Sunday, August 20, 2017

Chili cheese hot dogs. NOT!

We noticed you attended last week! We celebrated today in HPG over last week!


vern jensen phonev6@gmail.com

1:43 PM (0 minutes ago)
to Jeffrey
Dear Jeff,

Sometimes I am silly.

We had our ward hydrotube party last Tuesday at 6:30. We had so much food you would not believe it. I watched 4 brothers go back and grab a hot dog just to eat it by itself after everyone was served up. Allen Hilton, Merril Palmer, Jim Cox and I forgot.  What was so special about those hot dogs?

Answer: they were sausages!

Did I have any?  a: Nope! No way!

Why not?  a: Who in their right mind would have a hot dog when you can have a burger?  Not me!

Later I was visiting with Susie Morris Cirrito and Tammy Salmon. They said it was hot against the west blue windbreak. When I moved they traded to the south bench. At some point Susie described her miserable super spicey unexpected response to her hot dog. She could not understand what was wrong! EQPres. Cameron Tolman was laughing as I told him the story again today after choir practice. He was the instigator. and the cook etc. I suggested we label the containers next time so our poor saints know what they are getting! He agreed. He also admitted they were just all lumped together and mixed up. No one knew what they were getting. The poor trusting saints just went through that line thinking they were getting good old, plain old hot dogs. Their faith was misplaced! Surprise!

So I spent an hour the next day researching Jalapeno cheese hot dogs. A whole hour! They don't exist. Today he told me they weren't hot dogs they were sausages disguised as hot dogs.

I have found them!!

So I know this is absolutely silly but don't you need a little silliness in your life?  Can you match the picture with the info?  And, AND notice the ingredient I bolded! and underlined!





Highlights
Fully cooked
Bold
Made with 100% premium pork
Highlights
Made with 100% premium pork
U.S. inspected and passed by the Department of Agriculture
Family owned since 1945

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Pork, Water, Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese [Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Water, Milkfat, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Sorbic Acid, Apo-Carotenal], and Less Than 2% of The Following: Salt, Corn Syrup, Potassium and Sodium Lactate, Chili Pepper, Dehydrated Onion, Spices, Dextrose, Tomato Powder, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Brown Sugar, Sodium Erythorbate, Natural and Artificial Flavors (With Modified Food Starch, Succinic Acid), Maltodextrin, Sodium Nitrite, Collagen Casings.

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Pork, Water, Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese ([Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Water, Milkfat, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Sorbic Acid, Apo-Carotenal], Powdered Cellulose), Diced Jalapeno Peppers and Less Than 2% Of The Following: Corn Syrup, Salt, Potassium Lactate, Green Bell Pepper Powder, Natural Flavors, Dehydrated Jalapeno Pepper, Sugar, Spices, Dry Vinegar Flavor ([Sodium Diacetate, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, And Glucona-Delta-Lactone], Hydrogenated Soybean And Cottonseed Oils), Tomato Powder, Sodium Diacetate, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Dehydrated Onion, Sodium Erythorbate, Blue Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Sodium Nitrite, Spice Extractive, Collagen Casing.

 And, AND notice the ingredient I bolded! and underlined! Do you think I am glad I did not choose a spicy hot dog like all those others that even ate them plain afterwards because they were so delicious? A: MAN AM I EVER!     No thank you on the migraine thank you very much! BTW there area about 50 items with MSG like effects.  I had to research over and over again to discover what those were like catsup and soy sauce etc..



Last of all.

You are cared about and loved!You are cared about and loved!to: Jeffrey Whipple <jeffreywhipple@mac.com>date: Sun, Aug 20, 2017 at 1:43 PM subject: We noticed you attended last week! We celebrated today in HPG over last week! @@Sun

