He, She, and We

He is simple. In a crowd, he is indiscernible as much by choice as by stature. He is a jack of many trades with the intent to master at least some. He is a teacher who is often found being taught. A long way from home, he is getting there, step by step, day by day. He is optimistic, patient, hopeful, and happy.

She is graceful, elegant by definition. A drive for constant, incremental improvement often puts her on the edge of unknown places and unfamiliar experiences. She is courageous. She is beautifully simple, and simply beautiful. The qualities of kindness, gentleness, honesty, trust, humor, dignity, and love all find new meaning in her demeanor. She is choice.

We are together. Stretching, growing, learning, experiencing, becoming. We'll be there soon!

05.12.2012

Product Label for Master Teachers

Active Ingredients
Knowledge 10%
Desire 20%
Experience 30%
Love 40%

Uses for the meaningful relief of teenage pain due to:
Depression/anxiety
Family strain
Physical and mental disabilities
Relationship difficulties
Low sel-esteem
Identity crises
Hormone imbalances
Past experiences
Unmet goals
Unfulfilled potential

Warnings
When using this product avoid laziness and sloth. If conditions do occur, refine and change repeatedly until the effects of such adjectives no longer persist. Stop and ask for help if condition worsens. Keep within reach of all children, teenagers, and adults.

Directions
Take only as prescribed by a competent academic professional. Any misuse or abuse of product may result in a teacher’s tears, fears, worries, stress, frustrations, depressions and insomnia. If any of these problems persist for longer than 3 days, consult with the product privately. Ask your doctor if you have allergies to hard work, optimism, honesty, or hope.

This product is determined by effectiveness, not by weight, size, color, or gender.

Product may contain trace amounts of peanuts.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

When I arrived at the Madsen recital hall for my stake music fireside, I noticed Lawanna sitting alone at the end of the row. I didn't know her then, but she will always be hard to forget.

Halfway through the musical fireside, Lawanna was asked to bear her testimony. This is a summary of the experience she told.

Lawanna joined the church a couple years ago thinking that her life trials would end on her baptism day. Of course they didn't and in some ways even increased in intensity. Bitterness crept into her heart as she began to push away the very people that could help her. In one of her dark moments, she offered up the sincere feelings of her heart in prayer. She needed help with her trials and she needed them immediately.

Lawanna was diagnosed with cancer and began undergoing chemo therapy. Somehow, her roommate convinced her to go to the BYU vs. U of U football game a couple weeks ago even though she didn't really want to. When she got to the game, she discovered that her seats were in the "old folks" section which apparently have just as much "Max Hall team spirit" as the young and spry college students.

At the game she began talking to the couple sitting next to her. Their conversation turned to the church (they were all members) and soon she discovered the the woman sitting next to her was diagnosed with the exact same cancer as she was. Awhile into the conversation the man pulled out of his pocket a business card showing her that he was the vice president of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the U of U. He explained to her that if she would stick with the church, he would take care of her treatments. With financial and insurance concerns, this was a welcome deal. She now has the greatest support she could ever wish for and her prayer was answered.

This Christmastime, some of the greatest gifts we will be receiving and giving will not be found under the tree.

Merry Christmas!

The Last 5 Months in Prepositions

*Disclaimer: Please don't show this to my English teacher.

Since my MTC career ended...

(Quitting the MTC)

Above the stratosphere...

(Hiking Timpanogos)

On top of my innocent car...

(Practical joke by a friend)

Among 14 year old hormones...

(Teaching at Springville Junior High)

Behind a good Halloween idea...

(Dressing up as facebook for Halloween)

Against the law...

(Group date started here, we ended up getting kicked out)

With good friends...

(My good friend, Tyler Cima, got married in November)

At the breaking point...

(PRAXIS test, getting ready for students teaching, growing pains, etc.)

After a 5-4 shootout...

(We won a tournament game in a shootout!)

...Nothing but net!

