P.S.

Not that I would ever expect you to look back, but on April 10th, I did a post about my weird sense of humor going back further than I care to admit, and I put what I could remember of a high school bus activity song I dreamed up. I'm reposting the words here because I was looking for an Irving Berlin number in my sheet music today and found THIS! (The Cub Scout song I years later dreamed up to the same tune.) ((I'd taped in in the back of a 1939 camp song booklet of Mom's.))

So it's more for "my record" than for anything else. J

Original version circa 1961:

(as best I can remember - a couple lines gone the way of my aged sloughed off brain cells)

I'm a villain, a dirty rotten villain,

I put poison in my mother's shredded wheat, her wheat.

I have gotten a rep for being rotten,

And I beat little kids on the head 'til they're dead.

I'm a slob and a member of the mob

and I eat (sucking through teeth noise) raw (s.n.) meat (s.n./s.n.).

Cub version circa late 1980's:

(probably past Grant's Wolf days, however)

We are Cub Scouts, such very helpful Cub Scouts,

We do our duty to our God and country, our country.

We're so fair and we'd never take a dare,

We give grandma hugs and will never take drugs!

We have never gotten a rep for being rotten

We will always remember to give good will, good will.

With the help of Akela and Baloo

We will always pursue what is right and true!

P.S., I'd x'd a few of the camp songs, but I can't remember if we ever used them in Cubs. Such as:

She'll Be Coming 'round the Mountain

Polly Wolly Doodle

O Susanna

Dinah ("Someone's in the kitchen...")

Hey, Ho!

Weather the Weather

We're Glad to See You Here (to Farmer in the Dell)

Three Fishermen

My Grandfather's Clock

Hiking Song ("Tramp, tramp, tramp...")

Hiking ("Over hill, over dale...")

There's a Church in the Wildwood

I have cherished memories of singing those songs as a kid. When we pass on, I'd think it very sweet to sit around a campfire and sing those songs again with my loved ones. Maybe we could reprise a few at the reunion.

Don't tell anybody but we have landed some doozies including Chad Hymas and Jalon Watts for our summer training meetings. Even though we pay our staff of about 110 to attend these trainings each August, we try to dress them up so that they benefit from some lingering enthusiasm. I'm thinking adding this

to our email signatures is giving us some valuable clout!

Chad Hymas is labeled by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 10 most inspirational people in the world. Last year he spoke at 160 different events and traveled over 180,000 miles. He's shared his personal message and entertained many audiences including Wells Fargo, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca Cola, and the Utah Jazz.

Jalon Watts you'll see on American Idol, mark my words! He's 12, and after you click off my music, here are two of his recent recordings:

"The National Anthem" (Jazz Game)

"Come Home" (from Kandahar)

I'm hoping you have time to listen to them - he's unbelievable and unforgettable! Hummmm. Oxymoron?

I also put his rendition of "I Will Always Love You" in the ReverbNation sidebar widget if you'd like to hear one more of significantly better quality than the version on youtube. (Open it, click on the arrow middle of the page on the top black bar.)

Looking forward to Father's Day coming up as there'll actually be one

to honor at my house this year ... namely, Johnny Powell Scarborough IV.

(And yes, the familiar is the formal given name.)

Another plus is BOTH grandchildren are coming!

And fitting, for many reasons including all the T-ball and baseball time

Johnny has devoted to Hayden. Jewel said Hayden

was suddenly and thoroughly bored

once the season ended.

Johnny was one of the coaches for a baseball team

and so besides T-ball, Hayden tagged to those games too

where he got a lot of extra support and attention.

Here's a picture of the two of them two summers ago.

I was kinda surprised that no one commented

on the Neil Fugal picture I recently posted,

as it seems to me I see some of his features in his posterity.

Scroll back down and tell me what you think!

And here's another one of interest.

I was so surprised to first see Lucy whom I thought

was the first baldy

to join the ranks (in my line, anyway).

Looking for the prior post picture of Neil, I found this [!!]:

Neil Y. Fugal (born 14 Feb 1913) with his then only sibling, Melba

Happy Fathers Day to all you family dads! Hope you have a great day!

