Two stories from recent trips I've neglected to post.
First, as we were on our way to Sea World I was reading the directions to Dee as we drove through San Antonio, and the following exchange ensued:
Dee: You'd think they'd have signs or something.
Me: Like that? (pointing at the sign saying "Sea World, Next Exit").
And then, on the trip to Florida, after Jessie and Brennan had finished watching a movie, Dee took out a book she found of car ride games. The page she turned to had a list of questions to answer. One of the questions was, "If you found a bottle and a genie gave you a wish, what would you wish for?" Without missing a beat Jessie replied, "I'd wish I was watching another movie instead of answering these questions."
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Bus Booklet of Truth
Some of you may have noticed the section of the sidebar of this blog with the title "The Bus Booklet of Truth," and you may be wondering about that title. OK, probably not. But I'm going to attempt to provide some sort of explanation anyway. The story is likely about as complicated and incomprehensible as the story behind the name of this blog, and has certain other similarities as well.
Many years ago my friend Weston had in his possession a bus schedule booklet. Like many of these sorts of functional booklets, it had endured a certain amount of wear and tear. For reasons now lost to the mist of time, he decided to make this into the "Bus Booklet of Truth". What this meant is that the booklet became a repository of quotes we found of particular interest, or made up, or pretty much anything else we felt belonged. Various things were scribbled into margins and across pages. Frequently, he would solicit submissions from others, and soon the book had a reasonably extensive collection of writings that may or may not have justified the designation of truth.
Then we both left on our missions. The Bus Booklet of Truth was given into another's care. Not surprisingly, however, somewhere over the next two years it vanished into obscurity. Once we had both returned from our missions, a few different attempts were made to start anew, with new bus schedule booklets, but none of these ever acquired the diversity and extent of the original.
When I started this blog, I decided that it could also serve reasonably well as a next generation, online version of the book. I hope to continuously add to the list as time goes by. Any suggestions are welcome, either emailed, or added as comments to this post. I hope at the least it may provide an occasional interesting quote for those who wander by these pages...
Many years ago my friend Weston had in his possession a bus schedule booklet. Like many of these sorts of functional booklets, it had endured a certain amount of wear and tear. For reasons now lost to the mist of time, he decided to make this into the "Bus Booklet of Truth". What this meant is that the booklet became a repository of quotes we found of particular interest, or made up, or pretty much anything else we felt belonged. Various things were scribbled into margins and across pages. Frequently, he would solicit submissions from others, and soon the book had a reasonably extensive collection of writings that may or may not have justified the designation of truth.
Then we both left on our missions. The Bus Booklet of Truth was given into another's care. Not surprisingly, however, somewhere over the next two years it vanished into obscurity. Once we had both returned from our missions, a few different attempts were made to start anew, with new bus schedule booklets, but none of these ever acquired the diversity and extent of the original.
When I started this blog, I decided that it could also serve reasonably well as a next generation, online version of the book. I hope to continuously add to the list as time goes by. Any suggestions are welcome, either emailed, or added as comments to this post. I hope at the least it may provide an occasional interesting quote for those who wander by these pages...
Friday, August 15, 2008
Loose tooth
Just a quick note--Brennan discovered his first loose tooth last night. He's very excited. Hopefully it won't take two years to actually come out, like some of Jessie's...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Olympics
I don't know about any one else, but I am finding it very difficult to do a whole host of other things I mean to be doing, because every night I find myself in front of the TV watching the Olympics. I console myself with the thought that at least its more worthwhile than most other TV...
Another interesting facet of the Olympics is all the sports you can spend a lot of time watching that you'd never even think to pay attention to at any other time. For example, Saturday I found it very difficult to tear myself away from rowing. Similarly, the only boxing matches I have ever watched in my life were in the Olympics.
On the other hand, there's always the events you wish you could watch. I'd love to see the fencing, for example. And while they now show things online, you are apparently only allowed to watch them if you could watch them on TV instead. Which kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion.
One nice thing is that they've finally toned down the amount of time spent on background stories and fishing for controversies. I don't mind learning things about the athletes, but I remember for awhile it was getting to where they'd spend 80% of the time on those stories, and only 20% of the time showing actual competition.
Another thing I've enjoyed this time through is the number of situations on the US team where you have two or three people who are very close in ability and competing with each other for individual things, but they are also close friends--they've talked a lot about Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, and the same situation exists (or so we're told) between Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson. I find it much easier to root for athletes like that than, say, the top two American male figure skaters, who apparently hate each other with a passion.
