still here

Boston April 2008

2008-05-11T17:26:00.001-07:00

Our trip to Boston was very interesting...on so many different levels.
First, the gradual realization that the history of the United States revolved around this city; yes, we learn in school about the Boston Tea Party, etc., but to actually be there and follow the chronology as the history unfolded with the key players not knowing the outcome, as we do in hindsight! Here a small group of independent merchants, farmers, businessmen, and statesmen took on the might of the British Empire for an obscure idea of independence from colonialism, that at the time was, well, revolutionary.

The whole area of old Boston, where Paul Revere and many other
riders warned the residents that the Redcoats were coming, the Boston massacre, and all of the familiar events of our history, occurred in an area of about three miles walking distance. This first picture is the Boston Commons, the equivalent of our strip mall, where our founding fathers would hang out and hatch plans for, oh, say, you know, a new country or something.

The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) was particularly fascinating for me. Made of oak beams so thick that cannonballs bounced off of her sides (hence the nickname), she never lost a battle, and after 200 years, is still a commissioned Naval Warship. Huge by the standards of her time, she is docked near a more modern Destroyer of World War 2 vintage, perhaps as a contrast to the change of time.

If the whole city had to be summarized in one word, it would have to be contrast. As we rushed past all of the sights in our tour bus, the old blended in with the new, the modern with the historical, the the skyscrapers next to the buildings that saw members of the Continental Congress walk by in days gone by.

2008-01-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me that I should share what items of information are happening up in Oregon, until such time as we can get Grandpa Walter and Uncle Dave (Aunt Cheryl too!) to make their own postings and blog entries.

Grandpa Walter meticulously saves all of the e-mails and announcements that everyone sends him, and has quite a collection of photographs in .jpg format that he has received. He and Grandma Vernie keep track of all of you through the blogs that you have posted, so you can be assured that those are appreciated. Lately, I have been talking to him using Gtalk, and he is in turn trying to get Dave to hook up using Gtalk. Dave still does not have high speed Internet service - I guess they can't get DSL out there, and even have trouble finding cellular service that works where they live up in the mountains above Roseburg. I have suggested that they try using Wireless Broadband, so if they can find a provider service that works, they will try that. Grandpa Walter has indicated that they like where they are very much, but are still getting used to the change. Occassionally when we have been talking, he has had to break off to take the dog for a walk; even if it is snowing or raining. Grandma Vernie had to get an electric typewriter to correspond with, since she still won't touch a computer except to see what you all have posted.

Uncle Dave and Aunt Cheryl enjoy where they live very much, and are always sending interesting notes about their yard and the area. Dave just sent pictures of turkeys that were roaming around in their front yard:

(The lights are just a reflection off of the living room window)

He has shot one or two turkeys in his yard, but manages to appreciate them by just shooting photographs like this, as you can see, the rest of the time. One of his friends wrote an article for the magazine, Oregon Hunter , which should come out in the next quarterly edition, entitled "The Quest - A Man on a Mission" . When it comes out, I will post the article for all to see. Dave's goal is to successfully hunt an Antelope buck in each state where tags are offered for hunting them. So far he has seven - seven - successes with a bow and arrows; animals that run away when they see the blink of an eye at two hundred yards away. Dave was a little bit perturbed that the guy wrote the article before he had accomplished his goal; it has taken seventeen years for him to get this far, and just getting tags to hunt in a particular state takes years; so I can see why his friend didn't want to wait. If any of you want to know what determination means, look to your Uncle Dave for an example!

Aunt Cheryl had her knee surgery a while back, (both knees at once) and is now very happy that she can be active again, without the pain that she endured before. They visit with Grandma and Grandpa often, relate what is going on to us when they can. I hope they can get on the blogging circuit soon, so that the circle can be completed in our family!

Even Uncle Dick and Aunt Kaaren could post so many things about themselves (and all of the Texas clan!) Shannon and Shelby's family are growing so fast that we can't keep up.

2007-11-04T15:45:00.001-08:00

2007-11-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Today I have time, so I'm going wild.
Enjoy.

2007-11-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

I am known in the Ward as the Wal-Mart widower, because any time there is a fun activity, Mom is working. And since I don't have any grandchildren nearby to dote upon, I am going to post these pictures of our Ward Halloween party. Recognize anyone?

Life as Dad

2007-11-04T13:59:00.001-08:00

I appreciate everyone's comments encouraging me to post more often; and how Cody has gained insight by my posts into me being more than just Dad..... while I have been Dad all of his life (and before), I existed (gasp) before he did....long before he did. (We used to ride dinosaurs to school before there were Flintstone cars) I was Mom's husband before that, and Elder Heffner before that, and just me before that. Life was so much simpler then; because we were simpler then. The good old days will be now, when you are old, not because they were good, but because you are old.