Best of State Gala, Salt Palace Ballroom

It was a night to remember. The most expensive event I've ever been to. I think. Well, that effected my COLA instead of Daddy's. $75/plate. Probably top$ Neil Diamond, Loggins and Messina, John Denver and The Lettermen ... mostly because seeing them was in another less expensive era (or two). ((Or three.)) (((Not quite an eon ago, though.))) Well, I guess I should consider the food factor into the cost. And all the performers last night, of course, are Utahns. Though I suppose the food would be an upper and the Utahns could be a downer. Just considering cost factors of course. [I'm taking a big chance here, leaving out the happy face icons ... the few of you who would read this hopefully have figured out where this paragraph should be punctuated with laughter. Well a chuckle or two at least.]

The best part about it was I was home by 9:45 p.m. Plenty of time to put the final touches on subbing the music in Primary, the most fun church job in the entire universe.

I put all of last night's pictures on Facebook: "Click"

Yes!!!! I asked and was allowed to use Rock of Ages, No. 111, in Sacrament meeting today! I had the organist play it all the way through and the congregation did fine. I had been told to have it sung in Priesthood and R.S. today, so I responded that I'd leave Priesthood up to him (which he promptly forgot about) and I did ask the R.S. counselor, who used to be the ward music leader, what she thought and she said we'd be fine without it. It has not been sung in our ward in six years or more.

Double Yes!!!! I'd been turned down about five months ago on In Remembrance of Thy Suffering, No. 183, as being too hard for a Sacrament hymn, but it made it through inspection this time! It's full of triplets, and they did fine with it as well. I practiced/practiced/practiced so maybe my confidence would rub off.

Personally, I think Sacrament-meeting-goers are more interested if there's enough variety and challenge that they actually have to look at the score. True, those who can't read music have a problem, but they can still appreciate the momentarily unknown. I don't think it's that the powers that be "believe" in me now, after ten months, I think it's more that being patiently persistent has paid off. So I'll cross my toes and continue my prayers that it lasts....

P.S. - the choir director is old, like me. Well, older, actually, than me, and she picked "Let the lower lights be burning" for our next number. And I'm scratching my head, why are these soooo familiar to me! No, it's not that we sang them in the ward growing up, for Brightly Beams has always been a male chorus number and I can't imagine my being so impressed with such limited exposure that it became a lasting memory. Aha! It's all those LP records down there in the basement... Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Shhhh! (Don't tell the bishop!)

"When America was on it's knees, he brought us to our feet."

Well, Lois, I'm sure you're too busy to read this, but it's a "family matter." Wink/wink.

I don't know how Janeil and Lois felt, but as a kid it was such a surprise and incongruous to realize that Daddy loved the fights. He watched the signature fights on TV religiously. He did not cheer them on nor cuss them out, but he watched intently and was often observed by me to be on the edge of his seat! (Not the blow-by-blow so much as on edge as to the outcome.) Occasionally I would try to talk him into letting us watch something else (one TV), and was never successful though I must say he was always cheerful in his disinclination. To me it seemed like such an odd fit, but no doubt I'd have understood better had not the rest of the family been female.

(He actually watched very little TV. The only other thing I remember he watched on a regular basis was Bonanza. He more favored putting on some music, and we were thoroughly introduced to all varieties. He also took us to monthly entertainment at the Smith Fieldhouse on lower campus, the Utah Symphony, the Globetrotters. We saw numerous Broadway musicals, and Peter Pan in New York City.)

I just watched Cinderella Man, a 1995 movie about boxing, and chronicles James Braddock who won the heavyweight championship in 1935. Daddy would have been 22. He was 20 in 1933 and Braddock 28, the height of the Depression. Braddock turned pro in 1926 (Daddy 13) and fought nearly 100 bouts. I do not doubt that Daddy listened to many of his fights on the radio. (Keeping in mind that for the championship bout in New York City, he'd have been on his mission and then stationed in Quakertown, PA with five other elders. I have no idea if media rules were as strict then as they are now.) I do not doubt he felt the same as many did, that Braddock gave people hope during the Depression years. Braddock was forced to take the dole to keep his family intact in 1933-34, and when he won a come-back fight, he went to the welfare agency and gave back all he had been given.

