It was really a fun hour for both of us.

As we were leaving, Jackson asked how long we had been there. I told him it had been nearly an hour. "An hour? It felt like two seconds!" he remarked. That, to me, is the sign of a successful morning with grandpa and grandson. I, too, wished we had had more time.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hope and Change for the Better

Back in the days of the Soviet Union, there were two state-run newspapers (unlike the USA today), named "Tass" (the News) and "Pravda" (the Truth).

The common wisdom shared among the Soviet people was "There is no truth in the News, and no news in the Truth."

I am beginning to realize just what they felt. When I see headlines in the Republic like, "White House Warns of Global Environmental Catastrophe Unless Pollutants are Cleaned Up" I am aware that if I bother to read that article, I will just be getting spin - no analysis or attempt at truth. I am not alone in these feelings. As you look all over the country, major newspapers are meeting their demise as people, no longer trusting them to deliver the truth, stop buying the papers. And as you see politicians in Washington trying to give papers bailout money to keep them afloat, you might ask yourself, "Why would politicians want the newspapers to survive?"

Sorry, I know I promised no more political stuff on my blog, but sometimes I have to say something, or my sorrow over the demise of this country just gets too much to bear. We are watching the systematic dismantling of everything that made this country great by the very people who swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and us. So I am sad. I have been in mourning since November, and nothing I see on the news helps alleviate the sorrow.

But there is a bright note. We have known this was coming for a very long time, and we know what happens on the other end. So the worse things get, the closer He is to coming and saving us again. I know that God's hand will be seen in miraculous ways in the preservation of this country. So fasten your seatbelts, everyone. It is going to be a bumpy ride before it gets smooth and we get our God-given freedom back.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Worth Reading

My Mother sent this to me this week, and I wanted to preserve it, so here goes...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25 No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27 Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Why the Debate Isn't Over

OK, I'll do another political post, at the request of my family and friends:

Those true believers in Global Warming declare "the debate is over" and denounce non-believers in the same camp as "holocaust deniers." In fact, there is a lot of disagreement regarding this "global emergency," and several questions need to be asked.

1) Is it really happening? It is still too cool to plant here in Pinetop-Lakeside, and we have only once been above 80 degrees this summer.

2) If it is happening, is it bad? Would a slight increase in overall temperatures lead to more land for agriculture, avoiding famine? When many more people die from cold than from heat every year, might this save lives? If we could save even one life, wouldn't it be worth allowing global warming? (I'm joking of course - this is the liberals' favorite argument for increased government control of our lives.)

3) If it is real, has it ever happened before? There is a lot of evidence to show that the earth has warmed and cooled many, many times in the past.

4) If it is real, is it caused by man? Many of the earth's warming trends happened long before the "scientists" accept the existence of human life.

5) If it is man caused, can we change it? I think you would be hard pressed to find any law that has ever been passed that had a global effect on anything.

6) If we change it, can we undo the change? You and I could start a rock rolling down a hill, but we might have a hard time stopping the rolling.

I have noticed that fewer and fewer of my liberal friends (yes, I do!) still refer to "global warming." They have now adopted the new buzz phrase of "global climate change." It's hard to sell warming when it is still in the 30's at night in June in Arizona!

So basically the world is divided into two camps - those who believe that God is in control of the universe, and those who believe that they are in control of the universe. To the latter group, God is a threat to their own desires for power. They use catch phrases like "let's put science back in its rightful place" - that is, go away, God, I am here.

This has nothing to do with global environment - it has everything to do with government control of our lives. Don't drink the Kool-Aid on Global Warming. It is a hoax.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Mantra for Today

Repeat these words over and over again until you believe:

"Computers make my job easier and my life better."

There now, don't you feel better?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Great News!!!

I will no longer post politically charged sentiments on my blog. No one reads them, and if they do, they don't like them and don't comment on them, so what's the use?

