Post Script

Wow, the last post hit the jackpot in the sympathy department! Maybe we could work on an illness-of-the-week post or something to keep it going. Actually I only told about all of that because it lent itself so well to ridiculous puns. I'm doing great. It just feels like ponytails that are pulled too tight, so I'm pretty sure I'll survive. Thanks for the prayers and good wishes. I'll try not to pun-ish you with more gory details.
Frankenstein's Cyster

A True Cyster

Today I really feel like a numb skull. I had three sebaceous cysts surgically removed from my scalp to hopefully prevent them becoming infected like a previous one did. Doug gave me a blessing last night and Clarissa accompanied me to the appointment, so I was all set. So now my numb-skullness is almost worn off but I have eight stitches to show for my effort. What an exciting day--I'm in stitches!
Susan/MOM

Money advice from dad

I spotted an article about money management for college students and it had some good ideas I’d like to pass along (plus some of my own).

Pay your Partner. With a capital P. The Lord. He’s got quite an investment in you and all he wants back is 10%.

Create a budget. The advice from Church leaders to “live within your means” assumes that you know how much you make and how much you are spending. A budget forces you to think about all the ways you spend money. If you have no idea where the money went last month or throughout the year, it is time to find out.

Surprises are for birthdays, not bank accounts. You need to know how much you have in the bank. Overdrafts are expensive and damaging to your credit history.

Think ahead. Part of the budget process is tracking the occasional expenses. It’s the tax bill, the house insurance, those quarterly payments that will get you if you don’t plan for them.

Learn to manage your credit cards. The name of the game is to avoid paying the banks interest. Now and then you’ll be forced to carry a balance. We had to replace the engine on our van several years ago. It took us a few months to pay off the repair. Other than that, we pay the balance BEFORE it is due. There is nothing worse than getting dinged for the interest just because your payment didn’t get to them in time.

Know why you carry a credit card. Think bona fide emergencies and building a credit history. It is too easy to overspend with a card because psychologically you don’t realize you are spending. You are teased into “having” rather than the concept that you must pay for the item.

Just say no. Practice frugal thinking. There are lots of nice things you could have, but your resources are limited. You must prioritize. You must get creative. Delayed gratification is good for the character. If something is really that important to you, someday you’ll have it.

Cook. Brown bag it. Your meals will be cheaper that way and healthier for you.

Talk. If there is something about your spouse and finances, you’d better get it off your chest. Pick a time when life isn’t coming at you full blast, then talk it out.

Save. The figure usually thrown around is 10%. Some of it needs to be liquid and some of it should go to retirement. Remember the bucks you bank for retirement now will have the greatest impact on your account balance at the end. Interest compounds best when it has a looooong time to do its magic.

Bueno Avenue Bunch

I just love old things. (Oh yeah, I forgot, I'm an old thing...) So here's another picture that's almost half a century old, taken on Bueno Avenue in Salt Lake.

Name that family! Name the names! If you can, then you are ready for some MORE family history stuff!!! (Answer: l to r & f to b: Douglas Scott, Junius Dean, Janet, Max, Larry)

Men - talk to your wives!

The book of love

I had the privilege of living with my mother for the last few weeks of her life. She needed someone there 24/7 at the end and I was available.

She slept a lot those last few weeks and I started going through her papers to pass the time and to prepare for the inevitable.

I stumbled on a book she had kept. The title was “A History of Our Country,” by David Muzzey. The copyright was from 1936. It turned out to be her high school textbook from 1940-41, her senior year.

I was struck by the serious nature of this high school text. It was over 800 pages long. And they were packed pages! Not much white space at all. It bears no resemblance to the “magazine style” textbooks of today. It was a serious study of U S history.

I thought this would be an interesting book since the final chapter had to do with the New Deal. World War II wasn’t even mentioned. Hitler isn’t in the index.

But it turned out to be a book of love. Mother had written in the margins all sorts of hints about what was going on in her life. She was being courted by my father and planning a wedding right after graduation!

There were even a couple of flowers pressed between the pages. And a note from a class mate stuck between pages 708 and 709:Think of it, a 17-year-old tackling the issue of romance and marriage.

So here are some of the verses she scribbled in the side margins. She’d write one line on one page, then the next two pages ahead, so you could flip through the pages and recite the entire love song.

