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“Well, I survived another Christmas.” That’s what I think as I shovel yet another 4 inches of global warming from my driveway (Third time today). The urge to get out of the house and do something is overwhelming. I always attribute it to my Groesser genes but it more than likely is to keep the thoughts quiet.
“Why didn’t I create a dll to do that task?”
“How would my life be different if I asked that girl to marry me instead of Tracy? Heck, how would my life be different if I had even asked that other girl out?”
“Do Buddhists ‘Hunger and thirst after righteousness’? Do they ever want printed copies of their scriptures? If so, does that mean they have to repent?”
“I hope Bennet doesn’t inherit the Groesser’s short legs.” See, it’s a painful place there. That’s the real reason I work, enjoy shoveling snow, mowing the lawn… less interaction with my own mind.
So, Tracy and I bought our own gifts this year. Mine was planned. I knew what I wanted. Tracy just came in one day and announced that she just bought her Christmas present. I wish other things in life were so easy. The kids did alright this year. Bennet’s eyes lit up the first time we placed a gift bag in front of him. Hayden got the “Air Hog” from his aunt Lynette. Ellie now has plenty of dolls and Madsen has a few more toy cars. Since we routinely purge toys from the mix each month or so, there should be some room.I’m still enjoying my life. I love my job and the urge to work constantly is a steady drain on my system. I have had to knock myself out with drugs to get myself back to sleep at night. At 2am, my brain is ready to work on the unsolved issues. That is incredibly annoying. I mean, I love my job, but I also need sleep. This past week I had to contemplate taking a day off just to get a couple more hours of sleep. At 7am or so, the baby wakes up and the day has to begin.
I honestly don’t understand how Tracy does it. There must be some hormone that kicks in and keeps her from killing the children. They run her ragged. Constant demands from morning to night. She says that is the reason why she stays up late at night, just so she can be by herself. “Well, I survived another Christmas.” That's about the best I can come up with.
I would like to thank all those who voted democratic in killing off more of America last night. We have started once again to put on the shackles of slavery to a government who does not care about our desires and opinions. Our elected officials have sold us out. I can say with honor that I vote and I did not vote for a single one of those tyrants and traitors to the constitution.
My god have mercy on our children, because we just destroyed their hopes for a better future.
I never did finish off what I wanted to talk about in the lesson this week.
So what I decided to do is raise a few questions and follow-ups here.
Some follow up on the succession to Joseph Smith:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Succession_in_the_Presidency_of_the_Church
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai031.html
The latter link has some treatment of the manifestations some claimed to have when BY spoke.
I also refer you to D&C 107 for some definition on levels of authority.
I also stated during the lesson that 9 of the 12 apostles when JS died went on to the west and followed BY. Here is a note on apostles and their state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_Quorum_of_the_Twelve_Apostles_(LDS_Church)
I know that Lyman Johnson didn’t go…I can’t find anything right away about the other two…I’ll look into it more when I get a chance.
Also, the role that Hyrum had played. D&C 124 talks about Hyrum being the new patriarch of the church and also that he filled the role that Oliver Cowdery vacated…not sure what that meant.
The role of “sealing with their own blood”. The best I can reference on this is that you can’t show you believe something other than to die for it. Not sure how useful it is as many a Nazi died for their beliefs too. (Not to equate the two.) There might be some significance in that JS started once again the preaching to the dead and vicarious ordinances that Christ instituted and were lost. Not sure.
I wasn't feeling well so I didn't teach the lesson this week. However I do have a few comments.
First, I'm glad that there wasn't any avoidance of D&C 132 "Then shall they be gods..."
Second the following quote: "He also taught that unless a man and a woman enter into the covenant of eternal marriage, “they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection.” Those who do enter into this covenant and remain faithful “will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory.”1
I guess we are left to ourselves as to what that means. It could mean several things, from bearing children to keeping our children by covenant.
I’ve had this thought bouncing around my head for several years and it is about time that I get it down on paper. I don’t want to be guilty of the sin of ungratefulness but more just because I want to make this public, even if no-one ever reads it.
