Spring 2009

Since Larry/Grumpa's attempt at blogging lasted a whole ten seconds, not to mention 95% of his blogging was about himself! I will try and pick up the pieces. A LOT has happened since he last blogged! First, he has gotten a job with a law firm that has offices all over Northern CA but he was hired into the Oakland office with the hopes he can soon transfer to the Sacto office. He now lives in Antioch with Mark Davis (Debbie is at her summer residence in Idaho) during the week so they are "batching" these days. From what I hear a hot night for them is, in recliners by 7:30 and asleep in front of the tube by 8! Then about 9 they wake each other up with their snoring and trundle off to bed, to be repeated the following night! Friday night through Sundays he spends in Sacramento and back to the Bay area on Monday-so life is in much of a holding pattern around here these days. Life here goes on-Cait is back home for the summer working at Gunther's (Ice Cream Parlor) enjoying her time off from school and whining about how long it will be before she gets to go back to Idaho. Brian is-well Brian! Still bumming around, no job, no direction! In May Annie broke her elbow and because Megan is pregnant Grumpa got to take Annie in for her x-rays. Apparently the x-ray tech was really shocked when Grumpa suggested that Annie learn some Grumpa words for such a painful occasion. She liked "boogers" best but "razalfratz" came in a close second and the tech was mightily relieved. She went on to have surgery that evening and the docs did a great job because her arm is just fine now-but I do think the magical powers of purple glow in the dark casts with glitter are what really did it! I did get to commiserate a lot more with Annie than I had any intention to as I got to spend six weeks in a cast for a bad tendon in my thumb. Apparently the cure for tendon problems is complete non-use, so the doc thought it would be fun to cast up my right hand/wrist to see how frustrated he could really make me-but it worked so I'll stop complaining. Kiersten and Justin were up to visit in June so Tash hosted a fun family barbecue at their house. The kids had a pinata and it was hilarious watching these little ones try to break it open. We got to spend the 4th of July at the Garrison's with a lovely dinner (and my Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream!) Rancho Murieta puts on a fun fireworks show over the lake there and then it was back to Megan and John's for the handheld stuff. The kids really enjoy the sparklers and the fountains were pretty impressive. This past week was Timothy's 29th birthday so we had an impromptu get together for that. Only Annie and Audrey could attend as the rest of the Garrison's had the flu-so Grandma was babysitting the girls (who were already past it) when we got together. For some reason it doesn't really register with me that Megan and Kiersten are getting older, but for some reason it always hits me to realize how old Tim is! I no longer have any teenagers in my house as Caitlin turned 20 this year and since I already have kids in their 30's it's almost a relief to still have one who just turned 20. Just this past week Megan called to tell me we're having a granddaughter-so the score will soon be six girls, two boys. As long as they are healthy and happy gender doesn't matter.

ROOTS

As you all know I've been rather consumed with this photo scanning project. Well I happened to find a couple of shoeboxes of my parents' old photos. Rather enlightening. And here's an admonition to all who go looking for their roots - you might be surprised at what you learn.

For starters - when I was born, Mom lived in a TRAILER - not a mobile or pre-fab home - in a trailer park in Fort Eustas, Virginia. Dad was off playing soldier up north in Newfoundland. This was Home Sweet Home.

Apparently I liked to do beefcake poses on the living room couch.

I was also a pretty good climber and liked to rummage through the cupboards . . .

Especially the liquor cabinet . . .

Even back then I was trying to fill my Dad's shoes . . .

And pick up on the trailer park chicks . . .

Actually - I can't take credit for this last one - that's my kid brother Rich having all the fun.

Going back to the trailer though - when Dad got out of the service he and Mom hitched up the truly mobile home to the back of that car in the picture and pulled it across country to California. The story as I remember it, was that somewhere out in the West - Mom was driving, lost control and rolled the trailer off the side of the road and into a ditch. For whatever reason, apparently they thought that I was in the trailer when it went off the road, and it was only after some frantic searching that they found me asleep in the backseat of the car.

Ultimately, after stopping in a few SoCal trailer parks, the rig made it to Mira Loma in 1953 or so where the folks bought an acre of land to park it on. If you can't tell from the photo, this trailer was SMALL. Mom and Dad slept on the hide-a-bed couch underneath my nakedness in the picture above - and my two brothers and I shared a twin bed in the "bedroom" on the opposite side of that kitchen. We lived in this trailer until I was 9 (Rich 5 and Charlie 3) and in the 4th grade, when Dad built our first house down the street.

