Beneath the Wraps

            As I mentioned in my last post, I had to read this article   for an assignment. The students were asked to summarize said article and place ourselves into one or more of the six stages and share reasons why.  This is what I came up with:                 "For this assignment, I would like to summarize the six stages of critical thinking as explained by Richard Paul and Linda Elder.   To simplify the understanding of my own mind, I will touch on just a few traits of each of the six stages of Critical Thinking. For the first stage I use some examples of characters that I think fall into that stage.  The rest of the stages I will compare to motherhood as an example.                 "The first stage is called an Unreflective Thinker .  So...

To "miss the boat" is to  miss the point of or fail to understand:                 Several years ago I was working for an employment agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The agency had sent me on a temporary assignment to state's Department of Family and Child Services (DCFS) -  a department seemingly to be more dysfunctional than many of its clients.  I was told the assignment would be for only a couple of months - but I was there for almost two years and off and on for almost the next five.                 As I recall, I made a suggestion of sending out letters to newly adoptive parents or potential adoptive parents - I can't remember the reason - but in my mind it seemed like it would be a start for whatever it was the department was trying to accomplish.  I was asked to write the letter and send it to...

            Last week our ward hosted a service project at the high school. There were three areas that needed attention.  First and far most was the shed/ticket booth.  That needed to be primed and painted.  Second, weeding of the grounds - particularly over by the restrooms and track.  Third, power wash the bleachers. Ron appeared to be in charge of said activity.  He gave the assignments and we all went to the areas we had been assigned.             There were six of us painting the shed.  Roland took over with delegation.  He has always been a "take charge" kind of guy.  Those who showed up to late to the activity  just assumed that Roland was in charge.  I was impressed with how Roland conversed with an eight-year-old from our ward (geographical boundary within the church) explaining what we were doing, why we were doing it, and how it wou...

          I've always felt a sense of admiration to my sister, Kayla.  I suppose my admiration increased during this last weekend when her family came out to Oregon to visit our family.           Wonder Women flies in an invisible plane.  She can ward off bullets with her bracelets.  But we have never seen her clean up after a two year old hurricane or try to reason with a four year old or change diapers.           Sue Storm can turn invisible and sneak up on criminals.  She fights for justice along with her pals from the fantastic four.  It's impossible for Kayla to even try to become invisible as her children are always calling, "MOMMY!"  She is the leader of the fabulous five.           Supergirl can fly through the air to catch falling victims.  She defends...

                   When I was looking for shorts,                    you were there for me.                     You were longer than                    what I had wanted.  Oh,                    but you were so comfortable.                     When I had you on,                    I barely even knew     ...

          I LOVE the movie "Cool Runnings" - a movie that depicts marathon runner, Derice Bannock, going for his Olympic Dreams.  And when the obstacle of running into other track members knocks his dreams off course, he looks for an alternate way to take him to the Olympics.           He discovers an "has been" Olympic athlete who had received a metal for a bobsledding competition.  There's no snow in Jamaica, but Derice (with the help of the ex-Olympic star) forms a team of members who are willing to learn bobsledding so that they may enter the winter Olympics.           The show, of course, is probably only 5% accurate, if that.  The real "Derice" had very little training before the Olympics.  He said he saw a bobsled for the first time in September 1987 here and here            It doesn't make me appr...

         Several years ago, my brother Corey presented a patriotic program to the Relief Society of the ward we attended.   Great program.   One that I had tried to recreate – though it didn’t go as I had planned.          I have the original tape that Corey had made – somewhere.   I couldn’t find it and so had to recreate one.   He said he hadn’t saved the program and so I had to recreate that as well.   Rely upon my own research instead of his.   Though I believe I had it easier.   Today we have access to several sources on the Internet.   Corey used the card catalog and spent HOURS putting the program together.          I recorded music, though I didn’t like the quality (or lack thereof) of the recording as the volume changed with each song.   I had asked Corey if he and Joh could/would record songs for...

        I've always been  direction-ally  challenged - a feature I inherited from my mom, I'm sure.  In Salt Lake I actually did know which way was east, which way was south - but outside of Salt Lake?  I am ALWAYS turned around.  It seems that I have been even more turned around living in Myrtle Creek and Tri City.         Pacific Highway runs parellel to I5 - an interstate designed to run north and south - and does - for the most part.  Between exits 106 and 108 exists some really sharp curves - almost like traveling in a circle.  Those run east and west.  So Pacific Highway runs east and west.  I finally have that figured out after having lived here for over a year.         The weather is not near as hot as it was last year.  I like the cool temperatures of summer.  It's one of the reasons that we m...