Giving thanks

I know we're still a week out from Thanksgiving, but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some things I'm thankful for. Here are the top five (as of today).

1. Salvation - I'm thankful that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die, taking the punishment for our sins, so that we can live. I can't fathom that kind of love. I can't imagine giving up any member of my family for people who don't appreciate my sacrifice, but God did that. I'm thankful that my parents took me to a church that preached the gospel. I'm thankful God pricked my heart when I was in first grade and that I listened.

2. Family - My family is awesome. I don't tell them that enough, but it's true. My parents, brothers, sister, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews are the best. They put up with my foibles and (hopefully) know that I love them more than anyone else on the planet. I know I don't always come across as the daughter, sibling, sibling-in-law or aunt that I wish I could be, but I love all of you (Mom, Nathan, Amanda, Avery, Emma, Andrew, Rachael, Lilah, Dru, Alissa, Ken, Brenden, Erin, Ryan and Mark).

3. Employment - Believe it or not, I really do love my job. I have the opportunity to watch kids grow and mature through extracurricular activities like sports, and I get to chronicle that growth. Sometimes I even get to know the kids a little bit, which is a definite benefit to what I do. I'm not as good at what I do as I want to be, but I'm still working to improve.

4. Church - I've had the opportunity to become more involved in church activities over the past couple years. I get to use my musical abilities in playing for song services and singing in the choir. I get to use my drama skills, such as they are, with the Christmas program, which I'm directing again this year. I never thought I'd be a director, but here I am. I get to help with AWANA, hopefully setting a good example for the kids who come. I'm also on the ladies committee, which is more of a challenge for me. But I'm trying.

5. America - We really do live in a great country, and I don't think its leader really makes that much of a difference. We've had 44 different people who have assumed the title of president for four to eight years, and while things change a little with each new president, the core freedoms on which this country was founded stay the same. I pray they will continue to be the underlying considerations for any new laws and interpretations of existing laws.

I guess if you really want to be picky, this could be considered as more than five (if you're counting each member of my family separately). But that's my top five. As we approach Thanksgiving, why don't you take a few minutes to list the top five things you're thankful for?

We don't have to wait any more

Next year is now, people. The Cubs are world champions. Let me say that again, if I may.

THE CHICAGO CUBS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!

Sing it, Chicago, whether you can sing or not.

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, whadya say
The Cubs are going to win today.


#flytheW


Respect to Cleveland - they played a great series, too. But it's finally next year, the next year that Cubs fans have been talking about since 1909. I'll be honest - I wasn't sure this would ever happen. After the good teams in the 1980s that flamed out in the playoffs, I thought this may never come. But it's here. It took seven games, and extra innings in the final game, but here we are. I find myself wishing Dad were here to celebrate this, too. He would have loved this team, I think. And most of these guys will be back next year. I hope this is the beginning of a long run for the Cubs. No more "loveable losers" tag.

The Chicago Cubs are world champions. *sigh* That sounds so good.

Tolkien and Austen - creating film adaptations

Reading books on which movies are based is an interesting study. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I'm rereading The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I finished "The Two Towers" yesterday, so I've left Frodo a prisoner of the orcs, Sam unconscious outside Minas Morgul, Aragorn, Merry, Legolas and Gimli preparing to ride with Théoden and Gandalf and Pippin riding to Gondor.

I'd forgotten how many changes Peter Jackson made in "The Two Towers" and, likely, in "The Return of the King." For example, Faramir doesn't take Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Osgiliath in the book. Tolkien didn't get into as much of Sméagol's struggle with Gollum as Jackson did, but when you have an actor like Andy Serkis playing the role, you should take advantage of his skills. And Jackson expanded the parts for Arwen, Éowyn and Galadriel, the women in Tolkien's story.

I think I know why Jackson made some of the choices he did. He chose to expand the women's roles because that's expected in today's society. Without bigger women's roles, the movies wouldn't have done as well. He did the same thing with "The Hobbit," inventing a new character so there would be a woman in the story. He ended his movie "The Two Towers" well before Tolkien's book ends. If he'd ended the movie where the book does, people would have left the theater depressed and not wanting to come back the next year for "The Return of the King." But those of us who know the story knew what was coming anyway.

For me, the sound and feel of the words is the best way to immerse myself in an author's world. Tolkien's word choices pull me in, wash over me and transport me to Middle-earth. When I'm reading, I'm saying the words in my head so I hear the sound and rhythm of the dialogue. Sometimes I just have to stop and savor the way Tolkien says something. For example, "There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men bad enough for such treachery." Jackson, making a wise choice I think, decided to use some of Tolkien's dialogue in his movies. After all, you can't improve on awesome.

I rewatched a version of "Persuasion" the other night, my favorite one that stars Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. I don't know what it is about that particular adaptation that appeals so much to me. I think I like that one because the actors play the characters as I envisioned them. That's one of the things I like about Jackson's Lord of the Rings, too. His vision was very similar to mine which, of course, is the only criteria one must use when determining who will play which role.

It's fun to compare and contrast and question the director's decisions. I try to keep an open mind when I go into a movie based on a book I know and love. I know the director won't always agree with how I see things, but seeing another person's vision of a story can make you see things in a new way. And that might deepen your understanding, which is not a bad thing.

Sorry again - way too long

I don't even want to think about the last time I wrote anything here. It's not that I'm not writing. I'm writing a lot. After all, it's my job. But I just haven't posted anything in this forum. So, now I will.

So now, what should I write about? I have a lot of choices. I could choose what I'm reading. I could choose how excited I am that the Cubs are in the playoffs. I could choose the exceptionally hectic pace I've been keeping. What to do. Well ...

I've decided to reread The Lord of the Rings. That would be the J.R.R. Tolkien series on which Peter Jackson based his magnum opus. It's one of those series that you can reread multiple times and find something new or different every time. There's just so much in it. Tolkien spent so much time creating Middle-earth and the people who live there, it's like visiting a town down the road when you read it. When I read, I picture the scenes and the people. So, thanks to Mr. Jackson, I now picture the actors who played the characters in the movies. And that doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the story at all. I've finished "The Fellowship of the Ring" with "The Two Towers" up next.

And the Cubs are in the playoffs! With a decent chance of making some noise, maybe even, dare I say it? No, I daren't.

