Great News in Twos

I'm excited to have two new grand nephews, both born on March 21, 2011, both born to mothers named Heather, both babies were named Zachary!

The Happy Family

One of the Heathers (my niece) on the left and

one of the Zacharys (in the car seat)

The Other Happy Family

Nephew Brad and his wife, the other Heather and

their primy, the other Zachary

Our second wee Zachary ~ Look at all the hair

In a week of health scares (see previous post), we also received GOOD NEWS in twos about these beloved babies joining our family.

Who You Are Makes a Difference

Just Breathe

The following post is dedicated to

Marie Louise Adams Henrie Fuertes 1976 ~ 2011

and

Christopher R. Thomas 1973 ~ 2011

Two young people gone long before their time.

Gone on different days, for different reasons.

Friends of my kids.

JUST BREATHE

Yes, I understand that every life must end, uh-huh,

As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, uh-huh,

Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands

the ones I love,

Some folks just have one,

yeah, others, they've got none, uh-huh

Stay with me, Let's just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,

never gonna let me win, uh-huh,

Under everything, just another human being, uh-huh,

Yeh, I don't wanna hurt, there's so much in this world

to make me bleed.

Stay with me,

You're all I see.

Did I say that I need you?

Did I say that I want you?

Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see. . .

No one knows this more than me.

As I come clean.

I wonder everyday

as I look upon your face, uh-huh,

Everything you gave

And nothing you would take, uh-huh,

Nothing you would take

Everything you gave...

Did I say that I need you?

Oh, did I say that I want you?

Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,

No one knows this more than me.

As I come clean, ah-ah...

Nothing you would take,..

Everything you gave.

Love you till I die,..

Meet you on the other side.

This touching comment was left on YouTube after the above song:

"i'm 92 years of age and i try to keep up with the younger generation but when i found this song i cried because it reminds me of my wife who passed away 6 years ago at the age of 89 we had been together for 59 years this song just warms my heart. hope your happy in heaven Ann.... I love you so much.... "

To All the Moms I've Known

Mom Vi (1911-1998)

My friend Mark once told me that my mom would

definitely be a Duchess if America had royalty.

I agree. She always liked going first-class.

However, she was born in America to humble parents.

She married during the Great Depression and

worked hard all of her life.

She knew how to scrimp and save.

She lived the American Dream.

A handsome husband with a good job.

A house in the suburbs.

Four healthy children who all graduated from college.

Being upwardly mobile was important.

Her life was probably easier than her parents.

It was unquestionably less problematic than her grandparents.

Which is not to say there weren't hardships and trials.

There were plenty of those.

Mom wanted only the best for her children.

She wanted us to be happy, fulfilled, successful.

She wanted us to believe in God

and live by the Golden Rule.

Mom liked to talk and appreciated an attentive audience.

She was a skillful story teller.

She might have been an actress or teacher--

in a different era, when mom's worked.

Sister Gail (1937-2007)

My sister was my second mom.

She was twelve years older than I,

but always acted twenty years older.

Once while she was baby-sitting me,

I threw a tantrum--big time.

She dragged me to the tub,

threw me in kicking and screaming.

Then she turned on the cold water, on my head.

I think that was my last tantrum.

Another time when she was incharge,

I got hit in the head with a rock-missile

thrown by an angry neighbor boy.

I ran home with blood gushing,

rushing down my face.

I couldn't see myself, but I'll

never forget the look on Gail's face.

No mother's expression could have been

more frightened.

That's when I cried.

Gail had no children of her own,

but she helped mother me.

I looked to her for advice, counsel, direction.

She was a noble mother.

Mom's Mom--Rebecca "Mumpsie" (1886-1945)

My maternal grandmother died before I was born.

Though I never knew her, I know I

share some of her traits.

Unlike my mother, Mumpsie did not like attention.

She hated having her picture taken.

I understand completely.

Born in Logan, Utah to an English farmer father

and a Swedish mother, Rebecca was the middle of nine

siblings, but also had nine half siblings.

Rebecca learned to blend in, not stand out.

She learned to share and be a care giver.

She raised five sons and one daughter.

Three of her sons went to war in the Pacific.

