Some Movie

We went to see Charlotte's Web Monday night. It was Jay Greenan's treat. He did it mostly for Laney. But, the whole family tagged along as well. What a very nice movie. I only marginally remember the story being read to us years ago in grade school. The movie seemed to follow the story line very closely, just perhaps a couple of embellishments that added nicely to the plot. The CGI/live action mix is extremely seamless (except perhaps Templeton, for some reason he doesn't look right and move right.) The voices were great. The story had all the women blubbering.

U.S. not winning war in Iraq, Bush says

Somewhere along the line this argument was co-opted and altered. As far as I see it, there is no war in Iraq. We haven't been fighting for a long time. We're too shackled by the rules of engagement and flighty public opinion.

Jungle Gym Mania

I don't often get holidays where we stay home. And I can't tell you when was the last time we stayed home and didn't have a "project". This past Thanksgiving vacation we painted. That in and of itself doesn't sound too bad. But, we did almost the whole main level and then the stairway down into the basement. In total it was something around 1700 square feet of wall space and required the rental of 3 sections of scaffolding (15 feet high). We all had fun on the first couple of days. We are almost done now. But, our interest is waning.

The kids loved climbing on the platform. Even Laney screwed up the courage to climb up. Lenore however, got the heebies jeebies once she got to the top, thereby exempting herself from the first part of the painting. I should have claimed severe Heebie Jeebie Syndrome on the lower part so as to prevent the continual need for my services.

I did manage to fit in 130 miles of cycling so far during the painting project. So I can't complain too much.

We've decided that the reason you don't see adult sized people playing on playground Jungle Gyms is that the equipment is too small. Playing on a Jungle Gym is actually quite fun and good exercise.

Easy Bake Thanksgiving

Just a couple of weeks ago for some reason, Laney became interested in the EasyBake oven. We weren't even sure we still had it. Lenore searched around and dug it out. Jensen helped Laney clean it up and it has seen vigorous use ever since. Laney has mostly just made sugar cookies from some refrigerator dough she was given as a gift some time ago. But, she also made a cake using a recipe in one of her story books. And the cake was quite good.

Once on my mission when we switched apartments in Cremona, it took awhile to get our gas stove hooked up. So, for a while we had to be a little creative with our cooking. We managed to roast hot dogs in the water heater and even baked a cake on an overturned iron.

And All My Nightly Dreams

I awoke Yesterday morning with a strange dream. During the course of the dream we had been in different places and we kept having to fight off menacing snakes. Finally, at the end of the dream, we got into a home (our home?) and barely locked the door in time. Then a huge snake (silly Anaconda movie huge) stuck his head in under the door somehow. I had a very large battle axe (too bad it wasn't a bowstaff) and kept chopping at its head. Only problem is the snake of course wouldn't let me get to the side of him to try to chop off his head.

When I mentioned it to Lenore she said that she had a dream very recently where she was fighting off large menacing snakes as well.

About two weeks ago I dreamed that the Rodriguezes brought me some meatloaf. I really like meatloaf. Last night they didn't just bring me one piece. They brought me a whole lot of pieces, and brought it to me at work!

Shaken, not Stirred

We went to see the new James Bond last Saturday night with Michelle and Steve Young.

We also ran into Ann and Ken Murdock at the theater.

Our impressions:

Lenore said it was violent. (She still liked it.) I wasn't too put off by the "violence." There was a lot of hand to hand fighting and rough fighting and the torture scene I guess was squeam inducing. But, it didn't really bother me much. Or, I didn't see it as excessive or very much so, or gratuitous. It didn't jolt me out of the fantasy like "Passion of the Christ."

So much for the violence. Otherwise, I think it is probably better than any other Bond movie. I like Daniel Craig a lot, especially as he is portrayed as a young, cocky, still with a few rough edges, newly trained and promoted "00." I found him very charming and attractive and his muscular physique made his strength and toughness very believable.

The first chase scene borrows a lot from "Russian Street Climbing" and is very engaging and entertaining. Lenore said it seemed like they were super heroes without the powers.

I enjoyed the updated use of technology and the ability of MI6 to communicate with and track Bond anywhere. This was especially apparent and useful to the story and its emotions during the medical emergency/defibrillator scene.

As I said, the torture scene was a little squeam inducing, especially for guys. But, Bond's reaction to Le Chiffre, helped to lessen that squeamishness and added a very interesting twist to it. I thought, "He's going to take it, defy him, mock him and die like a real man." This was a very good bit of acting by Daniel Craig and it made his new character. The new young Bond is unbreakable, undeterred, unbelievably strong and resilient and resourceful, yet believable. This portrayal and approach made him less of a caricature.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World!

Last Sunday one of the local TV stations was doing a "Heroes" marathon. We had seen previews for this show. But, missed the first episode. Later, I regretted missing it because Orson Scott Card gave it high marks. Ailsa and I got hooked watching it on Sunday and thanks to the wonder of "YouTube.com" we were able to find most of the episodes that we had missed. We now wait with bated breath for our next installment. We especially like Masi Oka as Hiro (get it?). But, I think that's the point.

Andwyrden

Ailsa is working on a four part story (4 novelettes) with a playing card motiff (probably won't be a big hit among the most conservative factions of LDS culture.) She is a little more than half way through. The first part is available here.

We think we may plan to self publish this work. I have done a lot of editing on the first one. She is wrapping up work on the second one for me to start on. It has been fun to do.

Let Them Eat Bread

Lenore and I have a sort of ongoing struggle about main dishes and desserts. She subscribes to the Hyacinth Bucket school of entertaining: lots of watercress sandwiches and dainty fruit desserts.

I would rather have meat (preferably beef or ham or pork ribs. If the lowly chicken is to be served it needs the KFC treatment, no low-fat skinless, boneless all white meat presentation.) and for dessert, chocolate needs to be front and center at least 90% of the time. The Smiths typically opt for a Blueberry Buckle or Apple Tart.

But, I will reveal a small problem with their tastes. Say you have a chocolate pie and a blueberry pie available for dessert. The masses will fight over the chocolate pie and the fruit pie will be neglected. Lenore cites this as reason not to buy chocolate. Go figure.

Sunrise, Sunset

I'm in the cycling season wind-down funk. The shortening daylight makes it ever harder to fit a ride in either in the morning or after work. At this time of year I actually do better in the evening. I rode last Saturday at the normal morning time because Grandma and Grandpa were in town. I felt like lead and only managed slightly under 19 MPH average. I've often wondered if the change in seasons and temperatures affects me more than it affects other people. I think it contributes to the fact that I'm faster in June, July, August and even into September, and then start slowing after that, even if I'm still riding fairly often.

I think there is a facet of Meteorology that I would find fascinating, that having to do with the shifting daylight patterns and seasons throughout the year. I started riding regularly on 19 April this year. On that day the sunrise was at 6:43am. The temperatures were still quite cool. The earliest sunrise was around 15 June. And, 21 August found the sun rising at about the same time in the morning as it was on 19 April. But, the early morning temperatures in August were lots nicer than April because of the lingering radiant heat from summer.

With the nicer conditions in the evening now, I could still be riding after work on some days. I may need to get a light though because it gets dark rather early.

Some totals so far from this year's riding:
From 28 June through 5 August in 16 solo rides, I averaged 20.08 MPH over 442.54 miles.
I climbed about 51,000 feet of altitude (which is really nothing because I avoid hills religiously.)
I burned about 133,000 calories riding. That's 886 Twinkies or 83 pounds worth.
Even with a very marked slow down in the colder months, I will probably easily finish the year having ridden every third day on average.

All I Want for Christmas......

Laney lost one of her front teeth some time ago. The other one has been bothering her the last couple of days. She has been nursing it and we had to break out the "Numzit" type cream that we bought in Italy. (I didn't remember buying this. I'm guessing it was in Cremona.) Last night when Lenore put her to bed it was really loose. In the morning it was gone. Thankfully, we found it in her bed. Not that it would be any big deal if she swallowed it in her sleep. It would probably freak her out though.

Grieg

I am glad that both Ailsa and Jensen took piano lessons and have stuck with it. It is very nice to hear them play and I think they enjoy it a lot as well. Lately, Ailsa has been learning some of Edvard Grieg's pieces. Sunday she was running through Anitra's Dance from Peer Gynt. She hasn't spent much time with it. I was watching her and she got to a point where she was struggling and muttered soflty under her breath, "Well, now he's just showing off."

Mrs. Alex Knaphus (the other Britty)

Brittany Wilhelm was married last Tuesday. It was a very nice occasion. We were afraid we might encounter rain at the outdoor venue (Log Haven in Mill Creek). But, it was a wonderful day. The bride was beautiful and the flower girl (Laney) was stellar. At one point while taking family pictures Brittany claimed she was being stung on her bum by a bee under her dress. We surmised that it could be a bobby pin or something. She was quite insistent, lifted up the ample train and canopy, made her way north and eventually released a hornet that was trapped under her dress. The reception was at a private residence in the East Mill Creek area of Salt Lake. This home has a spectacular back yard with the creek running through it, a bridge over the creek.

Really Cute Picture I found over at Bless' House

Three of the cutest kids and a really sweet dog.

Brave New Laney

As you can see from the video below, Laney has grown somewhat more plucky as of late. Lenore has gotten her much more used to the idea of swimming over at Aunt Les' pool. Now she just needs to stop freaking out whenever a wave splashes in her face. I spent A LOT of time carrying her around in the very shallow part of the waves. When we first arrived at San Clemente they were just finishing with some biggish waves. Perhaps for this reason the bottom was a little messed up. There was a "ditch" about 20 feet out that went down at least a foot. But, when you are only three and a half feet tall, one foot makes a big difference. Plus, a lot of the kids don't like it because it gives the impression that the bottom could fall out at any minute.

