snow and grass combined;
only a stopgap pattern
waiting like a sigh
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
une lettre de ma fille missionnaire
Cette semaine a été une semaine de miracles et de bénédictions, partout. Mon compagnon et moi avons décidé de faire un objectif d'inviter 100 personnes au service de Pâques que nous avions dimanche (hier) et nous l'avons totalement fait! J'étais un peu sceptique que nous allions le faire au début parce que je m'habitue toujours à parler à chaque personne que nous voyons dans la rue, mais c'était une bonne pratique de simplement savoir comment parler aux gens sans être totalement maladroit haha. Et même si nous avons une voiture, nous avons beaucoup marché pour pouvoir parler à plus de gens. Mais sur les 100 personnes que nous avons invitées, 7 sont venues! Le programme de Pâques était principalement composé de numéros musicaux. Il nous a donc été facile d'inviter des gens à venir écouter de la musique s'ils n'étaient pas intéressés par ce qui était dit. Et le service était tellement génial! Ne sous-estimez jamais le pouvoir et l'influence de la musique sur les gens. Aussi ce jour-là, James - qui vient d'être baptisé en décembre avec sa femme - a béni la Sainte-Cène pour la première fois et a reçu un appel! Ils ont été baptisés deux jours avant mon arrivée à la mission, et nous sommes allés chez eux et avons eu de nouvelles leçons avec eux chaque semaine. Ils ont 3 enfants, dont deux sont des jumeaux de moins de 2 ans; ils sont la famille la plus douce. Ils me rappellent mes nièces et mes neveux, alors j'adore aller dans leur maison :) Je sais que ça a l'air cliché, mais cela m'a fait tellement plaisir de voir James utiliser le sacerdoce qu'il vient d'aider le service et sa famille. Il n'y a rien de mieux ou de plus beau que de regarder le cheminement de quelqu'un pour connaître le Christ et voir son désir de le servir.
And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw . . .
And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw . . .
First Nephi. Chapter Fourteen. Verse 29.
My father never saw much, working in a bar all day,
Except a bunch of barflies who sometimes refused to pay.
No exalted visions that I know of came to him;
The last thing he would ever do is sing a solemn hymn.
But he brought home a paycheck ev’ry week for forty years,
Which is more than I could do with all my pious tears.
My father may have had his faults and never prophesied;
But by his lights he always did the right thing, or he tried.***********************************************************************
A FB pm from my nephew Rob about this poem:
SiffyandTor Torkildson Tork was not the best family man, those of us in his family, can attest. But, as you mention, he managed to keep the money coming in for a base stability. What you may not know, as you were never a barfly, is the hundreds of people who came to the bar to share their hardships with Tork, borrow money when times were tough, and the saint-like status he had at Arones. I lived it and witnessed it. There were over a thousand people at his funeral to attest to this "Buddha Bar Bartender" who helped so many on the edge. They still talk about his generosity down on East Hennepin. I loved him and often hated him. Rob
From the Wall Street Journal. Monday March 26 2018. Special Thailand edition.
Expectations for a vote have grown since Gen. Prayuth
told U.S. President Donald Trump during a visit to the
White House last fall that Thailand would hold an election
in November. He later reversed that plan, saying the
government would make a decision in June, and that
February 2019 was a more likely date.
by James Hookway
The land has got ten thousand smiles for tourists and the press;
But those who crave democracy are under some duress.
The military junta that is pulling all the threads
Wants to see all protestors sleep on Procrustes beds.
Though beaches and the Thai cuisine are popular worldwide,
Nobody seems to care abroad that voting rights have died.
Each year the promise of elections soothes the stormy scene.
Each year elections are postponed with some excuse routine.
Thailand wants our money to beef up their uniforms
But doesn’t want to hear from us about needful reforms.
I, for one, will not vacation in or near Bangkok
Until the military will remove their sad gridlock.
Baseball teams used to get any old dirt for infields and pitchers
mounds, scooping soil from a nearby hillside or riverbed.
Now, egged on by specialist baseball-soil suppliers,
they apply nearly as much science to the dirt as they do to the
pitching rotation. They demand just the right mixture of sand,
clay and silt to provide a smooth, predictable surface—
even if that means dirt is no longer dirt cheap.
mounds, scooping soil from a nearby hillside or riverbed.
Now, egged on by specialist baseball-soil suppliers,
they apply nearly as much science to the dirt as they do to the
pitching rotation. They demand just the right mixture of sand,
clay and silt to provide a smooth, predictable surface—
even if that means dirt is no longer dirt cheap.
Baseball is a funny sport; despite the player’s toil,
The managers are paying more for extra special soil!
A southpaw may be worth his weight in gold, but precious dirt
For pitcher’s mound makes owners pay until they lose their shirt!
So if you want to make a pile in diamonds, go to Burma
And bring back several tons of earth to sell as terra firma!
Sunday, March 25, 2018
From the Washington Post. Sunday March 25 2018
Mike Hughes, a California man who is
most known for his belief that the Earth
is shaped like a Frisbee, finally blasted
off into the sky in a steam-powered rocket
he had built himself.
On a weekend mild and sunny in the Golden State
Mike Hughes took off by steam rocket to meet his cosmic fate.
Some say he crashed his missile deep in dry Mojave sand --
But others say he left Earth’s orbit as he had always planned.