The trailer was so small that Dad tore out the tiny bathroom to make a little more room and built a separate 15' x 15' "wash house" which had a shower and toilet, a washing machine and a laundry wash basin. Think outhouse though - because you had to leave the trailer and walk about 30' in whatever weather or darkness to go use the facilities. No heater out there either, as I recall.

Ah, memories - but I guess I survived to tell this story of my terrible childhood hardships. Another story another day.

WHERE DID FEBRUARY GO?!

Hello All -

I can't believe that it's been a month since the last entry! Many weeks ago I asked Kiersten if she was OK because there had been a break in her blogging - and her response was that life just got ahead of her. How true for all of us. I'll try to do better. Since last, Jody and I went down to Burbank on the weekend of K's 31ST !!! birthday. Trust me, there's nothing like your children growing up to put your own advancing years into perspective. Even our baby turns 20 ! this year.

This was the first time we had been to the Walker abode since they moved in. A very nice upgrade from the apartments. From Burbank, all of us made the trek out to Indio to see Grandma and Joe. Mom is doing amazing for all her own years. Joe is having a tough time with his mobility issues - but all-in-all seems to be in good spirits. As always, Mack and Zach, were totally cute the whole time.

Back in Burbank, Kiers and Justin very kindly and patiently introduced me to the wonders of Picasa. As most of you know, I have spent weeks now anxiously engaged in organizing and scanning 40 years of old photos onto my computer. Needless to say, Picasa has been totally amazing as I now start the editing process. Can't wait for Cait to get home and add Adobe Photoshop to my arsenal. I have mentioned before to those of you keeping journals and albums, keep current as you go along in documenting and organizing. I have discovered that my memory is useless. I have to spend tons of time comparing photos from year to year and kid to kid just to figure out when and who is in a picture. But it's been a blast for me - lots of really good memories have been coming to mind and stories about all of you and our lives.

Speaking of Cait, we go up to BYU-I to get her from school soon. Where did this year go?! Although we need the snow pack, I'm hoping for some clear roads for the journey. Then back for April General Conference and ALL the April birthdays ! Makes you wonder what the month of July was all about for everybody !

Thanks to Kiersten's initiative, our own version of the Biggest Loser is off and running. For me, the most aggravating thing is that I am having to start by re-losing the #!@ 40 pounds that I took off a year ago - the very same ones I SWORE that I would never put on again - I even had all my suit pants tailored down to fit ! So guess who had to go buy new pants recently ! What a dummy.

So anyway, here is my weight loss goal - including the hair !

Unfortunately - my present reality is this one below !

Just to put it in perspective, that's Caitlin (circa 1990) who has this terrible image indelibly burned into her brain. I saw a quote recently to the effect, "If I can't be a good example - at least let me serve as a horrible warning!" You have all been warned.

Good luck to all - and here's to seeing much less of each of us in the coming months !

Take care and see you all soon. Love, GRUMPA

THE PHOTO - AND THE WHOLE STORY

FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS I HAVE BEEN ANGRY AT MY MOTHER FOR THIS PHOTOGRAPH – EVEN THOUGH ON REFLECTION IT IS SORT OF A FUNNY STORY (NOT !!).

ONE SUMMER, PROBABLY IN THE EARLY 60’S (I’M 6 YEARS OLDER THAN CHARLIE MY YOUNGEST BROTHER AND 4 YEARS OLDER THAN RICH) MOM HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR OUR PORTRAIT TO BE DONE BY A MAN WHO ACTUALLY CAME OUT TO THE HOUSE IN THOSE DAYS.

WE HAD BEEN PLAYING OUTSIDE AND SHE HAD US COME IN TO GET CLEANED AND DRESSED UP. WELL, THE GUY SHOWED UP EARLY BEFORE WE WERE FINISHED GETTING DRESSED. FOR WHATEVER REASON, KNOWN ONLY TO MOM’S TWISTED THINKING, IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE ACCOMMODATE THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S SCHEDULE AND EARLY ARRIVAL, THAN US GETTING PANTS ON. BESIDES, HE SAID, HE WOULD JUST CROP THE PICTURE SO ONLY OUR SMILES SHOWED. FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

I GUESS IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SO BAD IF SHE HAD TAKEN A PAIR OF SCISSORS TO THE PHOTO WHEN IT CAME – BUT SHE THOUGHT IT WAS SO HILARIOUS THAT SHE DRAGGED IT OUT FOR YEARS TO SHOW ANYONE AND EVERYONE AND TELL THE STORY. I FIGURE I WAS AT LEAST 10 OR 11 OR 12 WHEN THE PICTURE WAS TAKEN, SO I WAS NEVER THAT AMUSED BY EITHER THE PICTURE OR THE STORY THROUGHOUT MY JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS. EVEN TO THIS DAY I AM STILL IRRITATED BY IT - ALTHOUGH I'M GETTING A LOT MORE PRONE TO LAUGH AT MYSELF AND LIFE AS TIME GOES BY.