8/20 Hello brandon, you can probably see I am feeling excellent and playful today. Here are 10 thinks I know about JeffW: 1- His hands shake when he is contributing in priesthood. 2- He has been announced in HPG as someone who is really ailing, super lonely, and could use a visit. 3- His wife is our choir leader and professed she has plenty of money but works at the college to get out of the house and maintain her peace of mind. She is DSU faculty president. She served as our Republican local rep for 3 or 4 years as welll. She is an extremely formal person but we draw her out as friends sometimes. :) [She said that in one of our small group confessions in our choir club. (Plenty $, not enough sanity. )We sang today and I am so tired of rehearsing that song at least 100 times and maybe 200 on some parts! Argh. But the faithful brethren still couldn’t quite get it right. Roger Eves asked for his beginning note on verse 4 as a tenor today, just before our last sing through the whole thing. TawnaB gave it to him an octave too low. He did not even notice nor did RobynW! He was happy it was so easy. I had to burst his bubble. Sorry Roger, this is the real note you are supposed to be singing. . . Yep, I really did that.] 4- He had a son and a daughter. They were both a bit spoiled and entitled. 5- Jeff was in two car accidents caused by drunk drivers in CA. His life insurance and accident settlement set him up for life! 6- Too much opium. He is over his limit this year on painkillers and asked on Facebook if anyone knew of a migraine remedy. 7- I asked Robyn what would be the best way to reach out to him. She gave me his email address. I wrote him something fun and entertaining. He never responded. :( 8- I saw him at the PO, 2 months ago. I turned my back on him and pretended I was a loud speaker: “Is there a Jeff Whipple on the premises? Jeff Whipple, can anyone see a Jeffrey Whipple?” Then I turned around and pretended to see him for the first time. 9- I asked him why he did not respond to my email. He said, you didn’t ask any questions. I said, so if I had asked for money you would have responded?  I told all this to Robyn in Choir club shortly after it happened. Nope, Jeff had not told her a thing. . . 10- He speaks authoritatively, like he knows all the answers. I wonder if I do that? @@ OK, bps, that gives you some background for that email I began you letter with. :) Just reaching out again, plus I have you to tell as well, so this way I get double the bang for my buck/ efforts.@@Bps, we can never go wrong if we gain a sense of our worth and value to HF. Consider this talk from Oct’78:“Come Home, Felila” [pronounced Fay-Lee’-lah] John H. Groberg\Of the First Quorum of the Seventy\My dear brothers and sisters, I ask for your faith and prayers that the Lord’s Spirit might touch our hearts as together we consider an item vital to our happiness here and hereafter.

One of the greatest needs of mankind generally and of all of us individually is to have more and stronger faith in our Creator. To know that he is literally our Father and that he is kind and just and understands us and knows our needs is one of the greatest treasures we can possess. This treasure is obtained by faith—strong faith.

Now it may seem easy to have faith in God when things are going well. But the law of growth requires constant effort and stretching. Thus, in order to have our faith strengthened, it must be stretched and tried and tested.

One of the areas of testing that comes to many of us is when something occurs over which we apparently have little or no control and which to us seems unfair.

For example, I have always been moved as I have seen those who are required to operate on less than their full faculties. I, along with some of you, have asked the question, Why? On many occasions when an accident has occurred, or a terrible illness, or an untimely death, or when a mentally retarded or physically handicapped child has been born, or some other seemingly difficult-to-explain situation has taken place, people have come to me and to others wanting reassurance.

I, along with you, have taken great consolation in the scriptures as they tell us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father knowing. (See Matt. 10:29.) We believe the scriptures, but when it happens to our loved one or our friend, the question of why still rings. I do not have all the answers, but hopefully the following experience, which happened several years ago, may be helpful to some who are still battling the question of why.

On a small Pacific island an infant girl was born to a faithful family. They called her Felila. There was happiness and joy as this grateful spirit made her debut into mortal life, but soon there were problems. Her head was abnormally large. The doctors diagnosed it as hydrocephalus. The questions of brain damage, of normalcy, of other problems all raised their haunting heads. After much fasting and prayer the elders quorum president approached the branch president, who in turn talked with the district president, who after adequate checking came to me as the mission president to see if there were some additional help available.

The medical authorities were consulted, and it was determined that there was little if anything they could do locally. Letters were written, information was sent back and forth, x-rays were taken and analyzed. There was so much to do—so many questions to be answered, so many pieces to fit together. Finally after exasperatingly long delays, things began to fall into place. A family in Salt Lake agreed to accept full responsibility for the infant, even if it meant years of outpatient care; the doctors agreed on the possibility of her eventual recovery; the hospital accepted the case on a service basis; funds were raised for her air fare; some local travelers arranged their schedules to bring her right to the hospital. But there were other problems—visas, health certificates, reservations, passports.

All during these trying days the family, and the elders quorum, and even the whole branch continued to fast and pray. The time of departure of the infrequent airplane grew near.