And as far as the pace? I think I'm through the worst of it. One of my teams qualified for the state softball tournament which starts tomorrow, but everyone else is done. One golfer qualified for state golf which finished today (she was the runner-up), so golf is pretty much done. District cross country is Thursday and not everyone will qualify for state, so that will slow down (ha, ha, ha - little joke there). Only two weeks are left in the football regular season, and not all my teams will qualify for the playoffs, so that will slow down, too. Postseason volleyball starts on Halloween, which means it will be win or go home for my teams there.

Plus, we've begun working on Christmas music in choir at church. And I'm directing the children's program again this year, so I had to decide what we're going to do. Now I have to figure out who's going to do what and how I want it to look. I already have some ideas, but they're probably far more grand than what we'll be able to pull off. But it's better to start big and have to pare down than to start small and have to scramble to fill gaps.

I'm actually kind-of looking forward to the slow down. It will be nice to just come home after work and not have to go somewhere else. I've got books to read and other projects to do, so don't worry about me.

So, now we're caught up. Good to talk with you again. :)

Kids and confidence

I get to see a lot of different performers who are in various stages of their careers. Some are definitely in the beginning. They're not comfortable on the field of play (either athletic or otherwise), and that's obvious in their body language, in hesitation instead of action, in uncertainty instead of doing. Others know what they're supposed to do - they're just a beat behind. They need a little more practice to get where they want to be.

Still others know what's what. They're comfortable and confident in what they're doing. Maybe it's not the right thing, but they're confident anyway. Sometimes the confidence comes across as arrogance. There is a difference, you know. Confidence doesn't call attention to itself. It just does its job to the best of its ability. Arrogance wants the attention and will do what it takes to get it. It often steps on the less skilled to get to the limelight. While its skill is deserving of the spotlight, its attitude is not. The confident performers are enjoyable to watch. But secretly, we hope the arrogant ones get taken down a notch or two.

As part of my job, I get to watch kids grow in their skills. I like that perk. Since I don't have kids of my own, I consider the students I cover "my kids." I know that seems odd, but I feel like I get to know the kids a little bit. Now, I know I don't know them. If I haven't interviewed them for something, I probably haven't really talked to them. I recognize them, and by the end of the season I can pick out some by their gait or the way they stand. But I've watched them improve throughout the season. I know the work they've put in - the coaches have told me and I can see the changes in their games.

When it comes to musical or speech/stage performances, I have a little better idea. I've been on the stage. I've done speeches. I've had to sing. I know the nerves and the concern about remembering lines. But I also know the relief and excitement that come when a performance is done and you know you've done a good job.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this year's performances, athletic, musical and spoken. And I'm pulling for "my kids" to do well. And as Red Green used to say, "I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

Vacation's over

Well, summer vacation is now officially past, and the grind of the school year has begun. I'm often asked if things slow down for me during the summer. The short answer is "yes, sort of."

We've talked about this in the office, in fact. One might think, that since school is out, the pace would slow. After all, we don't have classroom of the week pages, or a handful of high school sports, or other school activities to be at every night. That is true.

But the rhythm of summer, at least in our office, is a different one. Instead of the regular assignments that come on a weekly basis, there's a lot of one-time stuff. Most of our towns have some sort of summer festival, and those are important. We're also working around staff vacations, which means those of us still in the office have to pick up a little bit more.

It's almost harder to have a schedule like that. We don't necessarily get weekends off because that's when many of the festivals are. They're fun but can be exhausting.

When school starts, though, there's almost a sense of relief. We're back to a rhythm that we're used to, that we're in nine months of the year. It takes a little time to get used to it, but it's nice to be able to know how a "normal" week will play out. I know I'll be at games every night and most weekends. I will miss the occasional night at home, lounging on the couch with popcorn next to me, a book in my hands and a ball game on TV. But if it happens, I won't take it for granted.

Sorry

Sorry I haven't had anything to say for awhile. Well, I've had things to say, just no time to say them. With county fair and fall sports previews, it's been crazy. Give me a week, and I'll be back. I promise.

Update - the final

     On the final leg of our trip, we stopped at and then crossed the Fort Randall Dam, a hydroelectric dam near the SD/NE border. It was an impressive structure, at least to a person who’s never seen a hydroelectric dam before. We missed the daily tour, but that was OK. You can’t do everything on one trip, right?

    Mom wanted to visit the Happy Jack Chalk Mine so, since it wasn’t too far out of the way and I was curious too, off we went. Chalk is an interesting substance, used in a variety of products from the traditional chalkboard chalk to make-up. The temperature was in the mid-50s in the mine, and the humidity was pretty high. The guide told us that the “dust” we saw hanging in the air was actually the humidity. He also told us about some of the events that had happened in the mine. In the “ballroom,” he said, a group actually held a dance complete with live band. I’m guessing the bats that lived in that cavern weren’t too happy and told everyone to get off their lawn. Or off their chalk. There’s another long corridor that was used for motorcycle races at one time. Yes, actual motorcycle races. I wish pictures existed of that.
    In more recent years, the mine was used as a haunted house, and some of the trappings were still there. It must have been a great site for a haunted house - I could only imagine what it was like. I would NOT have gone through it.
    The guide also showed us outlines of sand dollars and spaces where animals had been in the chalk. Several burrows exist, but what animal made them is not clear, he told us. We were even encouraged to take a piece of chalk with us. So we did.

    The mine was the last stop on this particular trip. We traveled just over 1,400 miles over four days. We crossed the Platte, Niobrara, Missouri and Loup rivers multiple times. We started out with a flour mill and ended with a chalk mine. In between we saw unharvested wheat fields, detasseled corn fields, fields filled with round straw bales and hundreds of cows grazing fields of grass.
    We listened to “All Dressed in White” by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, the third in the Under Suspicion series. We started “Last Man Standing” by David Baldacci, and, although we didn’t get through all eight CDs in the car, I think we’ll both finish it. I will anyway.
    You know, the thing about visiting places you’ve never been before is that you find places you’d like to go back to. You find really cool spots you never knew existed not far from home. And you have great memories to recall when planning your next trip.

