He was a good fish . . .

I am sad to report that Saturday evening, about 9:37 pm, our fish, Joe, swam his last stroke. We found him lying on his side at the bottom of the fish bowl. Karl and Parker carefully flushed him down the toilet (all drains lead to the ocean) headed to his final resting place. He was a good fish.

Last Wednesday Willie and Parker and I took Elliott to PET SMART. Elliott was fascinated by the fishes -- he loved them. So, being the good Grandmama I am, we bought a goldfish for Elliott. When we asked Elliott what the fish's name was he said, "JOE".

The fish stayed at Grandma's because Elliotts's parents weren't too excited about taking it home. Well, we enjoyed Joe while he was with us. He came with a two week guarantee -- I guess we could take our 26 cent receipt back to PET SMART if we wanted to, but it's a little too soon to replace him now.

Giving Thanks

All in a Word

By Aileen Fisher

T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.

H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.

A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.

N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.

K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.

S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.

That spells ~~~THANKS---for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

(We had such a nice day - - - )

Disappointment . . .

We have a flag pole in our yard. We proudly display flags over the course of the year. The flag pole is well lit, so we rarely take them down in the evening. We have been flying a U of U flag since the college football season began. With last week's victory over BYU, we have added our red rope light "U" to the front yard (just next to the front porch) -- just for celebration.

Well we left for about an hour and a half tonight to get some last minute things for Thanksgiving and to help with some preparations at the grandparents' home. When we returned, our "U" flag was missing and the rope light "U" had been damaged (not lit -- lights destroyed). Hmmmm . . . . What is that all about? I don't think a "Utah" fan did the damage. Could it have been someone annoyed with our display -- probably -- but it's our property and it's on our property. Will we find the flag in the yard tomorrow? Not sure. Can we repair the lights? Maybe. At any rate, we are good citizens, we take care of our kids, our yard, our house, and everything else. We volunteer to help others, always. We go to church every Sunday because we like to and because we believe in what's taught there. We respect others' property and their rights. But, we still have to deal with and tolerate those who feel they have the right to steal, damage, destroy . . .

It's just a major disappointment!

Who really cares about the kids?

I know of a high school that is in pretty sad shape. There are basically three major groups of kids in the school. About 1/3 of the students come every day, pass their classes with pretty good grades, and seem to be involved in school. Another 1/3 of the students speak a language other than English as their primary language, and they are at varying levels of learning and understanding English. Some of this group have limited skills in their primary language. The other 1/3 of the students are highly mobile -- that means they have attended more than one school in grades 9-12, and they have come to this school credit and skill deficient.

The school pretty much runs like it did 10 or more years ago -- white and middle class. Now, the school is definitely a school of color and mostly middle to low socioeconomic status. I worry about the kids -- that their needs are not being met. Sure the teachers teach the kids who are there, but their needs are not addressed individually, and I see many slipping through the cracks -- getting further behind, not attending, no ambition, no hopes and dreams for the future. Mind you, 1/3 of the kids are pretty much on track to graduate, but there is such a feeling on complacency and just so many things to do for the other 2/3 of the students. I don't know what to do -- I want to help -- I try to help -- I feel like I am trying to push and pull cement blocks around the school to get the staff to look at the data and respond to the needs of the kids -- especially their learning needs. It like the [the staff] don't see it or get it. Any suggestions?

It's really the first time I have been connected to a situation where I completely understand the metaphor -- there's an elephant in the room, but in this case it's in every part of the school.

Go Utes!

The U of U basketball team won, yes they did, in game #2 of the Glenn Wilkes Classic -- Daytona Beach, Florida!

And by the way, the football team won today, too. They played a team from Provo, Utah.

And finally, I have a new little great nephew -- Hyrum Scott Lafeen, 7lbs. 7 oz., 19 inches long, the proud parents are niece and nephew Melanie and Justin Lafeen.

November 22, 1963

It was 45 years ago tomorrow that the darkest day of my young life occurred. You see, I was in 3rd grade at Webster Elementary, Mrs. Thacker was my teacher. After our morning recess, Mrs. Thaacker told us all that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas. Not long after that, Mr. Johnson, our principal made a school wide announcement over the PA system. He told us that President Kennedy had died and that all students were going to be sent home from school. (We were out of school until after the funeral.) For the next few days, we (my sisters and I) were glued to our black and white TV watching the events of Kennedy's death and funeral unfold.

November 22, also marks my cousin, Scott Barnes', birthday. It was family tradition to meet for a celebration for all the birthdays back then -- cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. -- so we met at the Barnes home that evening. I remember that the grown-up discussion was all about the sad events of the day. I remember feeling very anxious about the whole thing. I was even more upset because my grandparents -- Fern and Stewart --- were in Pittsburg, PA, at that time visiting other cousins. I remember wondering if they would make it home safely.