From now on, no more political commentary. Great news for anyone who still reads the angry ramblings of an old curmudgeon. Only happy thoughts and politically neutral thoughts. Not one more mention of Pres. What's-his-name.

Monday, June 1, 2009

What if...

I am no fan of President George W. Bush, but in the last couple of months I have grown increasingly nostalgic for “the good old days.”

I wonder how the liberal left (and their lap dogs, the Press) would have reacted if:

If George W. Bush had made sure he appeared on as many television shows as possible, including the Jay Leno Tonight Show…

If George W. Bush, while on television with Jay Leno, had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics…

If George W. Bush had demanded the removal of Winston Churchill's bust from the White House…

If George W. Bush had given Tony Blair a set of inexpensive and useless (to Tony Blair's UK video formatting) DVDs, when Tony Blair had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift…

If George W. Bush had never held a real job before running for President…

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches…

If George W. Bush had insisted that he was the only person to rise through the ranks of the Chicago political machine having never become corrupted…

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia…

If George W. Bush could not utter a coherent sentence without the aid of a teleprompter…

If George W. Bush had included in his first budget funding for a private army accountable only to himself…

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language"…

If George W. Bush refused to entertain questions at his press conferences from journalists or networks he didn't like…

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who turned out to be a bunch of tax cheats…

If George W. Bush had paid billions of taxpayer dollars to his political cronies who elected him, including criminal organizations like ACORN…

If George W. Bush had blamed everything that happened the first three months of his first term on Bill Clinton…

If George W. Bush promised to reject lobbyists in his cabinet, then appointed lobbyists throughout his cabinet…

If George W. Bush had campaigned with the mantra of "Change," then filled his cabinet with people who served in his Dad's cabinet…

If George W. Bush had ordered the CEO of a major corporation to resign, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so…

If George W. Bush disregarded folks protesting (tea parties) his policies as minor irritations…

If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year…

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years…

If the Bush Administration had allowed Air Force One to fly low over New York City while 9/11 remained fresh in the minds of New Yorkers…

If after promising transparency in government George W. Bush had refused to release the photographs of Air Force One flying over New York City…

If George W. Bush had claimed tax cuts for family's earning less than $250,000 per year, and then the fiscal budget set the income threshold at $200,000 per year…

If George W. Bush had called Democrats "bitter"…

If George W. Bush's Department of Homeland Security had released a report calling liberals "leftwing extremists," and possible "domestic terrorists"…

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Please, anyone, help me understand how Obama is so brilliant and impressive.

And this is only the first few months - we still have three years and nine months to go!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Party Central

We have become a party house! Last weekend we had Bryan and Natalie Hatch, Natalie's brother Brian and his wife and three boys, Andrea, John and Anna and their boys, Emily and Geoff and their family, and Jan and me. It was a good thing our additional room was finished and available for sleeping bags.

Monday, John and I took the canoe out on the lake and paddled some of the little kids around. By Monday night, our crowd had dwindled from 19 to only 8, and the house felt so roomy and quiet. But luckily, Melissa and her kids drove up Wednesday, so we were back to 12. The cousin kids have been having SO much fun playing together - it has really been fun to have them around.

Yesterday I took some of the kids out on the canoe again. It is really fun, paddling the canoe on Edler Lake. It is just a nice size to paddle on - you never get too far from where you started. All the kids wanted to help "paddle" too, although their contributions to momentum were minimal.

Life is good. Family is pure joy. Jan and I can't wait for our ananual Kent & Jan Brooksby Family Reunion in Mesa on Father's Day weekend.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Did You Ever Stop and Think About Scorpions?

My parents moved to Mesa, AZ shortly after they married. Many things there were new to them, including air conditioning, citrus trees in the yard, and scorpions. My Mom was very worried about scorpions. She had heard horror stories about deadly scorpions attacking babies, so when I was born, she took a lot of precautions. She set the legs of my baby crib in glass jars. She made sure my bed was away from the wall and no part of the bedding touched the floor. Some of my earliest memories are of looking at books with my mother and younger brother and sister – books with pictures of scorpions. She made sure that we knew the dangers of scorpions.