My career took a major step when I started programming on an apple, and the Motorola 68000 processor. I thought that the instruction set and model made much more sense than the competing Intel offering. It isn’t to say that I was an Apple fan. I wasn’t. Never have been. But the Motorola chip was superior from this programmer’s standpoint.
Once I graduated, my wife and I moved to Phoenix, mainly out of desperation as the country was in a recession and my wife landed a job at a small software company. Eventually, I ended up working there too, in the hardware portion of the company (where I worked with embedded M6805 processors). Eventually, I could see the writing on the wall and the need to find a new job. After an online posting, a recruiter asked me if I would mind moving to Chicago and working for Motorola. I responded that “You’ll be able to hear the sonic boom from there.” I interviewed for a position where once again I’d be working for my beloved 68k processor. I eventually helped find a memory leak that had been plaguing a system for 10 years.
Since then, I haven’t regretted my time with Motorola. Yes, the company is about 1/3 the size of when I started, but I still love working there. I work with good people. Motorola has helped me gain my master’s degree in Computer Engineering. It has made it possible to adopt three wonderful children. It has helped me obtain the “American Dream” where I own my own home, free and clear. It has provided insurance so that my fourth child could be born and my wife survive a harrowing childbirth. It has given my family and me a wonderful life these past 15 years. I will always be deeply grateful for the opportunities provided by Motorola in my personal and professional life. It doesn’t seem to be that most people work for the company they’ve always wanted to work for, and are extremely happy being there. I don’t feel that they have abused my devotion nor my time. I know that at sometime in the future, Motorola may not have need of my services, and if that time does come, my gratitude will be none the less. I have enjoyed my time there and for the most part, worked with exceptional people. (Of course, that can’t be universal, and I’m sure some aren’t fond of me either.) I don’t hope that day comes, as I’ll be more than happy retiring from the company. But if it does, I’m still happy for the help in creating my family and will be eternally grateful for what they did provide for me.
This isn’t as eloquent as I would like to be, but, hey, I’m an engineer. It’s the best I can do.
I try and take in a football game every week. I do it mostly to watch people. That's what I do...and I think I mentioned that in an earlier post. Most of the time it just reminds me of the awkward time High School was. Something else manifested though a few weeks back. I was sitting in a section of the stands and before I realized it, I was surrounded by female teenagers. As I slowly made my way to another section, mostly to avoid any complications associated with a 40 year old hanging out with the teenagers, I came to a realization.
Why was I so intimidated by girls when I was younger? Clearly, the girls surrounding me that night were complete idiots. They weren't any different than the boys, who were also complete idiots. Wow. Did I waste a few years there not dating. I could have had a lot more fun.
Perhaps the problem was that I was a troll. And I'm not just talking about living in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (trolls live under the bridge....get it? Michigan joke.) I was sitting there in the football game watching these kids and how they acted and how it was different than my time growing up. Most had cell phones and many had cell phones with earphones in their ear. That made me wonder what in the world they were doing there, if they weren't even paying attention to those around them. I know I watched one kid who had a very pretty girl sitting next to him. I wanted to slap him aside the head and bring it to his attention that he had a stunner sitting there and he was texting his friend Bill about how he liked the last MP3 he was sent. Excuse Me! Look around you, you moron. Idiot. Girls are the most important thing in the universe and you have one RIGHT THERE!
Being a troll, I can see things like that now. And girls still make me nervous. Luckily I'm married to one that works her way past that.
For some that know me or read this blog, I had a time in my life where I was hit hard by depression. It's been 22 years and it still represents a black hole in my life. Probably because it was at a time when I had little possibility for distraction. In any case, I find I'm still coming to terms with it. I'm not sure why, other than it depresses me just thinking back on those times. Generally, the years after that have been absolutely wonderful, and I have very few regrets.