It was a very insightful movie as to what it was like to live in that era. (PG-13 for language and "fighting" however.)

Watching a movie like this brings into sharper focus just how much I love and miss my Dad, who I must add possibly never gave a fig for boxing until the '50's! And how fortunate we are to have heros in our lives. He did what all good parents do, gave us hope and a good example, sans the fluff. We didn't often know his inner feelings. He didn't talk much about the Depression or boxing. He would have, had we cared to ask. I have fond memories of the latter years of things he told me when I was finally grown up enough to ask. I wish I'd started sooner. I do admire and respect and honor him for his reticence. He was larger than life in example, which always speaks louder than words. And best of all he lived his testimony. Even on fight nights. Wink/wink.

Neil Y. Fugal, BYU, June 1938, age 25

B.S. Accounting and Mathematics

(Just days before Janeil's birth)

The Friday before *last* Mothers Day, Jewel sent this box to my work.

Inside was the most perfect and delicious fruit!

It was like walking through the orchard when I lived in Phoenix,

smelling the oranges!

Yummy apples and pears as well.

I shared a few with my colleagues and

thoroughly enjoyed the rest over the following week.

The claim to fame was that they were

picked and shipped within two days.

Packed in straw with a foam insert underneath and on top.

This year she asked me if I wanted my M.D. gift

sent to my work Friday or to my home Saturday.

Yes, I am greedy, and I said send it home. J

So it was somewhat of a surprise to open the door

and there stood a young lady

in plainclothes instead of a delivery gal/guy,

who handed me this,

which I shall peel open for your viewing pleasure:

Note the expansion link on the ribbon.

She claims she budgets for M.D.

Even so, I'm sure she overspends,

but I sure am enjoying every bite!

(If there's any left on Monday I'll share them.)

((Highly unlikely.))

Colleen, my co-worker, got a magazine at work one day all about Best of State. She thought we ought to try our hand at winning in the category of Education: support personnel. She kept bringing it up until our boss said okay, go for it. So the day it was due we began, which was also the day before a state report is due and I'm also buried in deadline payroll data.

They asked me to start it out and flower it up as I have a "rep" for that, and I wrote a few paragraphs detailing the "fourfold" reasons why Provo School District Child Nutrition Department ought to win. Then the boss and Colleen went to work expounding on it and it ended up "sevenfold." These kind of write-ups require a "conclusion" – some sort of achievement as a result of all we'd done and I decided it would be that we'd upped our meal participation, but not yet knowing if we actually had.

Knowing we'd want to submit even if we had no "measured" success, I wrote it with the angle that we were in competition with "no one" and that it was worthwhile even if unmeasured. Then I went to work on the state report deadline, the result to be added to the prior four month's data. I didn't want it to be from the beginning of the school year - I hoped it proved to be an improvement over time. It would be another Ambrose Bierce writing marathon to cover the new promotions implemented this year, but suffice it to say, the success WAS measurable. It ended up 1,900 words, five pages long! Colleen and I were there late that night, dolling it up, and figuring out how to hyperlink stuff to the application.

Some of our "stuff."

CNP Website

Booklet [See if you can find Hayden!]

Above/Beyond Recognition

USOE Recognition

At any rate, as you've already figured out, we won! The individual, business and organization nominations were judged by over a hundred people, comparing three criteria: excel in endeavors, use innovative approaches or methods, contribute to a better quality of life in Utah. We pick up our medal at the black-tie Awards Gala at the Grand Ballroom of Salt Palace the end of the month, featuring, they claim, "a double entree dinner and fabulous entertainment." I'm not actually much looking forward to going, but it will definitely be a night to remember! And soon Colleen will be getting another Best of State magazine, and "we'll" be in it!