Laney on the Booogie Board

CompLaney

Ever since our return trip from the River in July when Laney was ill, she has been VERY compLaney every time we have had to drive any distance at all in the car. This happened again when we drove to the Taylor's Cabin a couple of weeks ago and she was very difficult on the way down to San Clemente. When we returned home Laney became ill again in Barstow just as we pulled into a filling station. We were well equipped with a plastic bag, so no permanent mess in the car.
We decided we needed to try motion sickness medicine. She hasn't seemed to need this before. Maybe she's grown into a phase. We got her some generic Dramamine and Lenore gave her 1 pill. The dosage said to use one-half to one. Laney fell asleep and only awakened shortly before we arrived in Saint George. As Ailsa and Jensen will attest, we had the most pleasant drive while she was asleep. We will keep some on hand in the car from now on.
Funny thing though, When we drove down to Provo recently to pick up Ailsa at Steve Trumbo's house, we didn't give her any medicine and she didn't complain much.

Quick! Call the Rental Company we Left Mom at San Clemente!

In the evenings after dinner it is very common for me to slink back over to our own apartment and change channels on the TV. Lenore usually stays visiting with her family. Friday night we were staring to get ready to vacate in the morning. Lenore left with a load of laundry to put in the washing machine in the garage. She didn't come back right away so I assumed she had gone over to the other apartment. About an hour later she came back and asked, "didn't you wonder where I was?" The garage door opener switch is a little old and difficult to manage. There is a key switch (with obviously tricky connections) for opening and closing on the outside and a button that evidentally only closes on the inside. She went inside and when she was at the back of the garage the door closed on its own (because of the tricky switch with the key still in it. She was stuck inside for a long time. The button wouldn't work, she pounded on the door and yelled. But, nobody heard her. Eventually she was able to figure out how to release the heavy door and lift it up high enough to sheepishly crawl out.:(

Aging

Speaking of aging, one day at San Clemente I went down to watch the girls in the water and I lay down on the sand at the high tide line. After awhile I closed my eyes and starting dozing off. Suddenly, a ball hit me right on the chest. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see a youngish 10-12 year old boy with a very sheepish look on his face. He chased down the errant ball and went back to his playing. His friend asked him what happened and I heard him reply, "the ball hit that old man over there." :(

Old Good Friends

Since we had missed the first Sunday at San Clemente, we didn't give any input where and when to go to Church. Last year we went to the newly built fancy Chapel, partly because that's where the ward we always met with has their meetings now. The Sunday we weren't ther Darrell and Fielding instead went to the old chapel that they have gone to for years. That was fine with us for the second Sunday too. The ward we attended was the Capistrano second Ward. That is Debbie (Sedgwick) Stapley's ward. It was interesting to see her and her family. She looked good, maybe taller or thinner than I remember.

Sunday night we went to dinner at Stuart Campbell's house. Toni Trumbo also came and brought two of her daughters. It was a very lovely dinner and we talked a lot. Could have talked hours longer.

Toni came down to San Clemente early Monday morning and we rode the tandem together. She did pretty well. We almost broke my solo record getting down to the turn around point. We took it easier coming back.

I gave Stuart a copy of the photo of our Scout Troop at Lost Valley. He passed it on to Chris Money and Chris emailed me wanting to get together. He came down to San Clemente early Friday morning 18 August and we went Surfing together for about an hour or so. Toni had brought a 10 foot surfboard for us to use and I liked it alot. I did okay, was finally able to mostly paddle around without wimping out too much, caught a couple of waves. But, also biffed it a lot.

Chris then took the family out to breakfast (sans Laney) at Pedros. I have heard of this place for several years. But, I have not ever gone. Sadly, we have gone to very few local places while at the beach. We enjoyed Pedros immensely and had a fun time chatting with Chris.

Doug and Stacey Tate and kids Spencer and Mikayla also came down and spent the most part of a day with us. Joan informed me that I was supposed to entertain the Tates in the afternoon. I'm afraid I didn't do much entertaining.

Snakes on a Bike

I did a lot of riding in San Clemente. Maybe not any more miles than ever. But, I only rode 8 days. So, a higher average mileage. I found near the end of the first week that I was not recovering overnight and eventually had no more place to go to "dig deeper." After about 170 miles in three days the last week this became even more pronounced and Jensen and I limped home the last 13 miles barely turning the pedals over.

On 10 August Jensen and I did almost 40 miles on the tandem. We (really only I) saw a snake on the bike path just barely onto the Marine Base. This was no wimpy garter snake. But, a hefty awe/fear inspiring Adder or recently sated someother kind of snake. It was about 3 feet long and quite plump. That's why I thought something like Adder. I wasn't eager to spend too much time in its presence. It surprised me and by the time I was completely aware what it was, there wasn't anything I could do to avoid it other than ride closer to the bushes. As it was, we had to pass within about 4 feet of it.

Later, on the 16th I think, I saw this same snake again. This time after I passed him I turned back and looped around a couple of times to get a closer (but safe) look. It definitely was a Diamondback. As I got closer to him he started making his way into the bushes.

One idea I have about the recovery problem, since I noticed this more this year than in the past, and of course it's not that I'm getting older: One reason my speed has been better this year (I think) is I have concentrated a lot on using the whole leg and the whole pedal motion. This is easier to do when I use higher gears and pedal more slowly. The upshot is I go faster and my heart rate doesn't go so high. But, I think when you've exhausted those reserves, there's nothing left.

Jensen Surfing

Oh The Joys of San Clemente

What is it about the surf that makes kids scream? We have successfully participated in the Mass Sand Crab Forced Relocation Program (MSCFRP).

Two Weddings and a Funeral - Again

As we wind down and wind up for our San Clemente trip, this last week and weekend were as busy as usual. Wedding reception Friday night for Michelle Davies at her parents' house. They are long time residents and old guard movers and shakers. As we rounded the corner to their house we could see a line of well wishers stretching about 100 feet. I wanted to turn around. But, it was a good opportunity to visit with people.

Saturday morning I got up at 5am to get Barry and drive up to ride the Morgan loop. We went out 1 hour and then turned around and came back. I didn't feel particularly fast and kept telling Barry so. Of course we were faster on the way back because it is slightly downhill.

After the bike ride Lenore and I went to Norick Long's funeral. In the picture above he is fourth from the right on the front row and I am second from the right (of the boys) on the back row. The funeral was very nice. It was good to see his family again after so long. His brother, Jared, spoke and gave some very nice heartfelt comments. Jesse and James Clissold sang and did a very good job. Sibling blend was very nice. James went up a couple notches in my estimation because he looked scared to death and also looked close to breaking because of emotion. But, he hung in and did admirably. I couldn't help but notice how much his mannerisms seemed like Fielding when he was singing.

Kay spoke (admirable of her) and their son Stuart spoke and did well. At first It seemed he might not be serious enough. But, he quickly turned to the scriptures and the Gospel and it was a very good and appropriate talk. There was no effort to conceal Norick's struggle with prescription pain killers which was brought on by persistent back trouble. But, it also was not the center of attention. One of his friends spoke and told about meeting with Norick in the recent past where Norick expressed the fear of losing his family. I took that both literally and figuratively. Both Lenore and I were struck that it may have been a tender mercy that he was taken now prior to reaching the point of "losing" his family.

Norick was such a perfectionist in his own work and was exacting in his personality, it was probably a very difficult thing for him to admit openly that he had a weakness. The timing of his death I think made it so that he could be remembered more for his good qualities than for his weaknesses.

I realized during the service that I had been somewhat guilty of judging him in his addiction. I remembered during the service that in our Scouting days when we were gearing up for our 50 mile hike he injured his back (already starting to give him trouble at that age) and he had to rig up a very large waist pack (a fanny pack ahead of its time) to be able to do the 50 miler.

The situation at the cemetery was a little unusual because Destiny Norton's funeral was just wrapping up while we were there. The gang of BACA biker enthusiasts left with their mufflers roaring and thundering right as Kay Long was trying to say the dedicatory prayer. I know they are bikers and all, I mean that's what they do. But, it might have been a nice touch even of respect for destiny if they had solemnly pushed their motorcycles to the gate of the cemetery. Maybe I'm being stupid.

Saturday evening we went downtown to the Wells Fargo Center for Ashley Wiscombe's wedding reception. The guy seems real nice. It is too bad the marriage of Ashley's parents broke up. Jeff was there with his new wife and kids. Peggy looked very good. But, very worldly. She had to make Jeff hold some champagne while toasts were made. We saw the Parkinsons and spent a lot of time speaking to them. Their six-year old, Ian, chummed with Laney. However, when we suggested they dance Laney turned very anti social. I don't think she liked the pressure. She warmed up again when Ian started talking about the movie "Aquamarine."



Here's Laney at the Wiscombe Reception

End Times

I want to make a sort of a prophecy. But, don't start banking on it or start your own cult based on it.

Some of these may be no brainers.

Before long the Tax exempt status of Churches will be challenged and probably overthrown unless the Churches toe the line on the humanist, politically correct doctrines of the day: recognizing and allowing (and even being forced to perform) "homosexual marriages." This would include temple marriages. Churches will also come under fire for excommunicating members for infractions of its doctrine and not allowing anyone to hold the priesthood or marry. I expect the LDS Church, of course, will hold its line and will start paying taxes.

