Do You Know What A Drawing Room Is?

Bill Bryson can write a great book. (A Walk In The Woods; In a Sunburned Country; The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid) Bill Bryson can write a boring book. (A Short History of Nearly Everything)

At Home: A Short History of Private Life is both. In a tour of the English house he lives in, he tells us how we got from living in caves to the homes we live in today. Scattered throughout the chapters you will find yourself saying, “Ok Bryson, move along,” but it is fun to learn the origin and history of many of the things we take for granted today; like rooms.

One of the things I found most interesting, Bryson doesn’t even comment on. Taxes. One of the mottoes of fiscally conservative thought is “if you tax something you get less of it.” Three examples of that are in this book. When pane glass was first invented the government put a tax on glass. People built their homes without windows, or at least with very small ones. When the tax was removed, people bought glass, glass factories sprouted everywhere, and there was an employment boom. The same thing happened with wallpaper and soap. It was a great day for cleanliness when the king lifted the soap tax.

Compare these with our high unemployment rate. Our government taxes employment. If you tax employment, you get less of it. Social Security, Medicare, Worker’s Comp, Health Insurance (for over 50 employees), all work to keep unemployment high. Add to that the uncertainty caused by congress’ inability to act and we are in for more high unemployment figures.

Even as our government debates the estate tax, also known as the inheritance tax or the death tax, Bryson tells some interesting history of its beginning in England. Beginning at just 5% it increased until it became 60%. It is a popular tax for governments to impose because it affects so few people each year. During the years of the 60% estate tax, England lost many of its treasures. When people died, their heirs had yard sales to raise the cash to pay the tax. They sold their heirlooms. Among other things, they sold “Paintings, tapestries, jewels, books, porcelain, silver plate, rare stamps.” Most of these landed in the collections of Americans. I wonder if there is any lesson for us from this history.

Anyway, if you have an inquisitive mind at all, I recommend this book to you. Oh, the drawing room; read the book.

Reason 8

Reason #8 for a Road Trip—Signs or Spider Pig, Spider Pig


Driving into the Florida swamp we came across this warning sign. Hmmm, we wondered, exactly what is it we are too look out for? Could be a bear, but it could be a pig. After all, we were going into swampland, pig country, not forestland. Down the road we found another sign that clarified the issue. It was the same strange animal, with a baby following. No doubt here, it was a cub not a piglet. We got a lot of conversation out of this sign

The other sign that we saw was at a rest stop in Missouri. Well, I said we, but only I saw it. Jen just saw the picture I took. When I saw this sign I took it to heart and stood there until I could not wait another minute. It is not true. You do have to use your hands!

To Infinity and Beyond

Pause in the reasons for driving while I share the reason for going at all. We were headed to Orlando to see our son and grandson. We had three great days with them. One day to Walt Disney World, one day to just play around, and one day to the Kennedy Space Center. These we would have done whether we drove, flew, or walked.
It is tough to live 2500 miles away from your only grandchild. You have to make the most of every second you have, so every visit is cram packed with activities and little time to just relax together. This time though, he said, “Hi Grandma,” as soon as he saw Jen. He is beginning to remember us from visit to visit.
He seems to be into something different every time. Last summer it was race cars. We raced cars on the floor, in the pickup bed, at the beach, at the restaurant. He had a race car with him everywhere we went. This winter it was hockey. We played hockey down the hall, we played hockey in the street, we played hockey on the mezzanine at the E Center while a real hockey game was going on. This weekend it started with a race car, but it was quickly surrendered for an airplane and then a rocket ship. After our trip through pirates of the Caribbean, we played pirates for hours. I just hope there wasn’t anyone in the room below us as our little pirate hit the floor after being shot or stabbed, over and over.
We are on our way back west now. More reasons we are glad we drove later.

Reasons 5 & 6

Reason # 5 14,000 foot Mountains.(from the bottom up)
The mountains we drove through are the same mountains we fly over. They look different from the top. There is something amazing when seeing them from an airplane window. There is something awe inspiring when seeing them from the ground. At one point, while tooling along the highway, Jen was reading aloud from our devotional book. As we were meditating on the author’s words we could see four of the 14ers and the ground sloping up to them unmarred by anything man made. The view caused both of us to regard the magnificence of creation and of the mighty God we serve. Wow!