One morning, amidst myriads of other pressing matters, I had the strong impression that I must take the time now and put forth the extra effort required to get everything done so she could go. I got on the overseas telephone. The consulate finally agreed to issue a visa; the airlines made a special reservation; the passport people agreed to waive the normal regulations; others gave that extra effort and cooperation; and soon all was in order.

Normally I would have sent someone to bring the family in to sign the final papers, but again I felt strongly impressed that I should personally go and see the branch president. I located him in the early afternoon near the school where he was teaching. He was standing alone outside as though he were waiting for me.

Excitedly I ran up to him: “Guess what? It’s all set. Miraculously everything has worked out and Felila can leave tomorrow. Please get word to the family immediately.”

His calm, penetrating gaze quelled my exuberance. “It’s true,” I said. “I know it’s been long and there have been lots of disappointments, but she really is going now. What’s the matter?”

His steady gaze seemed to penetrate my very soul. Then softly in his liquid native tongue he informed me that when all the preparations had been made, when the hearts of so many had been stretched in service, when the goal of unity and selflessness had been achieved in those many hearts, when all had made the final commitment of others above self, at the height of all this activity that very morning, little Felila had quietly and unobtrusively slipped away—gone to that better care which so many had fasted and prayed and worked so long and hard for her to receive.

Gone? This morning? But all that work, all that time, all that fasting and praying and those strong feelings. Gone? No!

Without once shifting his gaze, he, having more faith than I, offered a few words of truth and encouragement, then quietly turned and rejoined his class.

And I was left alone, or so it seemed. I moved slowly and heavily down that dusty trail. Why? Why? After all that work and that strong faith of so many and those impressions, why?

I sensed the brightness of the sun and felt the warmth of the breeze as it lazily tossed the palm leaves and slowly shifted the silent clouds against the clear blue sky. A feeling came over me. I realized that the earth was beautiful, that life went on and was eternal. And while I cannot describe fully what happened next, part of the experience is proper to relate. The best explanation is contained in the phrase, “I was overcome by the Spirit.” It was as though one took me by the hand and led me to a high place and stood by me and said, “Look.” And I looked and beheld such beauty and magnificence as man cannot conceive. And I heard a voice, such a tender, compassionate voice—yet so unmistakably powerful—that all nature stood still and listened and obeyed.

“Come home, Felila, my daughter. Come home to the care your loved ones have sought for you. I have heard their prayers and have known their fasting and love for you, and I answer, Come home, my daughter. You have finished your mission in life. Hearts have been softened; souls have been stretched; faith has been increased. Come home now, Felila.”

He knew her! He knew her name. He knew all about her and about all those others. How perfect our Father’s love! He had heard the prayers. He had done what was best. He knew everything—which thing, though I believed, I never had supposed. In some marvelous way, which is beyond our mortal comprehension, he knows and understands all things.

My questions as to why—as to justice and reasons—were all at that moment completely swept away. They were so irrelevant, my questioning so totally out of place, like one trying to dig the Grand Canyon with a teaspoon.

Oh, how we must remember the words of Jacob as he said:

“Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God. …

“Seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.” (Jacob 4:8, 10.)

I testify that there is total and complete justice in eternity. God’s dealings with man have no tinge of partiality or of favoritism or of capriciousness or of anything less than complete consistency and balance and perfectness.

Some say, “But it has been years. We have fasted and prayed so long and so hard. What does the Lord expect?”

There may be many answers. I give only one. That is: He expects more, and it will be for your eternal benefit and blessing. That I know. As we begin to comprehend eternity, we gain a whole new catalog of values.

To you who have the responsibility and the privilege and the opportunity of caring for others, may you through those long hours and days and years ever know, as I know, that the Lord understands.

Do not be discouraged; do not attempt to counsel the Lord. He determines, not you. He knows hearts and souls and needs. He measures intents and knows spirits.

Caring is all-important—the intensity, the duration, the amount, the quality, the extent. For in God’s wisdom, caring creates faith.

Oh, may we all have a little Felila in our lives—and there are so many: the retarded, the infirm, those needing special help, both spiritually and physically, the aged, the infants,—all these to soften our hearts in love, to stretch our souls in tenderness, to confirm our worth in caring for others, and above all to strengthen our faith in him who knows all, even him who in caring totally gave his all, and in giving his all, lives forever, and in living forever, rules eternally, and in ruling eternally, cares omnipotently, whose coming and going is one eternal round I pray in his name, even the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.@@ There may be many answers. I give only one. That is: He expects more, and it will be for your eternal benefit and blessing. That I know. As we begin to comprehend eternity, we gain a whole new catalog of values. He measures intents . . . He counts our tries and every try counts! Doesn’t that fill you with hope Brandon?