Churches will be barred from ever ever ever ever espousing anything that approaches a political idea even after losing their tax exempt status.

Public education will continue to worsen and liberalize. It may get to the point where "home schooling" or private schooling are outlawed. Against parents wishes, children will be required to submit to the presentation (indoctrination) of one-sided liberal points of view presented as fact without rebuttal or opposition. Oh wait, that's happening already.

The role of the Government as protector and provider of the Common Defense will wane and its assumed role as regulator and provider of everything else will continue to grow.

We know from the scriptures that Israel will stand alone. That even the U.S. will not come to its aid. It's kinda easy to see this happening already. But, I expect there will always be, possibly even very close to a majority (but maybe a powerless majority) a sector of Americans who will support Israel.

It will probably become nearly impossible to execute anyone for any crime. Life in prison will become most tolerable. The cost of warehousing and supporting prisoners will be a growing burden.

Regarding the prophecy of Joseph Smith about the Elders of the Church saving the Constitution:

"Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground; and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean; and they shall bear the constitution away from the very verge of destruction. " [spelling and punctuation modernized] (Dean C. Jessee, "The Historian's Corner" BYU Studies Vol. 19, No. 3, Spring 1979, p. 392)

I've always thought that meant that the Nation would be brought back from the verge of division and destruction by re-embracing the tenets of the Constitution and that the members of the Church would lead the charge. I now think it is more likely that secession and possibly civil war will take place. When I first considered this idea I figured that right thinking people would feel the need to split from the rest of the country. I now think it is possible that the wrong thinking people may be inclined to secede or try to.

Lenore pointed out to me the other day that God brought the flood in Noah's day and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed when society reached a point where there was almost no possibility for the rising generation to choose good, because they would only be exposed to bad. I might add an additional condition: when we can no longer protect our children. The recent abduction and death of Destiny Norton highlights a growing frustration with this problem.

It's hard to say how close we are. We are definitely spiraling. I don't really want things to get much worse. But, I suppose I may have to witness it.

The total tonnage of what you don't know is enough to shatter...

Right after work Yesterday we drove down to see John and Natalie at John's parent's cabin near Sundance. I thought I should put my considerable intellectual ability to good use and decided that rather than drive all the way into Orem on I-15 going south in rush hour traffic, we should exit at the Thanksgiving Point exit and go the other way around through the alpine loop. I had driven out the northern way from Sundance back when I was in school. I figured we would save time.

Well, I was greatly mistaken. Time blurs our memories with unequalled savagery. This was indeed a very long and winding road. It didn't help that I took the right fork in road (right and correct) and then thought I was wrong and backtracked a couple of miles before finding someone who could tell me that in fact we had been on the right (and correct) road in the first place. More backtracking. We probably wasted 20-30 minutes with that move.

In defense of the route, Lenore was nice and said that it was very lovely and scenic. We saw deer and elk and we were treated to the sound of Laney wretching into a plastic bag. When she last vomited in the car on the way back from Big River we made a mental note to always be equipped with a couple of plastic shopping bags in the glove box. Fortunately, just before this drive we chose to act on that suggestion.

The Taylor's cabin is very nice and quaint/comfortable. A river almost runs through it. We had a nice spaghetti dinner and then chatted until about 10:15. I was anxious to get home at a civilized hour. We exited the Provo Canyon Road way. But, saw Dan standing on the side of the road at the entrance to the ski resort. He, Fielding, Les and Jay (in Jay's car) had a flat tire and pulled into the parking lot at Sundance. The spare was also low on air so they were quite stuck. It was a tender mercy that we saw him and didn't just drive by.

We took Jay and the spare to the Texaco station at the entrance to the canyon to put air in that tire. On the way down the mountain we almost ran into a ?weasel? (That's what Lenore says it was.) On the way up the mountain we almost ran into a dog. Now let me say something here about poor stray animals crossing major highways. When you see something to be avoided up ahead in the roadway and want to inform the driver of this hazard, it is best not to shriek and yell "LOOK OUT!" It is probably best to give the driver some instruction as to what to do.

In each case I couldn't see what Lenore was screaming about until we were right on top of the potential victim. It would have been best to say, "move into the right lane!" I almost hit the dog because I automatically changed lanes when Lenore went into her fit. Both times, in trying to avoid something I couldn't even see, I got the car a little sideways with the tires squealing. This is not a circumstance in which the Ford Explorer is known to excel. Fortunately, we got rid of our Wilderness AT Firestone tires some time ago.

So if your pet weasel sauntered in late last night a little shaken but not stirred, be grateful he didn't end up as roadkill.

Designated Coach

Jensen is in driver training. She does just fine. In fact, it is less stressful driving with her than it is (or at least, was) with Ailsa. While at the Colorado River at the beginning of the month, I tried again to teach Ailsa how to drive a manual transmission. We were off road and I put the car into 4wheel drive low. It's almost impossible to stall the engine in those low gears. Still, it was very frustrating and after about 5 minutes I gave up. I think Ailsa's husband will have more patience than I do. Or, maybe he will just be smarter and not try to teach her this unique and almost obsolete skill.

Anyway, back to Jensen. We should make it a family rule that we never all go with her when she is driving. We try to have just one person telling her what to do and keep from killing us all. I usually hold that designation. However, we Lillywhites are such know-it-alls that it is impossible for us (meaning Ailsa and Lenore) to allow me (the Father, the most skilled in all things mechanical and involving dexterity, hand/eye coordination and the only one capable of the computation of advanced trigonomical formulations in mere nano-seconds) the latitude to instruct and guide our poor fledgling driver, Jensen, safely and happily into the leagues of functioning drivers.

Invariably, we will all pipe in at the same time with some toughtful comment or evaluation of an obstacle/passage/ episode/family near death experience from which we just barely escaped while benefiting from Jensen's superior chauffeuring skills. We often end up shushing eachother and evaluating eachother's driver training prowess. The noise level will escalate until we drive Laney crazy. Next time we will bring duct tape to cover our mouths and let Laney be the driver trainer.

It's not unlike the depiction of the Judean People's Front and all its splinter groups in the Monty Python movie Life of Brian. "We mustn't fight each other! Surely we should be united against the common enemy!"

Actually, at this point Jensen's driving skill isn't any different than 95% of the drivers on Utah roads. Unfortunately, that isn't saying an awful lot.

More Laney at the River

Laney Swimming from the Dock into the Cove at The Hoke's River House

Happy 4th

While at the River this last weekend we attended the Parker Ward on Sunday. Parker is not a thriving metropolis. I'm not sure what the local economy is outside of some occasional tourists. The ward is a little pathetic. But, I mean that in the nicest way. We truly enjoyed ourselves. Proof once again that you don't have to have a mainstream ward to feel the Spirit. Our little party of visitors nearly doubled their attendance. They were very grateful that most of us stayed for all three meetings. I was especially touched by the testimony of a young, tall, slender, extremely dark, latino boy who was most humble in the Spirit.

This is stark, rugged country. It takes a hearty person to live here, both physically and spiritually. The highest temperatures ever recorded in Arizona in the months of April, July, and August were in Parker. The highest for June was in Lake Havasu City which is about 25 miles away. The only place in the country worse for heat is just across the border into San Bernardino County.

I woke up Sunday morning with a Bass voice. I enjoyed singing in church and the members there seemed to enjoy having a large contingent of visitors with good strong singing voices. Unfortunately, in a stupor of thought I had taken our Sunday clothes into the Puggas house in Saint George and we left them there. So Lenore, Laney and I had to scramble for appropriate Church clothes. Aaron Hoke has several shirts and pants and ties that he left at the River house. I was able to make one of these outfits work without too much trouble. However, after I returned home from Church I found that the pants were kinda split in the back. There were four young boys visiting the ward from BYU. One of them was in a t-shirt and swim trunks. I'm guessing he was in the same predicament as us. Lenore scared up a very respectable outfit. But, Laney got stuck wearing a night gown that looked like a Mu-Mu.

I think the ward must be used to people showing up without Church clothes. They must also be used to people ditching after the Sacrament meeting because they thanked us profusely and the Bishop blessed our waverunners to run well for the rest of the week because of our faithfulness in staying for the whole three hours. He should have blessed Ed's boat too because it broke down Tuesday night.

This is how I had fun on the waverunners: I only let Ailsa and Jensen take the slowest one (about 37mph) while I took the fastest one (55mph) then I would chase them down and pass in front of them and then turn and spray them with my wake. I had much fun cackling. They didn't mind too much. But, several times I saw the look of shock on their faces when they got hit with the cold water. Tuesday night when I went with Clay Starnes looking for Ed's boat it was very windy and at times very dusty. I got more than my fair share of gunk in my eyes. It is fun going fast on the water.

I persuaded grandpa to bring his firearms (except for the .32.) I took the two older girls Wednesday morning to kill some rocks. We found an old LDS meetinghouse folding chair (7th and 8th Wards) and used it for a target as well as a discarded water heater and a couple of bottles and cans. We might have to get our own guns and ammo for next time.

Watch Out for these Outlaws

Yes, Jensen does have her finger on the trigger. And, no, at this point the guns were not loaded.