Update 2

    I need to preface this with a digression. In May, the Durham Museum in Omaha had a First Folio of William Shakespeare on display for a couple weeks. I really wanted to see it, but the timing was bad for me. So it moved on and I was disappointed. But that’s the way it goes. You can’t have everything you want.
    Cut to two nights ago. Mom was looking to see what was available to do in Bismarck and found the North Dakota Cultural Center. And guess what was there! The First Folio! Yes! She didn’t get to see it in Omaha, either, so this morning we headed to the Cultural Center to see a piece of literary history. I know, my nerd is showing. But it was cool. The docent at the door was a little over-the-top, though. He didn’t let us just enjoy the moment. He kept talking. Oh well. I was a little surprised there weren’t more people there, but I guess Shakespeare isn’t for everyone.
    We even got to take a picture with the Bard himself. :)

    We walked around the Cultural Center after that, and we got to see dinosaur skeletons. Ah, dinosaurs. They’re so strange and inspire such speculation. No one knows what they really looked like or sounded like or moved like. All we know is their general size and shape. But looking at them is reminder of God’s creative genius.

    And while we were looking at the mastodon skeleton, the docent (from the First Folio) wandered past and tried to set up pictures for us. Thank you, sir, but that’s really not necessary.
    The state capitol was on the same grounds, so off we went. I never would’ve pegged the building for the state capitol. It looks like an office building, which is what a capitol is, I guess. The original capitol burned down in the 1930s, so they had to build a new one. At 18 stories, it’s an imposing structure, but it doesn’t have the aura of a capitol. It did have some interesting architectural features, though, which we found on the tour we took. We got to see the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court chambers. The representatives and senators don’t have offices - they do all their work at their desks in their respective chambers. Sure saves on staffing and costs.

    Our next stop was Fort Abraham Lincoln. Gen. George Custer left this fort to march to Little Big Horn where he and his men were completely wiped out. We didn’t take the tour here, mainly in the interest of time. We’ve also both seen barracks and storage buildings - the main thing would’ve been the Custers’ house. We did walk through the Mandan Indian village behind the visitors’ center. It’s earth lodges and, although it doesn’t include as many now (5) as it did then (more than 80), it’s still interesting.
    On the west side of the parade ground, where Custer’s house is, you can see stacks of rocks that indicate the corners of the other homes where the officers lived.

    We headed to Jamestown then to see what we could see. When I was looking online to see what there was to do, I found a place I felt I needed to see - Fort Seward. I didn’t even know such a place existed. The fort was in service from 1872-1877 and really wasn’t necessary. There aren’t any buildings left, although there were rock piles to indicate officers’ quarters.
    As we drove through Jamestown looking for this fort, I saw a huge flag flying on top of a hill. And that was the place. It was quiet - a nice place just to reflect if you wanted to.

    On the other side of town is the other side of tourism - Dakota Thunder. A frontier town provides the lead-up. The town includes everything - a jail, a fire house, a law office. This town featured a place called “Louis L’Amour Writers’ Shack.” L’Amour was born in Jamestown and lived there until he was 15. I don’t know if I knew that or not, but this “shack” was dedicated to him. It included a pretty complete collection of his books, which was cool to see.
    And then there was Dakota Thunder. This creation is 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, 14 feet wide and weighs 60 tons. It is the world’s largest buffalo. And it was not small.

    From books to bones to buffalo. It was a good day.

Quick update

It's vacation! Yippee! We toured parts of Nebraska yesterday and spent the night in Valentine. We started this morning at Smith Falls, which was lovely and cool and had no bugs - unlike the path to the falls, which was sunny and humid and had a lot of bugs.

We stopped in Pierre, SD, around lunchtime and toured the state capital. It's a pretty impressive building and contains some incredible artwork.

When we got to Bismarck, ND, we took a tour on the Missouri River. It's not like the Mississippi - at least not here. It's not used for commercial traffic, which the Mississippi is. It was a pleasant ride, though.

Celebrating 150 years

For 150 years, there have been Averys in Nebraska. That's longer than Nebraska has been Nebraska. And we're not proud of that fact at all.

Phineas Orlando Avery came to Nebraska in 1866 after completing his service in the Union Army. He fought for a unit in Illinois, where he lived then. He chose land in Richardson County, Nebraska, which is the most southeast county in the state today. The house, which is currently home to Uncle Dan and Aunt Debbie, was built in 1883. According to Aunt Debbie's presentation (more about those later), P.O. planted a grove of maple trees after buying the land. When the trees were mature, he used them to fire the sod bricks that make up the house. Cool! I didn't know that. So, technically, the brick house is a sod house.

Mom says this well is the oldest thing on the farm.
Homesteaders needed water, of course, so wells would have
been one of the first things installed.

The farm passed from P.O. and Angeline to Harry and Nellie, my great-grandparents. Harry was kicked in the head by a horse and spent his final years in a hospital. Mom remembers going to see him when she was little, but she says he didn't say a whole lot when they came. Nellie and her sons, Wilbur and Jesse, ran the farm. I remember Great-Grandma. She died when I was about 4. She was, of course, extremely old to a 4-year-old. I remember being a little afraid to touch her because I was afraid she would crumble.

Jesse and Jean (my grandparents) took over from Nellie and lived upstairs in the brick house with their six kids. Nellie lived downstairs. I can only imagine what a family of six must have sounded like on the second floor. Actually, I know what a family of six must have sounded like - I used to live downstairs from one! Eventually, the families traded floors, although the bedrooms remained upstairs.

Today, Dan and Debbie live in the brick house. They've done quite a bit of work to keep the house in good shape and restore what they can. The house looks awesome, but I'm a little biased.

As many of the Avery descendants as could came to the farm on July 2 to celebrate. Attendees ranged in age from 70s to less than six months. The party started with food, of course, and included ice cream, which is part of the Avery family bylaws.

Actually, the party started with music, which is not really a surprise. Grandma (Jean) was a very musical person, and some of the in-laws are also musically gifted. We sang "America the Beautiful" and "Amazing Grace." If I'd been thinking about it, I'd have shot a little video so you could hear it.

After we ate, we had school. Well, sort-of school. Mom and Aunt Debbie organized "classes" for the kids. Each session focused on an aspect of the farm's history. Mom talked about homesteads - what they were and what was required to get one. Uncle Dan talked about old-fashioned farm equipment and practices. Aunt Debbie talked about the house, its construction and features. Aunt Ginger got to talk about P.O. and Angeline and their history. Aunt Vivian shared information about Harry and Nellie, and Aunt Cindy had the task of introducing Jesse and Jean to a generation who may not have met them.

Debbie told her classes about the house itself -
its construction and the planning P.O. put into it.

Elaine's task was to explain what a homestead was
and what people had to do to get one. She is pictured
with Etta, Phinny, Ryan, Jorja and Julia.

