A Funeral To Die For

I suppose before I begin with his funeral I should introduce you to Burnell. 

I first met Burnell and his mother Blanche while working in Customer Service at Quality Market.  Delta folklore has it that Burnell's father was in a bar when he announced that the next woman to walk through the door would become his wife.  Blanche was the next woman to walk through the door.  She was quite a bit younger than her spouse.  He was deceased by the time I became acquainted with the Ferry's.  Blanche and Burnell were both small in stature.  Blanche was very petite and she always wore a coat! They were limited in their financial resources as well as in their intellectual capabilities. Thus cleanliness was not of the utmost importance.  However they were not limited with their smiles and happy nature.  Whenever I think of them I always picture them happy and smiling.  Burnell hauled garbage to the dump for people (including the store).  Blanche was always in the truck with Burnell.  You never saw one without the other until Blanche passed away and then Burnell found him a dog that traveled with him.  Another Delta folklore has it that one day Burnell turned the corner too fast and Blanche fell out.  He hit the brakes, backed up, picked her up, put her back in the truck and away they went.

When Burnell passed away I invited Scotts Aunt June to attend the service with me.  It was a very small service held at the local mortuary.  The service was not so much about Burnell as it was about a community coming together to help the less fortunate.  Burnell would haul  garbage to the dump for Quality Market and in return he and Blanche were allowed to shop for all their needs.  Burnell would charge gas at the local Co-Op.  He was proud of the fact that he only charged gas, never any goodies.  He did not quite comprehend the need to pay for the gas and the Co-Op never sent him a bill. Burnell owned an old truck.  He thought it needed a new engine and most likely it did!  Delta Auto ordered a new engine and Burnell would come in monthly to make a small payment.  A ghost payment also arrived monthly and within the year the new engine was paid off. 

I left the service feeling uplifted about the anonymous kindness of others.  I was  grateful I attended, grateful to have known Blanche and Burnell and grateful for the community I live in.  Yes, it was a funeral service to die for so to speak!

Prom Now and Then

Delta's Prom is somewhat different than I remember Prom being in 1969 or 1970 at R.H.S.  It begins months in advance.  Shopping for the perfect dress, which can cost around $500.00 when you add in matching shoes and jewelry.  The trick is to have no two dresses that look alike.  Mother and daughter must travel up north, down south in search of the 'perfect' one of a kind dress.  When it is found it usually has to be altered to conform with dress code. 

I saw a young woman in this dress.  It was pulled up higher and straps were added.  She looked lovely!

Then there is the quest for the date.  Some young men ask the girl of their dreams months in advance.  Only to discover that 6 months later their dream has changed!  So silly to ask so far in advance.  

Prom is an all day affair.  A day date, evening dinner, dance and sometimes breakfast and movies after.  The parents ( and any other adult who wants to go) attend Prom for the first 30 minutes.  It begins with an introduction of the young woman and her escort.  This is  followed by the Promenade (a choreographed dance for all interested couples).  After the promenade fathers, guardians, grandfathers, friends etc. head down to the dance floor for a slow dance with their princess.   Fathers and daughters then leave the dance floor and mothers and sons have their turn dancing together.  After this ritual the adults are nicely asked to leave and the enchanted evening is turned over to the youth. 

My friend Marjie invited me to attend Prom with her Saturday night. It was much more enjoyable than attending   any high school prom of my own!  It was also much more enjoyable than attending with my children.  Just an evening to relax and take it all in.  The decorations were some of the best I have ever seen.  After all of the drama that took place concerning the dress code I thought the youth looked simply wonderful.  As for those who wanted to enforce a much stricter dress code...I think they have lived in an L.D.S. Utah bubble way too long!

As for a beautiful retro prom photo I have one I would like to share.

It is not so much about the dress (which I am certain did not cost any where near $500.00), but more about the beauty of the young woman.  Though her date has the look of a deer caught in the headlights!  Thank goodness for old yearbooks!  Yes, she signed the yearbook which explains the name up the sleeve.