Big Ride

We had a lovely 4th of July vacation at Kim and Ed's river house. I have been planning for some time to try for a sort of time trial personal best on the bike during this vacation. It was almost thwarted because I forgot to bring my heart rate monitor chest strap. For most of the Sunday before I was expecting that the cyclocomputer wouldn't work unless I was wearing the chest strap. As I drove out to my starting point I even went by the only bike shop listed in lowly Parker, AZ to see if they looked serious enough to have a chest strap I could buy. They didn't look very serious. There was a sign in the window that stated they were closed for the Summer.

When I was setting up for the ride I could tell that the cyclocomputer does work without the chest strap. I started at about 5:30am so as to avoid as much hot weather as possible. Wade drove up and said goodbye as I was getting ready. It seems to me this happened once before, or he has passed me once or twice before on the Ehrenberg road.

My goal was to go 60 miles at a minimum 20mph pace. I was pretty sure that I should avoid going out hard, maybe take it a little easy for the first 30-40 minutes. But, as it was I didn't feel like I was pushing. and I still went at a pretty good clip from early on. It was fairly easy for me to maintain 22-23 mph for long stretches. I took my camel back with about 2/3rds of it frozen and then the rest filled up with water before the ride. I also had two bottles of Cytomax and two Clif bars. I started eating one of the Clif bars 30 minutes into the ride. But, I don't think I am going to buy things like that anymore. In between hard breathing, it took me 40 minutes to eat the silly thing. I could just see someone aspirating a big chunk of the stuff and being found in a putrifying heap on the side of the road two weeks later.

There were four houses with dogs on the loose that I had to make sure I stayed ahead of. I tried to make a mental note of where they were and on the way back I crossed over to the opposite side of the road to avoid them. They must have been inside with the growing heat of the day. Whenever a car or truck passed me, I tried to catch as much of their windstream as possible. It sometimes helped a lot. But, many of the cars would swing clear over into the opposing lanes to avoid scaring me, I guess.

At the halfway point I was about 6 minutes ahead of pace. I stopped my bike to make a nature call. When I got back on I was hurting real badly. I had a very sore spot of cramping/pulled muscle/bruising high on my left hamstring where it connects to the pelvis. Unfortunately, this spot also bears a lot of bodyweight on the saddle. I had to take it real easy for a couple of minutes and move around until I got comfortable and I must have worked some of the tightness out because I was able to continue without it bothering me. But, I was sore for the next two days, weird.

By now there was only a little ice in my camel back. I wanted to douse myself good with water but wasn't able to. There were a couple of good long spells where my speed was down in the 17-19 mph range. But, I kept gauging and computing and it seemed like I was going to make my goal. After a while, it is really just a mental thing. If I had needed to ride farther I would have needed more nutrition and more water/drink. As it was I barely had enough. But, I don't think I suffered for lacking. The road doglegs from due north to NE for the last 5 miles. I was fighting a bit of a headwind from about mile 45-55 and was so hoping that would ease when I turned NE. It did, and I made it back to my car with almost 4 minutes to spare.

I'm not sure I'm going to do this again. Perhaps the next big goal (besides going 22 miles solo in 1 hour) will be more team time trial type rides. (Fast 100 miles or fast 1 hour)

Hold to the Rod

The Youth in our Stake just completed their Youth Conference experience for this summer. The leaders wanted to do something similar to the Trek experience from two years ago. But, they polled the youth and the sentiment was pretty strong against doing any hiking or strenuous physical exertion. The leaders felt it would be good to reenact episodes from the Book of Mormon. It wouldn't be a stretch at all then to have the kids leave Jerusalem and trek into the Wilderness like Lehi and his family. But, the kids put the kybosh on any hiking.

As it was there were plenty of more important BOM stories to reenact without having to do Lehi. We did follow a similar theme of Trek by grouping into families headed by Lehi and Sariah adult leaders from each ward. We asked Kyle and Brenda Christensen and Taylor and Elizabeth Jessop to do this. They were great and enjoyed themselves immensely and had great spiritual experiences as did the kids.

Jensen was grouped in a family with Dirk and Leslie Woodmansee as the parents. Either someone in the Stake knows Jensen well or it was a tender mercy, she also had Erin Clark in her family (probably her best strong in the Gospel friend.) Ailsa was in the family of Randy and Laurie Carlson. Ailsa woke up Thursday morning in a snit saying she didn't want to go. This was the first resistance she had put up. She was just feeling stressed. She was able to get off the work she needed. But, Saturday right after we returned from the camp she was scheduled to work from 5pm to 3am. The youth were to have a special meeting Sunday morning at 7am. So she didn't like that prospect. She also received a tender mercy in that she only ended up working until 10:30pm Saturday night. So she wasn't too worn out on Sunday.

We camped out on some more Sorenson family property just barely into the Weber Canyon from Oakley. Brent Gardner, Tyler Jessop/Brad Lever and I set up our three tents as close to the river as possible. There really weren't any shady spots left. We figured the sound of the river would be nice and soothing. Jodi Brewer and Claire Winstead sort of chased us away from their side of the meadow.

Unlike Trek, there was an awful lot of nothing that the Bishops had to do. I was supposed to lead a half hour discussion on Captain Moroni. But, other than that I just helped out where it appeared I was needed and chatted with people, checking in every once in a while on Ailsa and Jensen and on the kids from our ward.

When the sun went behind the hills the temperature dropped quickly and I was freezing until I got in my sleeping bag. The second night I made sure I put on my flannel jammies under my pants and wore all of my shirts. This made it bearable to be outside the sleeping bag in the middle of the night.

Beth Johnson worked with a good group of kids in the Stake to put on presentations of several of the main BOM stories. While there wasn't an extremely high level of professionalism among the players, most of them did a very good job of bringing the spirit. Honorable mention goes to Josh Sponbeck, Sean Carter, David Rosen, Weston Daw, Robbie Bagley and I'm sure there are others I'm leaving out. It was especially touching to have Pres. Weston Daw there as King Benjamin, since he is a type and a shadow of him anyway.

The kids really seemed to enjoy the "Iron Rod" experience on Friday morning. They also had lots of fun carrying out the final battle several times with foam noodle swords. Friday morning Mark Rosen (Dr. RosenRosen) set up a zip line across the river that landed almost right in our tents. Mostly, what I did that morning was help with that activity. We had lots of fun doing it.

The plan was that Saturday morning at 4am we would wake up to the appearance of Jesus Christ to the Nephites. So, I went to bed as early as possible. The kids were not aware that this presentation was planned. It was supposed to be a surprise for them. But, as I was falling asleep I was thinking, "What is the one major (perhaps most important) story in the BOM that we haven't covered yet?"

At midnight they started broadcasting the terrible noise of destruction that took place at the death of Christ. I awoke and thought to myself that it was a pretty silly thing to be rehearsing. I realize that many of the people involved are very tightly wound type A's. I could hear people carrying out tasks outside my tent and I thought, "All those people seem to have lots to do.... Why don't I have anything to do?" Within a couple of minutes Brent and Tyler and Brad let me know that it was time to get up.

It seems after I was asleep all of the adults, minus me, had a meeting and decided to do the appearance of Christ at midnight. As it turned out this was probably a better time to do it. However, it took me a little while to get my attitude behind it. I think I was also partly ashamed/feeling left out that I hadn't been awakened for the meeting and seemed to be so far out of the loop.

I enjoyed this production a lot and especially when Christ called his apostles by name out of the crowd. The Christ figure first appeared when spotlights were turned on the top of a 40 foot scissor lift that he was standing on. These were not high tech special effects. But, even people with a dull imagination could suspend belief to strengthen their faith.

Saturday morning I was able to get about 15 pieces of Bacon at breakfast before striking camp and heading home.

Ailsa in the Trek Video from Jun 2004

Jensen Doing the Zip Line at Youth Conference 23 Jun 2006

Road Hog!

I've got some new software on my palm that allows the watching of several TV channels. (I won't be doing this in Church or anything like that.) Mostly it's news and sports and Discovery Channel with some other things thrown in. Laney likes to watch the Toon World cartoon channel. Remarkably, it seems to show only older cartoons: Roger Ramjet, Mr. Magoo, Dick Tracy, Baby Huey are some of the names that come to mind. I wish it had Mighty Mouse too. But, I don't think so. Laney really likes Mr. Magoo. It figures. Jim Backus (who voices Mr. Magoo) is perhaps best remembered among the younger set as the Professor on Gilligan's Island. But, his best effort was probably spent with Mr. Magoo.

I Do Believe in Fairies, I Do, I Do.

We watched Finding Neverland last Tuesday night. I quite enjoyed it. Johnny Depp is quite amazing. But, Freddie Highmore (Charlie Bucket) did an equally outstanding job. I know it was a different Academy year. But, this is the kind of fare that I think Hollywood should be encouraging instead of Brokenback Mountain and Crash.

Along those same lines is the recently available, Nanny McPhee. It almost hurts to see Emma Thompson so ugly. Of course, once you see her losing her stink you begin rooting for her to be restored to her usual comely self. I think this is better than Mary Poppins. It seems a little weird to compare the two. Angela Lansbury was also top drawer. Now I'm always asking Laney for "secret toast and jam."

A funny thing, we bought the DVD off eBay and we are pretty sure it is a pirated copy. We purchased it in the middle of April. It wasn't released until 9 May. Our copy has some printing mistakes on the case. It shows the movie info for "Serenity" and the pictures for Nanny McPhee. We are just glad it works on our older machines. It won't play on the Smith's newer DVD players.

Also, we have recently enjoyed The Producers. I have to say it is very irreverent. The kids can't stop saying "Ulla dance again." Uma seems to do quite well in comedy. Of course, Nathan Lane, is stellar and even at times looks like Zero Mostel. As a family we figured the only reason it was ignored by Hollywood was because it pokes (pun intended) so much fun at the gays in theater.