How's Your Week?

When your week feels kind of like this...



What do you do? All you can do is hope that the dips aren't too deep, the corners aren't too sharp, and no one's following too closely behind.

What I've Done, But Haven't Told You About

My blog in the past few months has been....struggling. At first I blamed it on my largely bathetic lifestyle even though that never really stopped me before. I mean, who else could dedicate an entire blog post on a Norwegian troll? (Where is it, by the way?)

So, in effort to reconnect with my faithful and starving blogging audience, here is my penance to you. Below are a couple anecdotes from the last five months of my life, complete with rusty wit, unpracticed sarcasm, and a little taste of Tadd.

Did anyone tell you about...? - For me, moving apartments is about as fun, exciting and rewarding as watching three weeks worth of Michael Jackson on CNN. For those of you who are Michael Jackson fans, just think about how you would feel if John Denver got the same amount of media coverage for his untimely death. Get it? Well, after a fair amount of searching, we signed contracts at the Le Grande apartments (better known as the “La Grunge” apartments for obvious reasons). Eric, the previous tenant, was very nice and diplomatically took it upon himself to break us in to the new complex. “Did anyone ever tell you about the boy problem?” Luckily, the apartment manager did inform us of the reality that there were actually three boys for every girl in the ward, a near impossibility at BYU. A few minutes later, Eric said again, “Did anyone ever tell you about the dishwasher problem?” This one caught us unaware. On the door of the dishwasher was a handmade sign that said something to the effect, “Do not open or you will die.” Apparently anthrax and its closest relatives had invited itself to cultivate the inside of our dishwasher. Lastly, Eric asked, “Did anyone ever tell you about the bird problem?” At this point I either wanted to shove Eric out the door and suffer an ignorant fate or cancel my contract with the apartment manager on the way to getting detoxified from exposure to rare and threatening spores.

As it turned out the “bird problem” was really just a code for naturally occurring 4 am alarm clock complete with “window dressings” that conveniently reminded us that the birds were still in business.

Man vs. Wild, Provo Edition - Right after I moved into my new third story apartment, my roommates and I put in a homely garden complete with nine small tomato plants. After only a few days, we noticed that instead of getting bigger, our plants were actually getting smaller, by the chunk. We blamed everyone but ourselves for the reason behind this new discovery including the girls in our ward who were growing a rival garden. One glance out the bedroom window, however, told us exactly who the perpetrators were. Our friendly birds had carefully hung our tomato plant out of their rain gutter nest so it was in plain view from our window as if to say, “we killed your tomato plants and want you to know it!” Their snooty arrogance was quickly met with vengeance and a large broomstick.

We had a little remorse.

There was no more “bird problem.”

Jimmimmimmimmy!

Today I am officially the only male in my family under 30 years old! That means today Jimmy officially turns 30! Happy birthday Jimmy!

Although I’m pretty sure he destroyed some of my favorite Hot Wheel cars with his BB gun, I still love him. He has been a wonderful example and a good friend to me. Jimmy lives so closely to the ideals and values he cherishes. He epitomizes gospel living.

The night before Brad’s farewell, the boy cousins and I had a little fun with Jimmy. Naturally, all of the Farmer kids were kicked out of our rooms to make room for the aunts and uncles to sleep. The boy cousins and I were placed in the same room with Jimmy to sleep the night away. While Jimmy was sleeping, we had a competition to see how many snack food items we could fit in Jimmy’s mouth, ears, and nose before he woke up. To this day, I don’t know if it was the pretzel in the ear or the peanut in the nose that roused him awake.

Fast forward about ten years to another farewell time, this time it was mine. I remember being in the car with Jimmy a few days before I left on my mission. He asked me several questions about how I was feeling and he shared some simple experiences from his mission that really calmed my fears. I really felt greater excitement and less uncertainty from my conversation with him. That’s the kind of brother Jimmy has always been.

Happy birthday Jim! I love you!

