Grandpa Stories

I know that all of you have heard the news about Grandpa. Dad and I are flying to Utah on Friday. The viewing is Sunday at Lindquist Mortuary, from 6:00 until 8:00, and the funeral will be Monday morning at 11:00. Wayne has asked me to be one of the speakers. I would love if you could share with me some of your favorite grandpa stories. If you don't have any favorite stories, what are some of the things you remember about Grandpa, especially from when you were little? I am still trying to think of what I want to say, and any help you could give me would be most appreciated.

I am sad for me, but really happy for my dad. Just think--he is finally free from that old crippled body! The next time he sees his body, it will be perfect. Hooray for resurrection!

I truly love you all. Hope to see you all soon. Claudia

Grandpa is really sick

It's Sunday evening and I should be climbing into bed, but Benet and I just got home from the hospital a little while ago, and I am too wired to sleep. The last four days have been so exhausting, and emotional. Grandpa has been on the verge of death, and is now in intensive care. He had a tear in the bottom of his esophagus and/or the beginning of his stomach, and has been bleeding internally. I won't give too many details, because I don't want Karl to almost pass out again, but after Karl visited him Saturday, Grandpa got worse, and almost died. The doctors also found that he had some artrial fibrillation happening to his heart, so they are treating that also. While he is not out of the woods yet, he did have a much better day today, and I am feeling very calm about it all. Everything is in God's hands, and we are at peace with whatever happens. I am so glad Benet has been here to go through this with me, and I sure appreciate Dad holding down the fort while we are practically living at the hospital.

Anyway, that explains why you haven't heard from me very much. I tried to call, Margie and let you know about everything, and I will probably talk to you, Ryan, about staying at your house if we have to come out west for a funeral. If you want to get more frequent updates, call me on my cell.

Continue to pray for Grandpa and that we can all accept whatever happens. I hope to talk to you all soon.

Love, Claudia

I'm a wuss

Just another funny anecdote from my extremely interesting life. So I was home this weekend because Emily's sister was having a baby shower and I decided to come with (but I did not attend the baby shower, so NO that is not why I am a wuss). Mom was telling me about grandpa and how he fell and his arm was all gross and what not. Well I started feeling funny and got really light headed and had to sit down. I can't even take hearing about gross stuff!! I'm such a wuss. I went and saw him and I was fine. Who knows what's wrong with me. First, I run away from the zodiac and now this...

The Zodiac...

So Emily and I were heading home from the library the other night. She had to watch some bugs bunny cartoons for a class after work and I said I would join her. While leaving, we were talking about this buddhist monestary in Bloomington so we thought we'd drive by to see where it was and what it was like. Don't ask us why we decided to do this at 11:45 at night when it's extremely foggy and creepy out, but we did. Turns out the thing is on old state road 37. You don't have to be familiar with the area to know that OLD STATE ROAD whatever the number is going to be scary. So we turn down this really steep road and at the top I see a reflector, but nothing else. As we get closer turns out the reflector was a guy holding a flashlight standing at the side of the road, looking like he just came out of the woods. Just standing there... waiting for us to pass (or maybe stop). Needless to say, i've been making zodiac jokes since...

Hey Ryan...

...check your email bro. Sent ya something cool.

I loved Contra. What an opus of old-school 8-bit power. How privilidged were we to have cool parents to buy us wicked toys. I recall that Ryan beat this game that very Christmas day. Good times, classic.

Reminds me of another classic Christmas some years later. I had begged Mom and Dad for a Sega Genesis, and when Christmas rolled around, I was the happiest lad in Happyland. I tore open the boxes and found two great games F-22 Flight Simulator and Streets of Rage. Awesome. Do you recall what I didn't find? That's right.No Sega Genesis. I ran up to Mom and Dad where they were sitting on the couch and frantically asked where the system was. Dad looked bemused. "I thought you could just play them on the Nintendo." he said innocently. At this point I started to cry. Dad grinned and reached behind the couch and pulled out one last package. It was salvation I tell you. The greatest moment of my young life.

Geeze I was spoiled.

-Rusty

Wouldn't Chloe look rad...

In this sweet ride?