Friday, August 18, 2017

missionary letter #8

crit·i·cism
ˈkridəˌsizəm/
noun
  1. 1.
    the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.
    "he received a lot of criticism"
    synonyms:censurecondemnationdenunciationdisapproval, disparagement, opprobriumfault-findingattackbroadsidestricturerecrimination


I felt insecure and scared Sunday. I felt like this letter was exposing me to criticism. But now it is Friday and I feel much more secure:


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vern jensen phonev6@gmail.com

Aug 13 (5 days ago)
to brockJjeronSpencerWthatcherBKent
Dear BH's 2nd Ward Missionaries,

You are loved and admired. Thank you for serving.

1- Do you remember your first sin after being baptized? When did you first become unclean again? Do you remember your commitment to live pure and righteous? I do. The Bishop showed Danel Black advancing to Laurels. He presented Emily Gardine advancing to mia maids. Then he presented our newest baptized member Lydia Larson who was baptized yesterday by Derek Larsen. He told her not to come up but to just stand on the bench so all could see her with his permission just this one time. She did. I smiled. Perfect, deft, Bishop, I thought. But in priesthood Derek L divulged she was not very happy with that! It wasn't right for an 8 year old to stand on the bench!  v- to her it might have seemed like the bishop was trying to get her to sin, break the rules, and she wants to stay pure.  Oops.

2- Kent Perkins, Bishop spent 5 minutes in SS n in Priesthood explaining the Self Reliance program starting up for the second round Aug 17 or 27. He encouraged volunteers. It was cool in my opinion. I wrote about it to my home teachees today. Other 4 missionaries: KentP n Lynne have been called for a year as Self Reliance missionaries to Houston, Texas.

3- People seldom express their feelings. Andra Garrett dared to say she felt angry and anxious near the end of our SS lesson today which was about Eternal Marriage. DnC 131,132

Why mention that? Because if you don't know your feelings how can you feel the Holy Ghost? I believe he communicates with us through our feelings. In my opinion Andra showed great ownership of her feelings. She did not like what some of the brethren were saying. The brethren went silent. :)

4- I visited with Duane Derfler while out playing disc golf on our new course in the park Thursday morning, all by himself Kent. We have had summer thunderstorms like crazy and high humidity. He was taking off his hat and toweling his brow every five minutes. He is taking advantage of our new frisbee golf course! He presented a big screen show of Kent and Lynne Perkins last month for his self reliance lesson in HPG. Horray for our park service! Horray for Kent n Lynne Perkins.

5- Brinkerhoffs spoke today. They said it has only been 18 months since they spoke last time. Spiritual gifts is our sacrament meeting topic this month.

6- Only 2 more weeks of Saturday chapel cleaning and our 1/3 of the year cleaning is up!

7- Food at the city pool on Tuesday at our ward swimm party.

8- Britton Jensen, 14 teacher, accepted a call to serve as a counselor/ companion for our Stake Special Mutual Program.

9- Bishop Q Adams announced his son Q can accompany us in priesthood for the opening hymn! I asked Q for a list of hymns he can play. We did God Speed the Right with Elder Dallen Rickets conducting this week. Bishop said Q could have played that.

10- BKPacker said that having the 3 witnesses fall away really tested his faith. But it came back as strong as ever. "When I was a student, nothing tried my faith more than the falling away of the Three Witnesses. If ever there was a temptation, for the sake of appearances, for the Church to compromise Church principles, that was the time. 

It was not done; and therefore, what had shaken my faith, one day was transformed into an anchor to hold it steady.