I’m told it’s now gauche to have a playlist on your blog. Well, as we all know, blogging is for “me,” not “you,” so mine stays. I love to listen to my music on occasion. If it bothers you, use one of your 20 digits to press the off button. It won’t offend me in the least. If you’re poised and quick, you can shut it down before it makes nary a peep (which is why I put it on the top). If you love me and want to recall my favorites after I’m gone (assuming blogging doesn’t go the way of the eight-track tape), it’ll still be there. Including my postings which explain why.

“Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” – Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914). In a nutshell, Abrose Bierce was famous in his day as a writer and journalist. He most successfully wrote about war and ended up in his early 70’s doing such and disappearing in Mexico. He wasn’t well liked or critiqued otherwise, but it is said his critique could make or break an upcoming writer. He was known as “Bitter Bierce.” He had a horrible home-life – divorced his wife after six years of separation, she died a year later; and two of his three children died (childless) before him ­– one son shot in a brawl and the other died of pneumonia complications related to alcoholism. He did enjoy a successful eight-year working stint, about the time he split from his wife, living in San Francisco and writing for the William Randolph Hearst newspapers. You remember “yellow journalism,” I imagine.

Here’s the skinny on Ambrose Bierce as your “relative” relative (if you’re my relative), keeping in mind that records conflict and proof positive is hard to come by the further back you get. The trail seems relatively solid until you get back to the late 1600’s and a few questions arise about the “Experiences.” Read on. Eat an apple – it will help you concentrate. And if you learn nothing more, do what you need to so that no one ever accuses you of taking after “Bitter Bierce.”

(But right up [relatively] front, I want to point out that Lois has already done this research. She had a 2005 Rawlinson family reunion around the theme of possibly being related to pilgrims, and she gave each family the novel, The Mayflower Secret by Dave and Neta Jackson. http://www.christianbook.com/the-mayflower-secret-trailblazer/dave-jackson/9780764220104/pd/22010)

Neil Fugal was begat (1913) by Viola Young,

who was begat (1888) by Louisa Ellis Adamson,

who was begat (1863) by Esther Eunice Ogilvie,

who was begat (1832) by George Ogilvie,

who was begat (1804) by Ellis Egerton,

who was begat (1770) by Hezekiah Egerton of Plymouth.

Hezekiah Egerton was begat (1729) by Dennis Egerton and Experience Bearce.

Experience Bearce was begat (circa 1692) by James Bearce and Experience Howland.

Experience Howland was begat (1668) by John Howland.

John Howland was begat (1627) by John Howland Sr.

John Howland Sr. (begat circa 1599) is the pilgrim, a manservant to the governor and came to Plymouth at age 21. His future wife was also on the Mayflower, age 13, Elizabeth Tilley (circa 1607). Her parents died the first winter and she married John Howland at age 15.

Ambrose (b. 1842) had 12 siblings, all first names started with A. His mother was a descendant of the pilgrim William Bradford (the governor). His father Marcus Aurelius Bierce was begat (1799) by William Bierce. William was begat (1753) by Hezekiah Bierce who was begat (1730) by James Bierce (who was begat (1688) by James Bierce Sr.

So. We cross paths with Ambrose via James Bearce Sr. and Experience Howland, he via their son James Jr. (1688), we via their daughter Experience (1692) who purportedly married Dennis Egerton.

We can therefore (if proven) consider ourselves descended from pilgrim John Howland and pilgrim Elizabeth Tilley.

We are also (if proven) descended from Augustine Bearce (1618), the father of James Bearce Sr. (1660 ­– 11^th and last child); however, Augustine came on the last arrival of the second Mayflower in 1639 (first Mayflower arrived in 1620). (The second Mayflower came in 1630, 1633, 1634, 1639, and sank on the next trip in 1642 with 140 passengers on board.) We don’t know the name of the mother(s) of these 11 children. Some claim an Indian princess and that Augustine was a romany (gypsy) but according to some, including a very well documented website referencing a ton of sources, both of those claims are incorrect. (http://www.gdcooke.org/SS/default.aspx/page/org2-o/p14301.htm)

