The Sound of Christmas (and the Assembly Hall)

        We'd been invited to attend a Christmas concert at a local Baptist Church in our area:

        Roland and I dragged Jenna to it last night.  I don't know why she was being all glum about it. The concert was held in the chapel - which appeared to be bigger than the entire building of the LDS church.  This was our view from the side

         The songs were not the traditional ones that I'm accustomed to hearing each year.  For the most part, I was actually unfamiliar with the tunes. I decided that may have been Jenna's problem.  She wanted to sing along, but wasn't able - even when she did know the words, it was only a part of a medley arrangement. 

        There was a man in front of us who sang along with a few tunes.  It made me smile.  He was a bit off key, but then so were some who were in the choir.  Their key requirement for joining the choir is because you want to sing and have fun.  They made a few announcements to recruit new blood.

        Their chapel reminded me a little bit of the chapel in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square (minus the balcony) I smiled as a memory entered my mind.

        I don't recall the time of year.  Summer, maybe spring.  Nor do I remember the reason why my friends Timmy and Becky were visiting.  I had met them when I lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, but they had moved to Missoula, Montana.  Perhaps it was at a time when they were just passing through.

        Anyway, I had gone with them to Temple Square just to look around.  Becky noticed the Star of David on the Assembly Hall and asked me about it.

        "Oh, that building is actually a Jewish Synagogue,"  I joked.  "The Jewish people have been poorly treated and were unable to purchase land to build their own church, so the authorities at Temple Square allowed them this space for their worship"

        I was thrown back that she had actually believed me, and I couldn't keep a straight face.  According to Wikipedia (here) (which I have learned is not always an accurate or reliable source) the symbol is to remind us of the re-gathering of Israel.  But I don't find the same information provided here.

This story touches my heart

Party On

                      

It has raining off and on for almost six weeks.  Mostly on, and I'm fine with it, except was hoping it would not be raining between 5:30 and 7:30 last night.

Yesterday was quite a busy day for members of our community. Fortunately it was a nice day.  The fire trucks could be heard all day as they offered rides to youth.  At least that’s what I heard.  After we returned home from the breakfast, we pretty much stayed put until about 5:30 and then headed toward downtown Myrtle Creek.

The community puts on a light parade the 2^nd Saturday of each December; they’ve been doing it for over 35 years now.  The parade starts in Riddle and goes up to Old Pacific Highway up to Riverside, down Neal, Division and end at Main Street -       - or so I thought.

Last year we had watched it from the corner of Neal Lane and Riverside – though I had planned on standing on Neal across from Jenny – where Jaime caught the bus.  But Roland had met a group that said we could come join them.  It was cold last year, and raining.  Sometime later that night, the rain turned into snow.  We haven’t had snow this year like we did last year.

This year we live within walking distance of Old Pacific Highway, and thought we could just go down there to see the parade about 6:00 or so.  But the brethren that was just put in as new counselor in the bishopric invited all the members to come to his state farm office on Main Street to see the parade.  I was surprised by the amount of people that had driven up from Riddle where the parade started. In fact, I think the majority of people that were there had driven much of the same distance as the parade itself.  There were at least two families there that had moved to Myrtle Creek since last December and had never seen the parade before.

I must say that it had been a great day starting out the breakfast with so many awesome ward family members and ending the day visiting with many of those same family friends.  And I will see them again today.

I wish my family were here to experience this same joy.

Let the Music Play

            I love music.  All kinds of music really.  But the holidays are not complete without traditional Christmas songs and hymns depicting the original Bethlehem scene.

            On Wednesday night Jenna asked if we could attend the high school concert scheduled for last night.  She doesn't ask for much and I was excited that she wanted to attend.

            Thus last night we went to the high school to listen to the choir and two bands.  There were a lot more people than chairs.  The conductor of the high school band and choir is the same one who leads the Middle School's. 

            When Jenna has her school concert, it will be in the gym, but I think the concert last night was held in the auditorium.  I had thought perhaps the lunchroom, but I didn't see a kitchen.

            The auditorium/lunchroom and kitchen at Jenna's school are in a building by itself.  It is between the elementary school and middle school.  Both schools share the same cafeteria.  It  is known as the SkyHawk room. I don't have a photo of the building itself, but a rough map location here.

 

            It is where morning meetings are held and dances when they have them.  I think the room at the high school held their concert last night is roughly the same size as the Skyhawk Room.  I think the gym where the Middle School holds their concert seems to provide more seating.          

Little by Little

        We lived in a different house during Christmas last year. Oregon seems to get really dark.  The street that we lived on was not well lit.  Actually, the entire neighborhood seemed dark - even where the lamp post could be seen.

        

        Tri City seems to have more light.  There's neighborhood streets that are better lit than others - our current street for example; is not near as dark as our first street.   A lamp post stands in the yard of the neighbors to the west of us.  I think it is the brightest lamp post I have ever seen.

       

        Downtown Myrtle Creek is usually lit up - particularly at this time of year. We put our Christmas lights up before December started.  Little by Little we have seen other houses and yards being decorated and providing light on otherwise dark roads.  I love Christmas lights!

The Attack of Pearl Hairball

The attack on Pearl Harbor was devastating.  A surprise military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. The base was attacked by 360 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,300 Americans were killed and another 1,000 were wounded(from Trivia Today) 

Jenna had a first grade teacher that I'm sure must have mentioned it - though not in detail.  Jenna obviously hadn't stored it into her memory and appeared to be experiencing a dyslexic moment as she read the card.  She was eight at the time we were playing a game with my mom (which I have mentioned here)

 

It wasn't her intention to be disrespectful.  She hadn't realized the errors of her ways until her grandma practically chewed her out.  We had been playing Apples to Apples and the Green Card said "Horrid"  I had put down "Bad Dogs" and mom put down "the Attack at Pearl Harbor" only when Jenna read the card she read " the Attack of Pearl Hairball" which she didn't fully understand but didn't think a hairball was as bad as a "bad dog"

Mom was more with it some days more than others.  She truly was offended that Jenna had mispronounced the word as she suspected Jenna was trying to make fun of the situation - which certainly was not the case - but that's what mom's mind was telling her.  She got all defensive and told Jenna how horrible and awful it had been.

My mom was only two when the attack took place, but she did remember being scared.  She had been born only two months and two days before the war started and thus was only six when the war ended.  She was raised in San Francisco and remembered newsreel footage played before the cinema's featured movie.  She remembered having air raid drills at the school.  She remembers hiding when the sirens went off to announce that the war had ended;  in her six-year-old mind it meant that San Francisco was under attack.  Jenna decided it really was worse than "bad dogs" and apologized for the misunderstanding.

I was probably six when I made an ex or a cross on a paper and put tails on each of the sides making a swastika.  I thought it was cool looking.  Mom got upset about that, too.  I didn't know.  Anybody who has followed my blog for the last five years know that I would never do something like that with the intention of hurting.    According to the holocaust teacher resource center, the swastika was a sign of good luck that has become a symbol of evil (see here)

I really love how the veterans and servicemen are truly honored in Myrtle Creek.  I don't personally know who puts the flags up each holiday and remembrance day, but they are always there lining up the bridges and main street.  It looks so awesome.