The Ever Elusive Leprechaun

Every March Mrs. Nielson (our preschool teacher) talks to the children about Leprechauns.  Sharing with them one St. Patricks Day story after another. She shows them a picture of a pot and asks them if a pot is real.  The answer is always yes.  She  shows them a picture of a rainbow and ask them if rainbows are real.  Once again the answer is yes.  She  shows them a picture of gold and ask them if gold is real.  Yes, yes, yes! 

Then she  shows a picture of a Leprechaun and asks them if Leprechaun's are real.  The answer is no.  No Leprechaun's are NOT real.  This is a fact they all agree on.  March 16th arrives.  The children  set a trap to catch the Leprechaun.  Imagination's  soar and the classroom is filled with anticipation and excitement. March 17th  arrives.  Entering the classroom the children are greeted  with gold dust (gold glitter works great!), small white footprints and a trap that has obviously gone off.  A good sign the Leprechaun is caught!  Quietly and slowly Mrs. Nielson  lifts the trap and much to every one's surprise the Leprechaun is no where to be found!  We all know a Leprechaun is NOT real!  But... he did leave a black pot and it is full of gold , gold Rolos that is.  Next year a new group of students will excitedly set a trap to catch the ever elusive non-existent Leprechaun.  Happy St. Patricks Day!  May you be blessed with the Luck of the Irish.  Whether that be finding a pot, finding a rainbow, finding gold or finding the excitement and anticipation that exists in the hearts of children everywhere!

The trap is closed.  Good Sign!

 No Leprechaun!  Just a black pot.

Sharing the 'gold'.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

Mr. B travelled to Henderson, Nevada for a four day conference.  Mrs. B (that would be myself) tagged along.  I learned something about myself during my stay. 

I love light! But  I am particular with what type of light I enjoy. I love sunlight, moonlight, starlight and accent lights like the one on the Hotel at night. 

I do NOT like, nope not one little bit Casino lights.

I call them 'migraine headache' lights.

I also love sounds.  The hum of an oil well as it rhythmically pumps up and down. 

 The sound of the tractor on a beautiful summer day or the sound of the train as it pulses through town. 

But as with light I do have sounds I do not like.  In particular, I do not care for the sound of the slot machine. 

Which leads me to my twist on the statement,

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." 

Here it goes...

What happens in Vegas CAN stay in Vegas. 

I will take Delta, Utah any day.

P.S.  I did get quite a bit of work done on my counted cross stitch project!

And the 2012 Oscar Goes To......

Sorry George you may not have been able to pull it off with your performance in "The Descendents"  but these little ones sure did!  Yes, for their entertaining and outstanding performance in "The Descendents" the Bassett academy award goes to the following:

Olivia, Sofia, Jaedon, Max, Isaac, Ava

Reid

Zoey

Jack

The Academy (Scott and Claudia) would like to thank these adorable  winners for making life worth living!

They are perfect in every way!

The 2nd Annual Academy Awards Bassett Style

It is once again that time of year when the Bassetts compete for their performances in 2011 true movie titles. 

This years nominees for Best Actor and Actress are:

Ben Szilagyi

for his hard working performance in

"Seeking Justice"

Phillip and Kristina

for their starry eyed performances  in

"Into Eternity"

"Ceremony"

"Love, Wedding, Marriage"

&

"Newlyweds"

Claudia

for her aged performance in

"Cracks"

Best Supporting Actress in this movie goes to

the ever honest and truthful
little miss Ava

Scott

for his superb and laugh provoking performance in

"A Screaming Man"

Best Supporting Actresses in this movie go to

Claudia and Ava

Claudia, Alizabeth, Laura, Melanie and Kristina

for their dedicated and daily performance in

"The Housemaid"

Isaac
for his devoted and entertaining performance in
"The Help"

Scott, Matthew, Jonathan and Phillip

for their bonding performance in

"Big Mommas:  Like Father Like Son"

Max and Jayden
for their studious performance in
"The First Grader"

Olivia, Sofia, Jayden, Max, Isaac, Ava

Reid

Zoey

                                                   





and Jack

for their endearing, entertaining and most adorable

performances in
"The Descendents"



One Word Desciptions

The presidential candidates were asked : "Without caveats or explanation, please define yourself using one word and one word only."  Well, I decided to do a post off of that incident.  Without caveats or explanation I will define my 1 spouse, 3 sons, 1 daughter, 1 son in law, 3 daughter in laws, 4 granddaughters and 5 grandsons using one word and one word only.  In no particular order.  They can decide which word I chose for them!  Here we go.