I really liked President Kennedy then -- and now, I appreciate his presidential legacy. The Kennedys have always been so facinating to me -- they are just a very intriguing family. The first time I visited President Kennedy's grave in Arlington was a very reverent experience. The eternal flame placed on his grave is marked by an inscription of his inagural address.

My neighbor Batar

My neighbor was a refugee from Somalia years ago. He and his family were in a refugee camp before coming to Utah. They were assigned to Logan when they arrived. They were welcomed there and made many friends. His background is in law, and he eventually joined the staff of Catholic Community Services where he is the main person over refugees. He is a great man and has accomplished so much in his short time in Utah. He said he knew he wanted to live in our neighborhood when he first saw it. His home was built about a year after ours. He and his cute family -- his wife, Asa, 3 boys and 2 girls, and grandma -- are great neighbors. Willie and their youngest son Ibrahim are best friends.

Batar was a featured speaker in our counselor "professional learning" meeting today. He gave an excellent presentation on the refugee process through Catholic Community Services. It was nice to see him in a professional role. He is very articulate in English and also speaks Arabic and Somali. He said that his family had to flee Somalia to a refugee camp or die. I can't comprehend the trauma. His family still living on the African continent are now in Kenya.

Français très Facile

Mon neveu étudie le français. Je l'ai aidé à écrire un papier ce soir. Les programmes de traduction Internet le rendent très facile. Je ne l'avais pas si facile qu'un étudiant français il y a trente ans.

Viva le francais!

A UTAH "Woman" am I

So the U of U vs. BYU football game is just a week away. U of U basketball begins this afternoon. So, why is it that I, we like the whole U of U stuff so much? Is is beyond just liking the color red. Let's just begin with the number of UTAH grads in the family.

Grandpa Huber
Uncle Glen
Uncle Blaine
Jackie
Judy (Moi)
Cindy
Geneil
Dee
John
Eddie
Karl
Evan
Lori (JD)
Annie
Haley
Ross (MBA)
Gregg
Wade

U of U alums (some coursework)
Grandma Huber
Steve
Maddie
Liz
Karen
Paul

Current U of U students
James
Peter
Lauren
Natalie

Future U of U student
Willie (for sure!)

If I have forgotten someone in the family, I'll just add them in later. Isn't this a pretty impressive list? Our loyalty to the "U" runs deep. Most families have one or two college grads -- we are just a bunch of UTAH educated smartie pants -- three generations strong!

Digital Camera Class

I attended a class today taught by my daughter. She is a very good teacher. I am learning a lot. I posted this picture that displays my new skill -- putting a message on a photo. How about that!

Wait until next year?

I get calls from parents everyday. Today a nice dad called to ask why his son should wait until next year to start finding out what he can be doing now to prepare for college and university stuff. Apparently, his son's school counselor told him to ". . . wait until next year." Well, I have a problem with that. I work with counselors everyday to try to get them to help their students envision their future and to plan for it. How in the universe am I to get them to help their students think and plan that way when they can't seem to see the point. Personally, you can't start planning early enough for the big decisions that lie ahead.

Student of the Month

Willie is the 8th grade boy Student of the Month at Hunter Junior High School. He wants a newspaper article or something written about him. Since I don't have access to a newspaper, he will have to settle for a blog posting. I would say that he is Student of the Month because he is a very good student -- he attends school every day, he pays attention in class, he is respectful of teachers and students, he gets good grades, he is courteous and polite, he is good-looking, and his mother loves him. The people at the school probably don't know that he is close to getting his Eagle Scout, and he is the best uncle on the planet. They may not know about his sweet basketball skills and his international team members who play some pretty intense games in the driveway. I must say that I am very proud of my Student of the Month! His reward for such an honor is lunch from McDonalds on Thursday -- in the school library. (He thinks someone goes to pick it up and brings it back to the school.)

A call for help . . .

Saturday Night
We parked in the Michael's parking lot on 5600 West 3100 South. As we walked away from our car, a white Honda approached us, inside was an older gentleman. He asked if we could help him. He told us he was a little confused and couldn't find his way home. He said he was a little disoriented. I walked over to his car, his passenger window was down. He said he lived in Kearns and asked if I knew where that was. He said he lived alone and there was really no one to call for directions. He was familiar with 5600 West but didn't know which way it lead to Kearns. I told him to turn left at the light on 5600 West and 3100 South and that would take home to Kearns. On second thought, I asked him if he would like to follow us and he was most appreciative. He said he lived on "Dewdrop" near the Wallmart in Kearns. We loaded up the car and were just about ready to pull out when I told Karl to ask him if he [Karl] could ride with him. He agreed that was probably a good idea.