(Picture is Mt. Massive from the 2nd Fairway of Mt. Massive Golf Course, Leadville, Colorado)

Reason #6 Stars
Reason number 6 is similar to reason number 6. When we walked to our cabin last night it was late. Well, it was late for us, around 9:30. Looking up into the sky, we could see millions, maybe billions of stars. It was a night sky invisible to us at home in the city. But in Lake City, really misnamed, it should be Lake Village, the night sky more closely resembled the sky Abraham observed. It was while looking into a starry filled sky that God promised him descendants more numerous than the stars.
We went on in the cabin. Profane person that I am, I turned ESPN on to check the day’s events. Jen found her hat and gloves and went back outside, lay back on a bench and played like an astronomer. There is something about looking into a black night sky, sprinkled with the light of the stars, to make a person think of eternity, and the eternal one.

ROADSIDE SERINDIPITIES

ROADSIDE SERINDIPITIES

Reasons 2,3,4 not to fly cross country.

2. Lunch. Look at this lunch spot and compare it to the city diner in any airport and tell me, which is the better lunch site? This isn’t even taking into consideration the homemade chicken salad sandwich vs the sterile deli bought one.

3. Golf. We have stopped twice now along the way for a stroll around a 9 hole golf course. By the time we get to the east coast and back, Jen may be a golfer.

4. Fresh peach. Need I say more? Colorado peaches are in season, there are roadside stands all along the way. I saw a vendor selling fresh apples in the Albuquerque airport once, but only once.

By the way, saving money is not a reason to not fly. My bookkeeper tells me we have already spend enough to have purchased two round trip tickets.

SMALL TOWNS

SMALL TOWNS
You have to love small towns. They have an ambiance and a pace of their own. We drove into Meeker, Colorado about 4 pm. We didn’t know whether we were going to stay there or 38 miles on down the road at Rifle. When we passed the golf course Jen suggested we play nine holes for a little exercise.

We went to the golf course; no sense turning down the opportunity, especially if Jen suggests it. It was described as the Meeker golf course and steak house. There were workers putting a stucco coat on the outside of the building. We wandered in the only open door and found ourselves in the steak house. We wandered around and found the pro shop but no Pro. We looked around, waited, tried to look conspicuous, but no one showed up.

Finally we went back into the restaurant and asked the bar tender. She said, “Oh, Jim is probably out playing. Just go ahead and play and you can pay when you finish.” We ran into Jim on the first tee. He said to play and settle up after we were through. Jim was about to play the back 9. (the back 9 and the front 9 are the same 9)

After golf we went looking for grub. The Meeker Café, located in the Meeker hotel in downtown historic Meeker was advertised in our guide book as an excellent chicken fried steak. Theodore Roosevelt is said to have stayed in the Meeker hotel. When we walked in the door, we realized that there was some kind of an event in progress. The Meeker medical community was welcoming their new doctor to town. I had a nice visit with the hospital CEO and Jen with the director of planning and development. They invited us to just get a plate and visit their buffet. It is a good thing, because the restaurant was closed, due to “a special event.”

Alas, when we found a Motel, there was someone there to take our money and assign a room. Pretty normal there.

Fear of Flying

I am not a fan of air travel. The time savings are nice, and if time is essential, worth the hassle. But every time while flying I look out the window, I know I am missing too much.
From 35,000 feet you can see so much more than you can from the 3 feet of your car seat; but you experience so much less. Flying over the Great Plains the other day I could see the earth beneath me laid out in nice neat one section squares. Some of the squares were further divided into two or three rectangles. In many sections you see circles touching all four sides of the square, but leaving gaps in the corners.
Then you can see the towns. Interestingly most of them neatly occupy two to four of the squares. To the air traveler who is even looking, they are just nameless little burgs that break up the landscape.
That is when I wish I was driving, and not on the interstate. We hurry too much across the country. Who lives in the town? What kind of businesses are there? You know there are churches and schools. Who is the pastor? How far do the kids travel to attend a consolidated school? All the questions we never ask, because we are flying over or buzzing by on the interstate.
I notice a clump of hills, not too far from one of the towns. On top of each hill, it looks like some giant bird flew by and left it spattered white. I would like to know what that is. If my Tahoe was my transportation, I could drive over and take a look, or at least stop and ask someone. Of course, if I were driving by in my Tahoe, I probably wouldn’t even know it was there, just some hills in the distance. I can’t even go back and look because I have no idea where we were.
Next month we are driving to the east coast. Our plan is to stop and experience a lot of the places we normally go over or around. Check in later, there might be some good stories.