Several years later, when my brother Don was a little boy, my mother asked us to clean out the storage room and added, “Be careful – and watch out for scorpions!” Don looked at her and asked, “What’s a scorpion?” My mother was stunned. She had spent so much time teaching the older kids about scorpions, and she had assumed that the same knowledge had been acquired by the youngest. But it hadn’t.

The summer I turned 16, a normally dry river near our home flooded. I drove down to see the raging waters. I parked the old Plymouth Valiant about 50 yards from the edge of the water, and walked to the river’s edge. After watching the river for awhile, I turned to return to the car. I was amazed to see the ground in front of me moving! Closer inspection revealed that the ground was covered by hundreds of scorpions, scrambling over each other. They had been there as I walked to the river, but I hadn’t been paying attention and walked right through them. But now I had to hustle through the scorpions to get back to my car.

Many years later, my brother Craig and I took our children scorpion hunting near our sister’s house in Mesa. Scorpion hunting is done at night, using ultraviolet lights. Under the ultraviolet light rays, scorpions glow an iridescent green, and are easily seen. What a sight it was, seeing green scorpions hanging on the branches of the citrus trees we were walking under, clinging to the block walls of the neighborhood, and shining in the brush we were walking through. It made me wish I had worn boots instead of thongs! But once they are seen, they are easily picked up with tongs or, in my brother’s case, chopsticks, and dropped into a big jar of cleaning fluid to die. We later made them into paperweights and bolo tie slides.

Last year on television, I saw a news story of a man in Indonesia who lives in a room with 5,000 scorpions who crawl all over him and in his mouth. He was shown covered with scorpions, and the reporter mentioned that he gets stung by the scorpions an average of 30 times a day. But he is past feeling it, so the stings have no effect on him. I was left wondering, how did he get that job? Did he seek out the opportunity, or did someone else press him into it? And why on earth did he stay in there instead of running to safety somewhere else?

What scorpions are WE living with that we a too comfortable with?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Round 2

Last week I was called into the Bishopric of the Woodland Lake Ward, as Executive Secretary. The new Bishop is Dave Merrill, who served as my 1st Counselor when I was the Bishop. I was thrilled to hear that he had been called, and thrilled with my new assignment. The two counselors have no Bishopric experience, but they are really good men. I am sure this will be a good experience.

Of course, I was saddened to be leaving the Primary after 2 1/2 years. I have been teaching the same children since the day I started, and I have really grown to love those kids. Sure, at times it has felt like I was locked in a room full of squirrels, but they were MY squirrels and I loved them.

On a more secular note: the budget for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside is finally FINISHED!!!!! Woo Hoo!!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a couple of thoughts on this Mother's Day. It has been a quite Mother's Day here. Jan had to eat my cooking, but she forgives me because she knows I mean well.

I know a few women who hate to go to church on Mother's Day because they can't relate to all the talk about perfect mothers, knowing that they are not perfect. I have just one thing to say about that - DUH! Of course you're not perfect. Who is? No one I have ever known.

Here is what I think makes a perfect mother. The perfect mother loves her children and makes them feel safe at home. She gives a refuge from the storms of life because no matter what else is happening in the world, they know that My Mom Loves Me. That basic foundation is the mortar that holds civilization together.

That's it. If you love and nurture your children (and who else would?), you are a perfect mother for those children. Did you give birth to them? Doesn't matter if they are loved and they know they are loved. Do your children recognize all you have done and continue to do for them? Maybe not, but I faith that someday they will. There is nothing sadder to me than seeing a grown man or woman who does not absolutely adore his/her mother. To me, it is evidence of a major character flaw in the child.

So mothers, keep up the perfect work. You are not individually perfect, but the importance of what you do every day cannot be measured, or perhaps fully appreciated. I am so grateful to God for the mother He gave me, for the example she continues to set for me and my posterity, and for the mother of my children He led me to. I could not have better examples of perfect motherhood than the ones I have.