Dan explains how the old planter worked and
how corn was harvested and shucked as Judah listens.

Ginger tells Etta and Jorja about P.O. and Angeline Avery's
journey to Nebraska where they homesteaded in 1866.

Vivian shows Lilah a picture of Harry and Nellie Avery,
Vivian's grandparents, who were the second generation
to live on the farm.

Cindy shares information about Jesse and Jean Avery,
her parents, with Chani and Thad Avery.

We (the "big kids") were allowed to listen in if we wanted to, so I did and even learned a thing or two. Like about the bricks, as I said before. As per Avery tradition, we finished the day with family pictures - despite the rain. That was something Grandpa (Jesse) always did, and it was always the harbinger of separation when I was growing up. When Grandpa wanted us to line up for pictures, we knew it was time to go home. And none of us wanted to. If we could escape following the pictures, even for a few brief moments, we would. So, here we all are. I've tried to list names, and if I got any wrong or spelled wrong, I'm sorry.

We're quite a group, no? I heard 48 as a total, but more
may have snuck in. And I'm sure those who weren't here
physically were here in spirit.
Sorry about the streaks - it was raining.

The Avery siblings, from left:
(front row) Dan Avery, Sue Bigelow and Elaine Croston; and
(back row) Ginger Anderson, Vivian Freeman and Cindy Andrews.

The Bigelows, from left:
(first row) Abel, Amissa, Jodah and Phinny Bigelow;
(second row) Etta, Jeana, Abby Jean and
Sue Bigelow and Julia Fedele; and
(third row) Jonathan and LaVerne Bigelow.
We were missing Rob, Debbie, Jenny, Jesse, Hannah, Emily
and Justine Hitt and Michael, James and Mike Fedele.

The Crostons, from left:
(first row) Lilah Muldrow and Erin Ruggiero;
(second row) Ryan Ruggiero, Elaine Croston, Dru Croston and Brenden Ruggiero;
(third row) Mark Ruggiero; and
(fourth row) Ken Ruggiero, Alissa Ruggiero, Rachael Croston, Andrew Croston
and Stephanie Croston. We were missing Nathan, Amanda, Avery and Emma Croston.
(I'll photoshop them in later. Ha, ha.)

The Averys, from left:
(first row) Chani, Lucy, Ren and Jorja Avery;
(second row) Thad, Dan, Debbie and Daphne Avery and Kirsten; and
(third row) Tessi, Seth, Luke, Levi and Nicole Avery.
We were missing Mark, Anna and Sam Hayes.

The Andersons, from left, Ginger and Ed Anderson and Joanna Whitmore.
We missed Mike, Becky, Felicity, Ellie, Adam, Kate and Gabriel Osborne,
Dan, Megan, Alaythia and Serenity Anderson and James Whitmore.

The Freemans, from left, Bill, Vivian and Joseph. We were missing Tim.

The Andrewses, from left:
(front row) Lindsay, Julia, Tyler and Cindy; and (back row) Dick and Mitch.

Sorry, Mom, but I have to say this, and I think in this case it's actually true. A good time was had by all. I think we all tried to at least say hello to everyone. I wish I could've had more time to really talk to more people, but with the rain forcing activities indoors, there wasn't a lot of room for uninterrupted conversations. It was fun to see the next generation of cousins making friends with each other and playing together. It reminded me of my own childhood (nostalgia alert here). Most of the cousins near my age were boys, so I didn't play with them a whole lot. They were *boys,* after all.

But when the Bigelows came to the farm, Julia (who is a couple years older than I) generously played with me. We'd go find our mothers' dolls upstairs in the girls' old bedroom and make up stories with them. Julia always played with Ruth Ann, and I always played with Betsy. That was how it had to be, you know. It wouldn't have been right if I'd played with Ruth Ann and Julia had played with Betsy. The space-time continuum would have torn, and life as we know it would have ended.

So, here's a look at the future of the Avery family. Cuteness overload may ensue - you've been warned.

If it's summer and cousins are together at the farm,
there's a ball game of some type going on.
Mark and Ryan were playing baseball with Thad
while waiting for lunch to be served.

Thad was the pitcher.

Not sure about Levi's form, but it will come, right?

Yes, Dru, this is what rain in Nebraska feels like.

I'm calling this my Laura Ingalls Wilder picture.
If you've read "Little House in the Big Woods," you know what I'm talking about.
The babies this year are, from left,
Abby Jean Bigelow, Daphne Avery and Julia Andrews.

 We kept the party going back at Mom's as Andrew celebrated his birthday. Happy birthday!

It was also Andrew's birthday, as you may have guessed by the presents and birthday hat.

Lilah and Erin perform an original song composed for Andrew's birthday
as Andrew enjoys the music.

All in all, it was a good day.

Oh, and the Avery marker that was installed that day has already been designated as permanent second base.

Time to celebrate

It's almost time to celebrate, folks. That's right. It's almost my brother's birthday. And this year I'll get to spend it with him! Woo hoo! (FYI: Andrew's birthday is Saturday. I won't say how old he is because then you can figure out how old I am, and that would upset the space-time continuum. And then gravity would reverse itself, and we'd end up floating in space. On second thought ... )

Seriously, we're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Avery farm. This is the truth. P.O. Avery homesteaded in southeast Nebraska in 1866, and the farm has been in the family ever since. P.O. was a veteran of the Union Army, serving with a cavalry unit from Illinois. He published his memoirs of the war, and yes, I have a copy. I've not read them yet, but I will. He came west after the war and settled just north of what is now Humboldt. He and his wife Angeline raised their family there. Their son Harry and his wife Nellie raised their family there. Their son Jesse and his wife Jean raised their family there (that would include my mom). And their son Dan and his wife Debbie raised their family there.

"The farm" was a regular vacation destination for my family when I was growing up. We'd go on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and the Fourth of July. July 4 was the big gathering point for the Avery clan. Aunts, uncles and cousins descended on the farm for a day of fun, food (including homemade ice cream, of course) and family. What more do you want? You could hang out with the grown-ups and chat if you wanted. Or you could go outside and run around with the cousins, visiting the bull's barn to jump on the hay bales, kicking a soccer ball in the front yard or inventing new games.

We still use the farm as a focal point for family get-togethers, and this year is no exception, especially since the farm is turning 150. I'm told there are some fun activities planned, and I'm pretty sure everyone will have a good time. The small fry will have plenty of room to run around, while the not-so-small fry will have plenty of people to talk to. It will be awesome!

