Sunday January 3, 2016

I'm getting ready for bed because tomorrow it's back to the old grindstone.  Part of me dreads it.  The part I dread is getting up at 4:45 am.  exposing myself to the extra frigid temperatures and getting up at 4:45 am.
I actually look forward to seeing my work friends and although every job has frustrations and difficulties, for the  most part I really enjoy my job.  And I'm grateful that I am fortunate enough to have a steady job.  I know there are lots of people that are looking for work or that work miserable jobs or the position they do have might  not be very secure so despite the hiccups I encounter and the tears I've cried... I am very thankful for my job.
Tonight I'm going to submit two pieces of writing.  The first one is the second issue of the Ogden Optimistic.  I started that in 1992 and there are only 5 issues.  I'm hoping to do better in the future. I've spent the Christmas/New Year break working very hard to record my writings and yesterday and most of today was devoted to reading the Ogden Optimistic.  The memories and recollections came rushing back to me and it was a very sweet moment for me.  A tiny glimpse of what was happening in my life at that conjuncture in time.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did.

This is the right place

Ogden, Kyle Matthews On July 24, 1849 Brigham Young, prophet of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stuck a staff into the ground and declared to his people that ‘this is the right place’.  Since that day July 24 has been observed in Utah as Pioneer Day.  Along with July 4^th, the day of our nations independence from Britain, July is filled with fun, fireworks and patriotism for the people in Utah.  Every year the Sunday before Pioneer day a concert is held on the grounds of Weber State University, followed by a spectacular display of Fireworks.

As I attended the event, I began to think.  Many people prepared days before, setting down blankets and markers to claim a spot to sit on the night of the event.  Thousands of people squeezed onto the grounds and waited for hours in the hot blazing July Sun.  The firework show was not a disappointment, and the grand finale lit the sky like Mid-Day but after ten or fifteen minutes it was over.

I thought about this and I laughed to myself and thought, how silly people are sometimes.  I thought of all the souls who had spent the whole day just waiting…but then another thought occurred to me.

Hundreds of families who live in a busy world dominated by television and video games, that normally struggle to merely squeeze a meal together in their hectic and crazy lives, today, had the opportunity to spend hours together with nothing to do but talk and enjoy each other.  Thousands of people gathered together, drawn by the promise of the popping and spectacle of pyrotechnic genius, but that wasn’t the only reason they gathered.  They gathered together to enjoy each other and to celebrate their country and to celebrate and appreciate this great state, Utah, and its humble beginnings.  As the ooh’s and Ah’s filled the air my heart swelled with pride.  I don’t like crowds but for a few seconds I felt like every single person, of the thousands of people there, were of one mind.

I don’t know if every other person thought back to Brigham young, and maybe some of them don’t even know why people gather there and set off fireworks, but I did.  And I am so thankful for the people who worked so hard to make Utah the great state that it is.

Typed at Last

Ogden, Aaron Call:  In 1981 Tiffany Kennedy and Spencer Crozier picked up a pencil and together they wrote a simple story.  It was about a little Unicorn who disobeyed her mother and was confronted by an evil ogre.  I don’t know what impact that story had on Mr. Crozier’s life, but it changed Miss Kennedy’s life forever.  Seven years later in 1989 Tiffany began to write a story about two astronauts that get trapped underneath the surface of a desolate planet.  Then she moved on to write poems and more stories.  Now over 19 years after the first story that she ever wrote, Tiffany has begun to type up her stories and poems.  One day, in the near future, she will send in her first story to be published.  She will be a profound influence to the writing community.

It could happen.

my second entry is going to be just a short poem.  One more little tid bit of info before I post it though.  As I've mentioned a couple of times I am working very hard to read all of my writings into an audio format.  I'm recording the songs I've written and although i'm not Carrie Underwood by any means, I don't think I'm half bad either and I've put a whole lot of time and effort into it.  If any of you would like an "audible" version of anything you've read or if you would prefer to listen to the poems and short stories rather than read them, just let me know.  I will gladly share.  It seems kind of pointless to do all this work just for me.    anyhow... my poem

INNOCENCE

Innocence is a sleeping babe in a mother’s arms.

It’s the splash of a puddle or the smell of the rain.

Innocence is beautiful.  It brings a sense of peace.

It’s laying on a hill and staring at the clouds or stars.

Innocence is security and knowing who you are.

It’s feeling good about yourself.  It’s knowing we’re the same.

Innocence is a child praying on her knees.

It’s faith and love and dreams and heart.

That’s what Innocence means to me.