Thank you.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Our Anniversary Train Ride



Almost 37 years ago, Jan and I went on our first official "date" together (after a month or so of swimming in her pool) to ride the White Mountain Railroad that ran from McNary to Maverick, Arizona. That was a beautiful ride, through the tall Ponderosa pines on the last narrow-gauge railroad in the state. To commemorate that ride, we celebrated our 36th anniversary a little early by riding the Verde Canyon Railroad that runs from Clarkdale to Perkinsville. Perkinsville is a lot like Maverick, in that neither place exists anymore.

We left the train station at 1:00, traveling past a big slag pile that covers 40 acres 40 feet deep. The molten rock was poured there over the period of 40 years, and it is really something to see. After we passed the slag pile, the train took us on a two-hour trip up the Verde Valley. It was a beautiful day, just a little breezy, and our first class car was very comfortable to ride in.


In Perkinsville, the locomotive disconnected from the train and attached at the opposite end of the train for the two-hour ride back to Clarkdale. There was a long tunnel that curved through the mountain, long enough to be totally dark inside. Back in one of the coach cars, a whole car full of school children screamed all the way through the tunnel.


After the train ride, we drove into Cottonwood to the Blazin' M Ranch for an evening of cowboy cookin' and singin'. If you have ever been to the Rockin' R Ranch in Mesa, you have seen both. The food was identical, the layout was identical, the music was identical, but it really was a great time.

The next day we drove into Jerome, then on to Prescott where we picked out the tile for our new master bathroom. We looked and looked for something to match the tile we already had, but couldn't find the right stuff. Finally the sales person said, "If you want, I can show you some of the discontinued tiles we have in the back room. You can't return them, but they are only $2 a square foot instead of $6.50." What the heck, we thought, it would be worth a look. The first thing we looked at was the exact match of the tile we had brought with us! We got all of our tile for about 1/2 of what we had budgeted. So that was a great end to a great trip. Happy to have that decision made, we got in the car and drove back to Pinetop.

It was a fun anniversary trip. Happy 36th, my love.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Some of my favorite President Hinckley quotes


"Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

“Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.”

"It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike."

"My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort."

"The only way to get anything done is to get on your knees and plead for help and then get on your feet and go to work."

"How grateful I am, how grateful we all must be for the women in our lives."

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us...if we put our trust in Him, if we pray to Him, if we live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose in heart."

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A Poem for Jan - Take 2

Jan read the poem I wrote, then removed from the blog, and she said it was OK to post it after all. She only dislikes it when I "exaggerate her qualities" (like I could). Anyway, for those of you who care, here is the poem I wrote for her:

Dear Jan,
Soon we celebrate our 36th year together.
In that time I have come to know,
Far better than I knew,
Just what love really is.
Sometimes I wish I could meet you,
Fall in love with you,
And marry you all over again.

And yet, in a very real sense,
I meet you anew
Every day,
I fall in love with you again
Every day,
And I renew my marriage vows with you
Every day.

Our lives have become a kind of dance –
My movements are meaningless,
Even comical,
Unless I know that you are moving with me;
And I try my best to complement the moves you make.

Thank you for making my life beautiful,
Meaningful,
Joyous, and
Whole.
You are my life, my heart, my love forever.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Worth Reflecting On...

"[T]his scripture has a key in it. 'And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and longsuffering; being temperate in all things, being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works. And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless.' (Alma 7:23-25)

"Being submissive, gentle, easy to be entreated, and patient are all attributes. But the actions Alma commends to us are to ask for what we need and to return thanks. Please don't think of that as a routine command to say your prayers. Oh, it is much more than that. If you pray, if you talk to God, if you plead for the help you need, and if you thank him not only for help but for the patience and gentleness that come from not receiving all you desire right away - or perhaps ever - I promise that you will draw closer to him. And then you will become diligent and longsuffering." (Henry B. Eyring, "To Draw Closer to God" Deseret Book, 1997, p.97)

I don't know why this needed to be posted tonight. Perhaps someone out there will know. I love you all.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A Poem for Jan

I have removed this poem from my posting because I remembered (in time) that Jan hates it when I write sweet things about her on the blog. It embarasses her. So even though I wrote a sweet love poem, out of respect for her feelings I have removed it. Sorry everyone. What she thinks of me is more important to me than your disappointment.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Grandkids


Joshua loved wearing Grandpa's mountain man hat. It looked like a big hat with legs most of the time. Adam loved wearing it, too.