My Car
On the way up [south] 5600 West toward Kearns, I had Willie call Haley to see if she could find "Dewdrop" so I would know the general direction of the man's home. No luck, so Haley called Chris to see if the street name was familiar to her Jefferson Junior High boundaries. Chris was familiar with the street and thought it might be northeast of the Wallmart on 5600 West and 6200 South (near Beehive Elementary). Sure enough, just past Jefferson Junior High, the man in the car [Karl with him] flashed his brights behind me, passed us up, and signaled to turn left.

The Man's Car
The older gentleman told Karl over and over again that he was only needing help, no weapon, no need to fear getting in a stranger's car. He told Karl that his wife is in the Bennion Care Center and he usually visited her during the day but had stayed to visit after dark. It seems his wife is suffering from alzheimers and her doctors don't think she has much time left. He explained that he is in his mid-eighties and has family in California. He told Karl how he had served in the military. He also told Karl he is a high priest in the Mormon church and active in his ward -- his name, Clarance Davis.

The End
The old gentleman pulled in his driveway and as the garage door opened I saw a very neat, clean, organized garage. There was a home-made ramp to the door to the house inside the garage. He and Karl got out of the car and walked toward my car -- Willie and I watched. The older gentleman came to my driver's side window, I held out my hand to introduce myself, he didn't let go. He was so very appreciative for the help. I asked him if he were a member of the Church and he said yes, so I told him a former Bishop was riding with him. He was very surprised and even more appreciative. He assured us he would be okay, finally let go of my hand, walked up the driveway, into his garage, closed the garage door, and we were on our way. Karl, Willie, and I shared our stories. We called Haley and reported in with her. Then we headed back to Michael's.

A Test?
I told Karl that his mom and dad were talking in heaven and his dad wanted to see just what kind of son Ardith had raised and what kind of daughter-in-law and grandson son he had. So, they arranged a good Samaritan service test -- I think we passed.

A week for the record books . . .

• Monday morning Grandma passed away.


• Monday evening family and friends stopped by to share their love and support.


• Tuesday was a very emotional day for me. A special family brought us dinner -- they knew Willie's favorite meal. More family and friends stop by.
  
• Wednesday was cold and snowy - we had 3 to 4 inches on the lawn. We had more visitors -- sharing more kindness and sympathy.


• Thursday evening was RS leadership meeting for all ward leaders - I was in charge of the refreshments. More special people stopped by.


• Thursday night the UTES beat TCU in the battle for the Mountain West football title. Karl and Willie said it was the best game ever -- they kept warm with hand an feet warmers. Scouts are always prepared especially at freezing football games.


• Friday we viewed Grandma's body and visited with many good friends and family who came to pay their respects.


• We wished Karl "Happy Birthday" on Saturday.


• We celebrated and honored Grandma's life in a very nice funeral service.


• Saturday night we went to Willie's football team party -- it was pretty unorganized but brought our week to a positive end.

Sleepiness takes over -- foils NABLOPOMO record

I missed out on posting yesterday. I fell asleep early and didn't realize I missed out on posting Wednesday until this morning. Since I get so few comments, I don't think my oversight is too tragic.

Election Day -- Second Tuesday

I am not sure I voted for any election winners, but I voted. It wasn't crowded at all and it took all of 2 to 3 minutes to put my card in the computer and breeze through the choices.

I voted for Richard Nixon in my first Presidential Election way back in 1972. I wasn't very good at choosing winners then, and I'm not now either. Oh, well.

It's late . . .

Here I sit at the computer a few minutes before the clock ticks away to a new day. I don't have much to report except that Grandma Petersen passed away early this morning. She and I had a very nice visit last Monday (just a week ago). We talked about families and other things. We have had hundreds of hours of good talks over the years. Grandma was good to me and my kids -- we loved her a lot and will miss her love and just being here with us.

Fall back!

I kind of like the change from daylight savings time to mountain standard time. It means an extra hour Saturday night to . . . "fall back" and . . .
-- watch television
-- read a book or something
-- sit and think or eat something yummy
-- just vegetate
-- feel good about having an extra hour for whatever, even sleep!

Now, when we have to "spring ahead" next March -- that is something very stressful and not much fun at all!

Not just your average jack-o-lanterns --

Do you recognize "the Cheat" and the U of U "drum and feather"? If not, I just gave away our fantastic Halloween pumpkin carving. The pumpkins look pretty cool in the dark with the candle light. My camera (oops, Haley's camera) doesn't do night shots too well.

NAPOBLOMO#1