Anyway, I'll enjoy the Olympics while they last, and all those other projects will still be waiting when they're over, I suppose...
Another interesting facet of the Olympics is all the sports you can spend a lot of time watching that you'd never even think to pay attention to at any other time. For example, Saturday I found it very difficult to tear myself away from rowing. Similarly, the only boxing matches I have ever watched in my life were in the Olympics.
On the other hand, there's always the events you wish you could watch. I'd love to see the fencing, for example. And while they now show things online, you are apparently only allowed to watch them if you could watch them on TV instead. Which kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion.
One nice thing is that they've finally toned down the amount of time spent on background stories and fishing for controversies. I don't mind learning things about the athletes, but I remember for awhile it was getting to where they'd spend 80% of the time on those stories, and only 20% of the time showing actual competition.
Another thing I've enjoyed this time through is the number of situations on the US team where you have two or three people who are very close in ability and competing with each other for individual things, but they are also close friends--they've talked a lot about Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, and the same situation exists (or so we're told) between Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson. I find it much easier to root for athletes like that than, say, the top two American male figure skaters, who apparently hate each other with a passion.
Anyway, I'll enjoy the Olympics while they last, and all those other projects will still be waiting when they're over, I suppose...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
SeaWorld
So, as the observant have likely concluded from the pictures posted, we went to SeaWorld last week. Let me start by thanking Dee's friend/co-worker Anne for providing us with free tickets, and Anne's mom for giving us free hotel rooms.
We left Tuesday morning and drove to San Antonio. We went straight to SeaWorld, arriving shortly after noon. Our plan was to do the water park and some of the other, wetter attractions that day, and then on Wednesday go to the shows and other exhibits. So after we got there we went to the water park area and changed into our swim suits. We don't have many pictures from this day, because cameras and water don't mix well...
The first thing we ended up doing was the wave pool. It was a lot of fun, and Brennan in particular loved it. Then we went down a waterslide into a pool that had some different activities. After a few minutes there, we went back to the wave pool for another go.
After the wave pool, we headed over to an area called "Splash Attack". It's a big play area with teeter totters and a structure in the middle with three levels, but it is filled with water. The teeter totters spray water on the other person every time you go down, and the whole structure is filled with spraying water, and devices to spray water on other people, or dump it on them, or various other things, and it's topped off by a gigantic water bucket that periodically tips over, drenching anyone standing below. Brennan and Jessie loved it.
I should mention that by the time we reached SeaWorld, Dee had discovered that she had somehow bruised the side of her foot pretty badly Monday night, and so she was hobbling a bit. Flip flops didn't provide a lot of support...
After "Splash Attack", we went to "Sky Tubin" which is basically a big waterslide that you ride down in circular, four-person rafts. The line was pretty long, but it was a lot of fun once we made it to the top.
By now it was starting to get late, so we decided to go to the "Texas Splashdown", the log ride, and then come back to do some more water park stuff. Well, I ended up taking us on a longer-than-necessary route, and by now Dee's foot was making it very hard to walk. Still, we eventually made it, and after another long wait in line, it was finally our turn. Jessie was screaming on the way up the first hill, but everyone had a blast--and we didn't even get that wet.
After all that, though, we decided we needed to be going. I ran back and got our stuff, and we headed off to find our hotel. After checking in, we went to Golden Corral for dinner, which the kids loved. Of course, as by the time we started eating it was 9:15, I think they would have loved any where...
We got to bed very late, but still wanted to get to SeaWorld as close to opening as possible, and we were able to do that. We went to Shamu's Happy Harbor, a play area of kids with nets to climb on and various other things, for awhile, and then headed off to see the Shamu show.
Jessie and Brennan wanted to sit in the splash zone, so we found seats on about the fifth row. We enjoyed watching the whales swimming around before the show, as well as the pre-show video. The best part was the trivia question asking where killer whales are usually found, with the last choice being "In your swimming pool". When they gave the answer, at the bottom it said, "If you find a killer whale in your swimming pool, CALL US!".
The show itself was also very entertaining, though the kids were disappointed we ended up not getting splashed (probably because we realized at the end we were sitting about five rows below the TV camera...). It was impressive to see how big the whales were, and all the things they would do.
Dee was doing better, with a wrapped foot and tennis shoes, but it was still painful for her to walk. Jessie had decided she really, really wanted to ride the "Steel Eel" roller coaster (they have a suspended roller coaster, but she's still too short for that). So, Jessie and I headed for that, while Dee and Brennan went back to "Shamu's Happy Harbor" and the "Shamu Express", the kid's roller coaster.