Susie Q hunting for Easter eggs in the snow, AGAIN! Seems like every time she is here for Easter, it snows.

The Crider kids after feeding the ducks on Easter Sunday. Lydia discovered that ducks are nice.

Adam reading books to us last weekend. Adam and Joshua loved sword fighting with our nerf swords (which is also Owen's favorite game). How many Robin Hoods can you have in one family?

Lydia enjoyed running in the snow and throwing snowballs at Grandpa! She even found a few eggs.

Owen found a lot of Easter eggs. Good thing they were colored. White ones would have been hard to find.

This is what Joshua looks like when you can get him to hold still.

We just LOVE having grandkids here. Bring 'em on! Even though it feels like we are living through a tornado, we really miss the tornado when it stops. We are so blessed to have the wonderful grandkids the Lord has given us. (Oh, yes, we love our children and their spouses, too. :)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Tea Party



Next Wednesday is the day to let your lawmakers know that you are Taxed Enough Already! There will be hundreds of thousands of Americans peacefully protesting in the streets all over this country. Thousands more have mailed teabags to their "leaders" in Washington telling them that they have had enough of their lying and hypocritical actions. Let your voice be heard. Don't let them take away our freedom - our country - without letting them now what you think and where you stand.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Wha, Pilgrim!


Well, I am back from the 2009 Mountain Man Rendezvous, and it was really fun! The turnout was a little low - only about 800 boys - but those who came really had a great time. I spent Wednesday through noon Saturday with six of the best Dutch oven cooks in Arizona. (That's me in the center of the picture) I didn't really belong there, not being much of a DO cook myself, but I did learn a lot.


I saw many old Scouting friends, including a couple of men who I had helped through Woodbadge 10 years ago, and another who I served with on Woodbadge. I got to be a judge in a Dutch oven cookoff using the secret ingredient of Vienna sausages (oh, boy! They are so good fried!). The boys could use them in a main dish (lots of Vienna sausage stews), a bread (yes, they baked them into a bread), or even a dessert. It is hard to believe, but I ate some pretty tasty desserts Friday night with those sausages in them, including peach cobbler and a couple of chocolate pudding cakes. My favorite was called Vienna mincemeat pie. It was really good! Mushed up Vienna sausages with raisins and other mincemeat ingredients, and deep fried as individual pies. One troop brought their entry (5-Meat Stew, made with javelina, elk, venison, quail, and Vienna sausage) to us in a big milk can along with a 6 foot pig trough lined with aluminum foil. They were going to pour the entire thing into that trough on our table, but we convinced them that we were eating the entries of 10 different troops, and that we could only take tastes of their entry. We couldn't eat an entire trough full of 5-Meat Stew.

I got home Saturday about 12:40, and by 12:45 Jan had shaved my beard off. I looked younger with all that grey beard gone, but now I look kind of funny to me - like there is something missing from my face. I may have to grow it back. We'll see if my grandkids prefer Grandpa with a beard or without. So what do you think, grandkids? Do you want me to have a beard, or not?

Friday, March 6, 2009

EMT's and Politicians

Imagine you are traveling in your car when you come upon the scene of an accident. You get out of your car to see if you can help. You see an injured person sitting on the side of the road, bleeding heavily from a cut on his head. Immediately you jump into action. Removing your belt, you wrap it around the injured person's neck and pull it tight, stopping the blood flow to his head. Almost immediately, the EMT arrives and tells you that you are doing the wrong thing. You sneer at him and say, "Those who would say I should have done nothing are just wrong. Something HAD to be done and quickly."

