What Is That? – Photo Edition

“What is that?” is the most common question the kids have asked while cleaning? This is the fourth installment and is the first photo edition. You can read the first three here and here, and here.

These pictures are from all over the house (Great Room, garage, basement, and main living area).

What Is That?

A mouse skeleton we found in some old insulation

A really old pair of snow shoes (possibly made by my Mom’s Dad?)

Two sets of deer horns from deer my Dad killed

Some type of shell my mother kept

Two old large pipe cutters

An old oil lantern (antique?) of unknown functionality

The Kawasaki motorcycle that I jumped into the canal behind my house

A bathroom sink of unknown origin

The Husqvarna motorcycle my Dad used to race up Widowmaker

A big pile of staples we found on the garage floor in a mess of spiderwebs

Three broken weed eaters (we threw others away before I can grab pics)

The tire from my Dad’s first car?

The watering jug that time forgot

An elk horn that my sons want to turn into a weapon (like a Klingon Bat’ leth)

A pair of chest waders that I wouldn’t trust to cross a rain gutter

A box of glass jars (this was repeated ad nauseam)

Roller skates that (hopefully) belonged to my sister

A gallon jar of brown sugar from the 20th century (does it ever go bad?)

A Kerosene heater we (only occasionally) used while I was growing up

A can green paint (I think 1963 is a code for the color, but could the purchase date)

A Garbage Can that is just happy that it can be helpful (unlike the kids)

a SMALL sampling of various tools

A canteen I’m going to pretend was Grandpa’s WWII companion (possible!)

A ceramic chicken that now greets us at the door each day

A really old fire extinguisher that I think Mom wants to turn into a lamp

And finally, my favorite find to date, a Yahtzee score card used by my good friend Darby Golub (circa 1985-88?). There was a time we spent every waking moment together. Darby was killed just a week after I got home from my mission and I never got to see him. I still have the program from his funeral in my personal hymnal. This find is special to me. RIP my friend!

At this point we really have transitioned from cleaning/organizing to construction. So don’t expect another installment of What Is That? anytime soon… but more will come at some point. We WILL finish cleaning out the basement AND the garage… And I’m sure that there are a ton of gems to be found in those places!

16 July 2017

Scouting – Raising and Training Young Men

This is content first appeared on my Facebook page regarding my Scout, Joshua, and his most recent camping adventure. I’m reposting it here for saving.

Scout Camp 7/14/17-7/15/17

Joshua and his scout troop had a local campout last night. Josh came home exhausted and said it was great, and said the boys were up almost all night.

I later heard that some of the other parents were angry that their son had stayed up late and were subsequently tired all day today. Apparently this anger was directed at the Scoutmaster. If true, I think that it is misplaced.

I’ll talk in generalities because I don’t know which parents/child this story refers to. Those… names weren’t part of the telling that I heard. and it doesn’t really matter. Regardless, having been a 12-13 yr old scout, and having a 12 yr old son right now, in my opinion if blame is to be had for lack of sleep on the scouts part (including my own scout) the blame rests with the SCOUT.

Scouting and responsibility

As my scout relayed it to me, they were told of the curfew, and they were called in from their playing and told that they were past their curfew. Unless you think that a Scoutmaster should be tucking them all into bed, then I think he did his job just fine. The entire program is designed for the boys to be in charge and making the decisions.

I know not everyone parents the same, but I expect my Scout to be trained how to think and act for himself. To learn the relationship between responsibility and consequences. A Scoutmaster isn’t a babysitter, and Scouts aren’t babies. They should be allowed to make choices and be held accountable for them – good and bad.

If your scout is informed, and reminded, but chooses to ignore, then it is on them! Unless their behavior is in someway immoral or injurious, I would want a Scoutmaster to let the Scouts make their own decisions and live with the consequences. Staying up late isn’t injurious, and isn’t in any way immoral or inherently bad/wrong. So give the boys responsibilities and let them THEM be held accountable.

That seems like a good way to help these men who are young turn into men who are great! And I think our Scoutmaster is doing a GREAT job of helping make that happen.

Thanks Gregory Robert Adams!

This post got nothing but positive comments and “likes” on Facebook. I hope that is an indication that others are trying to raise their sons with the same sense of responsibility that I’m trying to raise mine with.

I hope it didn’t bring any embarrassment to our great Scoutmaster Greg. He does a great job with our boys. I know that my son for one really thinks highly of him.

12 July 2017

Looking for a Binky… How Joshua Fails At Life

This post is for you if any of the following apply:

You know Joshua

You like to laugh at Joshua

You are considering having a child

You have a child

You wonder why that child can’t find anything, ever

You like to look at grass!

9 July 20179 July 2017

A Genuine Smile

Bluffdale 1st Ward

The Jensens attended church today with the Bluffdale 1st ward. That is the ward that I grew up in and will be attending again once we move. It was quite nice to see the large number of people that are still there from when I was a little boy.

We attended there today (and hopefully will often) so that the kids can try to make some friends before school starts. It would be nice for them to already know people on their first day so that they can fit in just a little bit easier. So we took the drive from PG to Bluffdale so that they could have that opportunity.

I am sure that only a few know we are moving in, and fewer knew we would be attending services with them today. So they were not expecting us. That set the stage for two nice experiences for me (or perhaps for the same nice experiment twice?).

A Genuine Smile

Twice today, I passed someone who was an adult in the ward while I was growing up, and I said, “Hello ______” and called them by their first name. Both times this person replied, “Hello” in a kind but unfamiliar way and started to move on. But when I extended my hand to shake, they took a moment and really looked at me.