New San Antonio Rose
With lips so soft and tender
Like petals falling apart
So you’re the one
The one I’ve always dreamed about
The one I cannot live without
I don’t know where you came from
But I’m awfully glad you’re here
Just like that I love you
You’re the one, My Dear-

A few pages later she writes the words to “When you wish upon a star”
And ends with:
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true! Hope hope

Here’s another one:
“Faithful Forever”
Forever I’ll be
Faithful to you
I’ll be faithful
Faithful to you
Forever and ever Dear
I can’t love you any more
Any more than I do
For if I loved you any more
I would have to be two
I love you with my heart
I love you with my mind
I love you, love you, love you
All there is I find
So, I can’t love you any more
Any more than “I do”

Then there is the guest list, but if you turn it sideways, it’s notes from history class.

Dad's name must be written in that book a hundred times, usually next to her own.

And she had a sense of humor, too! But here she distills down the dream:
What a precious glimpse into her life as a young woman.

She was married a few weeks after graduation on June 24, 1941. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 24, 1977. (Let’s just say she was ready a loooong time before Dad was!)

Another old photo!

Here's another photo from the olden days. Isn't he handsome???

Guess who he is!

Drill team close-up

By popular demand, a Granny close-up. (For some reason this doesn't enlarge when you click on it.)

Hubba-Hubba!

In honor of REM, who had a birthday this week, I present some racy shots from the 1940 Valonian. Hubba-hubba! As an added bonus, we know how much he LOVES the Olympics. Look at these fine-tuned athletic specimens.

I've learned...

...that to ignore the facts doesn't change the facts.It just struck me as funny!
XOXO
Dad

Remembering Garda

Garda Esplin is my Mother. Here she is in 1940, a Junior at Valley High School in Orderville, Utah. This is the entire Junior Class: all 21 of them!

She was an orphan. Her father died when she was 21 months old. Her mother died when she was 10. They were raised by an uncle, but really they raised themselves. She had three sisters and one brother.

She served on the FIRST yearbook staff for the school annual, the Valonian. She was organized and a good typist.

As you will later learn, her Senior year she was focused on something else. Quoting from the Disney movie Little Mermaid, "She's got it bad." Stay tuned for more about the romance in another post.

Garda died in 2002 at the age of 79.

Advice to the men - part II

I hope you men all did your homework from several days ago. Here is assignment #2:

• Mail her a love letter this week.


• Praise her in front of someone else.


• Prove your love - buy her something.


• If she asks a favor - do it.


• Compliment her on her physical beauty.


• Compliment her accomplishments.


• Pamper her during her period.


• Make one "I love you" call each day.

You can always share your success stories with me, boys. I might even post them.

Go to your room!

People are sooooo funny with their birthday cards.

I checked with the police. I am old enough that if you give me the required number of spankings you can be arrested for domestic abuse. So there!

Here are a couple of the cards I received.

Inside it says, "Do I smell old people?" (Thanks alot R & B!)

Then there was this one from the newlyweds...

...and all over the world candles are shaking in their boxes!

Very funny!

I also received an e-card that explained how to make the snake shape from one of those skinny balloons. Very complex for an old man!

Nice cards, kids. Thank you.

God answers

Just a quick update on the surgery. Your prayers worked!

They were able to do the minimally invasive procedure on the newest Mrs. H. This will mean a shorter recovery time.

She's awake and sore. The doctor is pleased with the procedure.

That's about all we know right now.

Thanks for your prayers. Keep 'em coming!

In the "Glad-I'm-not-him" category, a 16-year-old from Algonquin Illinois had a kidney stone removed. It is half the size of a golf ball.

The moral of the story is: Watch your salt intake.

Prayers

Calling all pray-ers.

Rainah could use your faith and prayers on Thursday for her operation. Throw in the word "laparoscopic", K? Or "minimally invasive" would work, too.

For those of you who aren't on speaking terms with God, send out some happy thoughts.

Thanks.

A Stormy Send-Off

Jon and Rainah were loaded in the plane and on the runway Monday night when the tornado sirens went off. So they went back to the gate and made everyone go back inside and wait out the storm.

There was a tornado warning at Wrigley Field during the Cubs game as well. Same drill...everyone had to head for cover out of the stands.

At O'Hare they actually evacuated the control tower, leaving only one controller and one supervisor to handle things. (Most of the regional traffic is handled in a center in Elgin so there isn't much to do in the tower when no one is taking off and landing.)

As for us, we lost power at the house for about three hours. And the lightning alarms as well as the tornado sirens were going crazy.

So, it was a pretty serious storm in Chicago.

The newlyweds finally got home about three hours late.

More pens

Jelly Belly - Source: AM

Golden Spike - Source: AM

Microsoft

From the Elgin Reception

Here are some pics from last night's reception in Elgin:

First thing this morning

Here's the view from the driveway this morning. To the west a thunderstorm was still wearing itself out.