JUST GOES TO SHOW – PARENTS NEVER REALIZE WHAT PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE AND EMOTIONAL SCARS THEY’RE INFLICTING ON THEIR KIDS. I’M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN VERSION OF THIS STORY FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD.

THANK GOODNESS FOR PHOTOSHOP !! HERE'S THE ORIGINAL UNCENSORED PHOTO. GO AHEAD AND LAUGH - I'VE GOT PICTURES OF YOU TOO!

KODAK (and FUJI) MOMENTS

As most of you know by now, Mom and I have begun the rather arduous, but absolutely, thoroughly fun task of converting MANY old shoeboxes of photos to digital ones. What a trip down memory lane !! The only drawback seems to be that my memory gets mighty fuzzy and I am driving Mom nuts with my chronic "Do you remember when, who, what, where and WHY!" questions. The biggest hurdle is my impatience in realizing that this project will take many months to accomplish - the other way to look at it is that it will also provide me with many hours of great entertainment - way better than TV!

The other thing we are realizing is how parallel life is for your families now and your family back then. As we are watching you and your little ones grow up, Mom and I get to re-live our times with all of you. In fact, one of our biggest temptations is to immediately go searching for pictures to share of you guys doing then what we see you doing now. For example - we've found pictures of Tim's Pinewood Derby to show Charlie. And Kiers recently posted a photo of Zachary in Yosemite Valley with Half Dome in the background. Most of you remember Mom's present to me of the same shot when I was not much older than Zach in tandem with a shot of me on top of Half Dome on Tim's Scout/Church trip in '96 forty-some years later. A 20-mile hike and a vertical mile up and down. Not bad for an old, fat guy! Got some cool shots of the whole hike, especially the part at the chains, still to be scanned.

And Mom is discovering that each of the grandkids is a clone of you guys at that age. The other thing I didn't remember is how many trips we made to the hospital and doctors. So far we've come across multiple broken arms, bruise, cuts and stitches. Collectively we look like a trauma center after a bus crash.

Mom and I have also decided that before we share some of the more embarrasing captured memories that we will ask each of you for permission first - or simply let you have the pictures and leave it up to you to decide whether you want to. Just remember - we've got the (digital) negatives !

And from the soapbox - for those of you keeping your journals/blogs/Picasa or photo albums current as you go - keep up the good work! Take it from us, it's really tough to remember all the details and re-create all of this so long after the fact. Second, it's really fun to share in your lives and keep up with them along the way. And third, you will have ammunition(or blackmail) in the future when you need it to deal with your own little ones all grown up!

On the home front - Mom's going to the Oakland Temple with Debbie today. I've got a job interview tommorow and bunches of resumes out floating. I went to lunch with John Tuesday to a new Chinese Buffet at Florin Mall. Pretty good food, though I can't - and shouldn't - do the damage I used to to the piles of food. Spent an hour on the bike as penance. It was good to visit one-on-one. Need to do that more. Brian still needs a job - any leads welcome! Cait and Court are straining their brains at school - morale and emotional support always welcome there. All-in-all life is good and moving along.

JANUARY 2009

I got an iPod for Christmas which is not the important part. I have discovered all sorts of cool things about them-like our public library has tons of books you can download from the computer for free and listen to on your iPod. I have Dickens, CS Lewis, some hilarious PG Wodehouse, Bronte and Austen on my iPod-this is so cool! Not to mention Brian thinks it’s crazy his MOTHER is walking around the house plugged into her iPod!

The month of January started off at an amazing clip. We finally got to see BOLT-Justin/Mackenzie’s movie. Because our budget took so long to catch up with us through the holidays we were able to see it in 3D-it is great! My favorite character is a hamster named Rhino-he traveled cross country in a hamster ball and sometimes I wonder if that’s how I go through life-in a huge hamster ball-enough philosophizing!

Friday January 2nd we were finally able to all get together for our Moore family holiday dinner. So many kids had been sick over so much of the holidays it took a while to find a date everyone was relatively healthy or least not too contagious! We had a wonderful New Year’s feast at Megan’s-she made black eyed peas which is a Garrison (Southern) tradition to bring good luck and prosperity to the New Year. It was fun to see so many grandkids together. It is nigh unto impossible to get everyone together over holidays anymore, the Garrison kids were sick at Thanksgiving and the Walkers weren’t in Sacramento this Christmas. Maybe this summer we can have a tribal gathering.