P.S. (Can you “P.S.” on a blog?) I don’t have any embarrassing pics of Jimmy. I thought about just posting a pic of me since we look so much alike but I decided against it.

Happy Birthday Girl!

Fifteen years ago I was hoping for a dog. Instead I got a sister.

What I didn’t know back then I can’t imagine life without now. Today is Marissa’s 14th birthday and it truly is a celebration of a great life! She has grown up into quite the young lady!

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be around her. I never had the “I’m too cool for my younger sister” feeling probably because she’s always been more of a friend to me than anything else.

I remember losing her when I was 12 or 13 years old. I was put in charge of watching her for a few minutes but soon she had disappeared from my sight and I had no idea where she had gone. After frantically searching for her, I finally found her playing peacefully in the sandbox. The rush of relief I felt when I saw her overtook me! When I think of fear, worry, and panic, I think of the moment I lost my little sister. I could not at that time, nor at any time since that day, imagine my life in the absence of Marissa.

With me in college, we’ve still found a way to keep close. When I’m able to go home for the weekend, we like to stay up and watch movies on the couch downstairs. Rarely does the movie finish without us first falling asleep. Several months ago, she came down and spent a good part of the weekend with me in Provo. We had a good time plays nertz and making gagging gestures at the main character of the Aida play we watched. It was a great weekend!

Her life has never been easy but she’s been a champ through it all. By her actions, she has set a great example for her little nieces and nephews and older siblings to follow. She is beginning to realize more and more the wonderful gifts and talents that she has been blessed with. What has been invisible to her for so long has been crystal clear to all her know her best. She has and will do wonderful things in her life!

Happy birthday to a wonderful aunt, daughter, sister, and friend! I love you!

Phew! It's Just St. Patrick's Day!

It took me awhile to realize what day it was today...

I rushed out of the McKay Building at the conclusion of my 7 am class on my way to work. It was still early and my class was fairly unsuccessful at waking me up so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to decipher what I was about to see. As I was walking down the stairs with my clonky Doc Martins, I watched as Peter Pan swiftly flew up the stairs next to me. I wondered what he was doing here and how he was able to manage wearing green tights on such warm morning. I then began to fear that BYU was being infested with “look-at-me-emo’s” but then I realized...

Phew! It’s just St. Patrick’s Day!

Later on in the day I was on my great campus again when I spotted I sight I didn’t anticipate seeing for at least another month and a half. There was a girl wearing a bright-green polo perched on a curb as if to direct pedestrian traffic. EFY! Ahhh! Before I was able to divert my path in another direction, my eyes began to focus and I realized that she didn’t have the signature name badge that has come to characterize our beloved EFY counselors. I realized that her choice of wardrobe color wasn’t a result of overprotective parents who worried about their child’s spiritual well-being. I thought to myself...

Phew! It’s just St. Patrick’s Day!

Later, I settled myself down in my apartment to enjoy a good bowl of Frosted Flakes for dinner. As I poured the milk over my appetizing dinner, I noticed a faint greenish tint to my milk. I looked at the date on the carton: 25 February 2009. As I took my first big bite of cereal, I said to myself...

Phew! It’s just St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy Birthday Elise!

Elise is a very important part of our family. She is so fun to be around! One of my favorite things to do is to try to make her happy after a long, sleepy car ride to grandma and grandpas's house. What a personality! She was born just a couple weeks after I got back from my mission and I'm so glad that I've had the chance to watch her grow up into a pretty little girl. She will make a great older sister! I love you Elise!

Cayden - One Year Older and Wiser Too!

Even though I’m a day late on this blog, I still think it’s important for me to wish my oldest nephew, Cayden, a happy birthday!

Cayden’s 10th birthday was yesterday which is hard to imagine! He has grown up very quickly and I've enjoyed watching him grow over the years. He has become a handsome boy and a wonderful older brother to four adventerous younger brothers. He’s also a very loyal friend.