My wife is now sorting through pics taken during that time, and it brings back more memories. That and this blasted Facebook thing has put me in touch with some of the great people of that time. Now I'm hit by age. Here are photos and I can't for the life of me remember the names. I can see their manerisms, hear their voices, and remember how they looked. These people played huge roles in my life...and I can't remember names. To be honest, I can't remember names very well anyway, but it is frustrating.
I did find a post of someone else that had depression hit them.
http://mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/tequitia_andrews/?id=9383
I at least find that others that have gone through the same experience also looks for and avoids triggers. The annoying part for me is some of the triggers for me are part of my church functions. Hometeaching brings me anxiety attacks. Why? Don't know. I've learned some of my responses are completely irrational. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I hate the experience but there it is. It isn't something that I would wish on others. I'm just glad that I'm not the only one that has a similar way of dealing with depression. I've found that I need quite a bit of alone time where I just watch things. Trains, people in a public place, water going by. I find them mentally calming.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not generally psycho. I don't think I need counciling. I just know what sets me off and how to deal with it. Others have probably the same issues, but maybe don't realize what it does for them.
Anyway, that's the thought for the moment.
My son, Hayden, took a ball cap and placed it on Ellie's head and stated "There, now you're a Mexican." Not sure where he got that one.
I noticed my daughter before church and wondered how all the other fathers would feel about not having the prettiest girl.
The rumor is that the next 2 years are going to have priesthood and RS classes use the new Gospel Principles manual as the text. Not sure how that will work...or what that tells us about ourselves...or what leadership thinks of us.
For the last lesson we used Lesson 40. Lesson 40. This holds some special significance in my life now that I've found some wonderful people on Facebook that I knew a long time ago. For some of the lesson I used the following discusion, FeastUponTheWord. I also used the following about W. W. Phelps and his relationship with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith's Personal Writings. Overall, it was an OK lesson, except I wanted to tear up reading about the Phelps' letter.
On the way home:
Ellie: "How was the baby, Daddy?"
Me: "What's a babydaddy?"
Ellie: "Huh?"
Tracy: "He's just making a joke, Ellie."
Ellie: "But Mom, He's making fun of me."
Tracy: "No, he isn't."
Me: "ButtMom?, What's a buttmom?"
Ellie: "Daddy, stop."
Me: "The Adventures of Babydaddy and Buttmom!"
Ellie: "Mom....what kind of movie is that?"
A few thoughts that I just had to push out of my head while attending sacrament meeting…
A week or so ago my wife and I finally watched “The Curse of Benjamin Button”. It takes a look at humanity in a man who ages backwards, from an old man to a baby. I can’t say that I like Brad Pitt all that much, and the special effects were fairly good. Overall, it was a good movie. I did note my reaction at the end of the movie when BB died as a tiny baby. Actually I started getting a reaction when the protagonist was portrayed as a toddler. I knew what was coming. It almost got me to tears, and I wondered why that part of the movie did that to me. I figured it was an evolutionary thing (or the fact that my youngest is just coming to a year's age). Our minds rebel at the thought of a baby dying. It is our greatest tragedy. Children just should not die. We save our women and children first. Crimes against children in wartime are codified in our war conventions. The horrors of the holocaust are heightened by the treatment of children by the Nazis. It just shouldn’t happen. Now, perhaps I over-think it. I have become more aware of how I react emotionally, just to make sure I am on a sane path. Still, I found my reaction interesting.
I’ve always been aware of my own mortality. Perhaps it was because as a young boy I dealt with the passing of my grandfathers and had to come to grips with it. I can’t say it fascinates me. It doesn’t. I am just aware of it. Perhaps it is due to my interest in religion, and religion’s almost sole function is to deal with death. Well, maybe not sole function, but perhaps the origin. Mankind has come up with lots of ways of dealing with death throughout the millennia. I certainly haven’t come up with anything new. I’m just aware that it is sneaking up on me and I don’t want to be completely surprised by the event.
Perhaps that is why some of my favorite songs, or should I say, songs that make me react, are songs about the fleeting nature of life.
