The End of a Streak

Last year Patrick finished his first year of school with a perfect record of attendance. But today the streak ended. The poor little guy slept in the hallway last night so that he could be closer to the toilet. Often when everyone else gets sick, Patrick doesn't. He rarely gets ill. But he has slept all day, so we know he is in pretty rough shape. But the school Halloween party is tomorrow (since the kids don't have class on Friday) so you know that P-Man will sack up and go to school come hell or high water tomorrow. A little Zofran and Immodium and he'll be fine...

Doesn't Make Scents

While exploring the streets of Madison, Wisconsin this week I ran across the following sign in the window of a sub shop:

How wonderful is that? How often have you found yourself walking down the street thinking 'I sure could go for a good smell right now' only to dig into your pocket to find that you have no money. I always say that the only thing better than a smell is a free smell. There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but now we know that there is such a thing as a free smell. And to top it all off, not only do they offer free smells, they throw in extremely fast delivery. Because who wants to wait for their smells? The question begs: What does it 'smell' like? Teen Spirit? I realize that a free smell is free, and it's better than no smell at all. I wanted to step inside and get my free smell, but I just couldn't do it. I was already too full. I had been smelling the scent of dairy that permeates all of Wisconsin all week long, and just couldn't take one more smell. Maybe next time.

Voyager

My training session is being held on the Epic campus, which is larger than some colleges. We are in a building called Voyager Hall. Epic has worked hard to make their campus a lot of fun. They have a tree house that is larger than my home. Each auditorium has its own theme. I am in the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ wing, in the ‘Acrobats’ room. Other rooms have themes such as ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Middle Earth’, ‘James Bond’, ‘Shakespeare’ and ‘Superheroes’. During break time we explored some of the other rooms.

'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players...'

Hanging out with Jake and Elwood. Note my Levis. Like I said, they promote a laid back work environment.

After we took this picture I realized that Tasha and I picked the wrong 'horses'. Can you tell why?

Please take your hand off of my sword!

I took this picture for my mother. She loves clowns...

When I first walked around the corner and saw this little girl I was startled. We named her Madison Verona. She's very lifelike. And quite creepy.

What is she looking at?

She's staring into space: The final frontier...

A Nice Slap in the Face

This post comes to you from Madison Wisconsin. Verona, Wisconsin actually. I am here for a week long training program for a registration and billing software we are installing. I would post some pictures, but there is nothing worth shooting here. Cows, fields and clouds, that’s about it.

Anyway, since there is nothing to do here I found myself watching a college football game between Temple and Ohio last night. The game was awful, and a battle to see which team could play worse than the other. Near the end of the game the commentators discussed the results of an online poll that asked the question: Which of these two teams will play in a BCS bowl: Utah or Boise State? The results showed that 57% of the voters favored Boise State. One of the commentators said, “I don’t know. I would take Utah. Coach Mendenhall has his players really playing well up on the hill in Salt Lake City.”

Coach Mendenhall? Are you kidding me? Last time I checked Mendenhall was coaching Utah’s mortal enemies down in Provo. Then to make matters worse, he postulated that people probably voted for Boise State based on recognition. He suggested that the Broncos got votes because “they’ve been to a BCS bowl before.” I came out of my chair when I heard that one. Excuse me? Yes, Boise State has gone to the Fiesta Bowl. Two years after the Utes beat Pittsburg in that same bowl. What a moron. The guy has no business working for ESPN. But then again, he was calling a Tuesday night game between Temple and Ohio on ESPN2, so what can I expect?

Three from the U
At the San Diego Zoo

When I found out that I had to go to San Diego for a conference the first week of October I wasn’t too disappointed. When I found out that my boss had booked early flights for us so that we could go to the San Diego Zoo together, I wasn’t as excited. Not that I didn’t want to go to the zoo. I had never been. I just didn’t relish the idea of going to the zoo with my travel companions, both of whom are old enough to be my parents. Because I am a jerk I teased Karen about whether or not she had made matching T Shirts for us to wear, or if she would make us hold hands.

We did have a great time, and somehow managed to see the whole zoo in just a matter of hours. With Karen leading the way, we got a nice workout, hiking up and down the terrain of the zoo.
The conference was nice too, considering we were put up in the Mission Bay Hilton. But the conference was far less compelling than watching the tigers get fed. Two weeks from now I will be travelling to Madison Wisconsin for a week of training. Somehow I don't think it will be as fun...

I 'otter' take the kids there someday...