FYI

If you buy bloody hamburger meat at Costco, and a little bit of the blood spills in your car, CLEAN IT UP IMMEDIATELY!!! If not, you WILL regret it...your car will smell horribly for days.

Thank you very much.

On a light note...

I was just talking to Betsey, and I kept accidentally referring to Edward/Rusty as "Eddie." I don't know where it came from, but it just came out so naturally. It reminds me of Branjolina. I kind of wish that I accidentally uttered "Rustward." That would have been better.

Remind me why I am in school again?

It is 5:12 a.m. I've been up since 3:00 a.m. I woke up at 4:00 yesterday and went to bed at 11:30. I have a full day today...classes and work until 10:00 p.m. Seriously....What am I doing with my life! I just keep thinking..."I decided to go back to school. This is what I want to do. I love this." But it is moments like this that make me wonder.

I hope you all are doing well. I love you all!

The Chard sends his love too. Everyone at church loves his nickname...thanks Margie for coming up with such a fun nick name.

Nobody likes a Mopey Myrvin...

So Meridth called her dad last night, and the first thing he asks her is how soon she can get there. Nick's (Meridth's dad) has had a rough slog of it, fighting through his lymphatic cancer and Meridth and I considered her staying in the US to take care of him. Ultimately, that's what's happening now, but it's been nice to have Meridth here, if only for these last two months. We're not sure how long Meridth will stay in San Diego, but it might make more sense for her to stay there than come back at all. After all, I've only got six months or so left until I too will be winging back to the US.

We got the flight arranged last night, and she's flying out tomorrow. Tomorrow already. It happened so fast, yesterday she called her dad and tomorrow morning she'll be gone. Drag. The real bummer is that she just got a job (one about as lousey as mine) and a calling at church. We even were supposed to give talks this Sunday, can you believe it? There so little time to pack up and arrange everything, plus I taught a seminar today about Bosnia and tomorrow I have to explain Iraq, and I don't know if we'll even get the chance to spend time together before she leaves. So unfair!

Anway, it's a real drag and so I thought I'd share my misery. Keep Nick and Meridth in your thoughts and/or prayers.

-Rusty

Grandpa is in the hospital

Claudia writes,

I don't know how many of you have heard that Grandpa is in the hospital. He fell last week, and while it wasn't a terrible fall, any fall with a senior citizen is serious. Because he is taking coumadin, a blood thinner, he bled internally for at least three days because of the fall, and his arm became inflamed and swollen. they have him in the extended care unit, at least until Tuesday, and they will probably admit him directly into a the nursing home. I know it will be a lot harder in there for him. He is going to have to share a room until a single unit becomes available. He will hate that.

I'm so worried about it all, and I hate second-guessing myself about every decision. I know that for Grandpa's safety it has to be done. He is incredibly feeble, and can hardly get around. I should have acted on the nursing home thing a month ago, but didn't want to take a day off to get him to the doctor.

Anyway, you can send him cards, either to my house or to his old house because they'll forward mail. He sure is proud of you all, and loves hearing from you.

I'll call with updates, or post updates later.

Love, Claudia

Griddle Cafe

Saturday morning, Richard and I went out to breakfast with our friends the Moore's. Well, half of the Moore's, Morgan had to work. she is a personal assistant for some rich woman in Beverly Hills. She had to organize this lady's wine cellar. You can check out Morgan's awesome blog at morganmoore.typepad.com. She is a crafty genius! We were accompanied by Chris and their son Henry.

We went to this place called the Griddle Cafe. It was DELICIOUS!!! It was featured on Rachael Ray's show Tasty Travels. Their pancakes are huge and so wonderful! They have really fun and interesting toppings for the pancakes like carmel, pumpkin pie filling and oreo cookies.

Richard got the following item
Black Magic” ~ Disbelief will possess you as you’re pulled under the spell of our Oreo crumb filled flapjacks…....Topped with whipped cream and Oreo cookie pieces. (Reality or illusion?!)

My pancakes aren't on the online menu, but I got pancakes that tasted like coffee cake. SO GOOD.