Chris' Ring

Maybe when I see him next I will try to pull a Vladmir Putin.

Laney's Latest

Becca Wilhelm and her Partner in Singing/Songwriting

You know how it goes with nicknames in this family. I call her "Buggy" and "Respighi" among other things.

Porter/Starnes Wedding

Niece Brittany Porter was married this last week to Clayton Starnes. We enjoyed going to the Temple with them Tuesday night and then their sealing Friday at noon. After the reception Friday night we stopped by the East Lawn Memorial Cemetery at the mouth of Provo Canyon to place some flowers on the markers for Edward Boone and Dorothy Mae Lee Wade. It was dusk and we saw cemetery bunnies and two deer.

Zoom Zoom

Ailsa bought a car this week. It's a 1993 Nissan Sentra, white in color, with 200k miles on it. She paid $500. It's actually in pretty good shape and used to belong to her missionary "friend" Andy. We suspect her of stalking him. Jensen is driving now too (with a permit).

CSLC

Jensen and I got up at 6am on Saturday to do the first leg (36 miles) of the Cycle Salt Lake Century ride. The weather forecasts all week long had projected possible thunderstorms. Luckily, when I woke up it looked like the weather would be fine, just a little windy. There were a lot of people at the fairgrounds when we arrived, more than I have seen for this ride.

We ran into Cliff Lillywhite while waiting in line to pick up our t-shirt and wristband. He had ridden down from his house in Centerville with a group of friends. The route now goes right by his house so he was just going to stop there on his way back.

There was a little bit of a tailwind while going north. We were only planning on riding to the first feed station and then back, unless we felt like going further. But, with the wind I could tell I didn't want to go any further. It was great on the way out. We went really fast. The way back was miserable at times. By then it was an 18 MPH wind and we could only average 14 MPH on the return trip. The last 5 miles or so I was pretty well spent. I didn't eat a ton before starting the ride. I did eat a good amount at the turnaround. It must have been too late.

I weighed 191.5 before the ride. I then ate a couple of granola type bars, a marshmallow rice crispie treat, a fig bar, a banana, drank two bottles of drink, and then had the most part of a McDonalds breakfast. After all that and the ride I was down one pound. I made up for it though. By the end of the day I had reached 197.5.

Pas de Deux

The rear wheel on the tandem bike has been breaking spokes and spoke eyelets since shortly after we bought it (used). The spokes were breaking on the non-drive side. I'm not sure what that means. The drive side bears more stress. So, you would expect them to break on that side. I've been replacing the spokes one at a time when they break. But, I suspected the rim wasn't long for this world and had started looking for a replacement.

When Jensen and I went for our Saturday ride on 14 May, close to the halfway point the rear wheel felt mushy and wobbly. It was quit a bit out of true and there were a couple of breaks in the 'hip' of the rim at two spoke junctures. The tire had also gone low. We put air in and turned around for home. We only got about 2-3 miles before the tire was low again. So we put more air in and called Lenore to meet us at the Revolution bike shop.

The shop owner didn't have a 40 hole rim on hand for rebuilding the wheel. He was more than happy to sell me a new $600 wheelset. I was pretty sure I could solve this problem less expensively. My biggest problem was Jensen and I had been planning on doing the Cycle Salt Lake Century ride the following Saturday. So, I needed quick intervention.

I found a tandem specific rim online from a company in Denver. It is nice and strong (read hefty). It arrived on Wednesday. I had some time Weds night to try to put the wheel together. But, it ended up that the spokes I ordered were too long. I didn't do the math right. So, I didn't get the wheel together and back on the bike until 10pm Friday night. I would have liked to have a bike shop build it for me. But, they were all backed up on their repairs.

Summa Cum Forma

Let me brag about Ailsa now. In her most recent term at SLCC she carried a load of 20 hours and had a term GPA of 3.68! All the while she looked fabulous. And she got her Young Womanhood Recognition Medallion Last Thursday night and we called her to be the New pianist in the Relief Society.

Laney's Dance Recital

Naughtius Maximus - Part Deux

When we went to bed the night of Friday Apr 28 Tommy was missing. He had gotten out sometime during the evening and was nowhere to be found. All of our other cats in the past were smart enough or responsible enough to return home and wait patiently at the front door or back door. Tommy has even done this. I wasn't overly anxious about his welfare. He was recently made harmless as far as feline overpopulation is concerned. So, I figured he was just out on a bender.

When he didn't show up in the morning I started to change my thinking. I was now concerned. But, couldn't think of anything that could be done about it. I figured he was probably reduced to a grease spot on I-15. Cats don't easily get lost and I couldn't imagine his making a conscious decision to bolt from such a nice environment as offered by our humble home.

A pall settled over the household and Lenore was put on suicide watch. Secretly, Ruby was rejoicing and I half considered interrogating her to see if she had any part in Tommy's demise. (She was recently seen Googling the terms "eliminating tiresome male cats" on our computer.) We called to him. We searched the house, the yard, the neighborhood. We alerted anyone who might even know what he looked like. The Humane Society hadn't had any offenders matching his description turned in with the overnight roundup.

About midnight on Saturday Laney woke up whimpering and did one of her signature barfing routines on our bed again. So we were awake cleaning things up and giving her medicine. Lenore decided to check the backdoor one more time and lo and behold ho-hum Tommy was waiting there. He smelled vaguely of asphalt and his coat was dusty. He may have gone on a road trip. I hear the female cats in Magna are real friendly.

Largo al Factotum della Citta

We went to the Barber of Seville dress rehearsal last night at the Capitol Theater. I thought it was quite well done and the voices were very nice. There's a lot of vocal gymastics in this piece. I don't envy anyone trying to sing it. Especially, the Tenor, who was actually more like a contre-tenor, had a nice voice. Not really big or powerful. But, very good with the light head tones, and lots of wonderful resonance. I'm also really glad that they are able to find players with good voices who are atractive. It's hard to gin up love interest in a Cavaradossi who is 5'2", weighs 200 pounds and looks like he is on blood pressure medicine.

I do have one gripe which I have noticed before. Of course, you have an inside edge if you speak or are acquainted with the language of the libretto. They don't give you enough of the libretto in the supratitles and I don't think they do a very good job of translating. As a result the libretto takes a lowly 2nd or 3rd seat to the voices and the music. One example: when Lindoro calls on Don Bartolo as the drunken soldier he calls him Don Balordo and then Don Barbaro. Both of these would be teasing insults if translated. They were presented with no interpretation at all. So the humor of those passages was lost. To the non-Italian speaker it just seems that he can't get the name right. Granted, it would be a little difficult to elegantly translate the humor. But, they could put the meaning of the erroneous names in parens.

Most of the time the translation is very loose when I would have prefered a more literal translation. But, there was one example where those feelings were reversed. Lindoro (as the drunken soldier) "challenges" Don Bartolo to a duel/swordfight. He draws a line (in the sand) on the ground. The word used in Italian was fosso. So this time they translated it literally as ditch. But it seems for the image to work, two soldiers (or armies) facing eachother, they could have said line instead. Besides, drawing a "line" on the stage floor and then calling it a ditch doesn't fit the analogy.

There were also hugh periods of time where there were no supratitles at all. I don't think it was merely dress rehearsal mistakes. I think they realize that the audience can't possibly spend all that time and attention looking at them instead of the stage. Also, there is a lot of repetition in the Opera. But, there were also lots of bits that the audience completely misses out on because of incomplete and sloppy titles.

Laney Peacock

How Many Bishops Does it Take to....?

"Light bulb burned out." It used to be a semi-Tourettic utterance whenever you first ran into Sajid Mughal. I always attributed it to his father's aptitude with and passion for anything electrical (as Laney calls it electricassee, like fricassee.) We always just assumed that Rashid indoctrinated his third child hard and early with his proper interests. Even now, when I visit the Smiths, Sajid often greets me with "Light bulb burned out."

I have since learned however, that Darrell may be the driving force behind this fixation. It seems he prowls any store he thinks might sell light bulbs, or he thinks might know someone who does, looking for the newest and most advanced energy saving technology. When we do visit the Smiths it is very common for a light bulb chore to be awaiting my arrival (or picture hanging, or the high placement of an angel statue or.... These tasks have waned because most of the wall space is covered now.) It is a well known fact that only people over the height of 6' 4" are supposed to change light bulbs. There is a special light bulb changing gene that has recently been identified by scientists. This particular DNA sequence is connected with the characteristics for height as well.

I envision Darrell spending long days comparing lifetime hour ratings, and wattage and energy consumption before returning home with a full household compliment of the latest lightbulbs. He may spend $20 per bulb. But, he has the most energy efficient home in the zip code as far as lighting is concerned. I am often telling him that our lights might not be very efficient. But, about half of the bulbs that were in our 15 year old house when we bought it have never replaced. We try to turn off lights when we can.

Unfortunately, the Smiths have a huge, 1400 square foot living room with a ceiling up to 30 feet or so. This ceiling has 25 or more canned lighting fixtures. So, the neighborhood is canvassed for the tallest ladder and intrepid, I am sent arrampicando on the ladder. Or, I can use the 28 piece collapsible light bulb replacement tool with the suction cup on the end (this tool also doubles as a lightning rod whenever you should need such a thing) All during the procedure Darrell hovers with the close constant observation and coaching of an expectant mother.

