Uncle Bill

On Monday, we learned that dh's oldest brother, Bill, had passed away the day before. To our kids, he was simply "Uncle Bill." It had been years since we had done anything to speak of with "Uncle Bill." Our three younger children have probably only met him once or twice in their young lives. The three older ones may have some distant memories of him and his family. In our younger days, we used to do quite a bit with "Uncle Bill" and "Aunt Emmie." After our return from Seattle in 1985, our relationship was never quite the same.

To me, "Uncle Bill" was the epitome of the quote we've probably all seen that reads, "Some people's only purpose in life is to serve as a bad example." That would be Uncle Bill's life, in a nutshell. Born in 1940, the second child and oldest son of my in-law's, he had such potential. He was a talented mechanic who could fix anything with a motor. He loved gardening, and after he moved to a home with acreage, always planted a huge garden that was the envy of most of us. He shared his produce with us many times, and undoubtedly other friends and relatives as well. And he loved fishing, both from a boat as well as from land. With all these wonderful talents and qualities, why do I think of his life as just a bad example? Read on!

Uncle Bill had one vice that probably killed him--alcohol! Always a heavy drinker, this seemed to get worse after Aunt Emmie died in 1993. He would begin his drinking day first thing in the morning and didn't quit until bedtime. My dh learned that if he wanted a decent coversation with his oldest brother, he needed to call him early in the morning before the booze got too heavy a stranglehold on him and ruined him for the day. It was something that he just seemed to never be able to overcome. It cut short his life and made life miserable for those who knew and loved him. He was never able to reach his full potential because of this affliction.

Alcoholism runs in this family. Aunt Sandy (dh's sister) told me once that their Norwegian-born grandmother rushed out to the bars just as soon as she could following the birth of her first child. When I heard this story, I got the impression that this was the reason their grandfather deserted his family when my father-in-law was a small child. Raised a Quaker, "Grandpa Lester" probably didn't know how to deal with this except to leave. She also told us that "Uncle Ben," dh's uncle & father-in-law's younger brother, was an alcoholic as well. And the story my father-in-law told of meeting the LDS missionaries with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, made me think that he may have been on his way down that path as well. When he embraced the gospel, he quit these bad habits.

We all have the opportunity to change. If we have bad habits or traints that are detrimental to our character, we can change them. This is one of the joys of life, and a great principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not locked into the things that are not good. I have seen examples of change in people around me, those I know only casually as well as those close to me. I am thankful for this principle.

As for Uncle Bill, I am sure he will be constantly reminded of the errors he made in this life. I found it interesting that as we told each of our older children of his passing, they all said, in essence, "I'll bet he's getting quite a lecture from Grandma Nora." I believe that we can still change in the next life. I hope so, because I know when I die I will still be far from perfect.

Uncle Bill, I am sure that when we meet you in the next life, you will be a better person. While I'm not ready for that life yet, I look forward to meeting you there, when the time comes.

Colorado Trip--Update

The best-laid plans of mice and men..................

I had fully intended to begin updating our Colorado trip last Friday, but as luck would have it, our WIFI connection at the motel was non-existant. Every time a big SUV parked in the spot next to ours, we'd lose the connection. So, my good intentions went down the drain.

We did make it home just fine, a nicer trip than the going one because we got smart and decided to spend the night in Ogden rather than drive straight home. So we got home around 7:30 p.m. Sunday night in much better shape than we would have otherwise.

And really, I will post more on the rest of the trip in the next few days.

Colorado Bound

I had intended to make this a travelog of sorts, detailing our trip to Colorado Springs to visit family, including our trip and other things we've done. However, wifi at the motel we're staying at has been less than ideal, so wasn't able to do what I wanted. So I will try to catch up here as I can, since we're leaving to go home in just a little more than a day. Stay tuned for more tomorrow! I plan to cover the journey and first day, wireless connection permitting.

The Parable of the Popcorn Popper

Once upon a time, in a city far to the north, lived a family, not a large family, not a small one either. There was a mother, a father and three little girls. They were happy in their home to the north.

One day, as often happens to young families, they found themselves a few days away from payday, with only a small amount of money left to get them through until more money arrived. There wasn't enough to do anything to speak of. Certainly not enough for food for very many days, although the family was fortunate that there was enough food in their cupboards to get them through until the aforesaid payday, if necessary.

The father and mother went to the grocery store, to get a few things they needed. They looked at the small amount of money in their hand so they could carefully decide how best to spend their money. As they went down the aisles of the grocery
store, something caught their eye!

What is this? Why, it is a small appliance most marvelous to behold! It's a.......................popcorn popper. Not just an ordinary popcorn popper, it's an air popper. A most marvelous invention, and one that would be much used by this little family.

Why, look! The price is only $14! Do you think............?

Carefully counting the money they had in hand, they realized they had enough to cover the purchase of the popcorn popper, including sales tax. Looking at the few items of food they could have purchased, and comparing it to this marvelous
appliance, a decision was made!

Mother and Father came home, triumphantly bringing their purchase. The young girls wondered why their parents seemed to be so exuberant about buying a few groceries with the pittance they had in hand. Out of the sack came their purchase:

THE POPCORN POPPER! THE SHARPEST LOOKING, YELLOW & WHITE AIR POPPER that $14 plus tax could buy!

The girls were ecstatic! They rinsed off the parts that could be rinsed, set it on the counter, pulled out the popcorn and following manufacturers directions, proceeded to experiment with their new toy. A wonderful smell soon filled the house, and the young girls and their parents settled down with bowls full of hot-buttered popcorn, possibly the best hot buttered popcorn they had ever tasted, with the possible exception of what is available in movie theaters.

To this day this family still remembers the popcorn popper mom & dad bought with the last of their money. They enjoyed many years of great popcorn made from this popper. And they remember how the last money they would see for several days was spent on this popcorn popper. And every time this family would get down to their last few dollars before the next payday, someone would mention this marvelous popcorn popper. And perhaps they would go out and spend the last of their money on something as frivolous as that popcorn popper.

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Addendum:

Many years have passed since we purchased that popcorn popper back in Seattle in the late 1970's. We've added three more children to our family, and the original air popper was replaced several years ago by a similar model bought at a garage sale. The original air popper served us well for many years. And we notice that whenever we are low on money, or many of our now-grown children for that matter, we usually spend it on something that isn't vital. All in memory of our marvelous air
popcorn popper!