We could barely finish 1/4 of the pancakes and ate them for dinner too. It was a delicious treat and a very nice way to spend a Saturday morning

Mostly for Ryan...

Hey Ryan! You and the missus need to see "Hot Fuzz" when it comes out in the states in late April. Meridth and I saw it tonight and it was an absolute blast. Really a funny movie. I don't know if anyone else saw 2005's "Shawn of the Dead," but it was a comedic send-up to zombie movies. A bit gorey, but fantastic. The same team has gotten together again to do a humourous take on action flicks. You'll adore it Ryan.

-Rusty

did you guys hear about this?

did anybody happen to hear about the gunman that killed 5 people before being taken down by police in the trolley square mall here in salt lake city? here is a link
click me . we're good friends with the off duty officer involved. Chloe was in his wedding! anyway, its been all over the news here.

crazy stuff

-ryan

Perfect Valentine's Gift

I can't believe it! The blizzard gave me an opportunity to find the perfect Valentine's gift for your dad. I made him a delicious supper on Valentine's eve, made a homemade devil's food cake with cream cheese frosting, and helping him shovel out the driveway. He seemed really happy about it all, so even if we don't do anything else today (the roads are all closed), we had a really nice time together.

You should see Rusty and Meridth's car. It is parked where we always park the extra car, on the side of the driveway, out of the way of the garage door, and the right side and front are literally buried by a huge snow drift. The snow on the engine hood is taller than the roof of the car. I'll have dad bring his camera home from GM so we can get a picture for you. It is still quite windy today, so clean up effort are hampered by continuous drifting. I could really get used to this no-school stuff.

Hope to hear from you all!
Claudia

Remember Nicholas Graham?

It's the weirdest thing. When I got home from school yesterday there was a Christmas card in the mail from Nicholas Graham. The way it was addressed looked as if he had started to address it, but then finished it later because he didn't have our address. It turns out he had written the card at Christmas, but then sent it when he got home from his mission on February first. Yes, you heard me right--a mission. Inside the card was a picture of him, and one of those form letters that he would have sent to 150 people.

Anyway, in the form letter he was talking about his mission, and it was the strangest thing--he started out serving his mission in the Boise, Idaho area, but finished his mission in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission. As I recall, the same kind of thing happened to his brother--he started out in South Korea, and ended up in Texas. Weird! It kind of makes you wonder what happened. Isn't he your age Betsey?

So, just in case anyone wants to contact him, his email is nickguitarguy1@gmail.com and his home address is 8174 North Road in Severn, Maryland 21144. He has told me on several occasions that he has wonderful memories of spending time in our home, and really loves the way all our family has always accepted him, and treated him kindly.

On another unrelated note, I will briefly mention this because I know in his modesty Karl would never say anything, but Ed and I just received a letter inviting us to honor Karl's academic prowess at the Founder's Day celebration and reception on March 24th. Way to go, Karl!

All my love,
Claudia

I COOL TOO!!!

This was about two years ago. I had my hair pretty long this year, but cut it for some interview stuff. I wish i wouldn't have, but emily thinks I'm handsome :)

So Karl...

What book did you decide to read for your class? Inquiring minds want to know!
betsey

Ya mean ya wan' me ta take pichas?!?

Hair's gettin' long.

-Rusty

Ambition Fatigue

I donno if I'm the only one who gets this way, but I'm getting a bit sick of trying so damn hard to achieve stuff. It's like everyday I've got to do the whole academic fencing thing in my classes, puting forth the herculean effort to always stay ahead of the curve, to always be able to back up my points with half a dozen examples, both historic and contemporary, all for what? So I can eventually be too embarassed to tell people I work for the FBI? Why am I trying to do something that is (by my perspective) so ambitious? Especially when I recognize that I don't even like the competitive aspects; that I could be happy with a simpler profession.

And I would be (will be?) embarassed to tell people I'm a Special Agent for the "Bureau." I already get a little sheepish telling people that it's my goal. Hell, I'll probably get the business from you guys for mentioning it. Anyway, it's ambition fatigue. I just get sick of trying so hard. Anybody else get this way? How do you guys deal with it?