And now that each of my children has the distinct impression that he or she is my favorite one, I can say and finally confirm that indeed, you are absolutely right! And even more so my grandchildren! Each of you has special qualities that are irreplaceable and unique. I had to remind Brad the other day that he is pretty darned smart, because he married my daughter. (and lucky, too, because I gave my consent)

2007-09-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I set up a computer (a Sony VAIO TXN25N B, for all of you nosy nerds) for my boss at work. It's a tiny thing, but with all of the bells and whistles that he needed for traveling to Mexico, to his condominium in Huatulco. I set up his WWAN connection, so now he can stay in touch anywhere (even internationally!) His idea of a vacation is to work on the company POS program, and e-mail all of the store managers with orders and to-do lists, on the veranda overlooking the bay with the cruise ship below, and white sand beaches in the distance... (with a beer in his hand, of course) After I set up the VPN connection into our network, and showed him that he was indeed connected without any local restrictions, he turned to me, and shook his head, saying, "That's amazing. Isn't technology great?" This is coming from a guy who uses three 21" screens, two land line telephones, one with a wireless headset, two cell phones, has IM for business contacts, thousands of e-mail contacts, Outlook2007 Calendar, and keeps track of millions of dollars of business with 2 logins and ten flipscreens!

And then it made me stop and think....indeed, we should never cease to be amazed....even at the technology that we use everyday. At the moment, I'm sitting on the patio, watching a beautiful sunset, while running three different virtual machines in linux, listening to my favorite music, while updating my blog (that nobody cares about anyway; well, maybe if you've read this far, you do) And it really is great. I can keep in touch with all of my children during the day (as long as I don't spend too much time while at work!) and see what they are doing via their blogs and messages, and what's going on and important in their lives. It is an exciting time to live.

My turn

2007-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

So here I am, Sunday afternoon, thinking about how much I enjoy reading the blogs of my two daughters (I will announce which of my children is my favorite some other time, Mandi), and how good it would be to share thoughts, ideas, events, activities, plans and accomplishments with everyone in the family; and then I realize that I need to get started now. It's my turn.

My brother Dave sends pictures and commentaries every so often to select members of the family, and Dick sends pictures and notices less frequently by e-mail, but a blog gives an opportunity to add more personal thoughts to everyday events. So here goes.

My life is divided and compartmentalized into a few main areas: Church, projects, work, travel and recreation. That leaves about five minutes per week for "other".

I'll start with projects:
My idea of a good day-off starts at 6:00 A.M. on Saturday, when the air is cool, and the sun is just coming up. Focus on one thing, work till at least 10, but probably not past 2, and then take off for Morro Bay on the motorcycle to cool off, get a fish and chips, and read in the park by the marina until it gets chilly. By then, it has cooled off back home, and a couple of other small projects can get knocked off before it gets dark. Sounds boring, I know, but hey, it's my day-off, remember?

Right now, I have two main projects: finish installing the Heating/AC system, and add pavers in the backyard from the existing pavers to the fence, and over to the line that defines the edge of the circular area in the back, a straight strip that extends what I've already done, and defines the back yard area. That's about 50' x 24'; about 1200 sq. ft. I want to get that done before it rains, because after the rains start, it's excavation time for the foundation of the block wall in the backyard, around the circular area.

It's almost all hand-digging and shovelling, because the economics of my projects doesn't allow for heavy equipment or large outlays at a time; if I take the trailer to work, I can come home with about a yard of base or DG to lay down after work. A little each day still gets a lot done.
Set a goal, and stick to it, or I will never get it done. Why am I working so hard? Mostly just to stay fit; a little bit to have some control somewhere in my life. Most of the other things are activities that are dictated by the needs and necessities of others. No travel time available for the rest of this year, and recreation covers the few hours on Saturday afternoon, unless one of the other categories encroaches on that time.

Work. Work is interesting and yet stressful right now, because we are working on deployment of a big project, using a third-party software to manage document archiving and reports.
It is going agonizingly slow, yet every once in a while, something new pops up that makes it worthwhile. The back office is being remodeled, which means it will be nice and pretty and organized; but it means putting up with dust, noise, cleaning up, tearing up, and even a few inconveniences. There is drywall dust in the servers, everything I need is stored in boxes, equipment piled all over, and everything needs to be done either: now, or: after hours.
It will be finished. Someday. Soon.