Oh yeah, there's also a holiday coming up that's kind of a big deal in Seward. Monday is Independence Day, and if you're in the area and looking for something to do, the schedule is full of activities. From the anvil firing to start the day to the fireworks providing a fitting finale, it's a good day. And I'm pretty sure everyone will have a good time.

Finished another one

I try to read on a regular basis, and sometimes I even finish the book! OK, most of the time I finish the book. Some are books I find, while others are on recommendation. The most recent completion is "Private Yankee Doodle" by J.R. Martin, a recommendation from my mom. Mr. Martin was a member of the Army during the Revolutionary War and, years after the war, he wrote down instances he remembered. I think Mom bought the book at Yorktown when we were on our way to the Outer Banks (I'm name dropping, I know).

Anyway, it's good for me to read books that make me think differently about a period of history. For example, "Schindler's List" (on which Stephen Spielberg based the movie) and "The Rape of Europa" (about what happened to the art in Europe during the war) made me rethink what I knew about World War II, specifically in Europe. "Private Yankee Doodle" did that for the Revolutionary War.

We've all learned about the Revolutionary War, how it was a war for independence and how America was fighting to throw off the yoke of the tyrant England. We learned about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and Sam Adams and Paul Revere. We learned about Benedict Arnold, though maybe not about John André. We may have learned about the horrible winter the soldiers spent at Valley Forge. But what was life like for those soldiers? And who were they?

Martin provides an answer to the first question. Life was hard. And when I saw hard, I mean miserable. According to him, food was scarce. So were clothing and everything else the soldiers needed. Clad only in threadbare clothing and sometimes less, they had to survive harsh winters in the New England area. Martin doesn't really complain, at least not in tone. He simply sets down what he remembered. He remembered seeing Benedict Arnold, although he didn't know at the time that's who he saw. He remembered seeing George Washington and described the battle at Yorktown. That part was cool since I'd been there and saw how the land was set up.

So now I have to decide what I'm reading next. I have several options - I just need to choose one.

Or two.

Such a slacker but now it's VBS

I realize I've been slacking off of late with no posts. I'm sorry. With the end of school and its related activities, Memorial Day and now VBS, I haven't had the energy.

Speaking of Vacation Bible School, it's happening this week. We're using the theme "Cowabunga Farm," so we have new friends Buttercup, Ryan, Miss Anna, Allie and Hoover. And Cletus, can't forget about him. I'm the third-grade leader this year again. Third grade is a good age, I think. They're not copping attitudes yet, but they understand rules and behaving in class. We had seven on Monday and nine yesterday and today. We were one short of perfect attendance today, which was pretty exciting.

Our Bible study is focusing on Joseph, who is a pretty interesting guy. He started out as his father's favorite son, with a multicolored coat to prove it. His 10 older brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. He was taken to Egypt and went to work in Potiphar's house. Mrs. Potiphar decided to seduce him, but he resisted and got thrown into jail for his pains when she lied about him. In jail, he interpreted the dreams of a couple of Pharoah's servants and eventually got released after interpreting Pharoah's dreams and promoted to vice-pharoah. Yes, that's a term I just invented. As vice-pharoah, Joseph was able to save the Egyptian people and his family from death by starvation during a massive and long-lived famine.

I've even learned some things, even though I've heard the story countless times. For example, when Potiphar believed his wife's lies, he could have had Joseph killed. Instead, he had him put in prison, the same prison where Pharoah's prisoners were kept. Not any ordinary prison, but the one Pharoah had his prisoners put in. This is important because the butler and baker, whose dreams he later interpreted, were Pharoah's prisoners. And I didn't realize said butler and baker were released for Pharoah's birthday. I thought that was kind of cool. The baker didn't, though.

I also found it interesting that Judah was the brother who decided to sell Joseph, but he promised to be surety for Benjamin when they made their second trip to Egypt.

It's been a good week so far. We have two days left, and I'm looking forward to seeing what God will do. Pray for us (specifically we workers/teachers), if you would. We tend to run out of energy long before the kids do.

Cowabunga, dudes!

Graduation weekend

It's graduation weekend for most of our area schools, and that means graduation speeches. Now, I've complained about them before - the sameness, the sappiness, the senior-ness of each. And I understand that's the point of graduation speeches. Ordinarily it wouldn't be a big deal, but when you read 14 of them over a couple days - it's not a good thing.

While Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go" is a favorite quote source, we also hear quotes from other authors, various presidents and world leaders and the Bible. We hear memories of elementary school and junior high that don't make sense to anyone but the class members. We hear inside jokes about teachers and class members, and we hear thanks to anyone and everyone the speaker can think of.

A few of this year's speeches actually deviated from the "norm." One looked at the class's career by the numbers. Another couple actually referenced current events, which is rare. And some broke away from the traditional "looking ahead" quotes, which was nice.

You can usually tell when a speaker is nervous. He or she doesn't look up from the script at all and speaks very quietly and quickly. Those who talk fast when they're not nervous sound like an auctioneer when they get behind the mic.

As a former graduation speaker myself (I was valedictorian of my class, if that matters), I know it's not easy to craft a graduation speech. My challenge was that I'd only been at Kensington for two years. I didn't have all the elementary class stories or the inside jokes. I think my speech was one page, and I delivered it in about 35 seconds. I don't remember what I said, and I'm pretty sure no one else does, either. Thankfully.

Anyway, to all the graduates who are receiving diplomas this week, congratulations. As most graduation speakers say, you've made it. This is the day you've been waiting for. It's the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. The world is ahead of you and you can be whatever you want to be. It's the first day of the rest of your life. Etc.

Gotta brag a little

I know I've written about my job a lot. But I've got to show off a bit this time.

Last weekend was our annual press convention, two days of workshops and seminars that culminate in an awards banquet. At said banquet, the top three in each category are announced and overall winners are named. Another state's press association judges Nebraska's entries, so awards are essentially one person's opinion.

That being said, the Independent Group (Seward County Independent, Milford Times, Friend Sentinel and Wilber Republican) did exceptionally well. In fact, the Independent won the overall sweepstakes award. That is determined by totaling the awards given, with each place weighted accordingly. We've never won this particular award. Ever. No paper in the Rhoades Publishing company (all the papers owned by the company that owns us) has ever won the sweepstakes award. So we're breaking ground here. And it's AWESOME! The sweepstakes award is truly a newspaper-wide award. All the departments are included, so we're all in this together, as Red Green was fond of saying.