"But you are killing the patient!" screams the EMT.

"I do not ascribe to that philosophy," you reply. "That kind of treatment reflects the failed policies of the past."

Which is better in this situation: doing nothing or doing the wrong thing? Is the person who tells you that you are doing the wrong thing saying that you should do nothing? Obviously, the answer is no. If someone is doing the wrong thing, should you agree with the treatment just so you won't make waves? Are you mean-spirited if you say the belt around the neck will kill the patient? What if the person putting the belt around the neck of the injured person is black? If you disagree, does that make you a racist?

This is the level to which "political discourse" has fallen in this country. Our President (and I use the term loosely) demands that America will fall unless we put in place "reforms" that will kill what America has been and make it into a Socialist state that he has always wanted. He villifies those who oppose these measures as "wanting to do nothing." This is a false dichotomy. There are many other options besides the wrong option and "doing nothing." But in the haste of a false "crisis," discussion and debate are labeled as harmful. Really?

Those who oppose these measures are labeled as obstructionists or racists who oppose only because of political motives. Is it possible that they oppose because what is being done to "fix things" is the WRONG THING? Can someone tell me how placing Draconian restrictions on CEO pay will create jobs? Or how the complete makeover of the US health care system will create jobs? (Government beaurocracy jobs do not count)

Why is it that a person who gets an advanced education, works many long hours, studies and analyses business trends and builds a company to the point of success is evil if he/she makes more than $500 thousand per year? Why is it that a person who can throw a ball accurately and who makes millions of dollars per year is not evil? Or what about a person who makes a living pretending to be someone else and who makes millions of dollars per year? Evil? Not evil? Why does the President of the United States attack people who work for a living and say nothing of people who play or pretend for a living? Is it because they contributed to his campaign?

I hate to sound like a political nutcase, but I believe that the President of the United States knows NOTHING about how economies work. He doesn't understand where banks get their money - they get the money from US! We put our money in the bank, the bank lends it out to businesses or individuals who pay it back with interest, and they share that interest with us. It is that simple. If you add to the equation politicians who demand that banks lend money to people who cannot pay it back (which is what happened), the banks will lose money, and we all lose money in the process. This is what happens when you have politicians who think they know more about running a bank than bankers do.

The same politicians think they know more about the car industry than people who have spent their entire careers running the car industry. Politicians demand that car makers build cars that meet certain guidelines - but car makers want to build cars that people will want to buy. That is how they stay in business.

Politicians attack people who have retreats at resorts, but if everyone stops going to resorts, the people who work at those resorts will lose their jobs. Maids, desk clerks, reservation agents, chefs, waiters, lifeguards, etc - not exactly the highest paid people - will no longer be needed and their jobs will end. This is how politicians create the very problems they think they know how to solve. In reality, politicians know very little about anything except getting elected.

Instead of funding hundreds of billions of dollars to "stimulate the economy" by putting all of us, our children and grandchildren in debt to the Chinese, the President could have simply declared that no one would have to pay any income taxes this year. It would have been far less expensive to the United States and would have immediately given everyone bigger paychecks. That would have stimulated the ecomony, but it would not have made us all slaves.

We are seeing the dismantling of America by the very people who were originally elected as stewards of this nation. Perhaps if our President had spent as much time studying free market economics as he spent reading the writings of Karl Marx and other revolutionaries, he would have SOME IDEA WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT!