Bush Haters Beware

If you hate George W. Bush and are content to hate him based on erroneous and biased reporting, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Karl Rove was there from the beginning. He explains all that happened in a reasoned way. He gives the explanations that were not forthcoming from the president at the time. Unlike our current president W. felt that it was beneath the dignity of the office of president to get in a spitting contest with every critic on the public airways.

Rove admits there were mistakes. He does however strongly defend the choices that ended up with war in Iraq, including reminding the short memories of those who forgot all those who agreed with Bush when the choice was made.

He explains Katrina and the way decisions were made and not made. For example, in Mississippi and Alabama, two states that had capable leadership in place, the help from FEMA was excellent. Rove explains the battle between the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisana and how that affected the help the Feds could offer. Unknown to many, FEMA couldn't just take over. They either had to be invited to do so by the governor, who wouldn't give the invitation, or by declaring Louisana in a state of insurrection which Bush was hesitant to do.

He explains the 2000 election dispute with Gore. He reminds us that when the count was in Bush won. When the recounted Bush won. When the Florida supreme court went against Florida law and called another recount, Bush won. The supreme court of the US voted 9-0 that the Florida Supreme Court overstepped its bounds. In a second vote it voted in favor of Bush 7-2. In the third vote,it voted in favor of Bush 7-2. And finally the vote to stop all the recounting, was 5-4.

Later after all the votes were in, all the chads as far as possible examined, it was decided that Bush won the election. So why are there still those that say Bush cheated to win? Because they hate George Bush and they want to believe that.

This is a great look at inside the Bush whitehouse, by someone who was there. Read it. I highly recommend it.

UTAH TO THE PAC 10 (12) or Could I possibly be a Utah Man, Sir?

Well I hope Utah isn't about to fade into National insignificance. HUH? How can you say that Rodger when they are now in the Pac 12? Well, for those not under the influence of Ute Mania, who can look objectively at the situation, a glance at history would tell them there are hazzards ahead.

In the first place, the last few years, since the Urban Meyer years, have been an aberration in MWC/WAC football. From 1962-1999 Utah never won the WAC championship. They shared a title with New Mexico and Arizona in 1964 and a four way tie in 1995. In the 11 years of the Mountain West Conference Utah has won the title only 3 times. They are not quite a yearly powerhouse.

Compare their record with Arizona and Arizona State. Many of you young UTE fans my not remember that they were members of the WAC with Utah from 1962 to 1978 when they left to make the PAC 8 the PAC 10. In the last 10 years they were in the WAC with Utah, BYU, New Mexico and the others, Arizona and Arizona State won or shared the conference championship 9 times. That is 9 of 10 years. 90%. In the 32 years since joining the Pac 10, Arizona State has gone to two Rose Bowls, Arizona none.

During Whittingham's tenure, the Utes are a mediocre 4-3 vs PAC 10 teams. And besides football, a peek at the conference champions in other sports shows that Utah is mediocre in the MWC. (They are national powers in Women's gymnastics but that isn't a MWC sport.) These other sports will likely struggle in the PAC 12.

Don't misunderstand. I think this is a great opportunity for Utah and I am very happy for them. As far as athletics goes I think BYU would have been a better choice, but I am glad they didn't get the nod. And I realize that more than Athletics is involved in the choice.

While I hate to lose Utah as a Lobo opponent, I will now be free to root for them, and I will. Go Utes! I am not quite ready to sing I am a Utah man sir, but I look forward to seeing the big boys come to town.

Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well researched and written by the son of one of the Marines who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, this book is about the aviators who won WWII in the Pacific and the enemy who fought them. If, like me, you are unapologetically American in your outlook, you will find some of the book "politically corrrect" but I urge you to read through it.


It is a commentary not only on WWII, but on war in general and the soldiers who fight for the generals.

It is worth the read.

View all my reviews >>

Angel’s Landing

Ok! I am impressed. Wow! Might be a better exclamation. I knew Angel’s Landing, in Zion National Park, was a steep climb that had some real cliff exposure. I have read about people falling from the trail. One man was recently convicted for pushing his wife off the trail. So I expected there to be some places on the trail where we would be really close to the edge.