When you hear stories, be wise. Unless you are in all the interviews, and hear all the evidence, you are not in a position to really know. Be careful, lest you jump to a confusion."
v- Poor Joseph. He had all these new guys around him. He was a new guy! The three witnesses had the responsibility of choosing the first Q of the 12. How could they fall away? But notice, they never denied their testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the miraculous way in which it was shown them. Is the B o M true? Absolutely. So what went wrong? Answer: Their testimony of the prophet. How could that happen? Answer: How many times have you moved? How much have you been persecuted for the gospel? How much failure can you take? They fell away but Joseph never faltered. He had learned his lesson the hard way. 116 pages were gone. He was never going to do that again! If the Lord commanded it, he followed. Even if it took him 10 years before he dared reveal it to the rest of the saints! We studied sections 131 n 132 today. Back in 1831 when it was first revealed he must have wished he had never asked the question: What about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Oops.

Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—
Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
That is one focus of persecution and mocking you and I have never had to face! Man those early saints had to be tough.

So how much do you trust God?

Can you give him your all?

Luckily he only wants what we can offer with all our hearts. The rest will come. We improve and can get better and better. God bless you in loving and serving his children.

You are true peacemakers. His is the gospel of peace.

Brock Bernell Jensen

Aug 13 (5 days ago)
to me
Thanks for the great email!
Keep up the great work and have an awesome week!

Love, 
Elder Jensen

2017/08/14 午前7:45、vern jensen <phonev6@gmail.com> のメッセージ:

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Speedy Gonzales vs. Slow Poke Rodriguez

Wed 8/16,1:46pm Good afternoon Brandon, At the end of the night last night I told ShannonJ I was deliriously happy. I had enjoyed the previous hour to no end. It was our annual hydrotube BH2nd ward party. As you know from the text I sent my hometeachees, I expecting lots of good food. Saints were raving about the flavored hot dogs: Cheese, jalapeno, chili but I should have watched more closely. I don’t know how they were made. I spent the last hour trying to look them up, thinking they were purchased but I don’t see them anywhere! Live and learn. Anyway, It had been a long boring day after having biked to FS and indexed and arbitrated so when I got to socialize and eat last night it was a wonderful contrast. I spent time with: Justin S, Darren S, Anthony C, Tim G, Cameron T, Quincy A, Tammy S, Marilyn P, Merril P, Jim C, Charlie M, Allen H, Eric C, Andra G, Steve M, Mark J, Shannon J and joked and laughed and ate to my heart’s content. I split 2 hamburgers on 4 buns and seasoned only with tomatoes, onion, lettuce. Perhaps they were wonderful because I haven’t eaten any yet this year! So glad I went. @@ I was still flying high this morning. So I decided to hike instead of bike to FS! I left at 9:34 and arrived at 10:44. 70 minutes. Here are some things I noticed: - they had river road cut open for installing a new 3ft dia.sewer line, last night. Half of it had already been repaved this morning. Thick steel sheets cover the end they will work on tonight. -I cut through the golf course and their is a new house where I usually came out onto the road. - there are very noisy sections and some very quiet sections. A big truck blew off my cowboy hat at one point. I had to beware of the oncoming traffic’s wind! - I have wonderful new work boots (high top Texas Steer) that I don’t expect to wear out anytime soon. -I might look dorky in them but I have been wearing them loose to ride my bike too. I got a pair of 10.5 and size 11 since Kmart had a $1 sale. $50/per pair get a second pair for $1. :) I wore this style for years as a teen painter working for my dad and through painting my way through college. There is no heel. Just thick flat white cushion sole. - Morningside subdivision was having their trash collected today. -I am so familiar with the roads from riding my bike I knew the turns and roads I preferred to walk. -One beautiful apple tree on 700S has been thinned. Not like the ones/apples I have been trying to use up from the temple apartments. I have about 10 on the top shelf in my fridge. - The FS library is on West Temple and 600 S and 7 blocks closer and less up hill than 200 N and Flood street. -I would be so pleased if I walked here more often. What great exercise it is. Bill Hawkins power walks probably daily. - I asked one old lady how far she was going. 3 miles she said. I responded with 5 when she mirrored/ echoed back the question to me. But 5 in the morning and 5 at night is a bit much. -Lerris has a mountain pony that gave him the worst sore legs and blisters from his new boots, (The magic of Recluse) so I can be tough like him! [THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SAGA OF RECLUCE
Book Title
With THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE, L.E. Modesitt, Jr. made his impressive hardcover debut, breaking out in wide scope and grand scale with a novel in the great tradition of the war between good and evil in a wonderful fantasy world. Modesitt had been producing fast-paced, slickly-written novels of SF adventure, often compared to the work of Keith Laumer and Gordon R. Dickson. Then, in his biggest and best book yet, he broadened his canvas and turned to fantasy and magic, stepping immediately into the front rank of contemporary fantasy writers.
THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE is a carefully-plotted fantasy novel of character about the growth and education of a young magician. In it, Modesitt confronts real moral issues with gripping force, builds atmosphere slowly and convincingly and gives his central character, Lerris, real intellectual challenges.
Lerris is given the standard two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond Recluce with the aim of learning how the world works and what his place in it might be. Many do not survive. He chooses dangergeld.
Though magic is rarely discussed openly in Recluce, it becomes clear, when Lerris is sent into intensive training for his quest, that he has a natural talent for it during his weapons lessons. And he will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked. He must learn to use his powers in an orderly way or fall prey to Chaos.

