Beneath the Wraps

              I haven't seen construction since coming to Oregon with Denise back in June.  Haven't missed any of the polycones or orange signs or slowed traffic.                The schools were closed and so I didn't count on the typical 3:00 pm traffic.  I thought it odd, as I was driving yesterday, that traffic seemed to slow down to a halt.  Oh, construction.  Haven't missed it at all.               After five months of an orange-free road, I have seen signs of construction in this November bleak.  Really?  They couldn't have picked a time with better element conditions?  I'm not complaining.  Waiting for halted traffic in Myrtle Creek and Tri-City is nothing compared to Salt Lake.        ...

Jenna and I were playing Chatters Matters.  My card asked me to comment on a time someone had picked me up from the airport.  I don't recall having needed someone to come pick me up, but I related the time when I had sent Roland to the airport to claim my brother and sister. It was late at night - early in the morning.  I don't remember.  After Midnight.  My mom would have gone, but I had asked Roland.  We weren't married at the time, but I was certain that he would do it.  He was surprised when I offered to come with him.  Why wouldn't I?  They were my sibs.  Kayla and Corey were returning from a trip they had taken to Europe.  The plane was late. I think we were at the airport for a couple of hours.  Those waiting were tired, some achy.  Roland was thanking me for being there and giving me a massage.  I remember telling him that he could make some money if he offered that wonderful service to others who were ...

            Springfield, Utah was settled in 1850 and then had a population of roughly 1,000 people.  I remember my dad telling me that the kids of his generation liked to hang-out in Springfield.  It has always seemed like a rather small community but still great community to live in.  Today it has a population of over 30,000.  It still seems like it would be a great area to raise a family.  I like Springfield, Utah.             Springfield, Oregon, on the other hand, is about twice the size in population.  As of now, it is definitely a place I do not wish to live.  Springfield, Oregon seems to be a daily part of the news as one horrific crime or another are committed.  I think Springfield has had more crime than my surroundings had in the Salt Lake City area.  I like living in a town with a crime-rate equal to the crime p...

            Growing up, I enjoyed playing games.   Sometimes I would play games with my brother.   Sometimes mom and dad would join in.   They taught Patrick and I how to play a card game they called “500”             Patrick won almost every single game that he played.   When we played 500, we would play three games – switching partners every game.   If Patrick didn’t actually win all three games – it was because I had lost all three.               Winning wasn’t important.   I was fortunate enough to learn that early on.   If I felt like winning was the only reason to play – I would never play them.   I enjoyed playing games because for the most part, it really was fun just interacting with my family.   Whenever my family members would get tog...

There have been countless times when I have admired each of my brothers for their powerful restraint – for weighing the situation before drawing conclusions.   And then there’s me.   Even more countless times of leaping so much further than I have obviously looked.   When will I learn?!? Recently I had created a post called “Any Day Now – Reprise” comparing the new Church policy to the system’s ignorance of Marco, a character in the movie “Any Day Now” starring Alan Cummings and Garret Dillahunt as a same-sex couple who love Marco and battle it out in court for full custody.   Perhaps I was wrong – or ignorant rather.   Just as so many of the characters that were supposedly trying to protect Marco were ignorant. “Last week, the church instructed its local leaders that same-sex couples are apostates and that children living with them can't take part in church activities, including baptism, until they're adults and leave home.” It’s a ho...

LDS Church says children of same-sex couples cannot be members " It feels like they are extending an olive branch and hitting you with it," said Wendy Montgomery, who is Mormon and has a 17-year-old gay son. "It's like this emotional whiplash." I didn’t realize that “Any Day Now” was R rated when I had reserved it at the library – or I probably wouldn’t have checked it out. But it was in my possession and thus I chose to watch it.   I gave a brief synopsis of the plot in the post found here.   I thought it to be a spoiler to reveal what happened to Marco towards the end of the show.   Seems symbolically fitting to me that the Church’s latest act of discrimination will end the same.   Keep in mind this post also – for the policies of the Church aren’t representatious of the gospel.   I think Wendy Montgomery was accurate in her quote from this news story.    How dare they.   Why must the Church be so dis...

          Marilyn lives at the top of the street.  I am using her actual name as she will personally never read this.  Not only is she computer illiterate, but she tends to give off vibes that work against electronics.           She does volunteer work at the library.  Regular patrons have learned to never request her assistance with the computers.  If they have questions - even if it's not computer or program related - they know they have to ask somebody else - for if Marilyn gets within four feet of the computers, they all start going haywire.           I was laughing as she was sharing her experiences with me.  But it's no laughing matter.  She is serious about setting off bad electronic vibes - and I think I may have caught her virus.           Recently I go...