Sorry - I had to get that off my chest. Pray the God will deliver us from those who seek to destroy us, wherever they live. Killing us is not the only alternative to doing nothing.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Life Changes Quickly

Last Thursday, a dear friend of mine who is only 45 years old suffered a rupture of an artery in his head - an aneurism. Usually this is fatal. For some reason, his was not. He woke up Thursday morning dizzy and unable to stand. From there it got worse, until his wife took him to the Emergency Room Thursday night. There, another friend who is an ER doctor, told him he had had a stroke and air-evaced him to Barrow's Neurological Center in Phoenix. That airlift saved his life. It turns out that a large part of his cerebellum was damaged beyond repair. Saturday night he had surgery to remove the destroyed brain tissue and reduce the swelling. Jan and I went to visit him Sunday and his doctors told us that they expect a full recovery. We are thankful to God for preserving his life through wonderful medical knowledge.

It turns out the cause of this stroke was very simple - Wednesday night he had popped his neck as he often does. You know (are you reading this, Andrea and Cynthia?), he cracked it to relieve the tension in his neck. This caused the artery to rupture. The doctors told us that in the last two months they have had FOUR young people there with strokes who had just had their necks adjusted by chiropractors. The doctors said, "If you have neck tension, take an Advil - don't pop your neck!"

Anyway, here is a young man who had all sorts of other plans for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and the next month. Instead of accomplishing those plans, he will be resting in bed - all because of a very simple thing that he has probably done thousands of times. He could have died - in almost any prior time he would have died - just from popping his neck.

It made me think about my life. I have thought many times since Friday about how anything I do could be the last thing I ever do on this earth. Not that I am paranoid: I just want to make sure that I don't do things that I know are wrong. I set a life goal many years ago not to die doing something stupid like bridge diving. I also don't want to die having just committed some sin.

This experience has not made me fearful. I am not walking around thinking, "Am I going to die right now? Right now? Right NOW?" It has, however, made me think about all the time I waste. What if I were do die playing Solitaire? Stupid!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for preserving my friend's life.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Things I Do Not Care About

I don't know why I write on this blog, when no one reads or comments, but for the record, here is a list of things I could not care less about. I haven't written anything curmudgeonly for a long time, so don't complain.

1. Anything that involves "celebrities." This includes everyone who is famous for being famous, or who is famous because his/her parents are famous, or anyone who is famous for hanging around celebrities. So anything "newsy" about Paris Hilton, Lisa Marie Presley, Nicole Ritchie, or Cato what's-his-name just gets a big yawn from me.

2. Anything that has to do with movie or TV "stars" - what they are wearing, what cause of the day they are endorsing, what they eat, etc. Brangelina? Ho hum. Jennifer Aniston? Sarah Jessica Parker? The stars of CSI or Friends or The Office or any other TV show? Dull, dull, dull! And this goes TWICE for TV shows dedicated to the activities of celebrities and stars, like Entertainment Tonight or the dozens of knockoffs. Who cares?

3. Anything said by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, or B. Hussein Obama (or almost any other politician). As soon as they start telling us the truth about ANYTHING, I will consider listening. It was politically correct for a few days after B. Hussein Obama's annointing/coronation to say that we all hoped he would succeed. Now that America is beginning to see what the most inept President ever wants to do to us, I can openly say that I hope he fails miserably - I hope he is the greatest failure as a President in American history. When I get any sense that they care about me and my family, whether we succeed, I will start caring about whether they succeed.

4. I don't care about the opinions of Europeans about America - what we should do, how we should act, how our government should be structured, etc.

5. I don't care about people who rip off "the system" to get famous, like "Octomom."

6. I don't care about rock stars or professional athletes. I don't care who used steroids. People always say, "Well, Babe Ruth hit his homers without performance-enhancing drugs." But I have no doubt that he would have, had they been available. His "performance enhancer" of choice was alcohol.

7. I don't care who wins Academy Awards, or People's Choice Awards, or the Screen Actors Guild Awards, or Golden Globe Awards, or Grammys or Emmys or any of the other self-congratulatory awards that celebrities give themselves to enhance their fame and to make them feel better about the fact that they do NOTHING to improve the world. They make their comfortable living by pretending to be people who actually DID something with their lives, and this empty fact eats away at them. That is why actors get so vocal about things they know nothing about. It is an attempt to do something meaningful.

