Here's the Thing

A collector of odd words and phrases am I.  So here’s the thing: my Notepad has a special collection begging to post.  What it is is a lighter follow-up to a previous play with words last May:  “What I’m driving at is ... economy of words.”

It’s scary how Halloween is such a major diversion.  The thing is, we're not into the holiday that much, although our grandkids certainly have fun with it.  Now what I’m remembering is some cute characters like three amigos and Barney the dinosaur.

What I do is write these things on the fly during phone meetings and online news talk.  Call it keyboarding practice to slow my mental decline – that’s what it is.

The point I'm trying to make is ... actually, what I'm trying to say is ...

Oh, what’s the use!

Out Here on the Frontier

It was a giant leap five years ago, from central-city apartment dwelling to frontier living in the rural West.  My wife Kay and I had agreed on this “plan B” if our offer failed on an older hillside home in North Ogden.  That stubborn seller refused to budge a bit, so we chose to tame the wilderness in a new starter-home development (as she describes it) on the edge of Layton.

After years of landscaping and weeding, trying to improve our “home on the range,” we are still tormented by things that grow so easily.  Cattle graze nearby; (I heard them bellow before dawn this morning.)  The landscape has changed with new construction constantly altering our view of Antelope Island, where the pronghorn and buffalo roam; (American bison were “introduced to the island in 1893 …”  – Wikipedia.)  The white-sand beach is the main attraction for us – the perfect place for a dutch-oven breakfast alone with family last Saturday; (other visitors started arriving as we cleaned up, gathered my sandbox toys, and drove off the island.) 

Our wonderful neighbors are mostly young couples with active, small children.  "Seldom is heard a discouraging word" as they fill the streets with all things on wheels.  Yes, we are the older folks now, having enjoyed our four years as the “young kids on the block” by the old temple in Ogden.  In that ward you could hear a pin drop during sacrament service, which was followed by Primary with five children.  Here the constant cacophony, though not harsh to my sensitive hearing, was a big change for us, and required some adjustment as we began a new church life surrounded by babies and toddlers.  We loved our initial calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as nursery workers (like babysitters), and I always looked forward to eating the fun snacks we served to the precious one & two-year-old kiddies.

As I look at the big picture, being in the background near the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve is like a dream-come-true for me.  (Visit GSLSP at:)
www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/utah/placesweprotect/the-great-salt-lake-shorelands-preserve.xml

Smooth Sailing

After years of navigating rough water, like running rapids on the river trip we braved in the early years of marriage, our life calmed down.  We got out on firm land and set up camp in central Ogden for what we thought would be a six-month respite to catch our breath.

My wife Kay and I were already empty-nesters, distantly admiring our married sons and independent daughters – all outstanding, responsible adults.  Having moved most of our furniture and “stuff” into storage units nearby, we easily settled into a heavenly, older community as our temporary home while we looked for a permanent place to land.  I had a feeling this rest stop would be just what we needed in order to reconnoiter, and calm our nerves for a while.  It was truly a place of refuge.

So I was surprised when we soon “broke camp” and launched into four years of smooth sailing, simply going with the flow in calm waters; (no sail, of course – just paddles.)  Feeling needed in the service of the Lord and free of many earthly concerns, we metaphorically ventured out from camp and eased on down a peaceful river of no return.  Our life was never the same after that.  The scenery along the way was gorgeous, and sweet friendships endure to this day.  We thank our Father in Heaven for "rivers of living water."

Photos courtesy of my brother Russ Cannon and his Flickr cache

A Complete Aside

This one is not about English language, though I’m tempted to vent frustration over changes since my young sentence-diagramming years; (yes, I still wince – “a slight  involuntary grimace … in anticipation of pain or distress”, as Google defines it.)  “I've gotta be free ... I've gotta be me!" (the song does it to me.)  Furthermore, I am not naming the students at our favorite high school (with the "kneeling knight") who fail to understand present progressive tense.

And it’s not about food, even with another coupon-drive story waiting in the wings; (grandkids in the car bring back fun memories of our five we took to a string of drive-through fast-food restaurants in “the Buck” or “the Wart Hog” – a fun tradition to be repeated soon, I hope.  Yum!)

This post is not about the Church, through which instruction from modern-day prophets was broadcast to the world last weekend – so needed in this turbulent time.  Nor does it relate to genealogy (family history – another favorite of mine) as a fun activity to develop a forever family.  As a side note, I am registered for RootsTech 2015, to be held Feb. 11-14 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  (rootstech.org: "Celebrating Families")

As a complete aside, it's free to share random, unrelated thoughts, observations and experiences, maybe starting an annual, tangential tradition for this blog’s anniversary month.  Liken it to a brief (always fast – the one constant here) pause on a sidetrack while the freight train of the world roars by.

Clearing the basement the other day (still struggling with OCH, but making progress), I was excited to find one (TIME, June 6, 2011) I had not yet read about “The Science of Optimism”, which gave me a needed break, asking, “Hope isn’t rational – so why are humans wired for it?” by Tali Sharot.  Wish I could legally copy the cover, a whimsical diagram of the brain.  (So that’s what it looks like inside my head! – explains a lot lately.)

I see room for two more disjointed items; (Google defines as “lacking a coherent sequence or connection” – kinda like this complete aside.)

My Notepad has one from 11/15/2012: Fox News interviewed Joseph Braude, author of The Honored Dead, in a discussion about Iran.

