Chickadee

 

The first wave of Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley in the summer of 1847. They immediately set to planting crops, because they’d have only the food they’d brought with them until their first harvest. But swarms of crickets descended on their fields the following May. If not for the hordes of seagulls that devoured the crickets, our ancestors might have pushed on and built Zion where San Diego or San Francisco are today. It’s a tale I’ve heard since I was a sunbeam. There’s even a monument to the miracle on Temple Square, or at least there was until the renovation project started. But if you try to find any evidence it really happened – a letter or diary entry from the time it occurred – you’ll just be disappointed. There have been several similar infestations since then, without any help from the gulls. Without any corroboration, this lovely story looks a lot like a faith-promoting rumor.

Four Snails' Trails

 

Last week, a friend shared an anonymous quote that really hit home: “Only parents with gentle children can gentle parent. The rest of us have to square up and fight for our lives with the tiny bullies we made.” We only had four children. They’re a product of the same two people and the same couple of decades. And yet each one was their own unique variety of difficult. Nothing we learned from parenting any one of them was even remotely helpful with the other three. One lesson Heather taught us – repeatedly – was to choose your fights. She spent an entire school year with shoes on the wrong feet. We’d fix them, and every time she’d switch them back. Another year, she signed her name “Oliver Twist” on all her school papers. And she refused to answer to any other name. We learned – eventually – some hills are just not worth dying on. 

Double Windmill

 

“If you go talk to kindergartners or first-grade kids, you find a class full of science enthusiasts. They ask deep questions: ‘What is a dream?’ ‘Why do we have toes?’ ‘Why is the moon round?’ ‘What is the birthday of the world?’ ‘Why is grass green?’ These are profound, important questions. They just bubble right out of them. You go talk to 12th graders and there's none of that. They've become incurious. Something terrible has happened between kindergarten and 12th grade.” – Carl Sagan

“There is always a place I can take someone's curiosity and land where they end up enlightened when we're done. That's my challenge as an educator. No one is dumb who is curious. The people who don't ask questions remain clueless throughout their lives.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

“I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Snail's Trail

 

Every Friday, as Heather and I head to the hospital in Murray, we pass by a ten-foot-tall werewolf statue. It’s not actually on display. I suppose it was purchased by someone with poor spatial conception. It clearly won’t fit in the tiny house or garage, so it’s trying to be as inconspicuous as possible outside. I find it mildly amusing in broad daylight, but I might not if I lived nearby and had to regularly walk past it after dark. I thought of that werewolf when I read about a woman in Piqua, Ohio with a similar statue she calls “Phil.” Mary Simmons put Phil up last Halloween, and never took him down. The city recently left a notice on her door, asking her to remove the “seasonal decoration.” And that gave Mary an idea. She dressed Phil in red, white and blue, for Flag Day and Independence Day. She plans to dress him for the other holidays, too. 

Fox and Geese

 

“If a friend on social media has strong political or social views that violate everything you believe in, an angry, cutting retort by you will not help. Building bridges of understanding will require much more of you, but that is exactly what your friend needs. Contention drives away the Spirit every time. Contention reinforces the false notion that confrontation is the way to resolve differences; but it never is. Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always. Brothers and sisters, we can literally change the world—one person and one interaction at a time. How? By modeling how to manage honest differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue. Differences of opinion are part of life.” – President Russell M. Nelson

Ten Double Pinwheels

 

Things to Always Remember:

 

The past cannot be changed.

Opinions don't define your reality.

Everyone's journey is different.

Things always get better with time.

Judgments are a confession of character.

Overthinking will lead to sadness.

Happiness is found within.

Positive thoughts create positive things.

Your thoughts affect your mood.

Smiles are contagious.

Kindness is free.

It’s okay to let go and move on.

What goes around, comes around.

Things always get better with time.

Card Trick

 

No one’s sure of the exact date, but it happened either late 1864 or early 1865. Robert Lincoln – the president’s first and only surviving son – was at a New Jersey train station, purchasing sleeper car accommodations. Robert came very close to being crushed between train cars. Robert said later, “There was some crowding, and I was pressed against the car while waiting my turn. The train began to move, and I was twisted off my feet, dropped into the open space, and was personally helpless.” A stranger in the crowd grabbed Robert’s coat collar and pulled him to safety. When the young man turned to thank his rescuer, he realized it was Edwin Booth, one of the country’s most famous actors. If this doesn’t sound truly bizarre to you, let me put it into perspective. It’s as if Chris Hemsworth saved the life of Hunter Biden just weeks (or possibly even days) before his brother Liam assassinated the president.  