I can think of “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croche (here performed by the muppets).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtS4cBjCxhA
“Done too Soon” by Neil Diamond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0koSdk_ACWw
“My Last Breath” by Evanescence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySkJl4qeAag
And perhaps my most reactive song, the one I find the most poignant, “100 Years” by Five for Fighting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmoE8_U-JTw
I can’t help tearing up when I actually listen to this one. Perhaps because I find a little love song in it.
If it wasn’t for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed by Joseph Smith, I would probably despair to mental anguish. I couldn’t go on thinking that I only have this short time and then all is gone. I think about all those friends and family that have already slipped out of my life without my ever being candid enough to express my feelings of love and affection for their time and efforts with me. Even now, when I feel I have come closer to dealing with my own emotions, I wouldn’t ever be so bold and open to show how I truly feel for those around me. I’m so sure that it would be misinterpreted and I could lose those friends and any self-respect that I might have. Still, we do seem to waste so much time and don’t tell those around us how we feel. Perhaps that is what fast and testimony meetings are for, no? Perhaps one day I will be strong and bold enough to let my feelings known beyond my own internal acknowledgement. Maybe not. Maybe that is what eternity is for. Death just seems to rob us of our opportunity to do it here.
All that reading into eastern philosophy may actually be taking hold, purging out all that restrained western European stoic influence.
As expressed by Neil Diamond, I know life will be “done too soon” and I already regret my failure to expand on my own life. Perhaps I can start changing now so death’s sting won’t be so sharp.
--Barry
"All I can say is, if I do not love my wife, body and soul, as well there as I do here, then there is no resurrection of my body nor of my soul." -- Charles Kingsley
Sitting up in the pines of
I’ve been thinking about this facebook thing that seems to be sweeping the 40+ age group. Roe Con from WLS mentioned on his radio program that the only reason men get on facebook at his age is to check up on all their hot ex-girlfriends. I kind of chucked because, honestly, I hadn’t even thought of it. I can’t even remember their names, let alone check up on them. The only girl that I did want to contact was my best friend’s girlfriend from high school. I knew she was married when I started college, so, I’m not sure what society would expect of me there in any case. Considering that I’m a mormon, I expect all my old girlfriends to be married, have kids, and probably be grandmothers at this point. That and my own look in the mirror would soon disabuse me of any mischief that my sick mind might contemplate. No, at best, I would want to know that they are happy. I wouldn’t need to contact them to know that. Finding a blog or a family picture on their profiles would be enough to determine that. I hadn’t even found that appealing either.
My thoughts on facebook are of something else entirely. I do find myself not seeking after people from high school, but of college and my mission. Those were clearly my most formative years, and not necessarily always positive. But nevertheless, still my most important as I look back.
My children have learned to accept me and my ramblings. I often blurt out “Stop it!” or “No.” for no apparent reason, during my quiet times. Usually, I am contemplating some awkward episode from my past and some of the tremendous mistakes that I’ve committed. Not sure why I do that. No good comes of it.
During college I have made friends that I would gladly give my life for, although I most likely wouldn’t express it to them. That and my wife probably wouldn’t want me to give my life to them, leaving her with this brood that we’ve accumulated. These people were by me during the hardest times of my life, and, if they know it or not, had sustained me just by existing.
See, my mission wasn’t all that great, dominated by a pretty deep depression. It was a combination of a lot of things that brought it about, and I can’t and won’t lay the blame at anyone’s feet but my own. The bottom hit and led to a rethinking of how I was living my life. You know, it is really hard to come out of a depression, change your way of thinking and serve a mission at the same time. I probably would have left my mission soon after I hit bottom if it wasn’t for a particular experience, and that experience kept me in the church to this day. It also has kept me from blaming God or the Church for what I went through. I know that God is mindful of me. So now, I collect people from that time period. Why, when most of the time I want to forget those years? Don’t know, but that is what I do.
