Happy Birthday Rob

Dear Rob,

I hope you got the letter from Mom with $ to go get your favorite lemon pie. I thought I would review some of our thoughts 40 years ago as we recieved our first born son. We had been married for a year and a half before we got the conception thing to work. Apparently washing your cloths together was a misleading information. Elaine started out at 98 # and ended up at delivery at almost 150#. In those days the father was not allowed in the room during examination or delivery. I felt like telling the Doctor " Look I know how this happened and the end results why do I have to miss the best part". Anyway that was just the way it was in those days. As most babies you were not much to look at in the first few hours but that changed real soon and we were among the proudest of new parents at BYU. During the first week we took you out with us for a treat and I was feeding you little spoonfuls of ice cream which you took to right off.

Skipping 20 years ,and seven years after having our last child we got our suprise Ashley. No one told us you didn't have children after 44. Elaine told me the news on April Fools Day. How fortunate as grandparents in our sixties to still have a teenager in the house. Well that changes tomorrow. As her delivery approached it became apparent that she would be born on your birthday. I called your mission president to have him tell you and he said " I think you had better call and tell him yourself ". After not being able to concieve a child in the beginning to timing one to the day 20 years apart I think we showed real improvement.

Best Wishes on Your Birthday.

Love ,

Dad

Sweet Ellsworth to the rescue

Tonight after Elaine and I had left for the temple we could not remember if Berlin was asleep in the basement and we knew tha Leisel was at work. I tried to call Leisel but got no answer. The only person I could think of to call then was Ellsworth.

I asked him to go over and see if he could hear a baby crying in the basement but not to try to go down in the basement as there is no handrail.

He could not hear anything but not satisfied he decided he had to go down and look. The only way he could get down the stairs has to sit down on his seat and slide down, step by step. I'm not sure how he got back up. Anyway, he did not find Berlin as Leisel had her.

Regional Conference

Today we had one of those regional conferences broadcast from SLC. Pres. Packer was the concluding speaker. There are many stories of people meeting Pres. Parker in an airport or other places when he was less than warm and friendly. His remarks today were full of humor, stories from his past, and as warm as a beloved grandfather speaking to his children. He counseled us not to live in fear in these troubled times but to pay our tithing and follow the gospel principles.

He briefly talk about Satan coming to earth with is angels. He said that Satan's angels use the same wavelengths in communicating to us as Heavenly Father's angels do and so we must be very careful that we are not deceived by them. That is all he said on the matter. I drew my own conclusions that if any of our inspirations are going against known doctrine or the brethren then we must know it is not of God.

I found very little difference in the inspiration of a televised conference than if we where being taught from our own pulpits.

Love Dad

The End is Near

We have little hope left but to make our street a gated community. Mervyns is closing. That was the canary in the coal mine for our part of town. The former Wendy's, Burger King, and Long John Silvers are now taco shops. The former Bashas is a Food City. We do still have dollar stores and payday loan centers.

Actually 3rd street is one of the nicest cul-de-sac streets in the whole area. Hold on to that thought.

Errol

Pear Harlequin Jelly and Choke Cherry Syrup

This week I had a nice visit with Julie had John. They were down for Rubys baptism. Julie brought us some home made Pear Harliquin jelly and Choke Cherry syrup.

I decided a handwritten thank you letter was in order. I told Julie how much I appreciated the home made preserves and that it brought back memories of home and Mom.

I went on to say that it does not matter how old you get sometimes you just want to go to your Mom and Dad and tell them you are having some problems. I didn't realize that I was overdo for a good cry but it happened after I wrote that sentence and it was a gusher.

I finished by saying that Mom and Dad probably already know of our challenges and are part of a prayer circle on the other side in our behalf.

I appreciated Elder Wirthlins conference talk about how all of us have or will have challenges but we need to focus on our many blessings and find humor where ever we can.

We do that most of the time.

Love Errol

Why I was "B" student

Why I was "B" Student in High School and for that matter in Collage as well

The reason I was "B" student is because I wasn't an "A" student. I wanted to be an "A" student. My sister Julie was valedictorian of our H.S. My sometimes girlfriend Patty Child was an "A" student. My good friend Lamar Walker was an "A" student. If you were on the honor roll they published your name in the Star Valley Independent. I was determined to make the honor roll but it just didn't happen.

If you were a "B" student and member of the national honor society you got to wear a nice white sash over your robe at graduation. I was determined that I would at least wear the white sash at graduation which I did. I also spoke at graduation as senior class president.

The Call line of our heritage has sporadic genius level members. This has shown up in some of my children. As to economics, our one son who barely graduated from high school for lack of interest now makes more money than any of the rest...

In a non related memory from collage I was required to take one chemistry class for my major. This class was taught in one of the amphitheater classes with ever rising rows of seats. The seats we first sat in became our assigned seats for the semester. Most of the students were nursing students, thus were female. I found myself between two of these BYU coeds. The one on the right was of cover girl variety, with skirts that could have at best barely met BYU standards while she was standing. In sitting position there was a lotta leg showing. I can only guess what the view from the professor’s pit was. On my left was a coed who, to be kind, was of the very plain variety and she had bad breath, as well.

When taking a test we would lean over the 12 square inch pull up desk top and I had my choice of a model’s legs on one side or Miss bad breath on the other. Maybe that is why I was "B" student in collage as well.

Errol

contract driver

A couple of weeks ago I got a 50% raise. Mind you 50% of nothing is not much but in this case it actually is something.

 

My route went over 30 hrs. so I am now intitle to health,dental,vision,life,disablity, insurance as well as 24 paid holidays,sick and personal days off. That is over a month of paid working days off in my  9 month work year.

 

Since I had no health ins. at my age this is really quite a big thing. Although I don't work in the summer the benifits are in force in the summer.

 

That along with getting an A.C. bus within a few week period was quite overwhelming for this semi retired guy. Dad