Lerris may resent order, but he has no difficulty choosing good over evil. As he begins his lonely journey, he falls into the company of a gray magician, once of Recluce, who tutors him in the use of magic and shows him some of the devastation caused by the Chaos Wizards in the great wars between Chaos and Order of past times.
Lerris pursues a quest for knowledge and power that leads him across strange lands, through the ghostly ruins of the old capitol of Chaos, down the white roads of the Chaos Wizards to a final battle with the archenemy of Order, discovering in the end true control of magic, true love, and the beginning of true wisdom. An epic adventure, THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE, is a triumph of fantasy.] bps, Do you remember when I told you how obnoxious Lerris was for the first 200 pages? His favorite word was “b o r i n g”. Argh! I hated him! But I had hopes that when he turned around I would be thrilled. It happened. I cried as he spent over a year helping a needy family in his first journey stop. He sacrificed for them and showed so much unselfish love. I don’t make a habit of crying in my novels but I allowed myself to feel and rejoice in this one. L E Modesitt is phenomenal! How does he do it? @@ All of the young missionaries here are handicapped. Special Service Missionaries. Sister Chloe Sorensen has received the nickname of Sister Paul Harvey from me. She has a radio announcers eloquent voice. Sister Montague is sister listen. She told me some old folks come in just to break the monotony of caring for a debilitated spouse. I was sitting on the corner next to the front entry and listened to her listen to and encourage and assure and mostly just reflect what one old guy told her over and over for 15 or 20 minutes today. What service! I picked up 4 pieces of trash on my hike here this morning. I patted myself on the back and wondered how long those pieces of trash would have remained? But that is not even in the same ballpark as the good deed/ service I listened to her perform. Wow. How inspiring! Our director always walks like he is in high gear. Another sister at the front desk does it as well. I called her sister speedy yesterday. Sister Speedy Gonzales. I have these names in my brain. Cartoon name in this case.