On a semi-related note, I've been mulling over the fact that my ten-year high school reunion is in only two years. In a lot of ways (and trust me, I wouldn't get caught dead telling this to anybody but you guys. Feel lucky.) I'm that "nerd-made-good." But I really would rather just be a nerd. Margie, Ryan, did you guys go to your ten-years? Are you planning to Betsey? I just feel like I don't know how to relate to "Decatur-ness" anymore. I haven't been back all that much. Which reminds me of one last whiner-point I wanted to make. Ready for a pity-party? I was looking at the early-earlier posts and saw the pictures of Thanksgiving and realized that I hadn't been home for Thanksgiving since Clinton was in the Whitehouse. It was Thanksgiving 1998 in fact. I miss you guys, and while my rambling lifestyle has had it's advantages, there are drawbacks too, and I sometimes wonder why I bother.

Anyway, the picture above is by a contemporary of Gustav Klimt called Egon Schiele. (Turns out Klimt refused to trade artwork with the guy cos he thought Schiele was far better.) He was Austrian, turn of the last century, hung aroud Vienna. The guy draws hands like a champ, and I skillfully chose a painting that fails to demonstrate this. Rats. I love the angles that he uses to portray the human form. It's brutal in a way. Speaking of brutal, that's a good word to describe Schiele's nudes. They're almost pornographic and can only be recommended with caution and prudence. It was the high days of Freud, so that's the school. Y'know, reacting to the stuffy Victorians. Klimt was the same way. Anyway, I love this particular painting and I've got some more I might post later. The second painting is quite uncharacteristic of its creator's style. John Singer Sargeant is widely regarded as the greatest American portraitist ever (Meridth says that Burt Silverman would give him a run for his money, but I like Sargeant.) He got paid a lot of money in the early 1900's to make ugly old people look good and he certainly didn't love doing it, but he really produced some fantastic portraits. This picture however is a personal favorate because it portrays an Austrian cemetary in Tyrol, not all that far from where I spent half my mission. The graveyards do look remarkably like this with gnarled crosses and little shrines. Catholicism may have a lot of dirty priests, but I'll be damned if they weren't responsible for some of the greatest art ever, even if, as in this case, indirectly. Things to notice here, or stuff I loved: the color palette, the impressionistic background, the textures and angles, it's almost proto-abstract. Art is cool. Believe it.

Help me!

I have to pick a book from this list to review for my stress management class. What should i pick?

Self-Help Stress Management

_ 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin
_ The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama
_ The Art of Serenity: The Path to a Joyful Life in the Best and Worst of Times by T. B. Karasu
_ The Book for People Who Do Too Much by B.T. Greive
_ Breakaway Laughter: how to lighten up—despite it all by N. Crockett
_ Breakout Creativity by Rick Crandall
_ Calming Your Anxious Mind by J. Brantley
_ Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness by J. Kabat-Zinn
_ The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing Stress by Jeff Davidson
_ Cool Cats, Calm Kids: Relaxation and Stress Management for Young People by Williams
_ The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes you Fat and Ruins Your Health by S. Talbott
_ Destructive Emotions by Dalai Lama
_ Eliminating Stress, Finding Inner Peace by B. Weiss
_ The End of Stress as We Know It by B. McEwen
_ Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by S. Jeffers
_ Fighting Invisible Tigers: A Stress Management Guide for Teens by E. Hipp
_ From Panic to Power by L. Bassett
_ Full Catastrophe Living by Kabat-Zinn
_ Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
_ The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
_ by Thich Nhat Hanh
_ How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by D. Carnegie
_ I’d Kill for a Cookie: A Simple Six-Week Plan to Conquer Stress Eating by Susan Mitchell
_ Making Stress Work for You by H. Graham
_ Man and His Symbols by Jung
_ Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy by V. Frankl
_ Mind Your Heart by A. Casey
_ The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hahn
_ More Hot Stuff to Help Kids Chill Out: The Anger and Stress Management Book by J. Wilde
_ Nasty People: How to Stop Being Hurt by Them Without Becoming One of Them by J. Carter
_ Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
_ Perfectionism: What’s Bad About Being Too Good? By M. Adderholdt-Elliott
_ Relaxation Response by H. Benson
_ The Simple Living Guide by J. Luhrs
_ Stress Less by D. Colbert
_ Stressed-Out Girls: Help them Thrive in the Age of Pressure by Cohen-Sandler
_ Stress Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Wellness by E. Charlesworth
_ Stress Management: Psychological Foundations by S. Auerbach
_ Stress Management for Dummies by A. Elkin
_ Time Management from the Inside Out by J. Morgenstern
_ A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech
_ Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by R. Sapolsky
_ The Wheel of Life by Kubler-Ross
_ The Worry Cure by R. Leahy
_ You Want Me to Work with Who? By J. Jansen
_ Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer

Resilient Personalities

_ Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by B. Obama
_ It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Live by L. Armstrong
_ My Path to Tibet by S. Tenberken
_ NOW: No Opportunity Wasted by Phil Keoghan
_ Night by Elie Weisel

Sports Psychology

_ Mental Edge: Maximize Your Sports Potential with the Mind-Body Connection by K. Baum
_ Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella
_ In Pursuit of Excellence: How to Win in Sport and Life through Mental Training by Terry Orlick
_ Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior by Phil Jackson
_ The Sport Psychology Handbook: A Complete Guide to Today's Best Mental Training Techniques by Shane Murphy
_ Mental Training for Peak Performance by Steven Ungerleider
_ Body Mind Mastery: Creating Success in Sport and Life by Dan Millman

Who?!?!

So I figured you'd all get a kick out of this shot of Brandon. He was messing with my Photobooth and snapped this crazy shot of himself. It doesn't even look like him. But I guess that's the point.

It's been a while since I've logged an entry but you are all keeping me entertained and I'm appreciative. We were in Erie this past weekend for Papa's memorial service. It was a nice service. They opened the pulpit just like testimony meeting and people got up and shared memories. Papa had been an algebra teacher and football coach in the small community of Harborcreek for 50 years. He was a strict teacher that instilled a healthy-level of fear in his student yet also seemed to garner a generous amount of respect from the community. He even had Brandon's mom in class in the early sixties and I think that might have been how Nana and Papa originally met. Nana was a widow with three daughters all in early high school. Brandon's real grandfather passed away suddenly at 36 and Nana was left to take care of the girls. She did a great job but I'm sure was grateful for the companionship that Papa provided for nearly 40 years. He'll be missed.

Anyway. The service made me think about impact. The church was full and I guess you could say at 80 year's old he had made an impact in other's lives. I wonder who will be at my funeral? I wonder what they'll say? "Boy did she manage that Ceilings Project gracefully." "That ad strategy and plan was top-notch." Probably. But would it be true? Or better yet does it mean any thing? Who really cares? Not looking for any real answers, just thinking out loud.

Alright. I need to run. Lilly's home and needs to be taken out. I need to head to the gym and then hopefully do a little work. A fun little Wednesday night, you could say.

I love and miss you all
-M

sorry, another car post

i just wanted to throw another one up there. i heard that pontiac was going to rebadge this new holden commodore as the new pontiac G8. this car is the bee's knees. i think i'm more excited about this car than the astra, but i'm not sure. i'd bet this car will be in the low 30k price range, and i'll be saving my pennies now. hot diggity dog. the is one handsome car, but what makes me more excited is the little clip they had on abc showing a glimpse of the front end of this car badged as the pontiac and it was even more impressive. link to said video can be seen here click me . way way excited. ok, thats it. i just had to tell someone. i've already showed all the guys at work.

oh, on a side note. ashley has been in a cheerleading camp all week. we are very excited for her performance during the half-time of Ogden High's next basketball game. today casey and ashley went with her to practice and chloe had a blast playing around with the girls. unfortunately, ashley has finally come to the age where she is embarrased to have her parents around. she was giving casey the stink eye the whole time. teenagers, you give them an inch, they swim all over you. (name that quote). ok have fun all