One of my first memories of Cayden was when he lived with us when he was a baby. We were in Sacrament one Sunday and he was sitting on my lap (facing me) eating crackers. The spirit in the meeting must have been pretty tingly because slowly Cayden started to brace himself for a sneeze. Before I could react, Cayden sneezed and blew just about every piece of cracker he had swallowed onto my slightly wrinkled church clothes!

All my memories with Cayden have been good memories. He's probably the most sensative little guy you will ever meet and always knows when something is wrong.

Happy birthday Cayden! I love you!

New Year’s Not-So-Resolutions

Note: The main purpose of this blog was to get rid of the disgusting nature of my last post that proudly sat atop my blog. A thousand apologies your way...


There are more broken resolutions in January than in Brittany Spears’ entire drug rehab history. People go from singing “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” to “Oops, I Did It Again” faster than it takes most Americans to say “I’m lovin’ it” at a McDonald’s drive-thru. And there’s a lot of love at the McDonald’s drive-thru!

All of these failed resolutions have helped me realize two of my biggest fears in life: failing at my goals and witnessing a successful presidential campaign by Mike Huckabee. Truth is, failure isn’t always a bad thing. But for me, failure to achieve my New Year’s resolutions is a scary proposition. Trying to change is hard. For that purpose I have decided to try something different this year. I’m going to take what I’ve learned in 2008 and compile a list of things that I WON’T resolve to do. So, like it or not, here it is. Tadd’s New Year’s Not-So-Resolutions of 2009.

1. I WON’T RESOLVE to go to bed late. I know it’s the popular thing to do in college, but I’m the kind of fish that likes to swim upstream.

2. I WON’T RESOLVE to spend my money like the United States government. And I’ll keep driving my Toyota.  

3. I WON’T RESOLVE to be excited when Carlos Boozer petitions the U.S. government for a portion of the bailout money to support his family. I want to see his business plan!

4. I WON’T RESOLVE to eat Pasta Roni for three meals a day. They are always so luring at the grocery store, tempting me with their forever falling prices. I’ll put my foot down on aisle 14!

5. I WON’T RESOLVE to date facebook on Friday nights. I’m sure there are plenty of other somewhat-on-the-creepy-side people who will be gracious enough to do that for me.

6. I WON’T RESOLVE to have flabby arms and jell-o legs. (Insert Utah/jell-o joke here:______________________)

7. I WON’T RESOLVE to be a lying, backbiting, inactive, insensitive dirtbag. I’m treading new waters here.

And last but not least...

8. I WON’T RESOLVE to hold up the wall at church dances, cheer from the sidelines, and gamble away some of the best opportunities life has ever given me. Life is not a spectator sport!

There you go, my blogging friends. I hope that in some way this list has helped you find the inspiration you need to not commit to failing resolutions. Welcome to 2009!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas A Doctor Gave to Me...

Kamas, Utah - The well worn out phrase, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” was tested yesterday when a group of snowmobilers went in search of medical attention after an accident disrupted their plans for an adventurous one-day getaway.

Tadd Farmer, a junior at BYU, and his friend, Dustin Higginson, both took dates on their trip to, Kamas, the “gateway to the Uintahs,” but neither could have predicted how this day would unfold. Kamas had already received several inches of fresh powder, and the day continued to threaten more as the snowmobile adventure began.

“I’ve been on four-wheelers and waverunners before, but I’ve never been on a snowmobile,” Tadd said. “I was ready for a fun day with good friends.”

Perhaps inexperience may have played a factor in what happened. After making one successful run down the mountain, Tadd was ascending back to the high elevation cabin with two other guys riding on back. As he approached the turn, the weight situated on the back of the snowmobile caused the machine to continue forward and not respond to the turning of the front skis. Slowing down to a try to make the turn, the snowmobile slipped into a small depression on the left.