[On the other hand, I must point out that he discredits the claim largely because of a court document, and there are numerous (claimed) descendants who state their proof came down through the generations long before they ever heard of this court document. http://genforum.genealogy.com/bearce/]

There is a book, by the way, that one would think contains the proof we need as to the pilgrim connection. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol 2: John and Elizabeth Howland’s Son John, for Five Generations. I emailed a person who has it, looked, and couldn’t find mention of whom either Experience-mom or Experience-daughter married (which seemed odd given the “for Five Generations” as part of the title). Continuing to research I did find a source which typed up exactly what appears in the book, and what is written in the book is exactly what she said, that the name Experience was considered a man’s name up until the 1830’s and that no primary proof has ever been provided. [Even so, I beg to differ as to gender. Just as femme as Temperance, Mercy, Thankful, Consider, Faith, Hope and Charity, though there does exist a male Experience here and there. In just my looking for ours and finding those below, I found one (only one). In addition, if it’s such an odd and/or masculine name, why are there more female Experiences sprinkled among the Howland and Bierce relatives? i.e., Experience Hamblen (3) circa 1674, 1704 & 1776; Experience Bearce 1684, dau. of Abigail dau. of Au(gus)stin(e) Bearce of Barnstable; Experience Egerton Howland 1725, Dennis’s dau. who married her cousin, a descendant of Mayflower John Howland’s brother. It wouldn’t be because it’s a popular name, even back then. Researchers claim even Puritan used such ‘virtue’ names only once out of six, but did use biblical names heavily (Mary, John).]

[This book is considered primary proof of lineage for those wanting to be approved as a member of the Mayflower Society. I went through the Mayflower archives from now, backwards for as long I could stand, and found no accepted PSes as to the Experience issue. http://www.archive.org/details/generalsocietyof00gene]

I found an email online from a person who has this same book and told the inquirer the same thing, to which the inquirer responded:

Subject: Barss/Bearse

Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 23:39:10

To: rbgrumpy@aol.com

Thanks for the info... but...according to

"Genealogy - Boston and Eastern Massachusetts", William Richard Cutter, A.M., Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1908, vol 3, pg. 1294” and "A Contribution to the Genealogy of the Bearse or Bearss Family in America 1618-1871", printed 1871, Ancestry and Descendants of Dea. John Bearss and his Wife, Molly (Beardsley) Bearss, of New Fairfield, CT., and Westmoreland, N.Y. written by John Bearss Newcomb of Elgin, Illinois, and published by Gazette Printing Co., Elgin Illinois Dec., 7, 1871…

Experience Howland married James Bearce in 1683...

Of course the Mayflower Society knows it all too... I have a gravestone with my great great grandmother's name on it - but they aren't sure she died. I assured them that she had.

Respectfully, Steps In It abenaki@mint.net

(I emailed this person and asked what it says on the tombstone - no response, but I didn’t get a reject message either.)

The oldest authoritative thing I can find which fills in most of the questionable blanks, is the book “Steps In It” references and is online, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Vol. 3, compiled by William Richard Cutter and printed in 1908* (ISBN: 9781143645297).

http://books.google.com/books?id=qaK9Vz1UdDcC&pg=PA1294&lpg=PA1294&dq=James+Bearce,+1660&source=bl&ots=kTy91Zb08n&sig=RFSlu5GltFmp7dTGlbVWlFKSbbE&hl=en&ei=mvG7S7DoB5m0tgPxqbl-&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=James%20Bearce%2C%201660&f=false

Page 1294 states that James Bearce (Sr.) was the youngest child of Austin (Augustine) Bearce (1618-1697), born July 1660, died in Plympton (now Halifax, and not an alternate spelling of Plymouth as some have said) 1728. Mother unnamed (generally accepted by some that her first name was Mary). All the children were born in Plympton. Owned property in Barnstable before moving to Plympton. He married “Experience _____” in 1683, and their daughter Experience married Dennis Egerton in 1719. Which all fits with the above and gives credence to the pilgrim connection. [*Another odd reason, predating 1930, for the so-called official claim that Experience is a man’s name.]

