One Candy Bar Every 5 Minutes!

When I was little, 5 years old, my dad would take me to some of his work sites to help him do some surveying. He would set up the equipment and mark spots for me to hold the measuring rod. When I was 5 it was about all I could do to stand the rod on end and hold it upright. It probably weighed about ½ as much as me. Some of the places I remember going were churches and schools. I remember the San Carlos high school site the best. Since my father was putting me to work he said that I could choose my own wages. I remember thinking well if I made 5 cents a minute then that would be one candy bar every 5 minutes. So I made the proposition to my dad. He said sure, and my $3/hour wage stuck with me for the next 10 years. I had to fill out my time card too. I don’t think I was very accurate and sometimes I forgot to write my time down so I think my dad got a pretty good deal.

Over the years my dad and I made a pretty good team. We developed hand signals for when to move the pole and tape. My favorite hand signal was the signal for “all done” (the baseball “safe” sign). I think the project that I did the most for was Skyline High School. When I got to college I meant to take a surveying class so that I would maybe understand what I had been doing all those years, but I never got around to it. I will someday, maybe.

Peter Pan's Plant Pans

When I was little, and my family would go to visit family in Idaho during the summer, there were lots of fun things to do. One summer my favorite activity was to go out and walk along the top of the fence that surrounded my grandpa's house and the cow pen next to it. The old fence was made of 2X4's on 6X6 posts about 8 feet apart. My cousins and I would spend hours just walking around on the fence. Trying to challenge our balancing skills by passing each other and going faster. On the very last day we were there I went out for one last walk on the fence and I slipped and fell. Usually falling wasn't a very big deal, but since I slipped and fell it was. The top rail of the fence slid all the way up the side of my body and pretty much skinned my ribs alive. Ouch! Man, that hurt so bad.

Another thing I liked to do was go outside just before the rain storms. The wind would pick up and there would be lightning and thunder. One day my cousin got the idea that we would try to use the wind as a mode of flight. We tried climbing up the fence and jumping off into the wind or with the wind. This didn't equal very long flights. Next we tried using grocery sacks as parachutes--also fruitless. So finally we found some old plant flats (a shallow plastic pan used to hold small plants, flowers or vegetables, before they are sold to plant in the earth). We found that the sturdy plastic pans provided a little greater lift. So we commenced our flying exercises. I'm sure non of our "flights" lasted longer than 2 or 3 seconds, but to feel the resistance of the wind on our arms made it super fun. Hooray wright brothers!

ps. I do not endorse experimental modes of flight, especially from heights greater than 4 feet. Unless you're these guys:

Mac and Cheese!

When I was little I remember going to the bathroom one night because I felt the need to throw up. I ended up throwing up—I wonder why little kids throw up so much? I’m pretty sure that after I puked I didn’t feel as bad as before I did. Either the next day or the day after I went to either church or school and somehow the topic came up when I was talking to one of my friends. I explained that I had thrown up and that you could see the macaroni and hot dogs. And she said, “No wonder you threw up. Eating hot dogs with macaroni and cheese is gross!” I guess that seems like a pretty logical explanation to a little kid. I think about that every time I eat franks with my macaroni and cheese. Yummy!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Guess what? I've never watched a Super Bowl on Sunday! I watched one tape delayed on a Monday. That's it. I guess I'm not into the pro sports too much or at all when it comes to NFL. I do have a "super bowl" Sunday memory from when I was a little kid though. I remember going to church and hearing the super bowl buzz in Sunday school. Mostly all the kids talking about funny commercials they had seen in year previous. Well, that afternoon while the big game was on, my family went to the visitors center at the Mesa, Arizona temple. We enjoyed walking the grounds, watching a short gospel narrative and running into another family who we knew. It was a great day. I have no idea who played that year, much less who won. But I know exactly where I was, who I was with, and the joy I felt.