Beneath the Wraps

         My mom had a Ford Escort – which seemed to be a good little car overall.   I don’t remember having had to take it to the mechanic on a regular basis.   It did have its little quirks, but nothing major.   Not that I’m aware of anyway.          Not that we ever wanted to, but we couldn’t drive over 70.   The car would shake and vibrate as if ready to explode. We learned that by accident when on a stretch of highway that seemed to have no traffic. I was often surprised when it didn’t fall apart on us.          When going to get gas, mom wanted someone with her. The small door that closes over the gas cap had to be opened from the car – but it would stick.   Having someone push open the door while someone pulled the lever behind the steering wheel made it easier than stretching one’s body while pulling the leve...

Dear Lucy and Heather,          I am sending two gifts that were made by your Grandma Kim.   I am sorry that you were unable to know her in the flesh.   She would have been thrilled about having granddaughters.   You appear to be the first in a long line of men – with your Grandpa Lynn being the baby of five boys and Grandma Kim having had four boys and no girls of her own.          Long before we celebrated Christmas in July, we used to go to Aunt Gertrude’s house each Christmas Eve to eat dinner and exchange gifts.   Aunt Gertrude told me that Aunt Lucy (who you may be named for?   - I know your middle name is after Aunt Gertrude) started the tradition several years before – though I do not remember having met Aunt Gertrude’s father or any of his sisters (Aunt Lucy being one of them)          After your Grandpa Lynn had h...

            I think I mentioned earlier how much Jenna would really like to do a yard sale.   And we have tons that we won’t be taking with us to Oregon.   But it has rained nearly every day since spring break.   Definitely every weekend.   Actually, it did not rain in our neighborhood today.   The weather was between cool and cold.             I’ve seen others setting up for yard sales last weekend and the weekend before.   It is awesomely nice weather – not too hot, not too cold – but unpredictable.   Wet.   I don’t know that it’s been worth the time and effort for people to have dragged product out into their yard only to drag it back in so it doesn’t get wet.             We never advertised.   I didn’t see the point.   Tony and Rochelle are moving in. ...

            Last night we had four college students spend the night as they travel from Vermont (where they go to school) to Oregon (where at least one of them lives)             We actually just met Sam, Simon, Julia and Jen last night when they arrived. Sam had made arrangements with Roland – although his mom had given him my number, I couldn’t seem to return his call from my phone.             I had somehow believed that we had plenty of sleeping bags.   I pulled out two sleeping bags from the shed – (it turned out that one of those was actually just a blanket) and one from Jenna’s room.   There was another that I couldn’t reach.   But Sam could.   He pulled it down with no problems.             While we were outside, he spotte...

My mom was a teenager in the 50’s at a time when the cinemas offered either beach pictures or lame science fiction.   Some of those science fiction movies indicated the possibility of man one day traveling to the moon.   Of course that was never going to happen.   Mom didn’t believe that traveling to the moon would be possible.   Yet almost two decades later (1969) Neil Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon on the moon.    The moon travel is just one of many realities that started out as science fiction.   The cast of Star Trek used cell phones long before they were introduced to planet earth. Before mom got dementia, she believed that it was possible for time travel to be invented.   I did not agree with her reasoning, but now I wonder. As mentioned before, I have been taking a family history class – more for Roland’s sake than my own.   We have been challenged to find a particular ancestor to find ancest...

Initially when we told the boys that we’d be moving, we asked Tony and Rochelle if they’d like to move in.   Not playing favorites – it’s just that the other two are already paying a lower rent than we’d be charging.   We won’t be making any money – we just can’t afford two mortgages (one in Oregon and one in Utah)      At first Tony said no.   He didn’t realize that what we had to offer was/is a bargain – until he shopped around on his own.   Two bedroom one bath apartments cost more than our three bedroom two bath house – and we’ve 3 times the room – plus a huge yard.        Our neighbor from across the street suggested putting missionaries in.   I thought that would be an awesome idea!   I asked our ward mission leader to look into it.   Meanwhile Tony has decided that he wants to stay here after all.   And he’s looking forward to it.   And actually so am I.   The extra inc...