-ryan

Castro, the crashmobile, and a yearning desire

Seeing Ryan's car post got me to thinking about cars... my first car specifically, a 1988 GMC Sierra 1500 (mine in the same sense that the tracker was marjorie's). Beautiful red paint, the way it would die when you tried to punch it through an intersection, leaving you somewhere in the middle with cars barreling down on you, the fact that it didn't start in temperatures under 20. Even with all this i still love that truck and would love to have it back. I looked for a picture of one on the internet typing "gmc sierra 1988 red 1500" into a google image search and down the line I got a picture of Fidel Castro. Maybe Fidel has the same longing for a 1988 GMC Sierra like I do. Maybe he's so lucky to have one himself. Maybe he's got mine!! All these thoughts about old cars reminded me of the crashmobile and her better looking younger sister the white wagon. How about the Ford Crown Victoria. Why did you ever sell that ryan? Man dad has had a lot of cars.

dude. this car is bad to the bone. i just found out that saturn is rebadging the opel astra. from what i gather it will come with an optional 260 hp turbo 4 cylinder (from the sky/solstice?). mmmmm tasty.

that is all

-ryan

BEARD UPDATE!!!

On impulse I shaved off the beard, keeping a pair of long bushy chops. Meridth is excited to see my gizzard again. It had been awhile. I realize that you might not in fact be excessivly interested about my facial hair growth, but in my delusional world, your daily lives center around my shaving habits. So enjoy the pic of my clean neck-meats!
-Rusty

What are your plans for the V-Day?

Happy Monday everyone! I was just wondering what everyone is planning on doing for their Valentines Day Celebrations (aka Casey's birthday FYI). Does anyone have any surprises for their spouse/significant other? I tried to surprise Richard by getting him a CD of one of his favorite bands (Gypsy Kings), but he arrived home first, got the mail, and Amazon.com had the portion of the invoice where it says what is inside exposed...so Richard knows what I got him. Bummer. Anyway, we are also going to celebrate this Saturday night by going to this nice restaurant called AOC, which is a tapas place. Richard was taken there by a law firm when he was interviewing and really liked it. Then we are going to a movie. Pretty standard. Anyone have an romantic tricks up their sleeves?

Dad is on board.

Just so you know, I am writing this for Dad. I think he still has his spelling phobia. Honestly, when he has to write emails for work, he sits there with his dictionary, because he wants to be sure he has it right.

Anyway, he loves all your comments! He hasn't read everything yet, but he is so happy that you guys are all staying in touch and sharing your experiences. I think this is the greatest gift that children can give their parents--that they all get along and like each other; that they care about each other and want to be a part of their lives and families.

It is a frigid Saturday afternoon, pre-Superbowl. Dad is working on his office above the pool (finally). Sometimes I worry about his crazy ideas, but then, when he gets done, it all turns out so cool. I know that you will all appreciate his office when next you visit Indiana. Who knows when that will be? I sure miss you all.

As per usual, I am sitting in the kitchen grading papers. Only seven more years before I retire. I just signed my letter of intent to return to FWCS for the next school year, so I guess I need to find a better way to interest the students in mathematics. Hey, Margie, that book that you wrote about in Betsey's book club blog sounds like it could be useful in helping me to discover how to motivate my students. I'll have to go back and look for the title.

Speaking of books, I just ordered a book from the NPR bookstore called "This I Believe". It is a compilation of the broadcasts by the same name, and I am going to use them in school for our reading time during homeroom. Am I wrong to believe that seventh graders need a small dose of reality to help them prepare for the future? I have always said, "If you can't be immature when you're twelve, when can you be immature?" How much immaturity should I let them get away with? Anyway, I do love those broadcasts, and want to write one someday--maybe this summer.

Well, I should get back to my grading. Dad says to tell you all he loves you. (What, no sarcastic barbs?) Call anytime. We love hearing from you.

Mom and Dad

You guys heard about these shennanigans yet? It seems a couple of greasy artist-type marketrs advertising for the "Aqua Team Hunger Force" movie placed several lightboards with this na'er-do-well on them a few weeks ago. I thought it was a fairly weak stab at guerrilla marketing, but apparently someone mistook them for an explosive devise and a whole hulabaloo has arisen. Charges have been filed. 9/11 was invoked. Yuck. Terrorism at its silliest. Anyway, read all about it on CNN. (After all, CNN's parent company is behind it all.)