Nine Double Pinwheels

 

“When my dad died, I looked functional, but I wasn’t okay. Not at all. I really couldn’t function. I sat on the swing in our yard and just stared into space. People called and asked what they could do to help. I had no idea. Then a friend sent a text: ‘Will you be home at 8:30 tonight?” ‘Yes,’ I replied. Ten minutes later, she texted, ‘Instacart will be there at 8:30. Open the door for them.’ ‘What?’ ‘Grief Groceries!’ When Instacart showed up, they put two bags on my porch: frozen pizzas, ice cream, Oreos. Canned soup, frozen lasagna, a gallon of milk. Things I could heat up if I needed a meal, or pig out on if I needed fat and sugar. Sometimes, you just need to eat half a box of Oreos. Notice she didn’t ask if I needed any food. I would have said no. She just asked if I would be home. Grief groceries.” - Hugh Holloway, Jr.

Ohio Star

 

Today’s the first day of summer, with ninety-two days to go. Summer isn’t my favorite season. I’m just as likely to feel cooped up in summer months as I am in winter. I’m glad there are four seasons, I just feel two of them last a lot longer than necessary. There’s no sense in wishing summer away; like it or not, it’ll be gone in no time. With that in mind, there are things about summertime I do enjoy. Water tops the list: lakes, streams, ponds, beaches, pools and waterparks – even sprinklers and hoses. Ice cream’s also a big deal, homemade or not. I don’t like it when neighbors set off fireworks, but I enjoy professional pyrotechnics. I love picnics under shady trees and tall glasses of fresh lemonade. I adore starry nights and roasting s’mores around a campfire. I mean to make sure these happen frequently in the next ninety-two days. 

Four Double Pinwheels

 

All in the Family was a TV series which first aired January 12, 1971. It featured Archie Bunker, a loud-mouthed bigot, and his long-suffering wife, Edith. Most of the show took place in the Bunker’s living room, where two very used mismatched chairs stood. These chairs were purchased for the pilot episode from a southern California second-hand shop for less than $20. At the end of the show’s eighth (and presumably final) season, both chairs were donated to the Smithsonian Institute. And then the network ordered a ninth season. The chairs couldn’t be retrieved from the Smithsonian, and it was unthinkable to film a whole season without them. A mill was found in England to reproduce the chairs’ original fabrics. Both chairs were painstakingly remade, and then were distressed so they wouldn’t look new. The cost of the new chairs was more than $15,000 in 1978 – nearly $70,000 in today’s money.

Rolling Stone

 “In His final days, following Palm Sunday, Christ carried out His remarkable Atonement, from the agony of Gethsemane to the mockery of His trial, His torture on the cross, and His burial in a borrowed tomb. But it did not stop there. With the majesty of His calling as the Redeemer of all of Heavenly Father’s children, three days later He stepped forth from that tomb, resurrected, as He had prophesied. Are we continually grateful for the incomparable Atonement of Jesus Christ? Do we feel its purifying power, right now? That is why Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our salvation, went to Jerusalem, to save us all. Do these words in Alma strike a chord: ‘If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?’” – Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Double Pinwheel

 

Mango Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried mango, chopped

 

Cream butter and sugars together; add vanilla and egg. Blend well. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients; stir in chocolate and mango. Add wet ingredients to dry; stir to combine. Scoop rounded tablespoonsful of dough, then roll into balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill in refrigerator half an hour. Heat oven to 350F. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until set. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Makes two dozen small or one dozen large cookies.

Old Maid's Puzzle

 

HOW NAIVE I HAVE BEEN

Our midwife told us to have

a song ready to sing just in case

our daughter needs resuscitation

after birth. A song to call her in

while they work the physical:

the new and hesitant muscle, lungs

delicate as orchids. She said

it should be a song our baby knows,

heard before from inside

the softened bower,

sifted through skin like sunlight

sinking to the bottom of a pond.

How naive I have been—the many

times I have said, art saves lives

and never meant like this.