The second source that "Steps in It" references (above, published 1871) is also online and can be word searched. http://www.archive.org/stream/contributiontoge00newc/contributiontoge00newc_djvu.txt. It does NOT, however, contain the words "Experience" nor "Howland". It follows the genealogy of Joseph, a brother of "our" James. Which means she was 1) confused and added the second source in error (which I must tell you is VERY easy to do, even if you are considered an effective researcher!), 2) fabricating, 3) someone else ID'd this information incorrectly for her (happens all the time!), or 4) the online version isn't the same version.

I had to “join” to get to view the official Bearce ancestry page. Experience Howland and Experience Bearce are their story and they’re sticking to it. Interestingly, they have data on our connection down to George Beyers Ogilvie but nobody had submitted family groups further down than that. What they have of ours was provided late 2008. (If you would like to join [free]: http://arborfamilias.com/newacctform.php)

If we ARE connected, we are as “related” to Joseph Smith as we are to Ambrose Bierce! (John and Elizabeth Tilley, parents of John Howland who married Mary Lee: our line comes through their daughter Experience, b. 1688 [James Bearce Sr.], Joseph Smith’s through Experience’s sister Hannah Howland, b. 1661.) We could go to a John Howland Jr. and Mary Lee reunion and circulate among our Smith cousins! Or a John Howland Sr. and Elizabeth Tilley pilgrim reunion bash and hobnob with our Smith cousins!

*pictures are public domain*

(If any of you become genealogy nut cases and learn more, please let the rest of us know!)

In honor of Jalisco Mexico, largest city Guadalajara, I am eating my favorite treat today, Mexican wedding cookies! Ummmm. I've been indexing Jalisco. In the more remote areas, its people "speak" Aztec. They (the cookies) come and go at the area grocery store bakeries. Just long enough to get me hooked, and they disappear. Which isn't a bad thing.

Dawned on me that I should do okay indexing Mexico, considering all the illegal aliens we have in Provo School District whose names I type daily. (There are a few who are citizens, but very few.) There are almost 2,000 Hispanic students in the district (Provo city). (A lot more are citizens than their parents, because they're born here. We see a lot of families now, the elementary students are on welfare but their secondary siblings are not. It has become so common, the feds have had to address this in how I process an application [up until this year I had to keep them separate].) I've done 450 Jalisco names so far (indexing). Only one set (50), I wished I'd let a Spanish-speaker tackle because the handwriting was so faded I had a hard time guessing. So in future I'm going to check that section first and send it back rather than butcher another one.

It also dawns on me that I’m absolutely and unabashedly wrong. Referencing my last blog, my sense of humor is NOT getting weirder, other than perhaps my lack of restrain in sharing it. So I’ll confess and then we’ll never speak of it again.

Back in my teens I composed a verse to a song while on a school bus taking us home from one of the away basketball games. It was much more fun IMO than the rest of the trip.

[I did check it out - it was my sophomore year, the year PGHS finished first place in the State Class B high school basketball tournament, the only state win the years I was there.]

Someone started the song, and then we sang it together, and then someone else added the next verse. I can’t remember how many verses we dreamed up and I can’t remember much of the beginning other than it started “I’m a villain, a dirty rotten villain” and the last of that verse ended with “and I beat little kids on the head ‘til they’re dead.” The missing words made the last line a laughter crack-up, trust me (as opposed to belonging in the behavior crack-up family of setting fires and drowning cats). But granted, I’m sure, definitely on the weirder end of what might qualify as humor.

My verse begins: “I have gotten a rep for being rotten, I put poison in my mother’s shredded wheat, her wheat.”

And ends: “I’m a slob and a member of the mob, and I eat (sucking through teeth noise) raw (s.n.) meat (s.n./s.n.).”

