RIP Mama Cow

This cow has been our neighbor for seven or eight years.  Shortly after Charlie moved in next door, he brought this cow from his other property which Dad named "Mama Cow".  I don't know her real name.  We've always called her Mama Cow.  Then he also got three calves.  Two of them were slaughtered the next year, but one remained which Dad named "Baby Cow".  Baby Cow is all black.  Those two cows were friends for years.  Mama Cow and Baby Cow were always together.

Dad and I used to take them apples from our tree and watermelon rinds etc. to give them a treat once in a while.  We would always say hi to them when we saw them.

Sunday when I went down to the dog tree Mama Cow was laying right by the fence across from the dog tree. Alone, which was odd.  Baby Cow was nowhere in sight. I got as close as I could on the road and was talking to her.  I noticed she was breathing funny.  I was a bit concerned.  I thought she might be dying.  And I was right.  I came back to the house and told Lisa and Rex about it.  Then Juliet and I took a walk back to the dog tree and she also noticed the labored breathing.  So Rex and Lisa came down to look at her.  Rex told Charlie about her.  He said he would go look at her later.

After a while, Juliet and I came back to the house.  A short time later I was going to go down to check on her but I saw Charlie there so I turned back.

Later, Juliet went down and talked to Charlie.  Apparently Mama Cow had passed in that short time after we left.  Charlie said she was 10 years old.  He kept her as a pet.  Charlie already had her buried and told Juliet that he was going to get a calf to keep Baby Cow company.

Monday morning when I went down to where she was laying when she died I couldn't help but shed a few tears.  She was my friend.

RIP Mama Cow.

That's my two cents. 

Myron Hampton Stone Memorial Two-Mile Results 2022

Today we held the third annual Myron Hampton Stone Memorial Two-Mile Run.  Today is actually the third anniversary of Dad's death.  So it was an extra special race today.  We had people here from three states.  Uncle Tim and Aunt Jeanne drove up from California.  Juliet and kids drove here from Idaho.

Everybody spilled their guts and it was a lot of fun.  Here are the results:

Men's race

1. Elijah            12:03.4
2. Uncle Tim    14.28
3. Brandon        20.13
4. Cody             20.15
5. Michael         20.16

Kingston   DNF   – completed four laps

Women's race

1. Juliet                16:13
2. Kylee               23:28
3. Brynn               23:30
4. Aunt Jeanne     27:18

Special thanks to Lisa and Rex for being the race officials.  And also thanks to Derrinda for being the photographer.  Great job everybody!

See you all next year for the fourth annual Myron Hampton Stone Memorial Two-Mile Run!  

Next year's race will be July 22, 2023.  See you there!

Life Is Everlasting

I saw this on my Instagram today and thought it was a good reminder, so I wanted to share it with you all. 

“Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through the heartache and loneliness of losing loved ones, there is assurance that life is everlasting. Our Lord and Savior is the living witness that such is so.” -- President Thomas S. Monson​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​Losing three close loved ones within the last three years has been difficult.  But, our Savior, Jesus Christ, made it possible for us to see, and be with them again one day.  I'm thankful for that.

That's my two cents.

Myron Hampton Stone Memorial Two-Mile Run 2022

The big race is coming up this Saturday!  We will meet at Eatonville High School track Saturday morning around 9:30 AM.  We will get everyone their shirts and get them registered for the race and drawing. Then the race will start shortly thereafter.

Everyone who finishes the 2 miles will receive a custom-made frisbee.  There will also be trophies, medals, and ribbons 10 deep.

I redesigned the shirt this year.  Here's what it looks like:

We hope to see you all this coming Saturday, July 23, 2022 at Eatonville High School arriving by 9:30 AM.  Should be fun!

That's my two cents.

Handwriting Analysis

Since childhood I've always been told that my handwriting is atrocious, and that I need to work on it.  Even in medical school, I had an attending tell me that I needed to work on my handwriting because he couldn't read my soap notes.  Which I thought was funny because doctors are known for their bad handwriting.