Last Sunday this scene played out again. This time it was the smoke alarm. It is hard-wired and also has a backup battery. The battery had run low and issued the appropriate and annoying 3 weeks of chirping to let them know it was low. So he bought a new $25 LiIon battery. There is no suction cup tool for this job and of course the detector is at the highest point of the house. We asked everyone we could think of but found no oxygen mask or parachute. I was just going to have to risk it. I scrambled up the ladder (really, once you get past the 20 foot mark the oscillating subsides immensely.) Fielding was explaining how to open the battery access door. I wondered if he really thought his sister would marry someone who was mentally challenged.

I popped out the old spent cell replaced it with the new 50 year lifetime guaranteed LiIon top-of-the-line masterpiece and was down the ladder before you could say Jack Robinson. At the bottom I was greeted with all the cheers and praise heaped upon Lindbergh at his ocean crossing. Then a faint chirp sounded from the alarm. Darrell: "Are you sure you put the battery in correctly, you know, you have to follow the polarity." Once again I wondered what they thought about Lenore. After several gravity defying trips up and down the ladder. We settled on a lowly normal 9 volt battery that worked fine. Darrell broke out the voltmeter and found that the fancy one was not consistent in reading a charge.

Libraries come equipped with ladders on rollers that access an entire wall. The Smith home should have a pulley on a runner affixed to the main ceiling beam in their living room with a rope permanently attached to the pulley so that I can safely be hoisted at the drop of a hat.

More Comments on Meridian Magazine

http://www.ldsmag.com/letters/060505.html

Laney's brush with the law

We had a really busy Saturday. I got up early to ride the tandem with Jensen. We wanted to go early because the wind was supposed to pick up later in the day. She had to go to Kung Fu about 8:40 so we only got 14.5 miles in. So, after they left I went out again solo for 11 miles. Finally, on this second ride I did a decent pace. I think it has a lot to do with it being warmer.

I changed the oil on both cars and then did the annual Spring Sprinkler ritual. I had three valves acting up. One needed to be tightened up, two others needed to be re-wired. There were four heads to replace. Two were just old and not sealing well. The other two had been run over by Ailsa (for the jillionth time) and were broken.

I took Laney and Jensen with me to Lowe's for company. Of course, after I got there I had to use the restroom. So, I left them by themselves for a couple of minutes.

When we returned home we found that Laney had picked up a small lock washer and a drywall type screw and secreted them in her shoe. I really didn't want to go back to the store again. I was hoping I was done for the night. But, it seemed the proper thing to do. Besides, Laney didn't seem too remorseful or concerned about it. (Lately, I've been concerned with repentance and President Daw impressed on me the importance of making sure people feel proper sorrow and remorse and that they seek and obtain a sense of forgiveness.) I told her that if a big person like me had taken something bigger, the store would probably call the police and I might go to jail. That got her attention. She said, "I don't want to go to jail. I don't like it when I go to jail."

All the way back to the store she kept repeating and whimpering that she didn't want to go to jail. I didn't want to tell her she wouldn't go to jail. So, I kept saying "I don't think you will go to jail." Finally, I told her if she had to go to jail that Mommy and Jensen and I would go with her. (Ailsa was at work.) That calmed her down a little.

We walked up to the Service Counter and there was a cute young girl working there. I told her we had been in earlier and that my little daughter had picked up some things and taken them home. She responded with an "Oh" and covered her mouth like she was going to be emotional. She clearly understood that this was a teaching moment. I asked her if it was okay if Laney returned the items and apologized. That was fine. Laney placed her bounty on the counter, said a meek "I'm sorry" and we went on our way. I think Laney learned her lesson and she certainly felt better, especially knowing she wasn't going to jail.

Later, when we arrived home I pulled a washer and a lovely golden screw out of my odd and ends box and gave them to her.

New Piano Old Piano

We've had a small 4 foot 11 inch Behr Brothers grand piano since we moved to Utah. We bought it from a family in Bountiful. I believe we paid $1300. It was the first piece of furniture we moved into the house.

Lenore's mother has had two grand pianos for some time. One of them she received from the kids' piano teacher, Sally Fletcher, who died in 1994. Some time ago she told us we could have Mrs. Fletcher's piano. We tried to sell our little baby grand. But, got no serious bites. Last fall a sister in our ward said she was interested in it. Lenore sold it to her for $800. They finally got their house all remodeled and squared away to receive the piano this weekend.

So on Saturday we had Thresher piano movers in the house twice. They had been told that we were getting a piano similar to our old one. He was surprised when we told him the new one was a 7 foot size. The little one was about 400 lbs. The new one is about 1200 lbs. Of course, the moving fee was more than we first thought.

The new piano is actually quite old. It's Mason and Hamlin model BB built in 1908. The Black finish is not in great shape. But, it still looks nice and plays quite well. We have to wait a month before we have the piano tech come and tune it. The girls, especially Jensen, were somewhat emotional about saying goodbye to their old piano. Jensen asked the new owners for right of first refusal.

Repent! The Day of the Lord is Nigh!

I've starting riding again and so begins my annual pursuit of the fitness lost during the long cold inactive calorie laden winter. I've only ridden about 100 miles so far this year. But, 50 or so of those are in the last three days. (And I will probably ride 20 miles tomorrow.) I'm sure I started cycling about this same time last year. But, I apparently did not keep track of mileage and times until they became more respectable. I feel slow and tired. Looking at my pace doesn't help any. I'm not sure if it is the legs, heart, lungs, or the mitochondria at this point. Probably all of them. It makes me think of the principle of repentance. With all due respect to J. Golden, most of the time repentance is a longer process than we think. I expect by the end of May I will have mostly repented for my fall from physical grace. Hopefully, I will be able to reach the same levels as the last two years.

List of Components/Weights/Cost

My Rant on Agency

The Essence of Agency

I have been pondering about "Agency" for some time. Of course, I reserve the right for my feelings and thoughts on this issue to evolve and change. But, I have given it time to "gel" and thought long and hard and think I'm close to a developed thesis. I welcome outside input and dialog.

This whole questioning and philosophizing came about because I got tired of hearing people say (especially in response to questions on abortion or homosexuality), "I'm against it. But, I don't think it is right for Society to impose that view on others through laws. That is Satan's plan." In my heart of hearts I felt this thinking was flawed and corrupt. But, I couldn't tell you why.

Before I go further let me say I think it can be misleading to say Satan had an alternative "plan." There is only one way, one plan. Satan had some erroneous proposals about how he would carry it out. That is why he is called the Father of Lies. But, in the end there is and was only one way to achieve God's purposes. It is obvious to any serious student of the Gospel that Satan could not achieve God's end with his own unrighteous means. However, the limits of language make it easiest to refer to it as Satan's plan.

It is apparent that we have a lot of misunderstanding about Agency. If we don't know what it is, how can we protect it or exercise it correctly? So let's talk about it.

Agency is an Eternal Principle. In essence, you cannot take it away. The only way you can "destroy" it is through wickedness. The only way you can destroy someone else's Agency is by enticing them to wickedness. What Satan seeks to do at all turns is to subvert our Agency.

Every choice we make leads us down one path or the other. Exercising our Agency for good is liberating. Choosing evil is damning. The end result of following Satan is total captivity. The end result of following Heavenly Father is "...all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." (D&C 84: 38) That sounds pretty much like complete freedom.

In our minds we equate Agency with Freedom. Perhaps it is better to equate it with Responsibility.

What do people usually think of when we speak of "taking away someone's Agency?" (That phrase is probably a misnomer.) I believe most often we think of making someone do something they don't want to do, or perhaps limiting their choices.

Let me ask some questions. Can you really make someone do something they don't want to do? Even when extreme pressure is brought to bear to overcome someone's resistance, is it really a free will choice? In this case, who is responsible for the act? Am I guilty of eating chocolate if someone ties me down, forcefully places a funnel in my mouth and crams it down my throat? These extreme measures will never be required for me to be persuaded to ingest chocolate. However, if someone went to such lengths and it was wrong to eat chocolate, would I be guilty of some crime? Of course not!

This idea has special relevance to raising children and shaping behavior. I expect I am not alone as a parent in wondering if I at times have infringed on the "Agency" of one of my daughters by bringing extreme pressure on them to do what I want them to do or by artificially limiting their choices or their ability to do something they wanted to do. All I can say is Heavenly Father is a loving and all-knowing parent. At all times he is trying to teach us and shape our behavior. If we pattern our parenting after his example we should stand the best chance of success.

Mortal life presents us with many choices, perhaps because of the physical body, more choices than we will have in the eternities. However, were we guaranteed that our choices would never be limited? Were we all guaranteed every choice imaginable? I don't think so. By that measure, all of our Agencies would be limited. In truth none of us has unlimited freedom. I was not given the opportunity to pursue an education in China. Well, in reality I didn't want to go to China. I wanted a Chinese education in the U.S. Yes, I'm being a little absurd. But, it is apparent that each choice leads to a new set of choices and away from an old set of choices. Perhaps in choosing to take on mortality each of our paths inherently excluded some choices and each smorgasbord of choices is unique to each individual. Is this an injustice? It must not be. It is a circumstance of our mortal existence. So I'm no longer so sure that limiting someone's choices qualifies as "taking away their Agency" and thereby part of "Satan's plan."