8. I don't care if companies that were mismanaged or have become obsolete fail. This goes for America's auto manufacturers. If they went under, and if every union official in America suddenly lost his job, I would not care.

9. I don't care about any TV show that uses "Reality TV" as a format. Ugh! Those shows are about as real as a $3 bill.

So there you go. This is my short list. Don't ask me questions about A-Rod or Bono or Brad Pitt or the rest of them. Don't ask me what movies or actors won Oscars. Don't ask me about Survivor Island or whatever it is called. Don't ask me. I don't know, and I could not care less.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Ultimate Food!

There seems to be some argument as to whether or not man can live by bread alone. But I’ll bet you’ve never heard that accusation leveled against strawberry rhubarb pie. There’s a reason for this.

Think about it. You’ve got fruit – the fresh, luscious strawberries. Then there’s rhubarb, a fibrous vegetable, almost inedible raw. Your dairy group is well represented in the crust (if made correctly), in the form of copious quantities of butter. Plus you have, of course, wheat. Wheat is good for you.

So you have fruit, veggies, dairy, grains and fiber all brought together, miraculously, into the most sublime taste experience imaginable. If it hasn’t been done yet, I would like to officially nominate strawberry rhubarb pie for the title of The Ultimate Food.

I remember well where I was sitting the first time I tasted strawberry rhubarb pie. I was at the home of my friend, Jim Pribbeno, on Gilbert Rd north of McKellips, almost to the river bottom. His Mom offered me a piece of this pie I had never heard of. I have always been willing to try new foods (within reason), so even though I had no expectations, I accepted. Oh My! It was pure heaven.

Years passed before I had another experience with the ultimate food. This time Jan and I were at Pres and Bobbie's house in Fredonia. I forget what the occasion was. Anyway, Bobbie had made strawberry rhubarb pie. Jan had heard me talk of it, and didn't think it would taste good, but I encouraged her to try it. It was truly love at first bite. Knowing that I was married to what would become the world's best pie maker, I got Jan to ask Bobbie for the recipe. That was one of the smartest things I ever did in my life.

Over the years, Jan has made a lot of wonderful pies of all sorts. But she knows that my favorite now and forever is strawberry rhubarb - that king of foods, The Ultimate Food. I know at least one son-in-law who would agree.

Another wonderful treat is to save the sauce that is formed from cooking the strawberries and rhubarb and sugar together, and serving it over vanilla ice cream. If the pie doesn't finish you off, this will. Indescribably delicious!

(Now I have to see if I can talk her into making me one. Writing this has made me very hungry for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day, My Love!

Well, it is Valentine's Day again. This is our 36th Valentine's Day together. Our first one was in 1973. We had been dating for seven months and engaged for just three weeks. We were looking forward to a lifetime together with great anticipation. I took you to a Valentine's Day dance at the MCC Institute; we left early, then we sat and talked (wink, wink) in the car for hours. You gave me that card with the two naked people embracing on the front, and I knew I was marrying the right gal. I tried to find that card to scan for this posting, but it has mysteriously vanished after all these years. Or maybe I just can't find stuff. Someone must have thrown it away! It's Gone.

Anyway, what I thought was love at the time we married was just a little drip in the vast sea of emotion. The last 36 years have taught me what real love is. Love is patience, patience and more patience. Love is forgiveness over and over and over and over again while you wait for me to grow up. Love is going through experiences that neither of us would have wished for, and holding onto each other for dear life. Love is the glue that holds us together when everything else seems to be falling apart. And our love will see us through the trials that lie ahead, and there will be many. Yes, my love was just a little drip in 1973, but now my love for you envelopes me and warms me and comforts me and sees me through every moment of my life. You are the heart of my heart, the center of my soul, my eternal Sweetheart. I hope and pray that I can make you happy every day of what remains of our life together.

Happy Valentine's Day, Jan!

P.S. Jan insists to this day that she didn't notice the couple on the card were naked. Yeah, what ev!