So I kind of always had a fascination with handwriting and what it means.  The other day I happened upon some handwriting analysis on YouTube.  I watched a few tutorials and learned a few things.  So I wanted to have my handwriting analyzed by an expert. 

The problem is, I haven't been able to write for 20 years.  But I did happen to have some letters that I wrote home to my family while I was on my mission scanned onto my computer.  Granted these are 30-year-old letters and only reflect my personality at the time they were written.  But since personality tends to be fairly stable throughout life I thought I would give it a go.

So I submitted a page from one of my letters home on February 19, 1992 – just a couple weeks after I arrived in Florida.  So that's a snapshot of where I was mentally at the time.

I had Dr. Mozelle Martin do my handwriting analysis.  She does forensic handwriting analysis and has been an expert in handwriting analysis for decades.  So it was cool to have her analyze my handwriting.  I just had her do the personality snapshot.  Here are the results:

Here are your results which can go back from birth to the date this was written so as you read it, you can likely identity when the traits were most prominent.

• Good business mind and imaginative
• Investigative mind
• Good physical energy
• Unresolved anger at important male in your life (ie: father, husband, ex, brother, etc.)
• Moodiness and can be hard on yourself and this can cause self-doubt, anxiety, and affect your self-esteem
• Realistic with strong will power
• Can be persuasive, persistent, and resistant with a mind of your own
• Can be authoritarian and intolerant of others opinions
• Can be sensitive to criticism and rejection and this can cause you to commit to things you don’t want to do
• Because you can be charming, be careful who you let into your life, not everyone is good for you

I think that fairly accurately describes me.  Except for the unresolved anger at an important male in my life.  I'm not sure what that's about because I've always had a good relationship with my dad and brother.  And I don't consider myself charming – or at least I was when I was 21 – but hey, if it's in my handwriting it must be true.  :-)  

Anyway that was fun to learn about my subconscious mind as revealed through my handwriting when I was 21.

 If any of you are interested in having your own handwriting analyzed by Dr. Martin, her website is forensology.com.  The personality snapshot is $22.  It's fun, entertaining, and fairly accurate.

That's my two cents.

Real Joy

"Real joy comes from righteous character, and that is built from a pattern of consistent righteous decisions. …For happiness now and throughout your life, steadfastly obey the Lord, no matter what pressure you feel to do otherwise." – Elder Richard G. Scott,"Making the Right Decisions", April 1991 General Conference

Life is hard enough to live with the help of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I can't imagine living without it.  I honestly don't know how people do it.

I was actually thinking about this.while I was at the dog tree this morning.  How so many people turn to drugs and alcohol to escape or numb themselves from reality.  I truly believe this is because they don't have or have turned away from the joy of the gospel.  Living a life focused on trying to make righteous decisions – trying your best to live the gospel of Jesus Christ – is where real joy is found.

Living a life of eat, drink, and be merry may bring temporary fun and happiness – but it is fleeting.  Then when reality sets in, people try to escape it.

Real joy is found only in trying to live a righteous life.

That's my two cents.

Sunday School Handouts – Elijah

Our Sunday School lesson this week is 1 Kings 17-19 about the prophet Elijah.  Lisa led the discussion but I wanted to post our handouts.   She came up with a really great idea for the handouts.  A box of Jiffy cornbread mix with the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath attached.  We only had nine kids today so they each got to take home two.

In both fast and testimony meeting and Sunday school, the Spirit was strong.

Here is the story from 1 Kings 17 that Lisa summarized and attached to the box of "meal" so the kids can go home and make their own "cake".

During a time of drought and famine, the Lord told Elijah to go to Zarephath, where a widow woman would help sustain him. When he came to the gate and saw the widow gathering sticks, he called to her and asked her to bring him some water. As she was beginning to fetch the water, he called for her and said, "Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand...And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou has said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did...and her house did eat many days." (1 Kings 17)

Miracles will come when we exercise obedience and faith in the Lord.

What miracles have you seen in your life because of your obedience and faith?