Remembering 09-11-2001

I awoke that morning to various NPR reporters reporting planes crashing into the Twin Towers in NYC. I thought I must have been dreaming. I got out of bed and turned on the TV and sure enough the horrific images were on every channel I turned to. Panic rose, my family, where are they? Dad works the grave yard shift in Manhattan. Mom and Harry, where do they work? I can't remember ... are they anywhere near those buildings? I called every number I had for them and it would either ring on forever (I still don't understand why they don't have an answering machine?) or couldn't get connected at all. As I got ready for work, the coverage continued on the other attacks at the Pentagon and in PA. It boggles the mind that anyone could do something so horrific in the name of God. I went to work and by mid-morning, I managed to reach dad. He had gone straight home after work that day and didn't linger in Manhattan as he had done so many times. Mom and Harry were working in Queens, so they too were safe. Thank God!

I looked at my schedule for the day. I had an appointment with oral surgeon to get my two remaining wisdom teeth removed that afternoon. I couldn't possibly reschedule ... considering how much pain I had been in the last few days leading to this appointment. I must have been one of the few in America that night who slept (thanks to the drugs that the doctor gave me).

Within the next few days and weeks, replies came in from friends in NYC with news that they were safe and so were their loved ones. I love that America came together in the days, weeks and months that followed. I worried that there would be a backlash against the middle-eastern and Muslim communities (which did happen). I cried a lot. Despite the tragedies of that day, I think we are a stronger people and nation. The only phrase I can think of to describe my feelings for the day is the prayer I often utter, "God bless America!"

DDD: 2009 Salts, Slots, AstroTurf Van and Hula Hoops Tour

Can you believe it? We've lived here for years and have never been to the famed Salt Flats. On Monday (Labor Day), Tracie, Angel, Janeen and I made the pilgrimage to go there so now we can say, "Been there! Done that!"

A google search on this hideous monument on I-80 near Wendover yielded the following on roadsideamerica.com:

We give some credit to the State of Utah for at least tolerating experiments with environmental comedy. "Metaphor: The Tree of Utah" can't be serious. Metaphor is an 87-foot tall sculpture poking up out of the white plains of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

The Tree was created in the early 1980s by European artist Karl Momen. It is also known as "Metaphor: The Tree of Life." It was dedicated in 1986 as "A hymn to our universe whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination." We guess the Mormons like this sort of thing, or it wouldn't be here (though it is pretty far from Salt Lake City...). Artist Momen doesn't have to look at it; he bought patch of land, built the thing, and went back to Sweden.

Near the base of the Tree, there are several fallen "leaves" -- large spherical segments intentionally scattered on the salty ground. It's where your traveling companions would pose if this were a tourist attraction instead of a work of art. As dumb as it is, Metaphor is the only thing for hours worth photographing.

Welcome to the Bonneville Salt Flats!

I love this picture for the bright blue sky contrasting the stark white salt flats ... not to mention the beautiful women and mountain range ...

Strike a pose!

Ta-da!

At the flats ...

Moving? Don't forget the hula hoops!

You too? Hula hoops and a tandem bike? What are you, circus people?

Got to the Saltair, just in time for closing. See ya next time ...

AstroTurf Van

We passed this car on the way back home and couldn't believe our eyes! What in the world? It's a car covered in astro turf! Of course, we pulled over to a rest stop to allow the slow moving vehicle to get ahead and then catch up to them again to take this video.

Desperado

I need a nap!

With only two hours of sleep last night (I’m blaming it on allergies), I need an afternoon nap right now …

bayleaf cafe

Tried out the bayleaf cafe on Main Street and met one of the owners, Seth ... so excited to try out these comfort foods!

Loved the drinks served in large mason jars ...

I had the Chicken Adobo rice bowl and Marcy tried the Chicken Fried Chicken with their hoppin john and the cheese grits.

Semi Nordic Walking

I see this lady waking just about every morning on Main Street. Why is she Nordic walking with only one pole?

Accents and such ...

This is one of my favorite stories to tell about accents … and no lie, this really happened. Now, the story sounds a lot better when I tell it because, well … how do you do accents in writing, right? So, the accented words will be written out as what it sounded like when it was said. Anyway …

I was on my way to a party at Brenda’s house with a couple of friends (one of which was “M” who is a native of Mexico), when I got a phone call from the "hostess with the most-est" asking if we would stop at a store and pick up a few things before coming to the party. She needed three things: 1) drinks, 2) ice cream, and 3) toilet paper (she was running low and didn't want to be without with guests coming over).

As there were three of us, we divvied up the items and agreed to meet at a cash register in a few minutes. Five minutes later, we were at the appointed register except for "M" who had to get toilet paper. So, we went to find "M" in the toilet paper isle. There stood "M" looking overwhelmed by the choices of toilet paper. Basically, "M" believed that people are really picky when it comes to certain products and didn't know what brand Brenda would prefer. So, to get it over and done with I whip out my cell phone and called Brenda.

Inge: Brenda, "M" wants to know what kind of toilet paper you want us to buy.
Brenda: I don't care, just get me a small 4-pack.
"M": Tell her that there's Charmin, Quilted Northern ...
Inge: (repeats the choices to Brenda)
Brenda: Charmin!
Inge: Grab a 4-pack of Charmin.
"M": Well, which kind? There's the single-ply, double-ply, triple ...
Inge: (repeats the choices to Brenda)
"M": Tell her that the triple have more "shits"

We (except for "M") laughed so hard, tears were in our eyes ... "M" didn't talk to us the rest of the night ... but when he did finally talk to us again, "M" told us that he will also not say "beach" and uses the word "seashore" instead.

The wonder that is me ...

I've been thinking about not going to church. I'm burnt out in this singles ward. The few rotten apples have really spoiled the bunch for me. I've no plans on attending my home ward either, though ... I'm just tired. So much is asked of me and I'm not feeling like I'm getting anything out of it. I don't want to feel guilty for not going to church, eating out or shopping on Sundays, not praying or reading my scriptures. I just want to live my life as a good person without the pressure of being "perfect".

I'm certainly not meeting any men to date in this ward and at this point I'd rather find a good non-LDS man, who doesn't drink or smoke, who is true to himself than an LDS man who is a hypocrite.

Gossip

Out of breath and with a serious look on her face, a friend came running up to me before church and said, "I need to talk to you!" Worried that something bad had happened I asked what was the matter. Turns out she had just overheard that someone I might have liked (had he not gone after a girl I can't stand and would only now get my attention if he hits me over the head with a skillet) had gotten engaged over the weekend. Oh, PUH-LEEZ!

The whole thing wouldn't have bugged me so much if the next three hours were not filled with talks about marriage. I was really bugged by the conversation and after I got home I decided to call her to ask why she did what she did. Had I given her the impression that I was "in love" with this newly-engaged man? Did she really think that I was going to get so upset or burst into tears? Did I look/act like I care? No, she admitted, but she "knew" that he had "hurt" me (I was more ticked than hurt by his choice of woman he decided to pursue) and that it was "hot" gossip and she wanted to make sure that I would hear the news from a "friend" ... just in case ... So, I asked her if she also went running to his ex-girlfriend and delivered the news to her to get the reaction she didn't get from me. No, of course not.

I SO hate my singles ward sometimes ...