A nice present

This calendar was put together by KJ and perhaps ZJ helped but it is a nice presentation of a nice bunch of folks........................

Chirstmas Posts

All of these pictures are Christmas theme pictures except maybe the one of the food room just off the kitchen. On the other hand KJ and ZJ spent 10 hours Wednesday working on re organizing it and getting it in shape for the Holidays. Today is the Christmas Eve and all through the house were all stirring and hopefully there is no mouse. The cat does seem sort of up to it all and hangs around the tree and the gifts a lot. Also good news is that we have blue skies again. We had a few days without them and it was not a good thing.

Be Thankful

This is the time of year that folks often stop and feel thankful? On the other hand if your not "Thankful" then what are you? Thankfulness is a choice.

I am thankful for today

trains planes and auto's vs's calendars and motives

Each year about this time many businesses give calendars to their customers. Naturally the calendars are really a way to get the name of their business up on the wall all year. The idea is that this sort of gives them a stronger relationship with their customers? I put the question mark on the last sentence because indeed the sentence is a statement that ends with some doubt? I still recall the years my own business gave out nice calendars each year and worked hard to get them "on our customers walls". One gimmick that worked was to across the top of the calendar to have imprinted the name of the person who's office you were trying to get the calendar hung in. The customers personal name in BIG LETTERS and then on the bottom of the calendar ones own business name which was after all the whole motive of the "gift". I put "gift" in quote marks because it really was not a gift it was more about the giver than being a gift. Sort of like the TV ad I saw on television where a young "chirpy" ( I put chirpy in quotes because probably it isn't really a word to be using like this, but as I did use it, it applies to young females who are thin and really with it, at least in the make believe world of TV commericals) .........so, the young chirpy young woman smiles and says it is "better to receive than to give". Sounds like the calender folks theme .................

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Well I usually don't keep calendars given to me but if I do I cut the names of the giver off the top or bottom. This year, already even, I got one I liked! It was from a company I don't like much but then it was easy to cut off their name. The bigger one that may not really find a place to hang was about trains. I like trains. The smaller one was one that could stick on the space by the side of my computer and it will probably replace my usual one for next year. It was about old cars.

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Trains always remind me of Pocatello. The whistle in the nights. The tracks through the center of the town. Especially just about how cool these big old engines seem. I like trains, old cars, and trucks. Not as fond of airplanes.

city of contrasts and trip that has its contrasts

another trip.....................a picture out the window that shows the skyline. Detroit was a place that I had not been for a long time. Probably 20 + years. Even so I must have missed it last time as I just didn't remember the city. I did see the GM headquarters and it still stands as the central focus point of the skyline even though it sort of missed my focus in my own picture. The contrasts are not so different than a lot of other big "old" cities. The downtown has a monorail and a lot of effort to make it a destination that folks want to go and then as you go out of the downtown block after block of abandon project housing sits with windows out and no one living in the empty buildings.

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The return trip was on an airplane that was completely full and it was a long challenging flight. Sitting 4 rows from the front was like going to a movie. Next two me a very old women who had stuffed her oxygen machine under her set. It's battery ran down. It had to be changed and of course everyone on the plane had to use the rest room and the stewardess was firm that no one could since the seat belt sign was on and she just said no. On the other hand the passengers said they were going anyway. Course one could watch a movie on the I-Pad across the aisle or see the DVD's and I phones and games everywhere you looked. Free airplane cookies, something to drink and a line in the aisle.

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Monroe Street ran by the Hotel and the Casino and had some nice restaurants. The hotel was called "Greektown" and set firmly between the hotel and the Casino was the Greek Church which must have been the part of the expansion of this whole area.

I strolled around the grounds and didn't feel at home

I went to St Louis this week for a short trip and a "picture out of the window" of the hotel room" (The tall white building on the left). Over a lot of years I have had a lot of these type of short business trips. The hotel I was in had 26 floors and my room was up 23 floors. The top floor was a restaurant with a full view surrounded by a deck with no roof and just a glass wall. The deck overlooked the ballpark, Busch Field, and looked right into the park. In the other direction from the hotel was the large downtown enclosed foot ball stadium. Sitting on the top floor late Thursday looking out at the town reminded me of so many trips I have taken and the many many parts of the world that I have had the experience of seeing this way.............