All returned safely before Mumpsie

died of breast cancer.

Mom's Maternal Grandmother--Enga (1856-1923)

My mother was born in her grandmother Enga's home.

Grandma Enga was born in Sweden as Ingar Hansdotter.

Taking her father's surname, as is the custom in America,

Ingar became Ingar Anderson when she immigrated.

For some reason, no one in Logan could spell

Ingar, so she became Enga.

Mom remembered Enga, but couldn't recall

a Swedish accent which I find incredible

since Ingar didn't know a word of English

when she immigrated at the age of nineteen.

Generations of women have effected who I am.

I love them all for making my life possible.

For the lessons they taught small children,

for all the clothes they washed and ironed,

for all the food they cooked,

for all tears they wiped--

Thank you to these wonderful women.

And thank you
to the next generation of Mom's in our family--

My nieces and my nephews' wives

Dan, Niece Angie, Alaina

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I was deeply saddened at the news of Natasha Richardson's untimely death. She was so young, attractive and gifted, but more importantly she seemed more grounded than the typical Hollywood starlets. My heart and love go out to her family, especially her young sons.

I absolutely loved Natasha in the Parent Trap when Lindsay Lohan was still an adorable child.

"Any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in Mankind;

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

it tolls for thee."

~~John Donne~~

As I ponder the death of any man, the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow wafts through my head--NOT the song as sung by Judy Garland--but the song as it is sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

It is the only version of the song I like and I want it played at my funeral. Please take a few minutes to listen.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Video sent by filipegodinho

Israel (IZ Bruddah) Kamakawiwo'ole, the amazing 750 pound Hawaiian, has a voice that transports me to another time and place. I didn't even know I liked ukulele music until I heard IZ's version of this song.

He died in 1997 at age 38 of respiratory problems brought on by his morbid obesity. Despite his short life, his gentle ukulele playing and hauntingly beautiful voice made him a musical legend.

.........................................................................

To borrow from yesterday's comics in the Deseret News, my blog "keeps claiming it needs its CYBER-SPACE!!" So I've given it space, because "I've got so many things to wrap my mind around, my brain is unraveling!" (from Ziggy and Hi & Lois)

Veteran Reunited With Dog Tag

Photo byBill Ingram

Sometimes you hear a story that warms the cockles of your heart. This was one of them.

I was driving home from the Family History Library yesterday, listening to NPR on the car radio as always. All Things Considered was on and the following lovely story was told about a connection between a young woman in New York City and an elderly gentleman in Palm Springs, Florida.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to blog about it and I hope it makes somebody's day. It had me smiling all the way home.

"A week ago, 19-year-old Sydney Rector of the Bronx went to a music store in Midtown Manhattan with her boyfriend, Stevin Tyska.

When they left, they were playing around in a tunnel between 48th and 47th streets — and that's where they stumbled across a 66-year-old dog tag.

"It's a plastic tunnel and above you there's a waterfall," Rector tells NPR's Robert Siegel. "So you see the water falling on you; it's pretty cool. We were walking through, dancing around, being stupid, and my boyfriend saw something sticking out. And we always just mess with stuff, you know. We saw it, picked up and read it. I put it in my purse, and that's how it happened."

On the dog tag was the name Joseph Farish Jr., a serial number and the address 283 Cordova Road in West Palm Beach, Florida.

That night at 9 p.m., Rector looked up Farish and found a phone number for his law firm in Florida. She left a message for him, and the next day the 87-year-old World War II veteran called her back.

"I questioned her what was on the dog tag and I knew it was mine," Farish says. "I didn't realize I had lost it."

Farish says he was stationed at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey in March 1943. He says at that time he went into New York City twice — for a Broadway show starring Milton Berle and a USO going-away party. Farish was getting ready to ship to North Africa because he "got tired of lying around in the States" and "wanted to fight."

The dog tag "meant a lot to me," Farish says. "It brought back a lot of memories 'cause I went to North Africa and into Sicily. I was with the Big Red One [Infantry Division]. We made the landing on D-Day on Omaha Beach in Normandy and went all through Europe and ended up the war in Czechoslovakia where we met up with the Russians."