The line at the Steel Eel wasn't too bad, and after a wait we took our places on the roller coaster car. Jessie was beside herself with excitement, and didn't even mind when the cars stopped on the way up the first big hill for a while. The first drop is almost straight down, headed directly into the big lake in the center of SeaWorld. About half way up the second hill, I heard Jessie say, "I don't like this." Still, she managed to handle herself very well the rest of the ride, and the longer ago it was she rode it, the more she enjoys it, and is already talking about next time.
Brennan, meanwhile, really enjoyed the "Shamu Express" and some more play time. We let the kids play some games, and Brennan won a stuffed Shamu and Jessie won a stuffed dolphin. After lunch, we "forced" Jessie and Brennan to go to the sea lion show, although they said they didn't want to. By the time it was over, they loved it. It was very funny and entertaining. We particularly enjoyed the otter in the show, which wasn't particularly obedient that time. At the end of the show, they have a walrus, and I was very impressed with just how big that walrus was... And this time, we did get wet.
After the sea lions, we went to the 4-D theater for a Pirate movie. It was entertaining as well. We had discovered that we wouldn't be able to go to the beluga whale, dolphin and acrobat show, because Monday one of the beluga whales had given birth so the show was temporarily canceled.
Next we went to see the actual sea lions and seals and otters. While we were there, Brennan fed the sea lions some fish--or, I should say, he fed a sea lion some fish. There was one of them that wouldn't let any of the others get any. From there we went to the penguin area and took a couple of trips through that.
Then it was back for Jessie and Brennan to ride the "Shamu Express" together, which they enjoyed. We then made our way to the dolphin cove, where you can touch the dolphins, except they weren't cooperative while we were there, and to the coral reef/shark aquarium.
Finally, sadly, we left SeaWorld behind. We had another late dinner, if not as late as the night before, and finally got to bed.
The next morning, after Jessie and Brennan swam awhile in the hotel pool and made friends with another boy and girl who came swimming, we packed up and headed for home.
It was a great trip, and one we'll always remember, and hope to be able to do again in the future.
We left Tuesday morning and drove to San Antonio. We went straight to SeaWorld, arriving shortly after noon. Our plan was to do the water park and some of the other, wetter attractions that day, and then on Wednesday go to the shows and other exhibits. So after we got there we went to the water park area and changed into our swim suits. We don't have many pictures from this day, because cameras and water don't mix well...
The first thing we ended up doing was the wave pool. It was a lot of fun, and Brennan in particular loved it. Then we went down a waterslide into a pool that had some different activities. After a few minutes there, we went back to the wave pool for another go.
After the wave pool, we headed over to an area called "Splash Attack". It's a big play area with teeter totters and a structure in the middle with three levels, but it is filled with water. The teeter totters spray water on the other person every time you go down, and the whole structure is filled with spraying water, and devices to spray water on other people, or dump it on them, or various other things, and it's topped off by a gigantic water bucket that periodically tips over, drenching anyone standing below. Brennan and Jessie loved it.
I should mention that by the time we reached SeaWorld, Dee had discovered that she had somehow bruised the side of her foot pretty badly Monday night, and so she was hobbling a bit. Flip flops didn't provide a lot of support...
After "Splash Attack", we went to "Sky Tubin" which is basically a big waterslide that you ride down in circular, four-person rafts. The line was pretty long, but it was a lot of fun once we made it to the top.
By now it was starting to get late, so we decided to go to the "Texas Splashdown", the log ride, and then come back to do some more water park stuff. Well, I ended up taking us on a longer-than-necessary route, and by now Dee's foot was making it very hard to walk. Still, we eventually made it, and after another long wait in line, it was finally our turn. Jessie was screaming on the way up the first hill, but everyone had a blast--and we didn't even get that wet.
After all that, though, we decided we needed to be going. I ran back and got our stuff, and we headed off to find our hotel. After checking in, we went to Golden Corral for dinner, which the kids loved. Of course, as by the time we started eating it was 9:15, I think they would have loved any where...
We got to bed very late, but still wanted to get to SeaWorld as close to opening as possible, and we were able to do that. We went to Shamu's Happy Harbor, a play area of kids with nets to climb on and various other things, for awhile, and then headed off to see the Shamu show.
