Pioneer Day

July 24th passes like any other summer day in most of the United States. However, in Utah, it is a state holiday celebrating when Brigham Young and the first pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley on July 24th 1847. Yesterday while driving home from work I saw people setting up tents and pavilions along the street, getting ready to camp out in order to have front row seats for the parade today. I walked over to see what sort of parade the city of Salt Lake puts on. People lined the street. Individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit pushed carts full of balloons, hats, and umbrellas. Others pulled red flyer wagons packed with coolers advertising water and Gatorade for a dollar. The Salt Lake City police department entertained the crowds zooming by on their motorcycles and high fiving the front row. The Utah Military reserves marched pass followed by vehicles carrying soldiers and children with Make a Wish Foundation.
All good parades have floats and this one was no exception. In front of the floats that won awards, marched men and women dressed in pioneer outfits holding the sign proclaiming the honor accorded. A large float featured a blimp with a Mormon hand cart suspended underneath. Inside the carts several people waved to the crowd in period costumes and several people peeped out on top of the blimp. The blimp declared Flying to Zion. Behind the float people pulled several hand carts loaded with goods, carrying a sign proclaiming, Walking to Zion. Another float celebrated bringing the LDS faith to the Hawaiian Islands. The University of Utah and Brigham Young University also presented a float in the parade. Several marching bands represented the local high schools. Davis High school from Kaysville proudly marched wearing t-shirts proclaiming their upcoming appearance at the 2013 Rose Parade. In between the floats and bands, clowns on double decker bicycles and  a man on a unicycle with a parrot on his shoulder awed the crowd.
Pairs of LDS missionaries wandered along the sidewalk talking to anyone interested in asking question. A woman handed out coupons for her beauty salon and an on duty police officer stood at the intersection telling people to keep the street open in case the fire truck needed to come through. Five minutes later the officer would have to clear the street again as new people crowded up, seeing a prime location for watching the parade. Women pushing strollers  and a man with his head shaved except for two rows of gelled spiky hair walked towards the park where the parade ended.
The rest of the day will be commemorated with barbeque's, snow cones, rodeos, and fireworks at the end of the day. July 24th is celebrated as big or bigger than the 4th of July. It still seems strange to me even after living in Utah for six years that the 24th is such a big holiday. On the other hand, the 4th of July celebrates our countries independence. For the LDS the 24th represents their own independence. After being persecuted and kicked out of New York and later Indiana, the Salt Lake Valley represented for them a chance to build their own community and live their faith free from the strictures imposed in other locations. That is one of the reasons our forefathers left England, to practice their faith in the way they felt was right. Maybe it isn't so strange after all. People in Utah get to celebrate independence twice in a couple of weeks, it makes for a festive month of July.