Rector returned the tag to Farish. But she says she believes she wasn't the first one to pick it up over the years.

"We figured that somebody saw it, picked up, dropped it. Somebody else saw it, picked up, dropped it," she says.

Her boyfriend Tyska agrees: "It probably has a long story."

Farish says he's thankful Rector returned the tag.

"I have to admire Sydney," Farish says. "She's a very kind and patriotic person to recognize that. To get it back to me is very dear to my heart. Thank you, Sydney."

"Thank you, that's sweet, no problem," Rector says. "Me and my boyfriend were talking about it and it's like it cost us a phone call and a stamp, you know? It didn't take much physical energy or exertion at all."

Joseph Farish, Jr. (photo by Bill Ingram)

Farish, who still runs a law firm in Florida, says it meant a lot to him to get his dog tag back from Sydney Rector. "

The fact that Mr. Farish is still alive and working is amazing. But even more amazing to me is the fact that two crazy teenagers would take the time to find him and return the dog tags.

Such a small thing to make an old man smile. Such a simple story of giving which sends good karma to the whole world.

Teachers Everywhere

Nez Perce's Chief Joseph

"It does not require many words to speak the truth."

"We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit made them."

- - - - -

"This we know. . .

the earth does not belong to man,

man belongs to the earth.

All things are connected, like blood which connects one family.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.

Man did not weave the web of life--

he is merely a strand in it.

Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

~~~Chief Seattle 1854

I recall the story of an eight-year-old child whose IQ tested in the genius category.

Unfortunately, the child was told she was different from others in her class and she presumed it meant better. The child danced about with self-important pride. When her mother caught wind of the child's arrogance, the mother carefully chastised her.

"But mother, I am brighter than most people in this country!"

The mother quickly knelt to her child's level and explained, "Every person on earth is blessed with a secret wisdom; each knows something about how to live, about how to be happy."

Much later in life, after the child had grown into a woman, she dreamed that she stood at a threshold where many people were passing through her door. She didn't know where they came from or where they were going, but that didn't seem to matter. Each time someone passed by her, she was handed a gift. Each gift was unique. Each was given along with these words, "Here is something for you to keep and treasure. It is only mine to give." The meaning of the dream was clear.

Some people pass through our doorways on their way to the rest of their lives. We may never see or hear from them again. Yet each has left something behind.

We are part of everyone we touch, they a part of us.

All men are our teachers.

Shout out for Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni after Virginia Tech Massacre


"CHOICES"

if i can't do

what i want to do

then my job is to not

do what i don't want

to do

it's not the same thing

but it's the best i can

do

if i can't have

what i want . . . then

my job is to want

what i've got

and be satisfied

that at least there

is something more to want

since i can't go

where i need

to go . . . then i must . . . go

where the signs point

though always understanding

parallel movement

isn't lateral

when i can't express

what i really feel

i practice feeling

what i can express

and none of it is equal

i know but that's why mankind

alone among the animals

learns to cry

I've been rediscovering poetry as of late. Thanks to Bill Moyer's Journal, I have discovered Nikki Giovanni. A former 1960's Civil Rights activists and now Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech.

I am excited to continue reading her poetry.

Who do you admire? What do you like to read?

Happy 200th B-day Abe & Charles

Last night we watched the fascinating PBS documentary Looking for Lincoln which helped me see our 16th President in a completely different light! It was two-hours well spent.

Today I logged onto the LOOKING FOR LINCOLN web site and learned that you can view the documentary online! Thanks to public media provider WNET.ORG. It is playing a major role in the nationwide Lincoln Bicentennial celebration in 2009, which besides the documentary is providing outreach project that explores the life and legacy of the man widely considered one of our best and most enigmatic presidents.

The documentary, presented and written by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (African American Lives, Oprah’s Roots), addresses many of the controversies surrounding Lincoln – race, equality, religion, politics, and depression – by carefully interpreting evidence from those who knew him and those who study him today.

Professor Gate's quest to piece together Lincoln’s complex life takes him from Illinois to Gettysburg to Washington, D.C., and face-to-face with people who live with Lincoln every day – relic hunters, re-enactors, and others for whom the study of Lincoln is a passion.

Lincoln was not the man we learned about in school, the man we deify. He was much more complex, much more human. Somehow, his frailties and flaws make him more approachable. It makes his accomplishments even more astonishing.

The biggest surprise to me:

The man known as “The Great Emancipator” was not always intent on the abolishment of slavery.

Lincoln was raised to hold anti-slavery views and was against the expansion of slavery, but didn’t think that the Constitution gave the federal government the right to interfere with slavery in the states. After all, slaves were property--property protected by the Constitution.

His views on slavery were developed mostly for political and economic reasons. Additionally, in the mid-19th century it would have been an unwise political strategy to hold strong abolitionist views – if he had, Lincoln may never have been elected president!

The intentions of the Emancipation Proclamation are also steeped in ambiguity – did it actually free any slaves? The language of the document indicated that slaves would be freed in those states currently rebelling against the Union, but those states did not recognize Lincoln’s authority and thus did not adhere to the Proclamation.

It’s suggested that the Emancipation Proclamation was intended as a political maneuver to preserve the Union, and had little to do with the slaves. Regardless of Lincoln’s earlier views and intentions, he did ultimately sign into effect the 13th Amendment, permanently ending slavery in the United States.

Another great man was born on the same day in the same year as Abraham Lincoln.

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who published on a variety of biological subjects. When he began his education in Cambridge, he was studying to become a clergyman for the Anglican Church. In his pursuit of knowledge about where species come from and how they are related, Darwin traveled the globe making detailed observations of plant and animal life.

Charles Darwin has contributed more to our understanding of the world around us than any other person in the last 2,000 years of Human History.

He is entombed at Westminster Abbey in London along with royalty, poets, scientists, philosophers, naturalists, admirals, and dignitaries of all sorts.

Here is a list of Darwin's pall-bearers:

George Campbell - The 9th Duke of Argyll

William Cavendish - The 7th Duke of Devonshire

Edward Henry Stanley - The 15th Earl of Derby

James Russell Lowell - The American Ambassador to Britain

William Spottiswoode - Mathematician, physicist, the Queen's Printer, and friend of Darwin

Joseph Dalton Hooker - Darwin's close friend and champion of his Theory of Evolution

Thomas Henry Huxley - Darwin's close friend and champion of his Theory of Evolution

Alfred Russel Wallace - Darwin's friend and the co-founder of Natural Selection

Sir John Lubbock - The 1st Baron of Avebury, Darwin's next door neighbor and close friend

HAPPY 200th BIRTHDAY MR. LINCOLN AND MR. DARWIN!!

You both changed the world.

Gift Giving

Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke of Melbourne, Australia is an amazing man. His blog is an inspiration. He gives hope to those of us who want to make a difference in world--to help end suffering--to help spread happiness.

