Beneath the Wraps

When Jenna was a tot, all she had to do was flash her smile and a member of an older generation would whip out a quarter and hand it to her.   She hasn’t outgrown her charm and charisma, but I’m happy to say no one financially pays her for it anymore (I think with the age she is now that I’d be worried)   One time we had gone to Big Lots and some guy on his way in had asked if I wouldn’t mind hanging on to his enormous Great Danes while he went inside.   I was hoping to get Biff’s attention so that he could get a picture of me hanging onto the leashes of these gigantic animals.   The owner had called them “Scooby Doo” dogs.   So now everytime I hear the name "Scooby Doo" I think of that time with Jenna.                                         https://saveadane.org/2012/03/great-dane-ranking/ When he had finished his business, he came out of the store and pr...

             I was just thinking about the need for human touch and how many articles have been written on what a wonderful therapy the human touch is for mankind and how some are trying to distance themselves and wear masks while others refuse.   The stay-at-home/lockdown order is slowly being lifted. It’s supposed to take place in phases though I KNOW for a fact there are some people who are NOT following the guidelines.   There are those who have never followed the guidelines to begin with.   There are those that believe they are beneath it.   These people aren’t even looking for human touch.   They are inconvenienced – hey, we all are.   But some of us are wise enough to understand that the reason we wear masks and social distance aren’t because we are sheep being controlled by the government.   Some of us understand that good hygiene protects not only ourselves but those we come in contact with.     T...

Like the Holderness Family ( here ), I have lost track of days.   It did not help matters to see the mail truck come down our street twice yesterday.   Usually the time drags and doesn’t move quickly enough that it would have really been the next day, but I questioned the day when we saw the mail truck the second time.             I don’t know that I have ever seen the mail truck repeat the route on the same day.   I like to think because I received a package that was so incredible large that there was not enough room in the box for the other three items.   But I think it had more to do with the ambulance across the street.             That was also a unique situation – not that we hadn’t seen the ambulance at that house before during pandemic but it was the first time we had seen a fire truck pull up behind it with a group of about 5 volunteers gather...

            In 1 Nephi 8 ( here ) the prophet Lehi tells his family of a vision that he had received.  In his vision he see’s many people hanging onto an iron rod which leads to the tree of life. (video found here ) There is a river along the path that leads to the tree.  Across the river is large and spacious building where several people are engaged in worldly activities.  Lehi sees people from his day as well as others – perhaps even our day.  He does not tell us that those toward the end of the line are wearing face masks and are standing six feet apart for instance.  The people in the spacious building laugh and point fingers at those holding onto the iron rod.  They have tried to convince the rod-holders to let go – especially those who are wearing masks and distancing themselves.  The people in the spacious building think that the rod holders are giving up their freedoms and are doing their...

I was listening to pandemic parodys yesterday when Jenna and Roland were in Roseburg.  For the most part I laughed and related to everyone.  I relate to this one to, but from the side of the grateful one for those on the frontline.  The video makes me cry . . . everytime.  It's a beautiful song and message. and if the video is ever removed the words and music here without the pictures (which make the message more powerful)  Thank you, Chris Mann for this message and beautiful song.

The Relief Society Pres has felt impressed to make little banana breads and plates of cookies to be delivered to some of the sisters in the ward.   I volunteered to help with deliveries and had Jenna with me as we drove around to deliver cookies.  Two of the sisters we had delivered to live off the same exit as our friend Caroline.   So after we had finished delivering the cookies, we stopped by Caroline’s house to visit.   I think we were a bit closer than six feet apart but did keep our distance.  We could hear the sirens and then followed by a noise between a “pop” and a “boom” – it didn’t sound like gunfire exactly, certainly not an explosion.   I still don’t know if it was related to the sirens or not, nor do I know what happened.    Caroline  said she could smell something resembling like burnt plastic.  If I had gotten back on the freeway and headed south, driven through Canyonville and back through Riddle I would have mi...

                On April 20 I received an email for a work assignment for the 13 – 28.   I was scheduled to work at Coffenberry for the rest of the year.   I posted this assignment on facebook and proposed two questions:   If they wanted me on the 13 th , why did they wait until the 20 to tell me?   The schools are closed, but do you think if I show up that I will get paid?               Roland had suggested that I qualify for unemployment, but he was still working and I didn't want to take away from somebody else who needed more than we.  As it turned out I didn't even qualify as I hadn't put in enough hours or made enough.  And that was okay.             I haven’t been to any of the schools since March 13.   The school district has payments available on the 10 th but today I re...