[The sheet music's not quite right, but it’ll do. Not that I don’t know how to count, but the free “easy composer,” though definitely fun to figure out, wasn’t exactly Mac-ish in selecting all the correct clicks at all the right delineations. (If any of you compose and want the free software, as a layman I can recommend it.) It also made midi's for me which was fun, but I gave up figuring out how to insert them. Found plenty of info on how to do it, but none of it actually worked. (Also found plenty of people complaining about it. J) Linking worked, but not what I had in mind. Which makes me think - what computer language IS used in bloggerworld? Basic? Unix? Pascal? Linux? Fortran? Not that in my case knowing would amount to a hill of beans.]

When I did Cub Scouts I used it as a theme song for my little group. The tune that is. Cleaned up the words of course but kept enough “normal” humor in it that they didn’t mind singing it. Something about Eagles? (our den name) and fun stuff. We were supposed to be two-deep clear back then, but I liked it when my assistant bailed. No, not so I could teach them iffy songs ­– so I didn’t have to worry about my lack of discipline being reported! There was no keeping them dry or clean IMO, and they made some fun memories as a result. [Cub song found/posted 7/18/10.]

I have such a weird sense of humor and it's getting weirder. Not that I'm totally strange, though I suppose it's possible to BE weird yet enjoy GOOD humor.

CYou should check out the meanest mom. If you are one. Or ever were. Or would like to be. Or gave birth to one. Or married one. Or fathered one. (Or if you have one, it might not be as funny but should give you comfort!)J

I just had half a dozen good chuckles reading her blog. And when you live alone and laugh out loud it's a good thing. And given the volume of comments her blog gets, you don't need my word for it – it HAS to be good.

(the meanest mom).

FI put her on my favorite links.

P.S. - The Chicken Foot (Best of) is #1 in my book. So far.

It's Easter. About time to turn on conference. I'm celebrating by writing in my journal for the first time this year, and eating GOOD chocolate (a gift). J

Well, celebrating in the secular sense. And conference will help me celebrate in the true sense.

I went down for Hayden’s birthday. Bought a new car about a month before. I was going to save up several more thousand before I went shopping, but found out Kia was having a $3,500 rebate. Had decided I wanted to move up one level, so I could get bigger tires and other features making a car a little more road-worthy. (I’d love to drive to Houston once while Grant and Ruth are there. But probably won’t. Driving alone that far I’d actually enjoy, now I’ve learned how to combat the inherited Fugal sleepiness, but I’m guessing it would freak out both Jewel and Grant!)

Bought a 2009 Optima with 11 miles on it. I love it. It’s only drawback is under-market resale but I don’t intend to resell it. It gets as good gas mileage as my littler Spectra, ≈30. Got a relatively good trade-in on my old one since I’m a repeat customer, and will be again in 10-ish years should I still be "kicking."

The safety features have improved so much in the last eight-ish years my insurance hardly went up! Well, and it probably helps re parts availability that Kia is now owned by Hyundai and has a manufacturing plant here. And that it involves South rather than North Korea. J I’ve always liked their mechanics. I also liked and will continue to appreciate the great warranty and the free rescue service for the first five years. And Sirius. J

May end up buying the satellite radio service once the free three months expires. I can’t justify it, but I’ll blame it on Jewel. J She and Johnny have all that fancy stuff and being down there for a week pretty much hooked me on FoxNews. J

And getting it on Sirius is WAY cheaper than via TV. At first, before being “introduced” to Shep Smith et al., I thought, well the best part is oldies music and I can buy five CD’s of it for my changer which would soon be cheaper than a monthly fee. I also watch local TV news while I’m getting ready for work. Then going out to the car I can promise you that FoxNew is way more up to speed on national news (with or without any bias factor!). I'm serious!

I was blessed to be able to attend Hayden's birthday party two weeks ago. And it's always nice to see Johnny's family members again. I forgot my camera, dolt that I often am, so resorted to my camera phone. So these are a few more to expand upon Jewel's post.

Note the "shrine" at the top of the stairs. Hopefully Jewel will forgive me for letting that cat out of the bag. (She's always been a little shrine-ish.) It's the family proclamation, The Living Christ (apostles testimonies), and a picture of Christ between pictures of the kids. And a candle if I remember correctly.