It might be because I had the happiest years of my life, so far, just after that. I dated a lot my first year back. I worked myself silly at work and school to the point of almost constant exhaustion. My wife remembers my sleeping in the halls outside of class, after working since 4am. I crammed in so much during that year, I tire just thinking about it. I also made some pretty horrendous mistakes during that time too. I think that is par for the course though. But I did have fun. First time in my life I had girls “fight” over me. I still find that a funny episode. Fighting over a skinny (aftermath of my depression) engineer wanna-be. What a sick world we live in.
So, here I am, finding friends from that time. The last 20 years with my wife have been wonderful. I have made some friends since that time, although none as lasting or as important to me. I work with good people and have a beautiful family. And yet, I think back to that time often and how I dealt with situations.
I often consider a book by C. S. Lewis called “The Great Divorce”. It is a great read about what heaven and hell is like. Hell is full of people that breed bitterness and cannot forgive themselves or others. It eventually drives them farther and farther away from each other. Heaven is for people who have forgiven themselves and each other, regardless of their earthly circumstance. It is explained that the people that inhabit that realm look back at their time on earth with joy and contentment, because they remember the good and not the bad. I think that is why I look back to those times. I learned a lot. I used it for my betterment. I learned to be forgiving of others and myself. I don’t lay blame on others. I would rather see the joy in my life and not the hurt. I want to look back on my life with fondness and happiness.
Anyway, that’s what I think about facebook so far. Might not be much, but it is better than thinking about html callbacks all day.
--Barry
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/topic/44641-pet-peeves-in-general-conference/page__st__40
From Various authors:
"As anyone who has ever been hit in the crotch with a golf club can tell you..."
"You know what I don't like about red onions?"
"I've entitled my remarks for this afternoon 'The Catheter of Repentance'."
"I've always been intrigued about how the digestive process will work in the eternities..."
"There's a story about my wife that she made me promise to never tell anybody, and it goes like this..."
"When potty training children..." (of course given by a member of the Relief Society Presidency)
"What the heck? That's not my talk coming up on the teleprompter"
"In the New World Translation of the Bible, Jesus says..."
"Death haunts all of us; as soon as you're born you start dying."
"Jesus Christ decided to personally today so I'll yield my time to him."
"You may think that temples aren't designed to fly into space to escape the wrath to be poured out upon the Earth but you're wrong.
"Some of you may be called upon one day to subdue an attacker using only Priesthood power so I thought it would be fair to tell you how it is done.
"I'd like to describe a vision I had today."
"The following people are complete knuckleheads, in no particular order..."
"As I'm sure you are all aware, my goiter has only grown since last we met..."
"I really really really really really really really loves me some freakin' Jello."
"Hotdiggitylookatthiscrowd. RedBullisn'tmentionedintheWordofWisdomsoI'vebeendrinkingRedBullforawhileandnowI'mafraidifIsleepI'lldie."
"Many thought I wouldn't live long enough to speak in Conference again. Well, here I am. Suck it, losers."
I’ve had the good fortune to meet people from lots of different places around the world: Mexico, Canada, China, The Philippines, England, and Africa. Two of my children were adopted from Guatemala, made possible because of the desperate economic conditions in that country. I ask each person I meet who has left their home to come to America “What made you decide on America?” I wonder why they didn’t choose another western, progressive country? It seems that they all chose The United States because of the opportunities we have here. What kinds of opportunities are the talking about? The opportunity to take care of themselves. The opportunity to find a means of supporting themselves and making a better life for their families. Not one of these people has mentioned that they came here because of our kick butt welfare system or because our new president wants to facilitate change. They seem happy with the way things are done here.
I’ve only ever run across one person who resented being here in the US. He was 16 years old and his family had moved to Southern Utah from South Africa. He was constantly making negative comments about the US and was quick to share what he thought was wrong with our country. One day, a school teacher had had enough and said to him “If you hate America so badly, then go home to South Africa - we don’t need you here.”
My point? For all of the people around the world that don’t like the United States of America I believe that there are many more who still see us as the “Land of Opportunity” and are indeed clamoring to come and make a life here, legally or illegally.
http://bycommonconsent.com/2009/07/14/what-should-you-do-when-the-lesson-manual-is-wrong/
Having, some time back, served on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee of the Church for nearly ten years, I would never, ever, take a Gospel Doctrine manual to be an official and binding declaration of Church doctrine. We tried to get things right, we prayed about our work, and what we did was reviewed in Salt Lake before publication, but it scarcely constituted scripture.