The one area that never comes up in a discussion of Satan's plan and foiling Agency is the idea of preventing the natural consequence of sin. After some considerable pondering, I believe this is at least as important as the "force" and "limiting" facets of Agency interference. It may even be the only way you can really thwart the concept of Agency. If you look at the workings of "Secret Combinations" this is their central evil and their main attraction, that by banding together for evil, members of the group can avoid the consequences of their actions. However, Wrong will always be Wrong. The Laws of God and Nature will one day require restitution for evil, even if Society in the short term does not.

The plan of Agency requires certain conditions: Opposites have to exist. "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, ...righteousness could not be brought to pass" (2 Ne. 2: 11);

At least until the Natural man is burned out of our character by consistently choosing Good and applying the Atoning Blood of Christ, we have to be tempted. "Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." (2 Ne. 2:16);

There has to be a Law. Have you ever noticed that in successive chapters of the book of Romans, roughly in the middle verse of each chapter, Paul emphasized this thought?

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Romans 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law;

We have to be taught. "And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men." (2 Ne. 2:5); and

The demands of the Law (punishment) must be satisfied. The Young Women value is Choice AND Accountability.

Even when Man has not established proper laws, there are Eternal Laws and Eternal consequences to Sin.

So Satan through the World and throughout the World teaches that there is no Good and Bad, that things are more complicated and nuanced than that. He teaches that Evil is Good and Good Evil. He teaches that it is wrong for Society to control Man and "take away" his Agency by establishing laws. He teaches that Mercy should be applied when Repentance has not taken place. He teaches us that Man cannot escape his nature and is unchangeable, repentance is impossible, we cannot be forgiven. And he does not hold Man responsible for his misdeeds.

When I consider this, it makes it much more important not to protect my children from the natural consequences of their actions, to allow them the proper God-prescribed environment in which to learn. This was born out briefly in the recent World-Wide Leadership Training Broadcast when Sister Bonnie Parkin said, "We must teach our children to make wise choices, but we can't remove the consequences of their actions. Remember, the basis of our Heavenly Father's plan is agency." We learn a very bad lesson and develop bad habits when we sin and seemingly get away with it. It is a pernicious lie to learn and reinforce.

In the role of parenting, we must teach our children sufficiently to recognize the difference between Good and Evil. We must also teach them and encourage them to choose Good, to find in Good their Happiness, because that is the only place to find Happiness. We must establish rules or laws. We must punish offenses against those laws. We must teach repentance and forgiveness and returning to the encircling arms of Mercy.

The scriptures have the power to contain the natural appetites of man, away from the nothing and out toward the Light. The scriptures give us the power of self determination. They will give us the power to adhere to the moral absolutes they teach. Reading the scriptures daily is the best way to combat, on an individual basis, the lies of the adversary, that are taught every day by Society, and strengthen our knowledge that there are very real and Eternal consequences of all of our actions.

Satan cannot alleviate or protect us from the eternal consequences of our actions. He makes it seem that we have avoided the results of sin by lying to us (or enticing others to lie to us, or ignore our wrongs.) But, it is a temporary and temporal comfort. "And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die;..." (Moses 4:10) Adam and Eve did not face immediate physical death. But, the natural consequence of partaking of the fruit was that they surely would one day die. It seems Satan chooses to be temporally or carnally minded at every turn. The test or burden of this mortal life is to keep in mind what it is worth, what is at stake. The world forces us to live in the moment. The gospel invites us to live in eternity.

Now, let me add a bit of a wishy washy caveat. I believe especially within the family setting that we can be too strict as well as too lenient. Neither is ideal for raising children.

Making abortion illegal and assigning a punishment for its practice is no more limiting someone's choices or forcing them to do something than has already been explained. If it is an eternal law (and a very important one at that) we are dreadfully wrong not to ban it and punish for its transgression.

Many people speak of abortion and same sex marriage as "private actions" that do not hurt anyone. In the case of abortion, that is obviously not true. There really is no such thing as a private action.

Quoting from Orson Scott Card in his article on "Homosexual "Marriage" and Civilization" - "Civilization depends on people deliberately choosing not to do many things that feel good at the time, in order to accomplish more important, larger purposes. Having an affair; breaking up a marriage; oh, those can feel completely justified and the reasons very important at the time.

But society has a vital stake in child-rearing; and children have a vital stake in society."

Another thought from the World-Wide Training: Quoting Elder David Bednar, "The eternal nature and importance of marriage (and I would add gender and gender roles) can be fully understood only within the overarching context of the Father's plan for His children." This concept, which seems so obviously true, makes it that much more important to spread the Gospel.

Does it make sense to micromanage life and write laws that proscribe everything that is "wrong?" I'm not even sure it is good or right to do that. Perhaps, an appropriate rule of thumb is, if one of the Ten Commandments is involved maybe Society is within its rights, even has the duty to proscribe behavior. The Church leadership has seldom, but occasionally, taken a public stand on issues that are moral in nature and have political relevance and ramifications. The instances where this has happened seem to fit the above pattern. Should the Saints strive to keep Society in check on the important issues of abortion and same sex marriage? I think so. Even if there were no moral basis, Society needs to be protected from its self-destructive tendencies.

Two weddings and a Funeral

Monday 3 April I had a funeral for Eva Richards. At 91 she was, I think, the second oldest person in the ward. It was a nice enough funeral. Her husband died in 1999. Since then she has not been in good health and the last time I saw her, around Christmas, you could tell she just wanted to pass on. That's what I prayed for.

Friday after work I talked Lenore into taking me and Laney to Maui Taco for dinner. They were short on churros and instead gave Laney a couple of kids meal type toys. One of these was a fake ice cream cone with a spring loaded sponge rubber ice cream scoop that would hit you in the face when triggered at the appropriate time. So countless times the rest of the evening I had to repeat the phrase, "O, please can I have a taste of your lovely ice cream cone" (imagine a droll delivery like Janeane Garofalo at Medieval Times in The Cable Guy) and submit to being shot in the face with this silly toy. Laney just cackled with delight each time. You can tell her sense of humor isn't very sophisticated.

I managed to finally loosen the stoker seat post on the tandem bike. The last time I adjusted it (in San Clemente) it was quite hard to move and in the meantime it seized. I had tried some minor measures to loosen it, liquid wrench and a pipe wrench. But, it wasn't moving. I purchased some penetrating oil and shot a bunch of it into one of the water bottle screw holes with the bike hanging upside down and let it sit for a while. Then I placed the seat post in the pipe clamp portion of my bench vise and cranked down on it enough to deform the tube pretty well. Then, I started trying to move the frame against the post. After a couple of tries there was a slight metallic ring as the grip of the rust gave way and I was able to twist it and get it out.

Jensen and I went for a ride after I cleaned it up and put it back together. It was windy again. Not quite as bad as last time. The ride felt pretty good though, I think because I've lost a little bit of weight and because of the last ride two weeks ago.

Saturday we had two weddings to go to. We first went to Elizabeth "Z" Jessop's sealing at the Salt Lake Temple. We got to see Jake Jessop his family and Erin and Jeff Nelson and their family. While waiting for the ceremony to begin it was absolutely quiet in the sealing room, very relaxing and restful, except for the two ladies to the left of me who insisted on whispering for most of the wait. They were whispering very quietly. But, it was still a little annoying.

Next, we had to go to Daybreak (almost Herriman) for Carrie's (one of Ailsa's best friends) wedding. It was also nice enough. She married a cowboy from Wyoming. I had my fill of barbecued meatballs and chicken salad sandwiches. From that reception Ailsa had to go up to West Point for another reception. The silly bride scheduled two receptions on her wedding day. Chantell Anderson rode with the bride and groom up to West Point in the "Just Married" car. I wonder how many people on the freeway thought they were watching an installment of "Big Love?"

Later that evening we returned downtown to the JSMB for Z's reception. It was very nice and quite fun to visit with everyone. We were surprised to see Heather and Stephen Beers there. But it was nice to see them and visit. Very quickly on Laney found that the Jessop grandchildren were all in the coat closet watching Shark Tale on DVD. So, we didn't have to worry about her becoming bored.

Mega Riunione

We went last Friday evening to a historic 40 year anniversary reunion for all Italian missionaries and just about anybody who has any connection whatsoever with the progress of the Gospel in the great land of the Caesars. They thoughtfully excluded simple Italophiles and Gastronomists. Otherwise the building wouldn't have been big enough. The land of Italy was rededicated for the preaching of the Gospel in 1966.

It was especially interesting to hear from two Italians. First an impassioned plea from a brother Giovanni C. Maschero who is Italian Vice Consul in Salt Lake. He evidently was quite key in the Church becoming legalized in Italy. Apparently the Church still needs to be officially recognized as a religion in Italy. He implied that this is delaying the announcement of Temple construction in Italy. They did announce that they expect three more stakes in Italy in the near future. He passionately requested that we weary the Lord with our importuning and increase our heavenly petitions on behalf of his beloved homeland and his fellow Italian Saints.

We also heard from Elder Luigi S. Peloni, an Area Authority Seventy from Italy. This dear Fratello insisted on speaking in English, although he really has only a rudimentary acquaintance with the tongue. It was sweet though, and I couldn't help but remember that all of the missionaries surely faltered initially in Italian as this brother did in English.

After an initial session that was a very comfortable length, we were dismissed to individual meetings with our mission Presidents. We were admonished to look for and follow our President. I leaned over and whispered to Michelle Young that if she saw President Halliday she was to let me know. (He passed away in 1988.)

In all about 53 Mission Presidents have served in Italy. We didn't know initially if there was any arrangement at all or what that arrangement might be for the individual sessions with our Mission Presidents. We scoured the building and finally found our group in the Cultural Hall. They had arranged the sessions by age. We found that ours was the 7th oldest group.