Creative...Intelligent...Imaginative...
Playful...Dependable...Charismatic...
Entertaining...Ambitious...Obedient...
Sweet...Nurturing...Generous...Adorable...
Adventurous...Compassionate...Caring...
Brave...Tender

Childhood A.D.D.+ 50 Years = Adult A.D.D. At Its Best

Saturday I was cleaning up the kitchen.  I placed a dirty bowl in the sink and started the hot water running on it.  Then I  noticed my garbage needed to be taken out so I grabbed it and ran outside to the garbage can.  It was beautiful weather, the garage door was open and the lawn mower was in sight.  Which I then wondered if I could possibly start it up after a long winters nap.  Though we really haven't had much of a winter.  I tried.  It worked.  Well, now that I had it running I decided I might as well put it to use and mow up the pine needles adorning our front yard.  After about 3 rounds my husband poked his head out the door and asked about the water running in the kitchen sink.  Yes, this is the workings of my brain!  Adult A.D.D. at its best!  I did have the thought I should run and buy some fertilizer to put on the lawn, but I did not follow through with that idea.  Too bad because Monday morning we woke up to a heavy wet snow!  Mowed the lawn one day and shoveled snow 36 hours later!

One Secret To Personal Happiness As Taught To Me By A Four Year Old

The school year was coming to a close.  In fact 3 more days and it would be ending!  With chalk in hand one of our  artistically inclined students drew a picture of a mom and dad cow on the chalkboard.  His father worked at the dairy so his drawings were created with some detail. 

 Udder for mom.

 Horns for dad. 

It was adorable!!  In fact, it was so adorable we decided to put the chalk and eraser away and enjoy his artwork  the last three days of school.

At Kiva time we had the boys and girls look at the chalk board.  We praised the little boy who had drawn the pictures and we informed everyone that it was so cute we were just going to leave it up for the remaining school year.  It was interesting to note that one little boy grinned from ear to ear and told the artist what a good job he had done.  It was also interesting to note that about three of our other students were not at all pleased with the entire situation.  Their goal was to erase the picture.  Which they did succeed in accomplishing even when asked/told  not to do so.

I have often thought of this situation.  I am reminded of it in my personal interactions with adults.  My goal is to be like the little boy who was so excited for his friends accomplishment.  That my friends is one of the secrets to personal happiness as taught to me by a four year old.

The Study of Human Behavior, As Taught To Me By Four and Five Year Olds

Fourteen years of my life were spent in Preschool.  I guess you could say I was a slow learner!  But what I failed to learn in my Psychology classes at BYU these 4 and 5 year old children taught me time and time again.

Lesson #1:  In Preschool we had show and tell bags.  Two to be exact. Each day two of our little students were given the bag with the assignment to bring the bag back to class the following day with something inside they would like to show and tell to  their fellow classmates.  Typically, when a child would come to the front of the kiva to do their show and tell, there would be quite a few  children who wanted to talk about the fact that they had the same toy or book or whatever.  In fact, sometimes they had one similar only bigger and better.  They never wanted to listen to the student that was sharing.  They just wanted to talk about themselves! I have discovered this childish behavior does not always end with childhood!  I have even noticed this behavior in myself from time to time.  Personally, I do not consider this childish behavior a good one to possess.  Perhaps I need a sticker chart to help me over come this negative behavior.   Perhaps I  need to focus more on what the other person is saying and less on what I am thinking of saying back.  Perhaps I need to grow up and put away my childish behavior.  Now what were you saying?