-          Sierra DeMulder

A Baker's Dozen of Milky Ways

 

Walt Disney wanted everything in his theme parks to look simply amazing. Much of the magic of the parks is about what you see and how you see it. But there are times when what you DON’T see is just as important – backs of buildings, construction scaffolding, utility boxes, etc. For this, Disney employs two colors: Go Away Green and Blending Blue. Go Away Green is designed to match whatever foliage is nearby. Just as your eyes are irresistibly drawn to things like red stop lights and orange traffic cones, they naturally ignore shades of super boring green. When Walt Disney World was being built, the structures they wanted to hide were farther apart and taller. They asked the scenery department in Anaheim for sky blue paint. But when the blue arrived, it wasn’t even close. Apparently, a sunny day in the Sunshine State is a much more vivid hue than in the Golden State. Who knew?

Royal Star

 

It’s been a decade since I shared this, so it’s probably time to repost. If you decide to display the stars and stripes today, please keep these rules in mind:

1. Never let a flag touch the ground.

2. Always display a flag with the blue field to the upper left.

3. Raise a flag briskly at sunrise and lower it slowly at sunset.

4. Don’t fly a flag in bad weather.

5. Don’t fly a flag at night without a light.

6. Flags are flown at half-staff 30 days to observe a president’s death. On a ship, it’s called “half-mast.”

7. In the United States, the American flag should always fly above state and other flags.

8. Fold a flag to store it.

9. When your flag becomes worn, retire it. Old flags should be burned, never binned.

Have a happy Flag Day!

Twelve Milky Way Blocks

 

Beulah Hester attended the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville, Kentucky from 1937 to 1948, but she dropped out right before her senior year to start a family. “I always thought about graduating someday, but I also wanted to stay at home and be with my family,” she said. In spite of many other demands on her time, Beulah managed to help her old alma mater and its students. Once her own children were grown, she was employed as a dorm houseparent for 30 years until her retirement in 1990. This year, as the school celebrated its 200th anniversary, Beulah was awarded an honorary diploma. The ninety-four-year-old finally got the chance to walk the stage with three other (much younger) graduates. Her three “classmates” are eager to get out and to make their mark on the world, but they promise to return and contribute to KSD, much as Beulah has done.

LeMoyne Star

“Filling our mind with the power of Jesus Christ does not mean that He is the only thought we have. But it does mean that all our thoughts are circumscribed in His love, His life and teachings, and His atoning sacrifice and glorious Resurrection. Jesus is never in a forgotten corner, because our thoughts of Him are always present and all that is in us adores him! We pray and rehearse in our mind experiences that have brought us closer to Him. We welcome into our mind divine images, holy scriptures, and inspired hymns to gently cushion the countless daily thoughts rushing through our busy lives. Our love for Him does not shield us from the sadness and sorrow in this mortal life, but it allows us to walk through the challenges with a strength far beyond our own.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

 

Nine Milky Way Blocks

 

Two weeks ago today, we took our oldest grandchild to the Clarke Planetarium to catch an IMAX movie. (We saw Backyard Wilderness, and it was amazing.) Then we all went out to lunch. All our favorite eateries have disappeared from the Gateway Mall: McGrath’s Fish House, Z’Tejas, California Pizza Kitchen, Rumbi Island Grill, Ben & Jerry’s, and Thaiphoon. But there is a lovely grocer there now, a branch of The Store Fine Foods Market and Deli that’s been a part of Holladay since before I was born. If it wasn’t for The Store, this corner of Salt Lake would probably be considered a food desert. I believe the nearest grocer is Harmon’s on the opposite side of City Creek Center – more than a mile away – with nothing but overpriced restaurants and convenience stores between. We enjoyed lunch in this little oasis: pasta salad, shepherd’s pie, lasagna, crab salad and stuffed cabbage rolls. 

Cherry Basket

 

Our garden is in. This year we have half a dozen tomato plants in pots, which still might not be enough for our oldest granddaughter. We’ve also got a few bell peppers, a bowl of spearmint, and several strawberry plants. We planted a few rows of onions, beets and romaine lettuce. I’ve never had much luck with romaine, but I keep hoping. The other day, I asked Heather if there was anything else we should plant. “Zucchini” was her ready answer. We don’t usually grow the sorcerer’s apprentice of vegetables, as there always seems to be a neighbor with too many. But I told her we could add one zucchini plant. Next, she asked for salami and spaghetti. I’m never quite sure what’s happening in Heather’s head. Was she pulling my leg, or just listing foods that end in I? Either way, if I could actually grow those, my garden would be the envy of the neighborhood.