The Panda Bear was the highlight of the day. He knew that everyone wanted to take his picture, and would stop eating and pose for pictures. I've never seen an animal, except for my cousin Jeff, that was more of a camera hog.

The young Gorillas were funny. When they weren't wrestling, they would sit with their backs to the glass. If you tried to take a picture they would reach around and slap the glass with their hands.

No, that's not a live rabbit. But it was alive when tossed into the cage.

The Hip-Hop-otomuses

Of course no zoo trip would be complete without the Meerkats.

Insert 'Camel-Toe' joke here...

Ross Shirley

1912-2008

Ross Shirley, 96, of Wilford, died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008. He was born June 25, 1912, in Salem, the son of James Frederick and Sarah Francis Virgin Shirley. He attended school at Sugar-Salem High School, where he excelled in athletics and was student body president. He also attended Ricks College and played football. He graduated with a teaching credential and taught in the Teton and Sugar-Salem school districts. He enlisted in the military following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and served in the South Pacific. He retired from the Army with the rank of major. He married Margie Ward and raised four children in the Salem area. He was a carpenter as well as a security officer for Ricks College. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in the Idaho Falls temple for 20 years. He is survived by his wife, Margie of Wilford, Neal (Cathie) Shirley of Wilford, Dale Shirley of Salt Lake City, Scott (Jan) Shirley of Sunnydell, and Janet (Arden) Howell of Sandy, Utah. Services will be held Saturday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. in the Wilford LDS Chapel. The family will receive friends on Friday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Flamm Funeral Home (61 N. First East, Rexburg) and on Saturday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Sugar City Cemetery.

I lifted the preceding obituary from the Rexburg Standard Journal. I was saddened to hear of Grandpa Shirley’s passing on Wednesday. I knew that sooner or later this day would come. He was fortunate enough to have spent 96 years on this earth, and to be married to the same woman for more than 60 years. I am grateful that my children were able to know him, and that my older kids will be able to remember him.

The way that Grandpa passed away was reflective of how I always saw him. Things had to be on his terms. Many years ago when I was managing the Trolley Corners Cinemas I received a call informing me that Grandpa had fallen while riding his motorcycle and had broken his hip. It was expected that because of his age (he was probably in his early eighties) that he might not survive the recovery. Eventually he mended, and Grandma took away his motorbike.

Shortly thereafter he slipped on some ice while putting the cat out and broke a hip. Again we were told to prepare for the worst. And again he healed. So last December when he fell ill and was admitted to the hospital I wasn’t sure what to think. I tried to cope with the inevitable, yet deep down I wasn’t convinced. And sure enough, after a grueling recovery in a care center, he went home.

On Monday of this week I heard that Ross had fallen ill and had refused to go to the hospital. My heart sank because I knew that there would be no recovery this time. I think he had determined that his time had come, and he was ready.

All week we’ve been reminiscing about what we loved about Grandpa, and I am sure it will continue at the viewing and funeral. We’ve always joked about the fact that Grandpa ‘lived in the tropics’. When we would arrive in Idaho for Thanksgiving dinner we would step out of the cold and instantly melt because he would the heat cranked. We would go in to the addition and shut the sliders to watch TV and open the back door to let some cold in. Eventually he would walk in and chastise us for letting the heat out, demanding that the door be shut.

My kids never eat gravy with their mashed potatoes. The last time we had Sunday dinner with Grandpa, Patrick sat next to him and dished up a huge serving of spuds. Ross thought that he would be nice and poured a spoonful of gravy on P’s potatoes. Patrick didn’t know what to say, and just gave me a ‘look’. He then ate the spuds, scraping all of the ‘untainted’ potatoes from underneath the gravy.

I am happy that Grandpa has been able to peacefully pass from this life to the next, though I will miss him. I will miss his hearty handshakes that belied his frail form. I will miss yelling sports with him. I will miss the way he would end each day by handing over the TV remote and saying ‘Weeeeel. I guess I’ll go off to bed.’ I will miss his honest and blunt opinions on all kinds of subjects. But most of all I will miss knowing that he will be there when we get there.

Winner, Winner,

Chicken Dinner

Samantha and Bean's dance instructor is movig to a new studio. She has decided that she doesn't want to move too many things, and has determined to get rid of all of her old trophies. And who were the recipients of said trophies? You guessed it. Samantha came out of dance class carrying a trophy that outweighs her. Bean's isn't much smaller. Never mind that the inscription on the trophy is for a competition that took place in 2002...a year before Samantha was born...