“I felt the snowmobile tipping to the left which caused me to fall off and hit my head on a poorly placed ‘For Sale’ sign.” Tadd said of the experience. “When I got up, I first checked my teeth to make sure I still had them. Then I noticed blood coming down my ski goggles and knew that I probably needed a little help.”

“I was about to throw up. When I got back to the cabin, I asked for Tadd’s girlfriend (this was Tadd’s second date) and told her that I could almost see his brain,” a witness reported.

After putting a shirt on the wound, Tadd was immediately driven to a fire station and medical center in Kamas, both of which were closed. They finally found an open medical clinic in Heber City, about an hour and a half after the accident occurred.

The 6 mm deep wound above his left eyebrow required eight internal stitches, and nine external stitches to close it up. It was actually the first case of stitches to be performed at the brand new 5 Minute Medical clinic in Heber City. After taking some Tylenol, and after a forty-five minutes ride back to Kamas, Tadd and company spent the remaining time playing games and even made a few last runs on the snowmobile.

“I knew I wasn’t seriously hurt,” Tadd admitted. “I felt bad for messing up a day that promised to be so entertaining. I am grateful for those who made sacrifices to get the help that I needed.”

Tadd also readily admits that the accident could’ve been worse. Had he hit the sign any lower on his face, his eyes may have been damaged. One thing he appreciates a little more now than before is his sight, and the close proximity of hospitals in Provo.



Editor: The next picture may be a little disturbing. If you can’t handle a little blood and guts, don’t look at it.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I wanted to give a shout out to my Dad on his birthday and thank him for all he has done for me. I have been blessed by great parents!

He has been my coach in at least three different sports throughout most of my life. More importantly, he has been one of the best coaches for my life. Always willing to listen and teach, my Dad has helped me get to where I am today.

He would always ask at least one of my brothers or sisters to help with a project around the house and it wasn’t because he needed our help. He probably undid everything we did and did it over again once we left. He wanted to be with us and teach us things that would be useful to know.

Whenever he went grocery shopping, he would always bring back a bag of candybars and let us choose which one we wanted. He would always pick last.

My parents have been the greatest supporters I have had in my life. They had faith in me when I thought my odds were small. They had confidence in me when I had none. They taught me what I needed to know to truly be happy.

My Dad has a witty sense of humor that can make anyone laugh. He makes people feel comfortable when their near him, and doesn’t have an enemy in the world. Our driveway is always the last to be shoveled.

In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Village Blacksmith, he wrote of a hard working and noble blacksmith. This is how I feel about my dad!

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought!

I love you Dad!

Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

I am concerned with a recent trend of bloggers becoming increasing silent in their blogging responsibilities. The cause of this is still undetermined, but one could argue that the downturn of the nation’s economy is as much to blame as anything (or anyone) else. Think about it, with our stocks becoming bottom-dwelling creatures in the sea of economic tranquility, who would think to do something incredibly blog-worthy like replace an old pair of shoes with gold-plated go-go gadget spring shoes or have a chocolate fondue party where even the guests are covered in chocolate?

Because of the serious nature of this concern, my first thought was to write my lame-duck president for a portion of the 700 gazillion dollars of bailout money to go to bloggers throughout the nation. I decided against that idea because I don’t have a stamp and I doubt the president is in to blogs anyways. So I thought of an easier solution to bring back the blogs. Write one yourself.

My biggest challenge to blogging is that I never have anything to write about. As you can tell by my previous posts (or at least this one), you know that that has never stopped me in the past. So to get you thinking, I decided to generate a list which can either get you thinking of something you can blog about, or stop reading my blog altogether.

-The best thing about yesterday
-Your children
-Your lost-then-found sock
-The thoughts you had at 11am today
-Gary Coleman
-Ninja Turtles
-Gary Coleman vs. Ninja Turtles
-Your view of a flat, open, or closed universe and the possibility of other “people”
-What you like about Christmas
-What you like about me
-A childhood memory
-What you think a haberdasher is

Well, if that doesn’t help than I maybe I should go get some stamps. But come on people, who wouldn’t want to see Gary Coleman fight the Ninja Turtles?