Speaking of decor-related, I gave Jewel my vacuum awhile ago since I have Norma's. Mine wasn't very old and was a good one. It died and she's now on the third one since. One might think she's hard on them. No - she vacuums A L-O-T.

That's Uncle Seth, Johnny's brother, in the last picture. Raygen loves him! He can say "a-boo" very loud and she'll laugh. Me - a tiny "a-boo" that first day caused tears. But she did warm up to me some before I had to leave. In the beginning, I could get her to smile, but the underlying facial expression was "I feel a little sick." It was precious and brought back memories of Jewel's aversion to others as a baby. When Jewel was 10 months we had an out-of-town wedding we wanted to go to, and Grandma Norma, bless her, spent two weeks of almost daily contact so that Jewel would survive the separation!

Planned to tend while Johnny and Jewel took in a movie (Raygen down for the night of course), but it never panned out. Johnny often works overtime and also coaches Little League. Hayden has two sets of baseball equipment and practices with both Johnny and his dad. It's a wonderful thing for Hayden to have Johnny in his life. Per usual, however, the adult has to remain the adult, and Johnny has the patience for it. Meaning, it's not always a bed of roses and I appreciate his involvement and willingness.

Got to go with Jewel to Hayden's T-ball practice, courtesy of Johnny tending Raygen, the night before I left! Nice to have that memory to match future reference. It was surprisingly cold even though we dressed warmly. Jewel commented, "THIS is why I left Utah."

Hijacked!

I'm getting old. And ha-ha, you too will get there someday.

w

In the meantime, I've learned two things recently.

I've been doing a lot of genealogical indexing. Makes me feel less guilty about the time I spend multitasking computer/television. As a result, I've discovered I've unlearned the bottom right little finger keys due to the heavy use of the down arrow key. To put it mildly, I am surprised. Typing is my "thing."

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I do a lot of data entry at work in Excel, whose programmers I've figured out are a tad smarter than the Indexing programmers.

!

The Excel programmers have made it so it gets it if you want to enter data column-by-column, and automatically activate the tab key to react vertically. The Indexing programmers make you use the down arrow if you want go column-by-column. Apparently they think people will want to enter line-by-line, not realizing the column-by-column is way faster and I'm betting big money here way more accurate.

Secondly, I've learned that blogs can be and are hijacked!

S

(Heck, where IS that shift bar for that exclamation point.)

((Maybe I'll "simplify," like g&r who refuse to type caps -- I'll type "explanation point" which will be faster than my index-riddled brain re-finding the shift key -- explanation point/explanation point))

So if suddenly yours flips into something else when you get on it, go to blogger help and it will tell you how to fix it. Seems there are people who do this so that they get more hits, which puts them higher on the list when their subject of interest is googled or binged or whatevered. Fix it fast explanation point Don't let them succeed explanation point Blogger needs to address this. THEY need to up their security settings, not ME. (You now have to be careful in what you pick in the first place, and there are a LOT of them listed that no longer work.)

}

The most disappointing part about it is you have no idea which gadget you've picked is the culprit, and you have to kill them one at a time until you find it.

L

Unfortunately the Quote of the Day version I had worked fine, but no longer exists on the gadget list, I discovered after I killed it. I guess I'll get over it.

K

Faster than I'm apparently going to get over my newly acquired little finger problem....

J

YOU'RE RELATED

to –Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), who said (today's quote of the day):

Faith, n.: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.

(Sort of.) Like being related to Grandma Viola's siblings' descendants. Which may be for the "best" since in my less than humble opinion you can be impressed because he's famous but that's about it. Although I must admit The Boarded Window has long been a favorite of mine. And actually I suppose I should have read it again before making that statement - I find a lot of what I used to be impressed with to have been a mistake.

One of these days I'm going to blog about him - maybe I'll have time after taxes. Maybe not. Lois will recognize the name - he's among the pack descended from the Pilgrims.

Charles Darwin was a jerk.

(I'm just sayin'.)

[Today's quote on the top left.]