The hike starts normal enough. It leaves the parking lot and crosses the river on a bridge. The trail follows the course of the river for a short distance. Leaving the river the hiker begins the ascent. Here the trail is paved and steep. It continues for 1500 feet in elevation gain in 2.5 miles. The last 500 feet in elevation over the last ½ mile is along a very narrow ridge with a 1200 foot sheer drop to the canyon floor on one side and 900 feet on the other.

The park service has added chains to hold onto, and cut steps into the sandstone, but it is still very scary. When I walked up to the place where you see that last ½ mile and the steep sides, my stomach just flipped. There have been at least 5 or 6 people slip and fall to their death in the last 15 years.

If you are headed to Southern Utah and want a guide to help you on the Angel’s Landing hike, don’t call me. I DTA. (Did that already)

The Pony Express

150 years ago the latest technology in mail significantly decreased the time it took a message to get across the country. Using the new method a letter could get from Missouri to San Francisco in a mere 10 days. That really isn’t that long, even today, considering it took us 14 days to get a package from Salt Lake City, Utah to Hiawassee, Georgia.

All across the west, Pony Express Stations stood ready for the rider to come by carrying the mail pouch. About 8 to 10 miles apart, across mountains, plains, and deserts the rider would change horses as he sped on his way. At the end of the rider’s day, he would hand the mail pouch off to his replacement, and day by day, express station by express station the mail traversed the country.


After church yesterday Jen and I followed the Pony Express route across Western Utah to the Nevada Border. We found the location of every station along the route but one. The Dugway Gulch station is about a mile south of the road and we chose not to make that hike to search for the marker.

Back in the 1930’s the CCC of the depression era built a monument, (see picture) at the approximate location of each station. The monuments are about 8 feet high made out of rock with two plaques on them. One is the symbol of the pony express and the other tells about the station. Many of the plaques have been stolen but no one has carted off any of the stone pillars.


After 133 miles across the desert on the Pony Express Trail we reached pavement again on the Utah-Nevada border. We drove 45 minutes on the pavement to Wendover, Nevada where we ate a late dinner before heading across the Salt Flats on Interstate 80 to home.

Terrorism, The Movies, and Homeland Security

American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, The Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century is a 2008 book by Howard Blum. The century is the last one, the terror is homespun, and the security is provided by the man who became the first director of what we know today as the FBI.

All I can say is, "Wow!" What do you think the Crime of the Century might be? I didn't even know it happened. Early in the morning of October 1, 1910, an explosion ripped through the Las Angeles Times building. 21 people were killed by the explosion, the fire that followed, or by jumping out the windows of the building on fire.

The terrorists were not foreigners, but labor union employees. In the early part of the 20th century labor unions waged a terrorism campaign against any building project that wasn't being constructed with union labor. The L. A. Times was pro business in those days, drawing the ire of the unions.

The man responsible for breaking the case was later charged with using unconstitutional methods in his investigation, arrest, and transportation of the bombers. William J. Burns was a private detective hired by Las Angeles to solve the case. When the city became unhappy with the lack of progress they quit paying and Burns borrowed the funds to continue the case.

The famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow was the attorney for the defendants. He was later put on trial for bribing potential jurors and in a trial similar to OJ was acquitted in one trial and achieved a hung jury in the other. Jurors split 8 to 4 in favor of a guilty verdict.

The Hollywood angle is interesting. There was no film industry in Hollywood in 1910. Moving pictures were just coming into existence. During this time, in addition to telling a good story, they were attempting to change the attitudes of the American public on the social issues of the day. They were as successful at it then as they are today.

I had two prevailing thoughts as I read this book. The first was a smoldering resentment that I had never heard this story about the union terrorism before. I think I am better versed than the average American in history, it was my minor in college. But this was a part of the Union/Management debate that I had never heard.

The second was how easy it is for visual media to present viewpoints that the public at large accepts without question. They were just learning to do that in 1910. They are experts at it today. It was only in the Movies then, it is on TV everyday now. The movies were 15-20 minute films that showed in cinemas, and were 5 cents a ticket. New ones were out every few days. It was probably closer to television drama than the movie blockbusters for today.

It is an interesting book. I recommend it.