Once above the atmosphere he saw the Earth reclining;
Flatter than a discus, with the sun above it shining.
Jubilant to be proved right, he angled for the Moon
And saw that it was all green cheese -- which almost made him swoon.
Next he zoomed away for Mars, where ditches full of dust
Led to ancient cities that were crumbling into rust.
The ancient residents were gone and all they left behind
Were stacks of books by H.G. Wells -- and none of them were signed.
He hopped upon a comet to find out what made it tick;
But found Louise Hay Linton there upon her own broomstick.
So he took off just like a shot to check out Saturn’s rings
And found they were the dandruff from celestial angel’s wings.
Longing for his homeworld, he turned back towards Mother Earth,
Wondering if Fox Network would now pay him what he’s worth.
But a ghostly presence caused his rocket ship to fail --
The shade of Chris Columbus rose before him, dim and pale.
“You think you gonna spoil my reputation?” Chris did ask.
“And all my clever scheming you will suddenly unmask?”
He sent Mike’s rocket crashing into Putin’s patio;
And what became of Mr. Hughes is something we don’t know . . .
From the New York Times. Sunday March 25 2018.
American adults continue to put on the pounds. New data shows
that nearly 40 percent of them were obese in 2015 and 2016,
a sharp increase from a decade earlier, federal health officials
reported Friday.
that nearly 40 percent of them were obese in 2015 and 2016,
a sharp increase from a decade earlier, federal health officials
reported Friday.
The woes of weight are heavy, there’s no doubt about that now.
The experts say adults are eating too much processed chow.
Food trucks and the drive-through make it easy to exceed
The needs of mere nutrition as we impetuously feed.
Heart attacks are gaining on us at an awful rate;
Diabetes fells us as we continue to tailgate.
Our blood pressure is spiking at dread levels rarely seen
Outside of octogenarians down in Saint Augustine.
Our children also suffer from a heedless appetite;
Gorging on the candied Cap’n Crunch both day and night.
Sitting on their tuchas playing Final Fantasy,
They’re plumping up like turkeys for November’s jubilee.
But going on a diet of raw kale and herbal tea
Is not the sort of lifestyle that appeals too much to me.
Like Falstaff I will take my chances with debauchery,
Enjoying ev’ry sweetmeat till they hang me from a tree!
From the Wall Street Journal. Sunday March 25 2018
China is the second-biggest customer for U.S. agricultural products after
Canada, and its planned tariffs on pork, fruit, nuts and other goods are
expected to worsen the U.S. farm economy’s slump.
Canada, and its planned tariffs on pork, fruit, nuts and other goods are
expected to worsen the U.S. farm economy’s slump.
In China our chicken feet sold
For scads of nice silver and gold.
But now a trade war
Means Chinese abhor
Those cackling tootsies tenfold!
Bank examiners comb records and interrogate executives. If they see a
problem, they can order bankers to fix it and sanction banks that
don’t listen. When examiners succeed at preventing transgressions,
hardly anyone notices. When they fail, consumers suffer.
problem, they can order bankers to fix it and sanction banks that
don’t listen. When examiners succeed at preventing transgressions,
hardly anyone notices. When they fail, consumers suffer.
There once was a bank snooper mad
Who never thought banks could go bad.
He never thus fined
A bank, and stayed blind
To evil like Sir Galahad.
The skill of spotting false information—rubbish, nonsense and, yes,
fake news—is so important these days that scientists have begun
serious research on it. They’re attempting to quantify when and
why people spread it, who is susceptible to it, and how people can
confront it.
fake news—is so important these days that scientists have begun
serious research on it. They’re attempting to quantify when and
why people spread it, who is susceptible to it, and how people can
confront it.
I never tell lies anymore.
The internet saves me the chore.
With all their fake news
And bumfuzzled views
The truth has become just folklore.
unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks
. . . unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks.
First Nephi. Chapter Fourteen. Verse 1.
The blocks that I have stumbled over in a long career
Have given me respect for God (and just a touch of fear.)
For I have dealt with obstacles that would not go away
Until I fell upon my knees to plead and sob and pray.
And even then some challenges have never been removed;
I guess they’re meant to chasten me until my faith is proved.
If life were very easy and all barriers did cease,
My faith would surely dwindle and my pride would then increase.
So I will not complain about the stumbling blocks I face
(but in this game of life, oh Lord, could I just have one ace?)**************************************************************
From the Lexington Herald Leader
The faith of a Christian brings hope,
Which strengthens my chances to cope
With life’s little quirks
As well as big jerks --
It helps me to climb like a rope.
Saturday, March 24, 2018
From the Wall Street Journal. Saturday March 24 2018.
Recently, people started complaining that Amazon’s
digital assistant Alexa was bursting out in laughter at them
—for no reason whatsoever.
It ain’t a laughing matter when my smartphone jests with me;
I don’t like belching ringtones or a steam calliope.
When streaming adult movies on my laptop late at night
I’m getting the Three Stooges in a substitute pie fight.
And ordering from Amazon is getting to be tricky;
Packages arrive addressed to ‘Milton Q. Zwicky.”
Why this sudden sense of humor in our cyberspace?
How come at the ATM I’m squirted in the face?
Could it be the Russians playing havoc once again,
Making of our infrastructure some loud comedienne?
I think I’m going off the grid before it grows much worse --
Otherwise I’ll soon be texting rancid nonsense verse!
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