(See book info. at josephbraude.com/books/the-honored-dead/overview/)

He used the kith-and-kin phrase referring to people in neighboring countries, in relation to disenfranchised Iranians (non-Persians).  So what are your plans for gift-giving and entertaining kith and kin this holiday season?

Finally this one, noted 5/5/2014, will wait for a passionate post by itself: “Getting High on Classical”, referring to music I dearly love  – can’t get enough of it!  But I digress.  I should quickly throw in a couple pics that are a complete aside in their own right, having no connection with the collection in our basement.

Reminders

A fact of life: our memory often needs help.  What would I do without my phone alerting me with daily reminders?  My loving wife Kay is also good at reminding me.

For example, I’m reminded of the Boy Scout motto: “Be prepared.”

“The Scout motto means that you are always ready to do what is necessary to help others.  …”  – BoyScoutTrail.com

Work.
Be grateful.
Pray always.
Study scriptures.

Get an education.

Love your neighbor.
Read to your children.
Do your ____ teaching.
Avoid debt.  Save money.

...  Sound familiar?

In General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oct. 2004, President James E. Faust recalled, “We have much reason to hope.  Joy can be ours if we are willing to sacrifice all for the Lord.”  – Ensign, Nov. 2004, 21.
He quoted President Howard W. Hunter's reminder: “God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see.”  
– Conference Report, Oct. 1987, 71; or Ensign, Nov. 1987, 60.

I anticipate more reminders this weekend as we receive instruction from God’s prophet, Church authorities and officers – sisters and brothers.  It will mean those things are most important for us today, as they have been in the past.

Smart Philosophy Too

One of the more colorful characters in our family's life is Rowland Smart, our East Mill Creek pioneer “blogger” to whom I introduced my readers on April 1, 2012 (no fooling.)  Although "Rowly" passed on, I use the present tense because I'm sure he is livelier than ever, probably coaching deceased parents and grandparents on how to raise their kids who struggle in this mortal life on earth (Smart language).  As previously noted, Rowly never married or had children, but somehow knew the secrets to happiness in marriage and family life, as he (at around 90 years old) often shared them with us, along with farm artifacts and vegetables from his garden.  Maybe he continues to reach out, prompting us from the other side; (we need all the help we can get.)

Brother Smart’s November 1992 monthly message he wrote (and had me type with limited editing) for his friends and neighbors, titled “Why I’m So Thankful to God”, was evidently handwritten on Sunday 9/27/92: “I want to share my feelings this day Sept. 27th as I walked out of the church house.”  Four full pages without margins – backside of old company ad-letter prints I’d given him.  He and I avoided wasting paper and money on our publishing projects – he only paid to photocopy my computer printouts.  I was fully compensated with fruits and vegetables.  (Side note: my 11/3/2013 “Smart Gratitude” post shared his November 1988 message, featuring a story about his “patrolling one of the Utah Power & Light high-voltage transmission lines” and meeting a homeless man.  From my “Smart Philosophy” file folder today, I randomly picked one written four years later on the same topic – maybe Rowly is trying to tell me something.)   

“… as I walked out of the church house.  I looked up at the head of Neff’s Canyon and Mt. Olympus.  …  Looking at that beautiful calm sight made me feel how close God was …  I thought of the 33 years I walked and skied over the Utah Power Company system …  Thanked God for the strong body he gave me that I never got tired.  I traveled each day 15 to 20 miles … one day was 56 miles … came out at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.  …  The many rivers and creeks I’ve crossed on cable crossings.  …  They were high above the creeks and canyons; I never looked down, for fear of getting dizzy and falling off …  You know He is with you …  At times of grave dangers, that little voice has warned me of the danger and gave [given] me the right feeling … to save my life …  Now I’m old and still alone in this world.”

“Remember to take time out in your daily chores and play, to look at the beauty of this Great Earth and its living things … upon this great creation He has made for you and I [me] …  Thank Him for it, and all He has gave [given] to you, both health wise, and everyday life wise.  – Rowland Smart”

Play on Words

This month when other guys are thinkin’ football plays, I’m thinkin’ word plays.  I know – it’s weird … but fun, strangely enough!  The playing field has no bounds (except ”pc” and keeping it “clean”), so players can usually run without getting called out.  No pressure from emotion-charged fans who think they know more than the coaches and referees.  And it is generally addiction-free; (come to think of it … a double meaning, in light of sports news today, sad to say.)  Few fans become addicted to play on words.

The big arena I watch is marketing, the high point for millions being the Super Bowl.  The next is Super Bowl XLIX (49) – for those of us who lost track of Super Bowl numbering – to be played 2/1/15 in Glendale AZ, glad to say.  (en.wikipedia.org)

I won’t be attending that one, but may record on VHS tape to watch the ads and touchdowns later, or watch on YouTube, hoping to catch some exciting plays on words.  If my tape recordings of past ads were easily searchable like the Internet, I could share some great 20th-century plays before they go to the high-tech burn plant next month; (my wife Kay is encouraging me to lighten our load and save the earth.)

Here’s one as a starter play (as I see it) while I keep my eyes open for others:

A full-page 1991 business-magazine ad by Evans / Salt Lake (advertising agency) sports a long list of client companies in a single column centered (lots of white space) above this large, bold bottom-line kicker:

Somebody Up There 

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