Reasons to Vote Republican, Despite the Republicans

I like to think of myself as a nonpartisan voter when it comes to politics. I tend to lean to the republican side of the aisle when it comes to most issues, however, I have also sympathized with many democratic philosophies. Over the past several months, I have tried to ignore the political game between McCain and Obama because both candidates seem painfully weak and inadequate to meet the challenges of our country. Despite some good characteristics in both candidates, there really is no good choice for the Oval Office. Obama is a charismatic leader whose ideas and words sound nice but he lacks the experience to run the world’s superpower. McCain, a former POW and Vietnam vet, has the experience Obama’s lacking but looks and acts as if he’s been walking around with a perpetual political chip on his should for the last 26 years. With no clear leader in the campaign, I offer you my two reasons to vote Republican despite the Republicans.

My first reason for voting Republican for this election cycle is maintaining a conservative voice on the Supreme Court. As it now stands, the average age for the Supreme Court is 68 (the oldest being Justice Stevens at the age of 88). This means that there is a good chance that the next President of the United States will decide who will fill the vacancies left on the bench. With liberal reforms to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion coming before the courts with increasing frequency, it’s too risky to vote for a candidate who will place a Justice on the bench with liberal leanings. In an age of judicial activism, we cannot allow for the Supreme Court to legislate liberal laws and policies that could change forever the American way of life.

My second reason for voting Republican is to maintain a true checks and balance system between the Executive and Legislative Branches of government. It is a dangerous proposition for the American people to have one party control both the Legislative Branch and Executive Branch of government. Recent history will provide enough evidence of that. From 2000-2006, the Republicans controlled both branches of government which increased the power and influence of President Bush, making his presidency one of the most ineffective and disastrous presidencies in the history of our nation. Add a liberal Judicial Branch to the liberal Executive and Legislative Branches and you have an entire government dominated by a single ideology. Democrat or Republican, it is dangerous to have too much power.

I don’t know how you all feel, but I’m already looking forward to 2012.

Down In Front!

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to realize that there’s not much sport in the sports I watch. It has gotten to the point that every sport I go to is almost the sideshow to some other kind of gimmick. Who decided that we needed entertainment for our entertainment? Let me explain with a couple of examples.

My BYU football tickets aren’t anything to brag about. Sixth row doesn’t sound half bad but it is when your stuck in the end zone. If that isn’t bad enough, imagine trying to watch an entire football game through a pyramid of cheerleaders! Isn’t it exciting enough just to be at the football game? I almost dread timeouts because it means that I will be exposed to the latest and newest cheerleading stunt involving twists, flips, and flops that I don’t want to even consider. Do they really think that we need to be exposed to constant recreational stimulus for the entire 3+ hour game? Who am I, some kind of ADHD Mt. Dew addict who always needs to fill my caffeine fix? Can I have a timeout please?

I believe in the golden rule. You sweet-spirited cheerleaders, how would you feel if we invited the football team to hold a scrimmage on the sideline during a cheer competition? Cheer your guts out, but could you stay down in front?

My experience at the last Real Salt Lake game showed me that distractions at sporting events are not only caused by cheerleaders. During part of the game, some RSL people starting throwing stuff into the crowd. I reacted like a typical 4 year old as I reached to catch a ball that was coming my way. As I caught the ball, the entire stadium erupted in cheers and I knew immediately that the cheering wasn’t for me (even though it was a good catch). RSL just dropped a goal in the back of the net and I missed it because I was busy trying to catch a stupid hacky sack that even the sweatshop workers in India wouldn’t claim.

Why is free stuff so popular at games anyways? Did you ever go to a game because you’re sick of your summer wardrobe and you thought you needed a new shirt? And what about you who scavenger the underside of the bleachers looking for that cubic zirconia coupon? Was that on the wedding preparation to do list? Why is it that they can throw stuff into the crowd but anyone who throws anything back is escorted away by the police?