January 8th, John’s favorite team, the Florida GATORS made it to the national finals so I made him a “Gator” Cake to celebrate the fact that I knew they were going to win. Tim called that evening to mention that Tash was at home sick and she would really appreciate not having to feed Tim and the girls so could they come over for dinner- so we had the threesome for dinner.

Sunday the 18th Brian was invited to the Garrison’s to mentor dads who were first time “Pine Wood Derby Dads”. He took out tools and helped them work on cutting out cars for their Cubs. Apparently John’s Pack as a kid did Rain Gutter Regatta’s but never the Derby. This has inspired Larry to sit through hours of video tape looking for our boys Derby experiences. He has been diligently labeling hours of video that had been shelved with no labels at all! Go Grumpa! Courtney was over the other day and he pulled out her 8th birthday party video which she had no recollection of and he has threatened to take some tapes to Burbank next month to share with Kiersten and Justin. Watch out Family!

The 26th I was scheduled for jury duty and I was hoping for the “show up Monday, don’t be needed, and be done with it” approach. No such luck- I got the call back Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights to see if I needed to report the next day. So I get to show up Thursday the 29th-the morning of the girls’ birthday party! I get called the first group out. We are taken to a huge courtroom and there are so many of us there is not an empty seat in the room! The clerk reads a statement announcing this will be a criminal trial with four defendants and is expected to last until May 22nd. If you feel you have a hardship excuse this morning is the only time the judge will hear them and decide if you are excused. Everyone else was dismissed until Monday when “voir dire” would actually begin. Well I gave it my best shot of being a nine month cancer victim that was going to need some medical diagnostics in March that could impact my availability-It worked! I had to sit out the day until 3:30 but at least I’m not on a jury until the end of May. I don’t think I would mind doing a 3-5 day trial but 3 months is more than I have in me!

The girls’ birthday party was fun, frantic and phenomenally noisy. As the party girls were leaving I opened the fridge and realized the food I had planned for them was still in the fridge-olives, baby carrots and mandarin oranges-and nobody missed them! I just sent them home with the girls to keep the party spirit going. Gloria (Spokane Grandma) and Aunt Glenda (Tash’s sister) had flown in for the week and all were going to Monterey to the aquarium the next day so they were happy to have the picnic provisions.

Friday the 30th was Charlie’s Pine Wood Derby. As Grumpa shared Charlie's Green Dragon (car on the left) WON the Tiger Cub division! It brought back tons of good memories until Larry leaned over and reminded me how many times I had made massive elimination charts that had hung on cultural hall walls and now it just spits out of a computer that is wired to the high-tech track so all they have to do is put the cars on the track and read the final results. The track timed the race to the hundredths of a second!
Amazing!

Saturday the 31st we went out to Jackson to see Charlie play a basketball game. He’s quite a gifted player and made two baskets during the game. Audrey kept misplacing her binky during the game and spent most of it eating fruit gummies and searching for the lost binky. Annie graciously invited us to lunch at a lovely little Mexican restaurant in Jackson and we had a wonderful lunch with the Garrison’s. After lunch Megan and I found a wonderful little fabric store down the way full of specialty quilting fabrics-I hope the inspiration doesn’t wear off too soon. Larry and I whisked Megan off to My favorite shop in Jackson- a little kitchen store with just the best selection of gadgets, pans and pottery. I found a new pair of my favorite kitchen scissors that went missing last year! Upon returning Megan home we were treated to a “Queen” concert in surround sound, wow! Before we left Annie put on an impromptu ballet recital. All in all it was a very satisfying “grandparent” day!

GO SPEED RACER !!

Tonite Mom and I went to Charlie's first Pinewood Derby - and fittingly - he came in FIRST PLACE for his Tiger Cub division ! WAHOO !! His car was pretty cool too -(with a little help from his pit crew - Dad and Uncle Brian). He also had lots of help from two cute car bunnies - Audrey and Annie - cheering from the bleachers along with the rest of his adoring fans. Exciting night for the rookie driver from Rancho Murieta.

As you can see from the photos Mom posted, the track was super high tech metal compared to the old wooden beastie Uncles Tim and Brian raced on many years ago. It had and electronic timer on the finish line that determined the winner of each run and then fed the times to a computer that calculated and averaged the 4 run times made by each car to determine the fastest car for the heat. Way beyond the old knockdown photo finishes we used to fight over !

Well off to bed now - tomorrow morning is Charlie's basketball game !

Sure glad parenting is done by you youngsters - I'm way too old to do much more than spectate !