Wiki: Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent and also speaking Spanish. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers (which was a common traditional outfit worn by men and boys of rural Mexican villages), and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires.[1] To date, there have been 46 cartoons made either starring or featuring this character.
A film about the character has been announced by Warner Bros.\ Speedy's first appearance was in 1953's Cat-Tails for Two though he appeared largely in name (and super speed) only. It would be two years before Friz Freleng and animator Hawley Pratt redesigned the character into his modern incarnation for the 1955 Freleng short Speedy Gonzales. The cartoon features Sylvester the Cat guarding a cheese factory at the international border between United States and Mexico from starving Mexican mice. The mice call in the plucky, excessively energetic Speedy to save them, and amid cries of "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! Yeehaw!" (Spanish for "Go on! Go on! Up! Up!", although "Ándale arriba" may have been intended as meaning "hurry up") courtesy of Mel Blanc, Sylvester soon gets his comeuppance. The cartoon won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).
While Speedy's last name was given as Gonzalez in Cat-Tails (on a printed business card shown in the cartoon), it was spelled with an 's' from Speedy Gonzales onward. Today, the earlier spelling is occasionally used by accident.
Freleng and McKimson soon set Sylvester up as Speedy's regular nemesis in a series of cartoons, much in the same way Chuck Jones had paired Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner in his Road Runner cartoons. Sylvester (often called "El Gringo Pussygato" by Speedy) is constantly outsmarted and outrun by the Mouse, causing the cat to suffer all manner of pain and humiliation from mousetraps to accidentally consuming large amounts of Tabasco hot sauce. Other cartoons pair the mouse with his cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, the "slowest Mouse in all Mexico." Slowpoke regularly gets into all sorts of trouble that often require Speedy to save him—but one cat in Mexicali Shmoes says that as if to compensate for his slowness, "he pack a gun!"[3] In the mid 1960s, Speedy's main rival became Daffy Duck. @@ I mentioned I have been arbing Guatemalan birth paragraphs. The idea of Speedy Gonzales poking fun at Spanish accents fits my sense of humor perfectly. @@ -I have this need to adventure and be in nature etc.. Each day since I got my oil changed Monday morning I am asking myself, Am I going fishing tomorrow? Hiking to FS satisfied that need for today! Adventuring by doing something that extends my abilities and being in nature on the side of the road or on the trail. @@ I gave Charlie M a high five last night when he told me he finalized his SS application and got his confirmation back. Why not celebrate $1500 coming in for retirement each month? Who would have ever thought I would live this long? Our bdays are only 3 days apart. 13&16 July, 1955. We barely qualify to start receiving SS so yes let’s share the excitement! Steve Muir was very curious about it. We blessed his life just by visiting/ joking with him and sitting by him at the edge of the pool last night. He said “Hi” on their bikes in the park Monday night as Molly n I walked by. I was pleased he reached out to me when I did not recognize them. See how we bless each other, Brandon? And there you are turning into a hobo in prison, bereft of all social interactions. Bishop sat by me for a minute last night. I thanked him for all he does to make things like that social happen. Gathering with the saints outside of church are totally wonderful opportunities. Socializing with the saints strengthens us and our testimonies! What a mixed group we are! @ Jim Cox whined about his first wife divorcing him, living on her own for a year, thinking she would get rich and live high on the hog, and then deciding she couldn’t cut it and asking if he would take her back? He is now remarried to Ramona Cox and she is intelligent but particular. She retired from teaching at PVHS this summer. It would be so wonderful to have a unified relationship with a sister saint for all eternity but. . . most don’t survive! You are aware of that with your poor mother aren’t you. Hal Demke has a souring effect on everyone around him when it comes to women. And he sat at our picnic table. @ I wrote this email this morning:




Dear HPG leadership, Charlie, Jim, Todd,
Charlie likes age.
I got interested in it as well this last year. I couldn't help but tell him there were lots older than we are in our ward. He couldn't help pointing out the 4 people in line ahead of him that are older than we are. I told him I had made up a list of the ages of the ward members older than me. Those younger are not in the competition! Just teasing.\ Anyway, with that bit of stimulation I decided to type it up this morning. I have access to this information because I include all the ages of the kids on my yearly phone list. So this last year I just asked for everyone's ages as well as the kids. But I like to know who is in the top 10!  Yes Jim Cox, you are in the top 10!
-1917
-18 30 Aug Pearl Madsen 1f
19
20
21
-22 6 Jul LaRue Spencer 2f
23
-24 1 Sep Melba Poulton 3f
25
26
-27 2 Jul Elmer Tucker 1m
-8 Dec Ann Sorenson 4f
28
-29 10 Sep Jerene Curtis 5f
-30 23 Oct Nedra Kimball 6f
-31 10 May Jerry Lindhardt 2m
-32 3 Feb Marie Lindhardt 7f
-33 23 Jan Dale Courtney 3m
2 Aug Joyce Oliver 8f
-34 5 Jan Tom Schroath 4m
-35 18 Mar Jerry Averett 5m
-36 3 Apr Audrie Tucker 9f
15 Nov Wilma Courtney 10f
-37 23 Mar Merril Palmer 6m
1 Apr Rulon Bagley 7m
30 Apr Marilyn Palmer
-38 17 Feb Connie Schroath
23 Aug Sylva Bagley
-39 2 Aug Sam Hales 8m
25 Oct Ted Field 9m
27 Oct Rachel Marshall
-40 29 Nov Linda Alexander
-41 30 Jan Bonnie Averett
10 Dec Judy Alman
-42 13 Feb Pat Hales

9 Dec Jim Cox 10m
@@bps, Those are our wonderful Oldies in my ward! Hooray Bloomington Hills 2nd ward!!
8/18 update: I told Elder Merril I liked the perkiness in his step. He says it drives everyone around him crazy. Wife, kids, employees. . . I explained I give everyone her nicknames and mine is Vincenzo. He has a son named Vincent. He laughed when I told him his was Elder Speedy Gonzales! This makes life fun. And more fun!