The "Mini" Mission

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. ...

Dear Uncle George, Golly, I am falling behind.  I see why you ended your journal on August 20, 1907.  It is hard to keep up. I don't to rush this and to quote "The Princess Bride"--"This is for posterity, so be honest." If we are keeping it real, and being honest, I disliked New Hampshire.  A lot.  But I am getting ahead of myself. We pick up our story in Buffalo, New York on Friday, Aug 16, where Carol and I have seen, spent, and gotten wet to the point the grown women should not be laughing so much, so our move back to Rochester has come. She likes plants.  I like plants.  So we went to the Buffalo Botanical Garden before we left. Yes, in case you are wondering, if you are ever in Buffalo, you should go, too. I thought it would be faster to just put the album link here: https://www.facebook.com/valerie.popperanderson/media_set?set=a.10151784429615042.1073741852.532120041&type=3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I went to high ...

Dear Uncle George, To date, I have taken over 6,000 photographs in 18 days. Mind you, I am not complaining.  I know you shot negative glass plates and I read in Richard's black book that it all ended up weighing about 3,000 tons or some craziness like that.  I don't even think the Mini Cooper weighs that much. And I can drive the Mini. I am in Sharon, Vermont this morning...which by the way, is perfectly foggy. Oh no.  My stay in Sharon may have just gotten a day longer. This is my last and final day of shooting your mission.  Which is pretty unbelievable.  I have been thinking about this mission for almost two years and I have felt so many emotions regarding it. I have felt disbelief I felt like I should do it.  I felt disbelief I would do it.  I felt excited to see all the sites.  I felt guilty for leaving my family for so long, especially for The Boy.  I felt guilty that people are making a big deal about because it makes me...