A story:
Once, the scriptural selection about which I was
assigned to write a
lesson included, among other things, Acts 20:7-12,
in which the
apostle Paul drones on for so long in the course of
a sermon that a
young man (ironically named Eutychus or “Fortunate”)
dozes off and
falls from the rafters. Paul has to restore him to
life. As a joke, I
inserted a passage in my lesson manuscript that read
somewhat along
the following lines:
“Have a class member read Acts 20:7-12. Have you
ever killed anyone
with a sacrament meeting speech? How did it make
you feel? What
steps can you take in the future to ensure that it
does not happen again?”
Members of the committee laughed, and the committee
chairman sent my
lesson on up, incorporating their suggested
revisions but also still
including my little joke, to Salt Lake City. Where
it passed
Correlation. (I can only assume that each member of
the committee
chuckled and then passed it on, expecting that
somebody else would
remove it.) When I received the galleys of the
lesson back for final
approval just before it went to press, the joke was
still there. I
faced one of the greatest moral crises of my life,
but finally called
Church headquarters and suggested that they probably
didn’t really
want the lesson to go out to Church members entirely
as it stood. So
the joke was removed.
The point being that Gospel Doctrine manuals are not
to be confused
with authoritative divine revelations.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have an interest in hinduism. This comes mainly from my listening to KHQN while I went to BYU. I found this on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBy_1PSjvWc
I wish they did this when I was there.
I'm not sure if it was still used to house the mission, but it did when I was there. Sad. It was a beautiful building.
http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/1740673/?nextnav=recent
In keeping with my habit of renting a car and driving forever, I finally decided to see the Gulf of Mexico. I took Hayden with me to ease the pain on “the Mama”. The trip down started a bit late. I didn’t get going until after 9am. Driving down to southern Illinois was uneventful other than a bad bit of rain south of Decator. I eventually got off the US road and onto the interstate around Salem. Nothing of note other than all the snails around the Arby’s when we stopped for a bathroom break. It only took about 30 minutes before traffic stopped. I mean, it moved occasionally, but at most about1 mile an hour. I decided that I’d seen too many people get stuck in a ditch trying to turn around and I got off on the next exit, around Herrin, IL.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=herrin&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.957536,65.126953&ie=UTF8&ll=37.818734,-88.948746&spn=0.180083,0.254402&t=h&z=12The apocalypse seemed to have happened. I had noticed the trees down but I thought it was because there was a storm previously in the week. Was I wrong. There were power lines down and semis trying to backup, hopefully not back to Carbondale. Very interesting pictures.
OK. I finally got my way out of that mess, on to finding a bathroom and somewhere that had power…not until Missouri. I figured I had to get to Memphis before I stop for the night. Long, boring drive. I find Illinois more interesting.
The Motel 6 in West Memphis…meh. Smelled bad there. South Memphis wasn’t any better. Bad storm that night though.
The next day we had breakfast at Waffle House and got stuck at the back parking lot and had to tell a police officer to move his car so we could get out. Drove like mad to get to New Orleans. We went over the causeway (longest bridge over water) and headed for Mobile. There are some amazing bridges down there. Too bad it’s a stupid place to live. As we were headed to Mobile, I realized that I haven’t seen the Gulf yet so we headed to the beach. When we did see it, it was a ruddy brown. Probably due to the river there. There was a ship works there too.
We didn’t get to Mobile. We went in to Alabama, just to say I’d been there, picked up a state map and headed back to Jackson, MS. The drive home from there was uneventful, except I HAD to stop at Cairo, IL. That place should be torn down. And the Fort Defiance park…underwater. I laughed pretty hard at that. What a place. Sheesh.