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It was a quick trip with it's visit to the down town and to the top of a tall building and then later on the far side of the river a large plant. Landmarks marking the view and the striking difference between the best that the town presents and the coldness of the streets and neighborhoods that really surround where your at if you were to go out on the street and really take the chance of being alone.

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I am reminded of the movie the "Graduate" when Ben was upstairs and his Dad, Mr. Braddock, who was trying to get him to come downstairs. Ben suggested he was worried about his future and his Dad answered the question of concern for his future by telling him " I just want to say one word to you"..........."Plastics". That was the answer, the solution, maybe the real indicator of the future. Looking back to that time and thinking some about the word, "Plastics", is especially interesting or maybe revealing. Plastic's of course were for that time the Silicon Valley type of destination for success for young people and perhaps was good council, then. The fact that Ben was not really interested in his financial future but his own life is pretty clear. The lyrics of the song help put it in perspective. The movie may have through these comments helped us "look around and see with sympathetic eyes and to stroll around the grounds until you feel at home. Then add to that all that has happened around us and all that our supercities or culture may be is, indeed "plastic". Plastic in the sense that it is less than real.........................................

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And here's to you, Mrs Robinson

Jesus loves you more than you will know

God bless you, please Mrs Robinson

Heaven holds a place for those who pray

Hey, hey, hey

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files

We'd like to help you learn to help yourself

Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes,

Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home

Something meaningful and something less meaningful

I put this picture in my wallet sometime in the 1960"s. I carried the wallet for a few years but the part that has the pictures in it has survived. The picture is of my Dad. I don't know how old he was in the picture but he probably was somewhere between 28 and 32 would be my guess. I will send this to VJ and see if she remembers? Zack is going to try to patch up the pictures lines, folds and tears with photo shop so if anyone wants a copy of that when it is done you will need to send me an email and then I will send it.
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I don't know if posting an old picture of my Dad is what might be expected for the day after Thanksgiving or for that matter the day before my Sisters birthday but then that is what I have done. I thought a little about what to post and was reminded of our project last Monday night and again yesterday of listing something we were thankful for for each letter of the alphabet. I actually made a list today of the people in my life that I am thankful for and it was a pretty long list. The real challenge would be to drop them all a note and tell them that. Then of course it would be better to call them or go see them but even sending a personalized note would be a big step. I say a big step because even emails are a little uncommon anymore. Most of the folks younger than me are on facebook. I have a facebook account and likewise a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn claims to be a "professional network", the worlds largest with 100 million members. Just a small group when you think of facebook which claims to have over 800 million members. Since I admitted being on both of these sites with my own page I also will admit that I don't log on and look very often. Maybe once every 90 days. I do get notifications all the time but seldom get one that indicates anyone really tried to say something directly to me. Good thing probably since why would I want to talk to someone in front of every one on their list and mine? I guess I could post a note saying "got up this morning and when the sun beamed down upon me and I felt good and then I had........................

"a momentary impression that might be thought of as an epiphany

and then as I paused I thought it over for a moment and realized that

I was wrong about it being an epiphany and that in fact it was just the

warm sun on my face, but then it was still a good day".

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If I had of posted this thought it really wouldn't be much different than most of the thoughts I see posted when I occasionally log in . Not to imply that this is a not a good day. Maybe it is?

T Day and little girls

T-Day........................................................

Thanksgiving Day. Good day to remember my sister, Trudy. Course her birthday is the 26th and that is a couple of days away. She was a cute little girl. Little girls are cute of course and I would have loved to have known KJ when she was a little girl. Makes you wonder if when I was 5 or 10 years old if KJ would have liked me? I am pretty sure I would have liked her. I do like her a lot...................

2 turkeys crossed the road, to get to the other side or to help out with dinner I suppose

Looking forward to two days off and to a nice dinner. Today is a good day. Most days are good days. The weather is good, that helps. I have a spot picked out for the treadmill. That is good. A short nap is coming up soon and that is good. Speaking of good I was just reading a little quote to my left as I type and it says.........................

"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"

I like this quote. It goes to faith. Folks with faith have a lot of reasons to be happy. It might also go to stress management. Putting things in the Lord's hands can be less stressful.........if you have some faith.