The more cheers I hear from the cheerleaders and the shirts tossed out, the more appealing baseball is becoming. By they way, I just posted a really cool soccer hacky sack on ebay so let the bidding begin!

In Case You're Not Sick of Polls By Now...

I just wanted to explain my new survey that I've included on the right of my blog. After writing a new blog post last weekend, my conscience made an uncommon appearance in my mind. I couldn't publish the post I was working on because I thought that it might be a little too sarcastic. That caused me to think of all of my blog entries. I do not try to vaunt myself or put other people down in my blogs, I just try to write the things as I see them (with a little extra, of course). So, I'm really curious about what you think. Let the polling begin!

Okay, So I Don't Travel Much...

This week I had an opportunity to travel to Lake Tahoe, Nevada to present a research project I’ve been working on with a professor from BYU. The project is about student teaching, and if any of you are interested, let me know and we can talk about it sometime. However, my blogging patrons are few, and probably won’t be able to stomach a blog on academia, so for their sakes and for mine, this blog is about my extracurricular experience at Lake Tahoe. Be aware that you are about to wade around in the shallow waters of my mind. Whether or not my infrequent travels results in my simple mind, or if my simple mind is why I don’t travel much is for you to decide.

I didn’t have to go any further than my hotel room to find something to blog about. One of the first things I noticed about my room was that there was a phone in the bathroom. I have never in my twenty-three-and-a-half years of breathing seen a need to use a phone in that locale. I hope I never do. As much as I would hate to need to use the phone in the bathroom, I would definitely not want to be on the receiving end of that call.

I was surprised to find that my shower was almost completely surrounded by glass. I enjoyed watching TV while taking a shower. I would not call it obsessive, I’d call it efficient.

I’m not much of a tree-hugger, but I sympathize for environmentalists. It seems like they were born with only half a brain or at least without common sense. On the sink in my bathroom counter was a sign that read, “Save the planet one towel at a time.” The sign then proceeded to beg me to hang up towels that I could reuse and leave dirty ones on the floor for them to launder. That was a reasonable request. Over the next few minutes of exploring the room, I found numerous piles of towels all over the place. In all, I counted 13 towels of all sizes left for me (and only me) to use during my two-day stay. It seemed to me that if they wanted me to use fewer towels, they’d give me fewer towels to use. Over the course of my trip, I looked for 13 legitimate ways to use each and every towel at least once. I know it’s not much, but someday our children and grandchildren will be left to deal with these environmentalists.

My time in Tahoe went by quickly! It was a great experience for me and one that I hope to repeat in the future. I am grateful for all those who did so much to make it possible for me to attend. Thanks!

P.S. I don’t know if you can “P.S.” a blog but I’m going to do it anyway. This blog was written before I went home. Between now and the time I wrote this blog, I had the unfortunate opportunity to use that poor phone!

Here’s To A Friend

A insincere compliment is about as useful to me as a coupon to a liquor store; I wouldn’t use it and would probably end up passing it on to someone else who doesn’t need it either. I’ve never been very good at thanking and complimenting those around me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not grateful for what they’ve done. It’s mostly because I’m at a loss at how to do it. Anything I could say or do seems completely inadequate compared to what’s been said and done for me.

Recently, I’ve noticed how even the simplest interactions with others can leave a deep and lasting impact on my life. There are things that I have learned that have opened my eyes, helped me see what I could not see, and help me be what I could not be.

The tragedy is that most of these friends leave without the slightest idea of the difference they’ve made. It’s to those friends, past, present, and future, that I wish to pay tribute. Thanks for lending an ear to my mouthful, helping me make sense of my jumbled thoughts, and for being a friend when I have been unfriendly. You may come and go with the passing days, but your impression will last throughout my life.