Jessie and Brennan wanted to sit in the splash zone, so we found seats on about the fifth row. We enjoyed watching the whales swimming around before the show, as well as the pre-show video. The best part was the trivia question asking where killer whales are usually found, with the last choice being "In your swimming pool". When they gave the answer, at the bottom it said, "If you find a killer whale in your swimming pool, CALL US!".
The show itself was also very entertaining, though the kids were disappointed we ended up not getting splashed (probably because we realized at the end we were sitting about five rows below the TV camera...). It was impressive to see how big the whales were, and all the things they would do.
Dee was doing better, with a wrapped foot and tennis shoes, but it was still painful for her to walk. Jessie had decided she really, really wanted to ride the "Steel Eel" roller coaster (they have a suspended roller coaster, but she's still too short for that). So, Jessie and I headed for that, while Dee and Brennan went back to "Shamu's Happy Harbor" and the "Shamu Express", the kid's roller coaster.
The line at the Steel Eel wasn't too bad, and after a wait we took our places on the roller coaster car. Jessie was beside herself with excitement, and didn't even mind when the cars stopped on the way up the first big hill for a while. The first drop is almost straight down, headed directly into the big lake in the center of SeaWorld. About half way up the second hill, I heard Jessie say, "I don't like this." Still, she managed to handle herself very well the rest of the ride, and the longer ago it was she rode it, the more she enjoys it, and is already talking about next time.
Brennan, meanwhile, really enjoyed the "Shamu Express" and some more play time. We let the kids play some games, and Brennan won a stuffed Shamu and Jessie won a stuffed dolphin. After lunch, we "forced" Jessie and Brennan to go to the sea lion show, although they said they didn't want to. By the time it was over, they loved it. It was very funny and entertaining. We particularly enjoyed the otter in the show, which wasn't particularly obedient that time. At the end of the show, they have a walrus, and I was very impressed with just how big that walrus was... And this time, we did get wet.
After the sea lions, we went to the 4-D theater for a Pirate movie. It was entertaining as well. We had discovered that we wouldn't be able to go to the beluga whale, dolphin and acrobat show, because Monday one of the beluga whales had given birth so the show was temporarily canceled.
Next we went to see the actual sea lions and seals and otters. While we were there, Brennan fed the sea lions some fish--or, I should say, he fed a sea lion some fish. There was one of them that wouldn't let any of the others get any. From there we went to the penguin area and took a couple of trips through that.
Then it was back for Jessie and Brennan to ride the "Shamu Express" together, which they enjoyed. We then made our way to the dolphin cove, where you can touch the dolphins, except they weren't cooperative while we were there, and to the coral reef/shark aquarium.
Finally, sadly, we left SeaWorld behind. We had another late dinner, if not as late as the night before, and finally got to bed.
The next morning, after Jessie and Brennan swam awhile in the hotel pool and made friends with another boy and girl who came swimming, we packed up and headed for home.
It was a great trip, and one we'll always remember, and hope to be able to do again in the future.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Fourth of July Memories
I know, it's after the 4th of July. But I still wanted to get this on to the blog. Better late than never.
16 years ago I spent much of the 4th of July at Buchenwald, outside of Weimar, Germany. For those who may not know, Buchenwald was one of the largest concentration camps. Now, it may seem an odd way to celebrate the 4th of July, and in honesty it was at least somewhat a coincidence that we went that day.
Anyway, it is now something I think of every 4th of July. I cannot begin to describe what it is like to be in such a place. Nor would you likely want to read about it. But for me, being there on July 4th led me to think of some things I may not have on any other day. And over the years, I've thought more about it, and this will be an attempt to put some of those thoughts in some form of coherence. I do not know if they will have any value for anyone else, but they do for me.
Buchenwald is a chilling place. Even though I had studied a lot of World War II history, even though I had read the stories of the camps and the things that had been done there, it was a different matter entirely to be in the place where they happened, and to see the artifacts left from that time. It has never entirely left me. Any time I look at the pictures I took there that day (or other times I went), or speak about it, or hear about the Holocaust, those feelings come back to me (this is likely one reason why this is turning out to be a difficult post to finish). It is horrifying to realize that people could actually do such things to other people. It is horrifying to think that even as the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany was decrying what had been done, and planning monuments and museums in honor of the victims, they continued to use the camp to detain and punish those opposed to their rule--something that was not even known until after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now there is a second museum and monument to the victims of that regime.
