The "Mini" Mission

Written by Uncle George:  April 27, 1907 Feel very well satisfied with the record made of the temple lot pictures.  This eve visited the main business part of town. Val:  April 27, 2012 My day, today, seemed to be connected to dead men.  Not that I am a "deadist" like being a "racist" or a "ageist" but it is a bit disturbing to be spending your day thinking about not only one, but two dead guys. Fortunately, I had to The Girl with me so it made it feel less weird. Love note to dead man #1 You are ready to hit the road and get the "hell (uh, Mr. Fun...I'm quoting) out of Dodge" as my dad would say.  For years I wasn't sure that Dodge was a real town.  It is a real place, found in the great state of Kansas.  Since moving to the mid west,I have brushed up on my geography.  I can hear The Girl now..."You don't know where Dodge is?  What did they teach you at school in Alaska?"  Well, why did I care to know where Dod...

Dear Uncle George, I have had to take a small step back from the photo world, away from its sorting, weeding, editing, taking, blah blah blahism so that I can do some really interesting things. Like vacuuming.  Paying bills.  And sometimes making dinner. Seeing all these animals in one place actually  is very embarrassing.   Actually, Heavenly Father knew what timing would be exactly right for me to start my mission.  Life has been driving the car as The Boy's therapist says, which in psychology world is apparently a bad thing.  Well, she doesn't say "bad" but some nice 11th grade word like "undesirable."  Coming from Alaska, we prefer the phrase "jacked up" whether we have an 11th grade education or not.  Whatever the phrase is for the mid west, it happened to me. You can read all about here:   http://www.visitval.blogspot.com/2013/09/too-much-media-too-little-val.html (In Rotary, when we cross different programs to promote e...

Dear Uncle George, This weekend, I went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  The short of it is that The Boy was supposed to do a check-out dive for scuba diving certification, but he had an ear problem.  Not usually a big deal, I mean he has two.  But in scuba diving, it is essentially the ONLY part that you really need in perfect, working order. So he was out. The room was paid for (hello, non-refundable), and well, you know me, I am always up for field trip. Some highlights from the road include I almost got hit three times, the "Come and Take It" gun flag in someone's yard, having a hot dog at the Carthage, Missouri gas station--home of the Precious Moments Chapel and some girl dressed in volleyball shorts and a yellow, glittery "I am going clubbing at the Palladium in San Francisco" top, Kodiak street in Neosha, I think I saw a dead wild African dog on the side of the road, billboard that said "Are you a Producer or a Parasite?",  learning the re...

Dear Uncle George: I am in a bit of a conundrum (Like this fancy word?  I learned it from The Girl, who learned it from her 8th grade middle school science teacher....who says public education isn't working?). Here is my deal. I take a lot of photographs.  It began when I was about 11 and it has spiraled basically out of control since then.  But given that it took 33 years for it to become a full-blown addiction, I think I am doing good.  If I die at 70 we say, I will really only be an addict for less than half my life.  Which then begs the question if you do something for less than half your life are you really an addict?  Of course, leads into that ever-important question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg.   Mr. Fun said today he thinks I have about 50,000 images that have to be weeded through.  I know they aren't of professional water-skiing husbands (shout of M.E.).  There are about 18 photos that involve people.  Th...

Dear Uncle George, Some pairs just don't make great couples. Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, for example. wedding two But some pairs do.  Like knees and eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You don't really see the eyes and knees paired up very often.  At least, not in everyday, ordinary life. But since becoming a missionary, I have figured out a couple of things.  One, wearing a name badge draws some attention.  Two, everyone wants to have a mission call that involves wearing shorts, listening to music, and doing the Facebook whenever they want. But one of the most important things I have learned is that I need both my eyes and knees.  Working together.  At the same time. It's not what you think.  They are not a great pair because they have some torrid, unhealthy connection discovered on a movie set (see above couple). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got my eyes from my great-grandfather, Conrad, a German from Russia. ...