Let me reiterate. THIS IS AWESOME! I'm still pretty excited, and we got the award Saturday. YEAH!

And then I got a few awards myself. In the Friend paper, I won first place for a picture I took of the Exeter-Milligan volleyball team winning the state title. I also got third place for a story I wrote about the Friend wrestling team and third place for the sports pages. This is the second year I've won for my pages in Friend. Woo hoo! In the Seward paper, I won first place for a story I wrote about Doyle Trout, a four-time state champion wrestler who lost a leg in a car accident. I'll be honest - I really wanted to win for that story. Not only was it great human interest story, I thought I did a good job writing it. I also won third place for a story I wrote about a family whose horses were injured in a tornado. The three sisters in the family worked to help the horses recover and they were all at the county fair. That was a pretty cool story, too.

So, it was a good convention overall.

Hooray us!

Shakespeare week

William Shakespeare died this week. Four hundred years ago in 1616.

I was trying to remember the first Shakespeare work I saw. I think it was "Romeo and Juliet" in high school. We'd read part of the play, and the teacher showed part of the movie. I liked the play - the movie, not as much. It's always hard to see someone else's version of what you've already seen in your head. Or maybe that's just me.

The first live production I saw was "The Twelfth Night," I think. That's a fun story to begin with, and when your two main characters really do look alike, that adds to the enjoyment. That would have been Thanksgiving of my freshman year in college. I think the spring performance was "Richard III," and Dr. DeWitt Jones was unbelievable in the title role.

But the production that has stayed with me more than any other was "King Lear," which was the Thanksgiving play my sophomore year. Dr. Lonnie Polson was Lear, and Danny Brooks was the jester. The relationship between the two characters, as portrayed by those two actors, was seared into my brain. I cried when the jester died. Yes, I cried during a live performance. It's not really a big surprise. I'm a bit of a softy when it comes to death scenes. So sue me.

The Classic Players at Bob Jones University present two plays each school year. Usually they're Shakespeare, but I think they do other plays every once in a awhile. I was lucky enough to see 14 plays, including "Romeo and Juliet," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Macbeth" and "The Taming of the Shrew." I looked forward to them far more than I did the spring operas.

I've seen quite a few movies based on Shakespeare's plays since then. In looking through my collection, I have five different Hamlets, two Henry Vs, two A Midsummer Night's Dreams, three Romeo and Juliets and two Much Ado About Nothings, in addition to single copies of several others. I think my favorite films have come from Kenneth Branagh, who seems to "get" Shakespeare. Plus he's a fantastic actor. But it's hard to be bad when you have such words as Shakespeare's to inspire you. That's not to say it can't be done, but it's hard.

And then there's Reduced Shakespeare, which makes me laugh every time I watch it. The first time I saw this, um, send-up of the Bard, I was in a hotel in Iowa on my way to a weekend journalism workshop. I almost fell off the bed, I was laughing so hard. It doesn't get a whole lot better than Shakespeare's histories combined into a football game. Unless it's Othello as a rap. Or Hamlet backwards. Yeah, I know.

So thank you, Mr. Shakespeare, for providing so many opportunities to improve my vocabulary, expand my view and challenge my understanding.

Remembering

We lost a long-time family friend this week. Mel Falk, who taught math at Franklin while my dad taught English, died on Sunday. Mel and Sue were good friends of my parents. While Lynn and I weren't besties, as they say these days, we were friends, too.

As I said, Mel taught math. It wasn't my favorite subject, but he kept things interesting. He had us memorize the decimal form of fractions and recite them correctly as fast as we could. We did the same thing with squares. No, I don't remember them all, but every once in awhile I'll come across a decimal number like .125 and I'll remember that it equals 1/8. As far as squares up to 15, let's see (and I'm not looking these up) 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225. Mel also taught us how to balance checkbooks and why that's important.

Mel and Dad did a lot of stuff together. Not only did they teach in the same building, they were football referees on the same crew. Sometimes Dad would go over to Falks and work on cars with Mel. Mel had a passion for Hudsons and I'm sure had more than one under reconstruction at any given time. At some point, he and Dad installed the transmission in our old gold Nova - backwards. So if you wanted to go backwards, you had to put the car in gear. And to go forwards, the shifter had to be in reverse. No one stole that car!

Thinking about Mel reminded me of my class at Franklin. We had more teachers' kids per capita than any other class in school, I think. Besides me and Lynn, we had Todd whose dad taught P.E., Ben whose parents were the music teachers and David whose dad was the superintendent. All told, I think about 1/8 of the class (.125, for those keeping score) had a teacher for a parent. Ben should count twice, since both his parents were teachers, and I should get an extra half because Mom was a sub.

Anyway, Mel will be missed. His family and friends know, however, that he's in heaven with his Heavenly Father now, enjoying himself and catching up with friends, like Dad, who have gone before. And those of us who are Christians know we'll see him again. And there's no comfort greater than that.

Mother Nature's not very nice

It's April. It's supposed to be turning nice, with opportunities to shed the parkas and long underwear.

Right.

Today was not nice. I had a golf tournament to take pictures at this morning, so I headed off to the golf course. It was about 40 degrees, in itself not necessarily bad, and the wind was blowing. Not a gentle spring breeze, oh no. It was probably 30-40 mph. Not quite gale force, but when the temperature is below 60, it might as well be. And then there was the moisture, alternating between raindrops and snowflakes. Yes, snowflakes. And the forecast calls for 70s on Sunday.

Not cool, Mother Nature! Do you know how hard it is to get good pictures of golf when the golfers are bundled up like Green Bay Packer fans? Throw in the blowing snowflakes, and people will think I took these in November or something.

Today wasn't the first windy day this week. I was at a track meet for a couple hours on Tuesday, and when I got back to my car, I felt like I'd been through a blender. I tried to smooth out my hair, and the tangles were very painful. Combing my hair when I got home hurt like anything.

Hooray spring.

Bonus coverage

Or something like that.

Those of you who know me know I like to read. I've learned that potential books can be found almost anywhere. Two of the most recent books I've read have come from radically different places.