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=36.988306,-89.151637&spn=0.002845,0.003975&z=18
Go to the north to view the city, and to the south and east to go over the bridges. I also have my shots of, well, the river, that used to be Fort Defiance.
That’s about it. Had a great time and put on 2050 miles on the Kia Rio that I rented. Good car, cheap trunk latch.
http://groesser.multiply.com/photos/album/20/New_Orleans_Dash
Our second day in Omaha included quite a few things. We went to the SAC museum and looked at old planes. Hayden didn't take as much of an interest as we had hoped, but it was fun for me. I really enjoy it. There was also an astronaut there. Not sure which one, but he was signing things. Hayden didn't take much interest and I didn't feel the need, so we just looked at him and walked on. It was very, very cold and windy that day, and Hayden had forgotten his change in the car. You see, he promised his mother to get some smashed pennies and there were 4 machines there. So, we braved the elements and ran out to get them. 
That occupied a few more minutes. After looking at the planes and trying to explain the significance of the hardware we were seeing, we headed back to the east of town to Council Bluffs and quickly visited the church buildings there. We didn't actually go in, and it wasn't that interesting. I mainly went because it was close to the Union Pacific museum there. We had lunch at Taco Bell next door. Interesting, huh? Hayden just isn't one to show a whole lot of interest in things. He picks it up, so I don't
view my flapping gums as completely useless. but still, it would be nice for some feedback. After the museums we, or I should say I, decided to explore the park that you see upon entering Omaha from the East. There are two very large trains up on the hill and I wanted to see them. Turns out, those are the two largest production trains ever used. The Steam Train is called "Big Boy" and has to be similar to the one I saw in North Platte. It is huge. I also found some information here. http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/. Don't know if that is of interest. 4-8-8-4. Huge train.
The diesel is big one too. Both are articulated trains, meaning that they turn in the middle. They have to in order to get through some of the turns. The last part of the day was spent at the motel. The room the first night had a whole in the wall and the shower didn't work right. We got a different room for the next night. Hayden had the pool to himself and he thuroughly enjoyed it.
The next morning we went to Old Country Buffet for breakfast (which he again loved) and headed back home. It was a fun time. Hayden also got a few new video games out of the deal.
This isn't the way we arrived. We rented a car, a sports car no less, and high-tailed it to Omaha, stopping at every Sonic on the way...as well as stopping at every rest area. I am becoming somewhat disturbed at how familiar the road has become. I've only traveled on it a few times a year at most. Still, it seems that I've visited Omaha quite a bit. Anyway, the trip here was somewhat boring, as Iowa tends to be. Not much going on on the ride. The car itself is a Mitsubishi (??) Eclipse. A lot of road noise. It makes listening to the radio kind of annoying, as you are just trying to drown out the road noise. I don't think I'll make a purchase anytime soon.
Last time I was in Omaha, I travelled with Ellie. It appears that we are probably doing the same itinerary. Our first stop was to the Mormon Trail center as well as visiting the temple, this time in daylight. I tried to impress upon Hayden the importance of the temple, and why we consider it so sacred. I think he understands. He was kind of disappointed that he could only enter the temple when he became 12 when he did baptisms for the dead. Still, it was hard for me to keep from breaking down when you saw the list of people buried there in the adjoining cemetery. So many children. What the mormons of that time had to do to ensure that the gospel would survive and so they could practice their religion. I feel so small compared to them.
The visit into the center was a bit less emotional. As we went by the exhibits, I told Hayden about what it meant. He seemed to have a good grasp of it, but he's never had to deal with it so it is still kind of foreign to him. He really liked the log cabin and how a family lived back then. I asked him how he thought our family would enjoy living in such a small house. "It wouldn't work." was his reply. The oxen pulling the wagon was also of great interest. He wanted to know what they were. Buffalo? Cow? He finally determined that they were "made of meat."
After the visit to the center, we then tried to find Old Country Buffet. I tried to let him know that if I couldn't find it, that he shouldn't be disappointed. I mean, I came down the hill and nothing but concrete and signs were presented to me. It was densly packed with people trying to sell me stuff. Well, we did find it and actually had a very good meal. I don't want to sound so surprised by that, but it was really a good meal.