The only Hymn we sang was O Speranza d'Israele (Hope of Israel.) Of course, we sang in Italian, and boy howdy did we sing. I joked with Lenore during the Saturday session of General Conference that we probably made more sound than the congregation in the whole Conference Center. The guy directing the music had a nice and powerful voice and wasn't afraid to sing out and it seemed everyone was in the same mode, singing with much gusto.

We went to dinner beforehand with the Ashbys, Burrups and Youngs at Al Forno. (Funny, Al wasn't anywhere to be found.) I have heard about the restaurant. But, this was our first venture there. It was very good and enjoyable. We will go again.

I chatted briefly with Susan Ashby and asked about her children. Their oldest daughter is marrying in the Temple soon. So, that brings a very nice conclusion to a somewhat troubling period. Michelle Young is taking their daughter Jillian to Europe as a graduation present. Lenore asked me how it was that we aren't able to do that?????!!!!

Jensen's Grades

This doesn't happen often in the Lillywhite family. In fact I don't remember it ever happening. Yay Jensen! Click on the picture.

T.S.A.

TomKat is at the Doctor today. He's getting neutered. I could save us the fee for the procedure. Quick, get me a strong rubber band. Now he will be able to run free in the neighborhood without our having to chase him down. The neighbors will have to find some other form of amusement. He was really good this morning. Lenore said he went right into the carrier. Let's see if he develops a fear of the thing after today. It is unfortunate that we have to do this. He is so well tempered, and doesn't spray at all, and looks so manly with his furry trouser snake addendums (Jensen term, you can tell she's been attending a secular public school this year) hanging out the back.

Speaking of Jensen, she got straight A's this term and was selected as one of two kids from the school to go tour the local CSI type crime lab today. She was very excited. She is aiming for a paid internship there within the next couple of years. I thought her fascination with CSI was mainly because she wanted to be like Dr. Alexx Woods on CSI Miami and talk to the corpses. She says her interest goes beyond that.

New Legs..... Magic Legs

I watched a large part of Forrest Gump on Sunday. We have it on DVD. But, I'm more likely to watch it if I just happen upon it on TV. There is something about the rewarding of innocence and optimism that just rings true with me. It's not my favorite movie. But, it's pretty high on the list. The fact that it won 6 Oscars (and very possibly should have won 7, poor Gary Sinise) reveals its universal appeal. Tom Hanks is genius. (This was confirmed again when he did most of the music for "That Thing You Do.") Of course, I like a lot of the same things everyone else does about it. Alan Silvestri's score is great.

I like the bookends of the feather on the wind and its tie in to the two different philosophies expressed by Momma Gump (Is there a Mr. Gump? Mrs. Gump.) Forrest mentions this when addressing Jenny at her burial marker near the end of the film: "I don't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time."

I like the symbolism of the birds used in connection with Jenny and her life.

I love the reconciliation of Lieutenant Dan and when he finally thanks Forrest for saving his life.

There was a vast difference between the lives of Forrest and Jenny. Yet, they are connected. They gaze at the same moon in the sky even though they are separated by miles.

One of my favorite scenes:
Jenny Curran: Were you scared in Vietnam?
Forrest Gump: Yes. Well, I-I don't know. Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out... and then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou. There was always a million sparkles on the water... like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. It's so beautiful.
Jenny Curran: I wish I could've been there with you.
Forrest Gump: You were.

There are a couple of details that Mr. Hanks includes in the body language/personality of Forrest Gump that seem to me dead on. When he makes the peace sign back to Jenny in the Bus, he does it with both hands, as if the mentally disabled Forrest would subject that gesture to some extra bit of processing and would not do it spontaneously. Also, when Forrest goes to comfort Jenny after she has been throwing rocks at her old home, he squats and then finally sits on the ground next to her. His movement and hesitancy seem exactly correct for the character and the situation. Lastly, I believe it is right after Jenny has turned down his proposal of marriage and he goes outside the screen door and stands with his back to her and his hands high on his hips.

When we were growing up there was a girl on our street who was mentally disabled, in very much the same way as Forrest Gump. I don't believe she was Down Syndrome. She didn't have the typical mongoloid features. Tom Hanks moved and acted a lot like I remember this girl acting and reminds me of her many times throughout the movie.

Of course perhaps the best bit of acting in all of filmology is when Forrest finds out that he is a father. The next time you watch that bit keep your eyes on Robin Wright. I think she matches him very well, plays off of his acting very well, without stealing the limelight. She was performing on much the same level as Mr. Hanks in that scene.

Turkish Delight

When we were in Saint George last month we saw The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We all enjoyed it a lot. I had never noticed what a nice voice Liam Neeson has. I read the whole set of Narnia books about five times when I was younger. I can remember stealing lots of time in choir and math classes in Junior High so I could keep reading.

So now Lane and I are reading them at night. It was a little hard to keep her interest through the Magician's Nephew. But, now that we are into the "Movie Part" she is intensely interested. She remembers details about the movie and compares them to the book. Since we saw it in Saint George, the movie is forever connected with that city in her mind. It seems she thinks it was made in Saint George.

There is a wonderful dedication in front of the second book (LWW):

To Lucy Barfield

My DEAR Lucy,

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be
your affectionate Godfather,


C.S. Lewis

It's Hard Out Here For A ......Conservative

I don't need rap "music" and I especially don't need a song like this to get an Oscar.

We watched the Oscars a week and a half ago. So I have to put in my annual two cents worth. I was not really excited by any of the offerings this year. I think Jon Stewart helped make the show immensely more entertaining than it would have been. There was no need for all of the montages. The highlight was most of the gowns were very nice. Nothing approaching Cher or Bjork. Except, I did not care for Felicity Huffman's gown at all. Still, just because these people are movie stars doesn't mean they know how to give an acceptance speech that is worth anything.

Lane Artwork

Calling Rick Berman

Lenore and I could use a new good TV show. We were just lamenting this last night. It has been a while since we had a show we liked to watch. We can remember being big ER fans for some time. But, that has been unwatchable for at least a couple of years. We were big X-Philes for a while. But, then they jumped the shark by giving Scully ample proof every week to believe in UFO's and she continued to disbelieve!!!!! They needed to steer away from that one note song. One of our favorite episodes was "Bad Blood" with Luke Wilson. Loved it.
We have recently kinda stopped watching CSI religiously. No reason really comes to mind. I never really liked the spin-offs. William Petersen is great. But, CSI Miami????? I have a congenital aversion to David Caruso. (Did you catch the Parade Magazine on Sunday? Walter Scott’s Personality Parade® - Q. Is there a reason why David Caruso tilts his head and talks hesitantly on CSI: Miami? —Jan L., Saginaw, Mich. - A. Yes. It’s called acting. They aren't usually so flip with their answers. But, lo and behold they were running a feature on David Caruso in the same issue. "It’s called acting????" Puhleeze, it's called still smarting from my appearance in "First Blood." William Petersen is your Great Great Great Great Grandfather as far as acting is concerned.)
Our best run really was with the Star Trek Next Generation spin-offs. For some strange reason we never picked up on Next Generation itself. But we really went in for DS9 and Voyager and to a slightly lesser degree Enterprise. We loved Terry Farrell and Avery Brooks and the character of Odo. And, ooh the Jem Hadar and their dependence on the Ketracel White. And also, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo and Jeri Ryan from Voyager. And of course, let's not forget Jolene Blalock in Enterprise,...:) I guess we need Rick Berman to put together some more shows for us.

Al Rovescio

Even I have gotten to where I don't really enjoy reading Ann Coulter's columns anymore. I think she needs to back off a notch or two. I haven't watched her on TV lately. So maybe she's still okay in that medium. However, she made a good point in today's column presumably quoting Pat Buchanan: ... Homosexuality has gone from "the love that dare not speak its name" to "the love that won't shut up."

Adventures in Data Mining

Most of you come to this blog on purpose Thank you for your interest. Some of you get here by mistake. How can I tell? SITE METER!!!! If you scroll down to the very bottom of the site you will find a small multi-striped square. If you click on it you will navigate to a site that keeps track of webpage traffic. I don't understand it all and don't know how reliable it is. But, it has been interesting at least.

Below are some of the more unusual and more bizarre queries that led to my blogs:

City (followed by) Search Terms
Madison, Wisconsin "where belinda jensen buys her clothes"
Newport, Rhode Island february surf in kauai
Burnaby, British Columbia "lake delores" "water park" "injury"
Reston, Virginia naked prints of catherine zeta-jones
(This websurfer didn't spend much time on my blog, I'm sure.)
Incirlik, Diyarbakir, Turkey angela & steve smith
Erba, Lombardia, Italy gael tromeur
Baton Rouge, LA "pierre tromeur" como
Cohoes, New York staglieno cemetery, genova, italy
Edinburgh, Scotland nuova riviera
Mogriguy, NSW, Australia train from nice to treviglio
La Jolla, California "angela giuliano"
Sai Wan Estate, Hong Kong "roman columns" "washington dc" "monument"
Immaculata, Pennsylvania market day cremona italy
1600 Penn Ave, Washington, DC "Osama Bin Laden is a slimy dog"

I threw that last one in just to see if you were awake.

I can just see Aron now for kicks begin navigating to my blog by googling "Todd Lillywhite is a big fat dork."

Oh, Oh, Oh, wait, quick somebody write a story where people send secret messages to eachother this way. Ailsa, get on it. Call it "Infomine." I claim the movie rights.