First is "A Garden to Keep" by Jamie Langston Turner. Mrs. Turner was my creative writing teacher in college, and I loved her class. Our in-class work included creating on the spot, which, while challenging, is also a lot of fun. My class met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which meant it was 90 minutes. One of the assignments was to give directions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mrs. Turner took what we had written and followed it to the letter. So, those who said to cover a piece of bread with peanut butter saw her literally cover a piece of bread with peanut butter. It was kind of messy but quite effective. I think her point was to make sure that what we said was truly what we meant.

For another assignment, she wrote a list of names on the board (a chalkboard for those of you who know what that is) and told us to choose one and write a character description of that person. I chose "Dexter English" and wrote about a 10-year-old boy. I don't remember all the details, but he seemed like an interesting little guy. Mrs. Turner wrote on my paper that Dexter was actually a girl she had known in elementary school.

I think my favorite assignment, though, came while we were talking about science fiction. That day she wrote a list of questions on the board and had us answer them, creating the bones of a potential scifi story. I wish I could find mine. They may be in a box somewhere. I remember writing as fast as I could, abbreviating everything that could possibly be abbreviated so I could put more notes on the page. Mrs. Turner was impressed, I think, commenting that my mind must be like a computer. No, Mrs. Turner, I was/am just very familiar with science fiction and its tropes.

Second is "The Witness" by James Jauncey. I heard about this book on Thistle and Shamrock, a weekly radio program on NET Radio. Jauncey, apparently, is a musician as well as an author. He and his band only get together once a year, but they still record stuff. Fiona Ritchie, program hostess, had Jauncey read excerpts from his book, mainly sections that included music, and then talk about them. Then she would play a song that was similar to what was described or one that was written by one of Jauncey's friends as part of the book's "soundtrack." I thought that in itself was pretty cool. And the pieces of the book I heard sounded like it might be something I'd like. So, I set out to find it. Our library didn't have it, but interlibrary loan is a wonderful thing. I got a copy from Rockford, Illinois.

And then there are my old favorites - books by Stephen Lawhead, Anne Perry, Bernard Cornwell and others. There's always something waiting in the wings to be read with characters waiting to be met and places to be visited. The infinite possibilities that wait between the covers of a book - really, what more do you want?

So much for spring

I know, I know. It's Nebraska. Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes.

But this little throw-back is going to take more than five minutes to work through. After 70 degree days earlier this month, tomorrow's high will be half that with wind to match. And snow in some places. Yes, snow. One of the dreaded four-letter words in the weather lexicon. I was hoping we were done with the cold, but then I remembered. It's March. Everything is fair game.

So I'll dig out the warm clothing for tomorrow. I might even pull the electric blanket back out. I'm a wimp, I know. In watching the weather forecast, the projected highs are a roller-coaster track - 40s, 60s, 40s, 50s, 60s. Whatever temperature range you like, we'll probably have in the next week.

Gotta love spring!

Back row

So I happened to notice a couple teens sitting in the back row at church on Sunday, and it reminded me of yon times of yore.

When I was growing up, I couldn't wait to be old enough to sit in the back row at church. It seemed to be a rite of passage. The teens always sat in the back row, and I desperately wanted to be part of that group. Ah, the desires of a 10-year-old.

The teens always seemed so cool and were always hanging out together. I was kind of jealous of that. No, I was more than kind of jealous. I wanted to be cool enough to hang out with them. Deep down, I knew I never would be because I'd never be their age. I would always be too young. They'd be in high school and I'd be in junior high. They'd be in college and I'd be in high school. And by the time I might be close to able to join their group, they'd all be gone - moved away and starting their grown-up lives.

Anyway, sitting in the back row meant you were "old enough" to strike out on your own. Because, you know, not sitting with your parents at church meant you were all grown up. It meant you were mature enough to pay attention in church without parents constantly checking on you. We found ways to not pay attention, of course, but nothing too serious. If the sermon was good, we'd listen. If it was from a passage we knew well, it was harder to stay focused.

By the time I was old enough to sit in the back row, the "cool kids" had moved on to college. But the back row was still "the place" to sit. Even today, I find myself towards the back of the church. It's not a bad thing, though, because I'm a Baptist and we all sit toward the back.

So, back to the teens at my church. I wonder if the back row is the same rite of passage for them as it was for me. Or maybe it was just coincidence.

Reading is fun

Today was the official Read Across America Day. How sweet is that - a day celebrating one of the most awesome activities ever! I did my part, of course. As usual, I took a book with me to lunch. I spent a few extra minutes because I was almost done. Yes, I finished it, if you're keeping score at home.

I often take books to lunch. They don't each much, you know, and rarely argue with me over who's picking up the check. Actually, I wish they would pick up the check more often. I frequent the same restaurants during the week, and the servers know not to interrupt me. I don't mind interruptions, but when I read, I tune out everything else. I've always been that way. I think I learned how because I have younger siblings who played while I read. And I read in the car and had to ignore the radio and other potential distractions. I used to joke that the house could blow away in a tornado and I would have no idea.

I try to vary the genres of books I read so I'm not "overdosing" on a given type. That came close to happening once, and it scared me a little. "The Civil War" by Bruce Catton and "Execution Dock" by Anne Perry are the most recent books I've finished. So it's probably time for something a little more fantastical - and I have plenty of choices on my bookshelves.

So now I'll choose my next escape. Who will be its author - Lawhead? Cornwell? Brooks? I'll let you know.

Sorry about another long break

It's not been a quiet week or two in Lake Woebegon, to paraphrase Garrison Keillor.

This time of year is always busy for me. With district and state events for wrestling and basketball, my schedule fills and stays full for about four weeks. It starts with district wrestling, then moves to subdistrict girls' basketball, state wrestling, subdistrict boys' basketball, district girls' and boys' basketball and finishes with the two state basketball tournaments. When you're tracking five wrestling teams and seven basketball teams (each for boys and girls), a cloning machine would be really nice.

State wrestling is my favorite weekend of the year. For three days, mats are filled with the best high school wrestlers in the state. Everywhere you look you have the chance to see good matches and top-notch wrestlers. I was fortunate enough to cover a pair of state champions this year. Between the five teams I cover, I had 18 wrestlers. All but two won at least one match, and those two came really close.

Post-seasons in general are bittersweet times of year. At some point, the players I've been watching for the past four years will finish their final competitions. Some will continue to compete at the college level, but most will not. I know everyone hangs up the competitive shoes at some point. But it's a melancholy moment. I'm sure the kids are excited to move on to a new phase in their lives. It's the sense of finality that's sometimes hard to handle.