20 Minutes to Pack

There are currently 8 uncontrolled wildfires in Utah. Utah Fire Info provides information on the active fires, how to protect your home if it is in danger from the fire, resources, and fire safety. Many people have had to evacuate their homes, often with short periods of time to gather their belongings. One of my classmates had to leave class early to check on her home. I heard on the radio that some victims of the fire were forced to gather their beloved possessions and evacuate in 20 minutes.
I stated thinking about what I would take with me if I were given 20 minutes to evacuate. My heart and my brain had very different ideas of what is important to me. My heart began weighing the value of my possessions depending on their sentimental value. Memorabilia such as pictures, old journals, the quilts my aunt and my mom made me, the afghan that my grandmother crocheted make the top of the list. I enjoy traveling and I would want to save the souvenirs I brought home with me. From Swaziland I have a piece of material with the Swazi flag, and a soap stone candle stick. From South Africa I have four picture created from banana leaf: an elephant, a lion, and a village. I brought back two small framed feathers from Costa Rica. Each one has a tiny painting, one of a toucan and the other of a monkey. From my trip to Vietnam I would pack the silk blouses I had made for me and my collection of recipes that I received from taking a cooking class. I did a study abroad in Fiji. I would take my sulus, long colorful wrap-around skirts. From Mexico I would pack my calendar and pictures painted on bark. My heart also wants to take items that my family has given me. I have paintings that my mom and my sister painted for me. My dad made me some earrings with my birthstone and some books that my other sister gave me. I would have to pack my books. The list can go on and on when dealing with the heart.
My head is much more practical. First I think about survival. I would pack my hiking backpack with a sleeping bag, a tarp, several knives, lots of rope of varying widths, my fire kit, a lighter, my head lamp. I would pack functional clothes for whatever circumstance I might come across. I would pack bottles of water and non perishable food. Second, my head insists on packing items that would be expensive to replace and that I would have difficulty living without. Items in this category include my computer, camera, and digital recorder. I might need some dress clothes and make up. Toiletries and eating utensils could be useful.
It is possible that I might be able to gather all of the above in 20 minutes plus whatever else might occur to me. If I had to choose from the above lists I would start with what my head says I should take. However, I think that being placed in such a situation I would sweep everything off of my dresser and into a box. I would quickly fill boxes and bags with everything I can grab. I think I could fill my car with most of my possessions in twenty minutes. I feel fortunate that I have minimal material possessions.
It is an interesting exercise to think about what is important to me. I also like the challenge of thinking how I would react in an emergency situation. If you had twenty minutes to pack what would you take?

Smooshie's Subway Account

My name is Smooshie. I am a delightful plush frog with delightful bright blue hair. I'm taking this chance while Kristin is busy to write about my adventures so you get the real story. I am the designated mascot of the Subway hike this year. Subway is a canyoneering route just outside of Zion's National Park. It involves rappels and swimming and many photo opportunities. I rode most of the way on Kristin's pack, but I got my share of the adventures.

First I would like to address my name. There was some discussion of what I should be called. I wanted to be called Captain Walker D. Plank. One of the humans had nearly smooshed a frog the night before and therefore I ended up with the ignominous name of Smooshie. To make matters worse, no one could remember it. I was often called Squashy, Squishy and sometimes just Froggie. I did forgive much of this trouble with my name because of all the nice kisses I received from beautiful women. Humans have a strange fairy tale about a frog turning into a prince when kissed by a princess. Therefore, I was fortunate enough to get kissed often throughout the trip.
The first rappel was quite exciting. I was nearly overcome with fear. Twenty feet might not feel like far to a human, but to a frog, it is quite the distance. After that first one I looked forward to the other ones. I grew to enjoy them very much. I liked that most of them ended in water. I love being in water!
I had a delightful lunch, but would have liked some flies instead of sandwiches and a fruit roll up.
The very best part was swimming in all the pools. I didn't appreciate all the splashes from the large humans, but I found some nice pools in which to lounge. In one pool I encountered a beautiful lady frog. We shared a soulful stare, but alas the lady declined to join me in my adventures and we parted. I will carry with me the beauty of her eyes and the charming hue of her skin. I believe I saw her blinking back tears when I left, after all I'm quite the dashing gentlefrog.
Over all I had a delightful trip. The loud bumbling humans took prodigious care of me even though I could have taken care of myself quite well.