Ten Butterflies

 

It began with a suggestion from a local newspaper: the children of Salt Lake could pool their money and buy an elephant from a passing circus for the small zoo inside Liberty Park. At the time, the most exotic exhibit in the park was the monkey enclosure. $3,250 in donations were gathered, and Princess Alice – along with her longtime handler – left the circus life. Her enclosure was rather small, but she was occasionally let out to help with landscaping or road work, and from time to time she took “field trips” to local schools. Princess Alice, not content with her sanctioned outings, frequently went on walkabout on her own, helping herself to produce from neighboring gardens and pilfering laundry that was hung out to dry. It was these excursions that prompted the zoo to move from Liberty Park to its current location on land donated by the Hogle family. Princess Alice died in 1953 at the presumed age of sixty-nine. 

Dutchman's Puzzle

 

When Judith Love Cohen was in school, she showed an affinity for math and science. Her high school guidance counselor advised her to go to a nice finishing school, but she continued studying math in college – while dancing with the New York Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company. At 21, Judith moved to California to work as a junior engineer with North American Aviation. She took night classes to complete a master's degree at USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Later, she worked for NASA. Judith was there August 28, 1969, when she went into labor. She left for the hospital with a computer printout of the problem she was trouble-shooting – the key to the Abort-Guidance System which would enable the Apollo 13 crew to return safely the following April. Later, Judith called her boss to say she’d sorted the problem, and had given birth to a baby boy. Judith named the baby Thomas Jacob, but you know him as Jack Black.

Half Dozen Milky Ways

 

I met a traveler from an antique land,

Who said - “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

Propeller

 

“President Russell M. Nelson pled with us in these words: ‘None of us can control nations or the actions of others or even members of our own families. But we can control ourselves. My call today, dear brothers and sisters, is to end conflicts that are raging in your heart, your home, and your life. Bury any and all inclinations to hurt others—whether those inclinations be a temper, a sharp tongue, or a resentment for someone who has hurt you. The Savior commanded us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies, and to pray for those who despitefully use us.’ I say again that it is only in and through our individual loyalty to and love of Jesus Christ that we can hope to be one—one within, one at home, one in the Church, eventually one in Zion, and above all, one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.” – Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Alabama

 

At the Y-intersection between Nevada state routes 86 and 85, a small town sprang up. The residents chose the name “Y,” but state law required a minimum of three letters. So, the town is “Why.” Residents of a community in North Carolina couldn’t agree on a name. One frustrated man said, “Why not name the place ‘Whynot’ and go home?” And they did. There’s a town in Oregon called “Boring,” but not because it’s tedious. It’s named for an early settler: William Harrison Boring. No one’s sure how Nameless, Tennessee got its name, but some people think it’s because when residents applied for a post office, the name on the form was accidentally left blank. In 1950, Hot Springs, New Mexico changed its name to “Truth or Consequences” to win a radio show contest. Rough and Ready, California was given President Zachary Taylor’s nickname. At one time, California had three communities called “Rough and Ready.”

Churn Dash

 

It’s amazing what stuff can keep you awake at night. Here’s my current list:

All mammals have the same number of neck bones. Consider this next time you’re watching giraffes at the zoo.

Most clouds look soft, fluffy and LIGHT as they casually drift by over your head. But the average cloud weighs over a million pounds.

Those “dashed” white lines separating highway lanes are about ten feet long. The spaces between them are thirty feet. I wouldn’t recommend taking out a measuring tape to check this.

Mosquitoes can smell your blood type. They're twice as likely to go for Type O than, say, Type A.

Peaches and nectarines are actually the same fruit. The gene keeping nectarines from getting fuzzy is recessive.

You’re ten times more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark. I’m not sure if this is because you’re more likely to find yourself in New York than in the ocean.

Four Milky Way Blocks

 

Everything I knew about goldfish came from Tom and Jerry, Figaro and Cleo, Sylvester the Cat, and a 1961 children’s book called “A Fish Out of Water.” I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn nearly everything I knew was wrong. Cartoons always show goldfish in simple glass bowls scarcely larger than themselves; without filtration, aeration, or temperature controls. In real life, goldfish should be kept in the largest habitat available – at least 10 to 20 gallons PER FISH. Improving the environment can let goldfish to grow to 8 or 10 inches and live 10 to 20 years. (The largest goldfish on record weighed 67 pounds, and the oldest was 100!) The children’s book held the only correct information: you should never feed your goldfish too much. They always seem eager to eat, but it’s easy to overfeed them. Give them a tiny bit at the same time every day. You’ll find (here’s another shocker) fish actually do remember.