Maithri is reaching out through his blog to help stop malaria in refugee camps in Africa. He made me aware of the devastation which malaria is currently causing. Every 30 seconds a child (like the darling child above) dies of Malaria. Every 24 hours 3000 children die. Unbelievable to those of us who live in comfort and security. That's 90,000 deaths in one month!

Please read Maithri's wonderful, hopeful blog and help if you can.

http://soaringimpulse.blogspot.com/

Spread the word about Mosquito Nets. The nets are covered with insecticide which kills the deadly mosquitoes that bite the children while they are sleeping. AMAZING! Only $10 buys a net and saves a life.

It's so easy to give children the precious gift of life. Two organizations provide nets to children. Pay with a credit card online and you never need to leave the comfort of home.

http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

http://www.malarianomore.org/

This Christmas reach out to children in a faraway place and give a Christlike gift of love and life.

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival

"In the shadow of the great Mount Timpanogos, voices echo across the valley. They call out tales of triumph, tales of discovery and tales of love. They whisper memories into thousands of eager hearts who flock to them every year, hoping for a glimpse into the past or an insight into the present."

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is listening to a great story. Utah is very lucky to have one of the the best storytelling festivals in the country. The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is held the last weekend in August each year. It just celebrated its nineteenth year and I've been to ten of the festivals and can't wait for the one next year! It is the highlight of each summer.

It started out when a woman in Orem had local tellers come to her backyard. At first they just entertained the neighborhood, but it became so popular it soon outgrew her yard and was moved to the Olmstead estate at the mouth of Provo Canyon on the Provo River.

It eventually grew so popular, attracting such large crowds, that Orem City and the sponsors built the festival its own park in Provo Canyon. Area sponsors helped finance the event which attracted some of the nation's best known storytellers who unite with other tellers, both young and old, for two all-day celebrations of music, merriment, but mostly stories.

Entrance to the new park

Stories are told in five huge tents from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. Each teller has a half hour or one hour to tell his tale. There's a half hour break between stories and an hour break for lunch. Live music and local food vendors pick up the slack between story time.

One of Five Huge "Teller" Tents

Gorgeous Setting at the foot of Mount Timpanogos

Each tent holds about 200-300 people

Always popular, Grammy award-winner Bill Harley makes you laugh 'til you cry telling about his childhood.

Although many of the stories are for children of all ages, many stories are geared to those of us with a few gray hairs. A few of my personal favorites are:

• Donald Davis
• Carmen Deedy
• Rex Ellis
• Syd Lieberman
• Dovey Thomason

Anyone reading this must check out the websites of these fantastically talented people. They are not just storytellers. They teach, they write, they record. You hear them on the radio. They are truely my heroes.

Antonio Rocha, a remarkable mime and teller from Brazil, was new to me this year. He was amazing to watch and his tale was one of great wisdom and love. I will attempt to paraphase his story here, but of course, his expressions, actions and exact words are missing:

"One of King Solomon's head soldiers was unhappy with his job. He had risen to the highest rank, had won all the awards possible, but felt empty and bored. He went to the King to ask for a new assignment. The King told him to take six months off. "Travel the world, meet new people, see the sites," the King said. "But here is your mission. I want you to come back with something that will make a happy man sad and a sad man happy."

The soldier sailed off immediately. On the high sea, he thought about the King's words. What would make a happy man sad and a sad man happy? He helped the sailors set the sails. He felt the salty wind in his hair and breathed the ocean air. The blue sky, the sea gulls, the freedom of the sea--all made him very happy.

The soldier traveled throughout Africa, India and Asia. He met many people of different colors, speaking unusual languages, wearing brightly colored clothing. He heard wise old men tell of their lives and laughed as he watched children at play. These things made him happy.

Wise King Solomon was right. This trip was exactly what the soldier needed. He was happier than he had ever been. He learned about different cultures, ate and smelled unique foods and spices, heard extraordinary music and watched fascinating dances. These things would make a sad man happy, but surely they would not make a happy man sad! He had not found an item that would do both.

After six months, the soldier returned to his home feeling he had failed in his mission. As he walked up the street of his town, he passed a shop keeper sitting outside in the sun. "Old man," asked the soldier, "Can you please tell me if there is something in your shop that would make a happy man sad, but would also make a sad man happy?"

"Yes," replied the shop keeper, "I have exactly what you are looking for." He took the soldier into the back room of the shop and got a large chest down from a shelf. He opened the dusty old chest and inside was a smaller chest, which held an even smaller box. He handed the small box to the soldier. "I'm sure this is what you are looking for."

The soldier opened the box with great anticipation. Inside he found a gold ring. That was all. There was nothing special about the ring. No priceless jewels. Nothing. "What do you mean? I don't understand. How can this make a happy man sad and a sad man happy?" he moaned.

The shop keeper took the ring and showed the soldier what was engraved on the ring. It read simply, "THIS TOO SHALL PASS." "Think about the words, young man," whispered the old man. "A happy man will look at the ring and think 'This too shall pass, for someday I will be sad.' And if a sad man looks at the ring, he will think 'This too shall pass, for someday I will be happy.'"

The soldier presented the ring to King Solomon who smiled. "I see that your travels have made you very wise indeed. Welcome home."' [end of story]

Each year I came away from the Timp Fest a happy, wiser person. The stories thrill me to my toes. I wish I could keep listening. I want to squeeze more stories from these fabulous people! For weeks I am a happy person . . .unfortunately, this too shall pass. Round and round, just like a ring.