Recap (Re•ca•pit•u•la•tion)

The end is near! – (end of our calendar year, I mean.)  So I thought a quick recap of 2013 would encourage a reader to do his/her own summary of major events; no need to be complete or chronological – this obviously is not.

Google defines Recap:

(noun) “a summary of what has been said; a recapitulation.”

(verb) “state again as a summary; recapitulate.”

I finally retired my dog-eared (“battered with use”) 1998 Merriam-Webster Dictionary in favor of Google (search: define ______); of course I will use the old book when the Internet is down – that’s a no-brainer.

RootsTech 2013, March 21-23 – third and largest; (I still haven’t studied all that I collected there, but I have registered for 2014, in Salt Lake City as always.)

A major FamilySearch milestone was reached April 19: one billion records indexed and arbitrated since the launch of FamilySearch indexing in September of 2006.  Kay and I helped.  “FamilySearch indexing is a volunteer transcription effort that makes valuable genealogical records freely searchable online.”  – familysearch.org/indexing/about

I transcribed my father's 1978-79 W. Africa Journal.  My parents’ ministry and writing were a work of love!  (A sample excerpt:)

“Jan 30, 1979 – Cape Coast [Ghana]  We went again to the university to stay in the cottage that had started already to look like home.  ...  Then went through the Elmina Castle fortress which was built in 1482 by the Portuguese and [was] later captured by the Dutch.  It was used as a slave-trading base.”

The great Nelson Mandela passed on: “Dec 5, 2013 - Nelson Mandela, the revered statesman who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of decades of apartheid, has died.”  – cnn.com

“Nelson Mandela, former South African president and anti-apartheid hero, died at home at the age of 95 ...”  – chicagotribune.com

12/20/1:53pm KSL NewsRadio text message I got: "Fed. judge rules Utah's Amendment 3 unconstitutional.  Amend. 3 ... bans gay marriage."  The ruling was a surprise to everyone, including ecstatic citizens in all 50 states.  So one appointed federal judge ruled (key word) the majority of Utahns wrongly defined marriage (between one woman & one man.) Consequently, hundreds of marriages were immediately performed before Christmas Eve, as folks dropped everything and rushed to get it done.

The stock market surprised many as well, but that’s a story by itself for another day; wow!  Check the 1-year charts and market cap. on a few, for example:

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Burger King Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: BKW)  [fast food]

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM)

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA)  [a timely tip from my friend]

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)  [more fast food!]
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE Arca: GLD)  [price of gold dropped most in 32 years!  Time to buy, as so many ads hype?? ("exaggerate benefits")]

Kay and I simplified our Christmas in major ways this year.

Our trip to Arizona around the first of July was totally awesome; (is that an outdated phrase, or what?)  Our family there had priority over the big Cannon Family annual reunion on the Fourth in Utah, which was reported as a huge success.  We were blessed with two new grandchildren, Eli and Weston, born in May and July; our beautiful daughters and their handsome babies are doing fine.  Our three sons are stalwarts, as are their sisters. 
(G defines stalwart: "loyal, reliable, and hardworking ... participant …") 
We are so grateful for the love and amazing accomplishments of our two sons-in-law, three daughters-in-law, and 21 grandchildren.  May God bless everyone in 2014.

I spent $1.00 total on valuable books downloaded to my old-model Kindle e-reader, topping the 2012 total of $.99 (my first costly purchase from Amazon.)  Related events: My friend, who moved from Provo to Las Vegas in 2013, jokingly called me a cheapskate (G defines as “a stingy person.”)

My apologies for not including the 8th, 40th, 65th and 80th birthdays, and other major events among us.  Have a Happy New Year!