New Flash 20 mark up ahead or maybe we just passed it

This blog is called

"Random Specific Thoughts", and I do have some. We do take the New York Times on the weekends for example. Actually I probably should go read it rather than just doing this blog. I thought of putting a picture of our house on the blog because I just came in from a walk. (wish it was from a run but mostly they are walks these days) and I stopped out front to visit with a couple of ladies from the ward walking by . In our area that is not a common thing to happen by the way. I mentioned that one of them lived in so and so's house who had of course sold it to them. She mentioned it was their house and she was determined to change it enough to have it be so. Most folks after moving a few times in their lives don't need this explained to them. On the other hand once you have finally bought a brand new house, like the one not shown in the picture, you don't ever have anyone tell you "O you live in so and so's house". That may be pretty obvious but then speaking of what seems obvious to me, I suppose I should document somewhere that I have lost a noticeable amount of weight. I could tell you that I weigh close to the same as I did in this picture above but then in that picture I was probably at the 20 mile mark in that race. Sometimes I think I might be at the 20 mile mark right now. Just to add some clarity if your in a marathon 26 mile race sometimes at about 20 miles you hit the wall. Lots of non random very specific thoughts go through your head. I remember thinking being dead might be good, for example. If in fact a marathon was just a metaphor for life whatever then where one might ask is the 20 mile mark? The on the other hand, losing weight is good and actually not all that hard. The formula is pretty simple. To do it I have given up a lot of sugar, trans fats, fats, sodium is way down (one exception is above in next to the guy running, and for that matter one of the few things I haven't given up) and then of course red meat ( no hamburgers, steak or hot dogs) , white bread, mayonnaise course I hate mayonnaise, most things with white flour, butter, most baked goods, and anything that comes to mind when you think of something good. Shredded wheat and oatmeal are fine. Bananas are good. Fresca is a treat.

A Bridge to the Past

Way back then, in the 50's, I lived in that house in the picture on the last blog below, but then I told that story in part with that picture. In front of the house to the right of where I was standing is a bridge. Today the bridge actually is one of the only things that has not changed much. When you crossbridge to the East you will still see the "Substation". Growing up across the river from a Substation where my Dad worked was interesting. Just being across the river from where he worked itself was a treat. I always wondered what the purpose of this plant was for Idaho Power. He told me often, explaining that Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse. Electric power flows through several substations between the generating plant, which was near the Dam in American Falls, and could make for another blog entry, and to the consumer. Voltage changes in several steps along the way. The Substation increases it or decreases it. The mystery is still not complete because that was before the days when power was part of a grid.
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My Dad had a desk inside of this building. I spent many hours in the building especially in the summer and became very familiar with the gauges and all the interesting things. My Dog Skipper spent a lot of time there with me. One summer day the mailman came in with the mail right on schedule. He stopped to talk to my Dad right on schedule. Skipper came up behind him and turned and lifted his leg and wet on the back of his leg. I decided not to laugh. My Dad for some reason decided not to say anything but just sort of made up an excuse so that the conversation would end and the mailman who had not felt a thing "yet" just left the building. Never did hear how he felt later that day.......................................... guess I am still laughing.

going back

"Two houses" in the background, one from the 1950's and the other from a week ago. More than just two pictures, the backgrounds reflect unseen things as I look back into my memory.

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The black and white picture is indeed the one with the most color. It has included with it's immediate message recollections of what was the real beauty of the house.

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In 1965 the Army Engineers dug up the river in Pocatello and constructed a concrete channel to control flooding. Before it had a winding path that was tree lined. It had fish, snakes, frogs and all that you would expect of a river. Memories of fishing and a raft and of the sound of the river and the birds from my bedroom upstairs on the right

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The house was first built in the very early 1900's and was a power plant. Under what you see was two or three levels that had a water wheel and a generator and went down to where a real river ran. When I grew up that portion of the house was out of sight under where we lived but you could get down to it.

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The park across the street where I am standing in this picture from a park that was full of trees and shrubs and was well kept. If I had included a picture of the park today and had one from the 1950's it probably would be the only close resemblance that I could present in this type of comparison. .

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Across the front of the house was a white picket fence and across the porch was an iron railing. The front door had glass and was white as was the porch. To enter to front yard you went through a large iron gate.

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So the idea that "you can't go back" is not really true because I just did in a way. The idea might be better expressed that "you shouldn't go back" and the reasons for that would be best seen in how you feel when what was is just not any more......................................

More on the Balloon Festival

Three balloon pictures you won't find on KJ's blog. This first one is KJ walking into some balloons similar to the other one I posted the other day.