Store of Choice

Women love to shop. This stereotype follows us around from marketing strategies to jokes to husbands grumbling about our shopping trends to his friends. This stereotype is mostly true, but the store of choice varies widely. Shoppers often choose their favorite stores primarily by cost. Are the goods inexpensive, in the middle or costly? This varies somewhat depending on what the individual thinks about the value of quality versus quantity. Some people may only shop high end clothing, but be content to buy their coffee maker at Walmart. Others buy everything at Target except for kitchen ware which is bought at Spoons N Spice or from their Pampered Chef consultant.
I like to buy my clothing at Ross, but will on occasion spend more to buy quality long lasting garments. My shoes, well they usually come from Payless and my purse comes from where ever I can find an inexpensive one that I like. I hate purse shopping. As for accessories I use what I have and seldom buy more. Clothes, shoes, accessories, hair products, home decorations, etc. I'm not all that interested in shopping for. I have my moments when I get excited about some of these things, but overall they have a small appeal.
There are two types of stores that I love. The first is book stores. I don't often buy books, but I love walking through books stores. My favorite stores are the ones that sell used books. They are a little dark and smell like moldering paper. The shelves are close together and there is usually a room with books stacked in piles. This is the bargain room where, if you have the patience, there is a fabulous treasure awaiting you for a $1.50. I also like the books sellers at street markets or garage sales that have books. It is an adventure in which you're never quite sure what you will come away with.
I love gear stores. REI, Patagonia, and EMS are just some of these wonderful stores. The atmosphere is relaxed and you can show up wearing grubby outdoor clothes. These stores feature quick dry and optimal performance clothing. In the winter you can find gear for all varieties of winter sports, but as summer approaches skis are replaces with bikes. One of my favorite sections is the camping section. I love just wandering around looking at all the gadgets to enhance your camping/backpacking experience. I read labels and debate whether a small foldable bowl is a better tool than a metal one. I contemplate the wall of water bottles with the new colors and tell myself that I already have at least five, I don't really need another one. I spend time with the spools of rope, feeling the different kinds. You can never have enough rope. I can spend quite some time wandering around these stores just looking. I was in REI yesterday trying to figure out how to spend my dividend. I decided on a camp chair, one that will be perfect for camping trips, ball games, the beach, or reading my book on my lawn. I exercised incredible will power and limited myself to that single purchase.
I have always viewed myself as being different from most women as I'd rather be comfortable than fashionable and I spend much more time comparing backpack specs than I do in choosing my makeup. But in the end I'm not all that different. You might drool over another woman's stilettos in the same way as I longingly look at colorful well designed backpack. I love shopping, it just has to be the right kind of store.

You're an IDIOT!

Today while driving in my car, I was listening to an interview on NPR with a physicist discussing how in quantum physics the creation of something out of nothing is not only likely but a regular occurrence. Most of these creations spring into existence and then disappear, but something on a much larger scale happened to make the earth as we know it. The discussion turned to the place of religion and philosophy in light of this information. The physicist argued that there is no place for religion or philosophy in his view of the world, in fact the usefulness of these entities passed away a long time ago. While he talked about his views of religion as a myth held by people unenlightened enough to accept that their beliefs had been debunked years ago, I thought to myself, "Idiot!"
This physicist is more intelligent then me when it comes to science. I know next to nothing about quantum physics, but I know religion and philosophy has not lost favor with the general populace. I could look up statistics and prove that these subjects are highly important to a large percentage of the population. Even many people who claim to be atheist believe in spirituality of some kind. For these people questions about purpose and meaning in life are of value. I scoffed at this arrogant learned man, who published a highly controversial book, as being an idiot. He may know lots about his subject, but little about anything else. He insulted all religious people by saying belief in God or gods is the product of a lazy mind, too uninterested to come up with a better explanation than "God did it."

The more I listened, the greater my indignation. I created arguments in my head to prove to him that he is an arrogant idiot that knows nothing. I have been doing this for years, listening to other people's viewpoints solely for the purpose of punching holes in them when they did not align with mine. You can ask my sisters, they were often on the other end of my sharp words and unwillingness to understand them. I have matured since the days I used to obliterate my sisters in discussions. I speculated about my quick negative response. How am I any better than this physicist? He does not care to try to understand people with an opposing view, they are unintelligent, unenlightened, and lazy. They are idiots. I did not view this man as someone who comes to life with a unique perspective and try to understand him and his message. I labeled him as an idiot, thus putting myself arrogantly superior to him. The simple truth is that I felt threatened by his message.  I am religious and I enjoy philosophy. His beliefs called mine to question. I had to defend my world view because if what he said had truth in it then I would need to reexamine what I believe. In essence this was a challenge to me, can I still believe even though an accomplished scientist sees them as folly? Maybe this man felt defensive about his perspective on life so presented it in an antagonistic way? If he attacks first and harder then he can protect himself against the criticism of everybody else.