We are staying in a Motel 6. In keeping with my expectations, it is firmly placed in a more industrial area, with lots of tractor sales and shops around us. The place really isn't that bad and I was kind of surprised at how nice the room is. Nice beds, good cable selection on the TV...and then I found the hole in the wall. Not that intrusive, but still, it made me come back to reality. It is a Motel 6. I was kind of put off that upon checking in the girl doing so was behind a small window with little access. Then I had to think that she was fairly petite and cute for that matter. Perhaps it is best that in this job, she is a little removed. Also of some pause was the police car that drove through the parking lot as we were getting our bags. Of course, that is exactly what I would want police to do so why it unnerved me a bit is rather paranoid.
Also when checking in, one of the other guests mentioned the indoor pool. Hayden became excited but I mentioned "Too bad we didn't bring anything for that." At which Hayden stood back, wagged a finger and said, "Let's not be too fast here. I have something." The boy plans for everything. Kind of cool how serious he takes his trips.
Tomorrow, off to the museums.
http://groesser.multiply.com/photos/album/18/Live_Blog_From_Omaha_March_2009
Not much yet.
The actual lesson:
http://tinyurl.com/5of6gh
And I found the manual here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/11429406/Teachings-of-the-Presidents-of-the-Church-Joseph-Smith
http://mormonmatters.org/2009/03/01/rsph-28-missionary-service-a-holy-calling-a-glorious-work/
I should start blogging these lessons, so I think I will. I'll probably have to grow and develop them as I can, so a single entry probably isn't best.
My first place for ideas has been http://feastuponthewordblog.org/2009/01/25/rsmp-lesson-27-beware-the-bitter-fruits-of-apostasy-joseph-smith-manual/. I'll probably always start there.
Next, I found via the comments a good place at http://the-exponent.com/2009/02/03/relief-society-lesson-27/. I'll have to start looking there habitually too.
Some notes on apostasy were also found at http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2008/08/bushmans-introduction-to-joseph-smith.html which can be helpful. I really enjoy Bushman's comments.
Also look at "Our Strengths Can become Our Downfall" at
http://tinyurl.com/abnlzp. This is a shortened link from lds.org. I really detest their URL scheme.
Another interesting article.
http://staylds.com/docs/HowToStay.html
I probably should write a few comments about our time in Michigan during Christmas. Unfortunately, I suffered through my normal sickness upon arrival. Christmas itself wasn’t that eventful. Gifts and things. The weather there was bad. Lots of snow. We decided that we should probably leave right after the baptism of our oldest son. So the Friday previous, we got the car all packed up, the Sunday clothes all laid out and ironed. Well, it rained that next morning. All the road was now pack ice. What was snow had turned into mush.
Well, everyone was dressed for the sacred event and I was in my jeans, just in case I needed to get out and get unstuck. Trying to get out of the driveway, that is exactly what happened. I almost did the splits walking back to the garage getting a shovel with some wood, hoping I could get the car out. Eventually, my dad got behind us with his truck and pushed us out. Then the 2 miles to the main road took about 15 minutes. I couldn’t get past 15 MPH or I was going to slide off into the ditch. I’ve never seen that road so bad. However, we had an appointment and we needed to get there. Once on the main road, the real concern was fog.
Well, by the time we got on old 131, Tracy mentioned that she left my clothes back at the farm. Too bad, we weren’t going back for it. So, after we got to the Cadillac church, I mentioned to the missionary couple that was running the event that I had left my nice clothes at home and we are stuck with me in jeans, sweater, and work boots. I knew it didn’t matter, but it still was kind of different. I was kind of glad that we kept it among the family only.
My dad gave the opening prayer and we sang “I Am A Child of God” and then I led Hayden into the font. After trying to keep my emotions in check, I baptized my oldest son. Later, I confirmed him a member and then pronounced a blessing on my youngest son. My mother then gave the closing prayer.
All in all a pretty good day.