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The second one is another unique one of a large fish. Also not found on KJ's blog.

The third picture is of the Lotaburger Balloon. I later learned that it landed just East of our house......................

3 things to post about

Since my last post a number of noteworthy events have happened. Yesterday for example was the 2011 Balloon Festival outing for our family. Kathy and I went to the event leaving the house at 5AM. We met Zach and his friend at the event. Mike chose to sleep in. The event was smaller this day do to weather issues that delayed the take off and reduced the number of balloons that went up. Still a great event.

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Alex's Birthday also was yesterday and we enjoyed reaching him by cell phone on his vacation. Alex is a fine young man. It has been a joy to have been part of his last 18 years.

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Riley also had a birthday several weeks back and since it has been sometime since I have posted I missed posting about that. A great young lady.

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So there you go.............................. an update of important events.

Probably a completly wrong picture to post

Well last Friday was our 45th anniversary. We went to Taos. Kathy took a lot of pictures and if you know how to get on Kathy's blog you will have a real treat because as usual she took some good pictures and presented our experience in a great way. You would also find this picture there too so the question of why is it here on my blog too may need some explanation? Actually I borrowed the picture from her and the only possible reason that I might have for thinking I could borrow it was that taking the picture was something I suggested to her. She had already done so but that does not mean that I should not get some credit for suggesting it. We had a nice time and found Taos to be a neat place. Last night we watched Jackie Kennedy talk about her life for two hours. What a treat that was. It took us back the 45 years and it was so interesting to re live some of the events that she talked about.

She really had an impact on the last century................................

She had some interesting quotes attributed to her:

I want to live my life, not record it.............. Jackie Kennedy

Even though people may be well known, they hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth: birth, marriage and death. ......................................................Jackie Kennedy

Embarkation

This is a picture I really like. It is called the Embarkation of the Saints at Liverpool in 1851. One reason I like it is that it reminds me of my Great Grandfather who left Liverpool on a ship like this named the "Buena Vista". Their ship left the Waterloo Dock in Liverpool on Monday the 26th of February 1849 at about 2:00PM with 249 Saints on board.

Saturday's blog

My favorite blog is the creation of the same person who is also one of my favorite walking companions but she was not with me when I shot this picture this morning. Bet she would have taken a better picture and it would have perhaps made her blog.

Light makes a difference

Friday about 6:15 AM. A new day.

A new day

Thursday 6:15 AM Albuquerque. Timing is everything I suppose.

Today's reflection

About 6:15 AM. Walking East from our house. It occurs to me that it is indeed a "new" day. Each moment is for that matter "new". The light coming over the mountain will be gone, or at least different, in a few minutes but the good news is I have captured this moment here. One thought I have considered now, and for a couple of days ended saying "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". The same thought suggests that our lives will reflect our faith.

A good thought for a new day and new week ahead.

"Off the Wall" today....................

I haven't posted a lot for a while. Sometimes the reason I don't post is that I figure I can't think of much to post about. Yesterday for example I figured I would go ahead and offer a recap of things that have taken place the last few months. Then I sort of went blank on what I would actually put down in black and white. Today I was standing by the door to the garage and noticed on the wall these signs that have been there for a long time. Looks to me like the best advice anyone could find is right there on the wall. So this blog is just "off the wall" today...........................

Guess this shows my intentions are good. I would like to recap the past weeks and months and add something interesting. It might take a few days......................

what on your mind probably shows.............or

Put another way..........................

A man is but the product of his thoughts.

What he thinks, he becomes

Gandhi

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and more about............Thoughts about Thoughts..........................

"It is throwing our life away, to think of the wrong things",

is council from a good book. Another way of putting it is that

"there are "no innocent idle thoughts".
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Add to this council the fact that we can only think of one thing

at a time and the reality that except for the time when we are

sleeping we really have no choice but to "keep thinking"

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Nibley in contemplating these things concluded

that having to think and then having to chose

our thoughts may be the essence of our mortal existence
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So then

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"If every choice I make expresses a preference;

if the world I build up is the world I really love and want,

then with every choice I am judging myself,
proclaiming all the day long to God, angels and my

fellowmen where my real values lie, where my treasure is,

the things to which I give supreme importance.

Hence in this life every moment provides a perfect

and foolproof test of our real character,

making this life a time of testing and probation. "