Aren't we all like this? Unwilling to try to understand a different perspective, belief system, or theory because of the danger it poses to ourselves. Can we step away from being arrogant idiots to seeking to understand others and by doing so care about them? If we really believe what we believe then no amount of new theories or scientific discoveries will shake that, then we can reach out and genuinely say to another, "I want to know you." After all isn't that one of the main things we seek in relationship with others, to know and to be known.

Invisible

I'm working on a story. This one has been slow in writing. Mostly, I haven't spent the time with it that I should. I write many pages on it and then I get bored and give up for months and then go back to it. At this rate I might not ever finish it. I am still committed to it and am in a phase of being interested in it again. I am want to know what people think, maybe the acclamation of the masses is what I need to spur me into a writing frenzy. We can only hope. I am posting the first paragraph. I would appreciate any feedback you have. Specifically I want to know if after reading this paragraph you want to read more or are you bored right from the start?

I am invisible. When I was young, we, my brothers and I, used to pick what superpower we wanted to have and then we would play super heroes and villains. I always chose invisibility. I felt so powerful. I felt like I always won because I could claim to always be in the right place or avoid fatal blows, after all I was invisible. My brothers, after a time, didn’t want to play with me; they said I was no fun. If I wanted to play with them I had to pick a super power that fit certain stipulations. I am stubborn. Strong willed is what I call it. I chose to play by myself. I used to think invisibility was a super power, now I know that it is quite common. Others don’t notice that people can be invisible. Only those of us who become invisible know that this power exists. I may not have a super power, but being invisible is powerful. For only those who are invisible know how to make everyone forget them, even those who love them the most. One at a time, people fade from your life as you become invisible to them or maybe it is they who gradually become invisible to you. I’m not really sure which way it goes, all I know is that friends are the first to fade followed by your children, father, brothers, husband, and last and most painfully mother. I am forgotten. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this excerpt. Stay tuned for more exciting writing. 

May 24th

To many of you the 24th of may is of little significance. This year it falls on a Thursday which is teasing you that your weekend has arrived. You might be busy planning for the weekend, if you work a job with regular hours and holidays, you probably have Monday off for Memorial Day. Today is significant for me because I took my car in and passed my emissions and safety inspection. It is always a relief to know that you don't have to spend a lot of money to make sure your car is street worthy. I do need to replace two of my tires soon. Other than that, today has been composed of meetings and errand and phone calls.

Although a regular sort of day for me many things of import have happened on the 24th of May.
1218: The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
1738: John Wesley is converted thus launching the Methodist movement.
1798: Irish Rebellion against British rule begins.
1830: Mary Had a Little Lamb is published, Thank you Sarah Josepha Hale.
1844: Samuel Morse sends a message to his assistant to inaugurate the first telegraph line that says, "What hath God wrought." from Number 23:23
1861: During the American Civil War, Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
1915: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, World War 1
1930: The first woman to fly solo from England to Australia lands in Darwin, Amy Johnson.
1941: The German battleship Bismark sinks the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood during World War II
1991: Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia
1992: The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon resigns.
2001: Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to summit Mount Everest at age 15.

These are just a small amount of things that have happened on this day.
Here is a sampling of notable people born  on May 24th:
15 BC Julius Ceasar Germanicus
1686: Gabriel Fahrenheit
1819: Queen Victoria
 1874: Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
1885: Susan Sutherland Isaacs
1895: Samuel Irving Newhouse
1941: Bob Dylan

So you see this seemingly mundane day has seen many important events. For some of you this is an anniversary or birthday and is already memorable, but for the rest of you, what can you do to make May 24, 2012 memorable for you or for someone else.

My thanks to Wikipedia for providing me with plentiful information about May 24th.