And then we're into spring sports - track, golf, baseball and soccer. We go back outside, even though March and early April aren't always home to the nicest days of the year. I've been at track meets and soccer games where it's so cold everyone is in long underwear, winter coats, stocking hats and gloves. If I can get away with shooting from a press box (which I can at Concordia anyway), I do.

So off we go.

I know, it's been a couple weeks

I've been searching for something to write about, but it's been slim pickings. I thought about the Super Bowl and how it's an overhyped glorification of commercialism. For the record, I only watched about the last four minutes - enough to see that the pundits who were picking Carolina by double digits were very wrong. Congratulations to Denver on winning this year's contest.

I didn't see any of the commercials or the halftime show, and I'm actually OK with that. Life goes on, even if the Super Bowl and its accessories (which have begun to outshine the game in recent years) aren't on my "must-see" list.

Then I thought about this time of year and how we're to the lose-and-go-home part of the high school winter sports seasons. But I've written about that before, and I don't want to go through all the cliches again. But district wrestling starts tomorrow with state tournament berths on the line. Subdistrict girls' basketball begins on Monday, and if you lose, you're pretty much done. There are a couple teams that are high enough in power points a loss wouldn't hurt them, but otherwise a loss means the season is over. Some teams may be waiting for that first-round loss so they can be done.

Then I thought about Lent and how, although my church doesn't observe the practice, giving up some things may not be a bad thing. I'd considered giving up fast food this year, but it's way too convenient with my schedule. So I've stopped getting candy. After I'd made that determination, I remembered that I won't be able to eat Cadbury eggs, which are my favorite, but then I decided I'd buy some anyway and save them until Easter. We'll see how good my willpower is.

Then I thought about snow - which wasn't too hard since there are still piles and piles of it around town. I was disappointed in the job our city crews did "clearing" the streets after the last storm. In my opinion, based on the streets I drove, they didn't do a very good job at all. The intersections were atrocious and the streets themselves weren't much better. Trying to turn east onto my street was impossible if another car was westbound at the intersection.

So I really don't have anything to write about this time. Sorry about that.

Hoping for a winner

The newspapers I work for are members of the Nebraska Press Association. Most of the time that doesn't mean much, but this time of year, it does. This time of year, we're frantically searching last year's editions, looking for our best stuff to enter in the annual Better Newspaper Contest.

It can be encouraging to look back and remember the good stuff we've done. Those are the stories and photos we're hunting for to enter. Every once in a while I'll come across something I wrote, read it over again and think it's actually pretty good. I'm always surprised by that. I don't know why. I know I'm a decent writer. I should be after how many years of practice?

Some categories are hard to narrow down. We're limited in the number of stories and photos we can enter in a given division, and sometimes it's hard to choose. Other times, we're hunting for stuff to fill a category. And some categories we just don't have anything for.

Once we've found our entries, we have to submit them. That's where the deadline and frantic atmosphere come in. We're newspaper people - we operate on deadlines. If the deadline isn't looming, we have plenty of time to finish whatever we're working on. The deadline this year is Jan. 31. See what I mean? Plenty of time.

After everyone across the state has entered their best stuff, another state's press association judges them. Then in April, at our annual convention, we find out which entries they thought were the best. Papers are separated into divisions based on circulation, so a paper like Friend isn't competing against a paper like Seward. I don't always agree with the judges' decisions, but they are final.

Whatever happens in the contest, this year's search for entries has been a good reminder of where we've been this year. And it's given me a bit more incentive to improve what I do.

Better late

I'm later posting this week than usual. I'm sorry about that. Blame it on the cold. What's that? It wasn't cold the last two days? Oh. Well, um, OK. Blame it on the nice weather then. You've got to blame it on something.

It's been treacherous walking the last few days. I'm extra cautious when it comes to slippery sidewalks and streets. After breaking my ankle several years ago, I kind of dread ice. I try to avoid it whenever possible. If that means going around the long way, I will. And I have. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I don't want to be on crutches in the winter again. Just saying.

I've been going through last year's papers looking for potential Better Newspaper Contest entries. The Nebraska Press Association sponsors a contest each year for its member papers. We can submit stories, photos and pages that are then judged against stories, photos and pages from other papers of similar size. It's interesting to look back and see where we were a year ago. I cringe looking at some of the pages because they could have been better. But I'm pleased looking at others because I know we did a good job. Once all the entries are in, another state's press association members judge them, and winners are announced at the NPA convention in April. It's always interesting to see what's picked.

That's all I have for now. Be safe out there.

Resolutions and more

So here we are a week into 2016. How many of your resolutions are no more? Yeah, me too.

One of my coworkers challenged me to quit drinking pop. She cut pop out of her diet the week before Christmas, I think. I still had some pop at home, and I didn't want to waste it. So I said I'd stop once the calendar turned. I did have a Sierra Mist on Saturday (Jan. 2), but I was trying to settle an upset stomach, so it was for medicinal purposes. Other than that, I've been good. I've been drinking tea and water and sometimes putting flavoring in the water.

That's not to say I've cut out the caffeine. As you may know, tea does have caffeine in it, and one of the flavoring packet boxes I have also has caffeine. It is much less than pop, and the sugar and other "bad" ingredients aren't there. I have to re-train the servers at the restaurants I frequent, though. Most of them, when they see me come in the door, fill a glass with Diet Pepsi and take it to whatever table I'll be seated at.

I also got a new phone. It's smarter than I am. This is sooner than I really wanted to get a smart phone, but circumstances conspired against me. So now I have to learn how to use it. I'm not even sure how to answer a call yet. Wish me luck. This old dog isn't really good with learning new tricks.

I didn't really list a bunch of resolutions this year. There's always the generic "get healthier," which could mean almost anything. I do want to read through the Bible again. My start to the year there, though, has been a bit scattered. I'm always trying to get more/better organized. You know - the usual suspects.

So good luck with your resolutions, and have a fantastic 2016.

Oh, for those of you who have gotten/will get my "Christmas" letter, I do have a correction. I said I'd only seen Andrew and family in March when Dru was born. That's not true. They were in Nebraska in July, and we met for an afternoon and supper in Lincoln one day while they were here. It was a fun afternoon. The kids had a blast at the Lincoln Children's Museum, we visited the state capitol building and we had supper at Valentino's. How could I have forgotten that?