On the other hand, being there, on that day, filled me with incredible gratitude for our government--and especially those who founded it. We have many problems, and failings, and less-than-shining moments, but never anything like Buchenwald. It made me proud that it was American soldiers who freed the camp--and who brought every person who lived in Weimar, in the shadow of the camp, not wanting to know what was happening, and made them see what they allowed to happen.
It is now up to us to ensure that our society remains one in which a Buchenwald can never happen. It would be foolish to think that we would never sink so low. All it takes is to sit back and not be involved in what's going on. Complacency and/or apathy is the quickest road to the corruption of a nation--or at least one of the quickest roads.
The other thought connected to all this (and I'll admit the basic idea is borrowed from something I read somewhere--I think one of Orson Scott Card's columns, but I think this is a perfect illustration of the point) is that frequently in our society we hear people claim that religion is one of the worst things ever, and they try to point out all the terrible things caused by religion. But the truth is that these were terrible things done by terrible people in the name of religion, but have nothing to do with true religion. And one has only to look at the most prominent societies founded on a completely non-religious basis, societies were religion was persecuted and suppressed to see what can happen when religion is not providing a guide to society. Buchenwald is an artifact of two of those societies.
Now, this is perhaps something I will come back to later and try to work out the kinks on, but I need to at least get it out there in this form. Thanks for your patience with my attempts at meaningful thought...
16 years ago I spent much of the 4th of July at Buchenwald, outside of Weimar, Germany. For those who may not know, Buchenwald was one of the largest concentration camps. Now, it may seem an odd way to celebrate the 4th of July, and in honesty it was at least somewhat a coincidence that we went that day.
Anyway, it is now something I think of every 4th of July. I cannot begin to describe what it is like to be in such a place. Nor would you likely want to read about it. But for me, being there on July 4th led me to think of some things I may not have on any other day. And over the years, I've thought more about it, and this will be an attempt to put some of those thoughts in some form of coherence. I do not know if they will have any value for anyone else, but they do for me.
Buchenwald is a chilling place. Even though I had studied a lot of World War II history, even though I had read the stories of the camps and the things that had been done there, it was a different matter entirely to be in the place where they happened, and to see the artifacts left from that time. It has never entirely left me. Any time I look at the pictures I took there that day (or other times I went), or speak about it, or hear about the Holocaust, those feelings come back to me (this is likely one reason why this is turning out to be a difficult post to finish). It is horrifying to realize that people could actually do such things to other people. It is horrifying to think that even as the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany was decrying what had been done, and planning monuments and museums in honor of the victims, they continued to use the camp to detain and punish those opposed to their rule--something that was not even known until after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now there is a second museum and monument to the victims of that regime.
On the other hand, being there, on that day, filled me with incredible gratitude for our government--and especially those who founded it. We have many problems, and failings, and less-than-shining moments, but never anything like Buchenwald. It made me proud that it was American soldiers who freed the camp--and who brought every person who lived in Weimar, in the shadow of the camp, not wanting to know what was happening, and made them see what they allowed to happen.
It is now up to us to ensure that our society remains one in which a Buchenwald can never happen. It would be foolish to think that we would never sink so low. All it takes is to sit back and not be involved in what's going on. Complacency and/or apathy is the quickest road to the corruption of a nation--or at least one of the quickest roads.
The other thought connected to all this (and I'll admit the basic idea is borrowed from something I read somewhere--I think one of Orson Scott Card's columns, but I think this is a perfect illustration of the point) is that frequently in our society we hear people claim that religion is one of the worst things ever, and they try to point out all the terrible things caused by religion. But the truth is that these were terrible things done by terrible people in the name of religion, but have nothing to do with true religion. And one has only to look at the most prominent societies founded on a completely non-religious basis, societies were religion was persecuted and suppressed to see what can happen when religion is not providing a guide to society. Buchenwald is an artifact of two of those societies.
Now, this is perhaps something I will come back to later and try to work out the kinks on, but I need to at least get it out there in this form. Thanks for your patience with my attempts at meaningful thought...
Sea World
Last week we went to Sea World. Here's some pictures. I'll probably try to put some more up later, as well.
Brennan and his stuffed Shamu
Dee, Jessie, Brennan and a Clydesdale
Brennan and his stuffed Shamu
4th of July Pictures
From the ward 4th of July activity
Watching fireworks that night (although it turned out we were in the wrong spot and missed most of the closest ones...)
Watching fireworks that night (although it turned out we were in the wrong spot and missed most of the closest ones...)
Last Swim Meet Pictures
OK, I know this is a couple of months late, but better that than never, right?
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