Both of these fine gentlemen then flashed a genuine smile and said something close to “Oh! Hi Richard. It’s so good to see you. How have you been?” While they were polite and cordial with me when they thought we were strangers, when they realized that they knew me, their behavior changed to reflect genuine affection.

Rarity

This was a rarity for me. The only time I ever get that kind of ‘brotherly kindness’ shown to me from someone outside my household is one particular saint of a man in Missouri. I don’t know if or when I’ll see him again. And I am bereft of friends here in Utah. So just this simple extension of recognition and a genuine smile felt good to someone for whom it rarely happens.

Since my Army days I’m more cantankerous and introverted. I don’t expect to make many new friends (and all my efforts so far seem to have failed). There isn’t a whole lot about me to like or to want to spend time with. But these two men knew me before. They knew me when I was young, healthy, and energetic. I’d like to think they remember me as someone who smiled and was outgoing, instead of someone who grimaced or scowled. They know me as I used to be; and how I would wish to be again someday. They remember a version of me I like. They were happy to see me, which isn’t something that ever happens to me any more.

So it was small and simple – a genuine smile. By now they probably don’t even remember it and it probably meant nothing to them. But the encounters were meaningful to me. They uplifted me today. And for that I am grateful.

7 July 2017

Dentist, CWAC and Wiring

Today started early! That alarm at 6:30am was not welcome at all. For a day crammed with dentist, wiring, and a pitbull, I would have preferred more sleep. I’m firmly of the opinion that the world shouldn’t exist at that time. Alas…

Dentist

The reason for the early morning was Joshua’s 8am dentist appointment for a temporary crown. This was compounded by the fact that the dentist is in Riverton, a 30 or so minute drive from Pleasant Grove.

Leaving the rest of the family home, Julie, Joshua, and I left at 7am for my parents place in Bluffdale. There Julie and Joshua jumped into my parents car and headed to the appointment. This was fine with my parents as they sleep late into the day (we often wake them up well after 10am to start working.)

Josh received his temporary crown and has an appointment for the permanent one in a few weeks. The temp one though was given with instructions to not eat any apples… poor kid might starve!

Errands

I left as soon as I dropped them off in Bluffdale and headed toward SLC. I must have been ahead of the worst of traffic because I made it with a lot of time to spare before my group session. So I ran quite a few errands.

First stop was Home Depot to get the supplies that we needed to complete a handful of tasks. This included the can lights so we can finish the wiring, and a few odd plumbing pieces.

Next was the bank. Their drive up window says it is open at 8:30 and I pulled in at precisely that time. A woman was there who explained she got stuck in traffic and would need a 10 minutes or so to get up and running. I took the time to fill up on gas across the street. After cashing few checks I was off to the VA.

Dental Issues Again

With still 90 minutes until my session I was off to enrollment. I had a few days prior called to schedule an appointment with VA Dental clinic but they declined to make me an appointment, saying I wasn’t eligible. This was surprising to me because I was receiving dental care in Little Rock.

So I needed to visit enrollment to clarify my eligibility. The guy at enrollment was awesome. As soon as I explained what I needed he looked me up and sighed. “Yes, you are clearly eligible. Who did you talk to over there? Man or woman” I told him a guy. “*sigh That’d be the guy you just moved from here over to that office. I’ll get it straightened out.” So he made a phone call (rather than making me do it) and politely corrected the person who answered that, yes, I did qualify for dental coverage, and made the appointment for me next week.

Good service from the VA? I’m amazed! Kudos to Jacob at the SLC VA Enrollment office! You were great!!

With those miscellaneous errands done I was off to my group session.

Wiring

Because I was able to complete all of my errands before group, I had about 2.5 hours to kill before my CWAC meeting. So I cruised back down to Bluffdale and helped Julie and Joshua who were expertly handling the wiring in the bedrooms.

They had it handled, but it moved faster with me there. I have this magic ability to save time be being able to reach things in high places without moving around ladders or chairs. Go me! I also dropped of the cans that I had picked up earlier. After I left with Josh to go to CWAC Julie was able to get some of those installed and wired as well.

If we get this house done by our “deadline” it will be entirely thanks to Julie’s hard work and skill.

Canines With A Cause

Today was my first CWAC meeting with dogs present. Because I don’t have one of my own I was handling one of their dogs in training. Today I was paired with Piper, a female black Pitbull who was a great joy to work with.

At this stage the meetings are NOT about training the dogs nearly as much as they are about training US, the handlers, how to deal with them. We used clickers and chunks of hot dogs as treats to learn how to shape the animals behavior.

Just being around the dog helped my feel better. It filled the void of losing Chief, my Great Pyrenees we had in MO. I’ll be working with a different dog next week, but I don’t mind. I’m just happy to be around one at all. My mother in law absolutely won’t allow me to have one here at her house, so I can’t get one until we’ve moved anyway. So I’ll gladly take what I can get now and anxiously look forward to moving and getting a dog of my own.

When that was done Josh and I jumped back into the van, picked up Julie, and headed home. It was a hot and tiring day, with far too many miles, but it was productive. Josh saw a dentist. My meetings went well. I have an appointment with a dentist. Julie got a lot of wiring done. Dad was able to get a lot of the plumbing done. The sheet rocker visited and got us in his schedule. Hopefully we can string a lot of these type days together … minus the heat!