Since the blog is a little slow tonight, I'll answer Dad's request and tell ya'll a little about life here.

I live about 20 min south of downtown Memphis, just about 3 or 4 miles into Mississippi. Memphis is a regular large metropolitan area, but it isn't huge. Definitely smaller than Denver, maybe about the same size as Salt Lake (the downtown seems smaller than SLC).

This isn't the building where I live, but mine looks just like it

It's very green with huge trees and hedge rows everywhere and it's rained about 3/4 of the days we've been here. I guess that's the price you pay for the green. We've had some thunder and lightening storms that kept me from sleeping for an hour or more at night and even a tornado watch one county over.

The houses where I work are inhabited by about 90% Black folks. The Wal-Mart that we go to is about 50/50 Black and White. Our apartment complex is about 3/4 White and it looks like there are 1 or 2 Black families in our ward. The races seems to be divided along socio-economic lines, but not completely. We live in a nicer part of town at the very southern edge of the Memphis metro area so I'm guessing that's why there are more Whites in the Ward and apartments.

Work has been fun. We usually start around 3 pm and make it home between 9 and 11. We've worked across the Mississippis River in West Memphis, Arkansas and now we're working near our house, just across the border into Tennesse. There are no shortage of characters out there and the best ones are the old, Black matriarchs. I had a 90 yr old lady tell me that I better not be trying to slip anything past her because it wouldn't work and my friend about got a whacked for putting his foot on a lady's coffee table. She didn't even hesitate or care that she didn't know him, as soon as his foot hit her table she said, "Git yo foot off my table".




Happy Mother's Day Mom. Thanks for everything, especially all those paper routes and papers typed during High School.

After 23 Years.......

The inside unit.

The door attachment

The power unit.

My favorite part. I don't have to "fling" the door up and down any more.

It was a busy week so I'll try to keep it brief. I did 4 Eagle boards of review, 1 bishop's training, and met a contractor late evening on Friday night. So, I had no evenings to myself (whine, whine). This next week looks a little easier. I didn't even have time to mow the lawn. I'll do that tomorrow.

Yesterday I installed the garage door opener I got for my birthday. It took quite a while as a one man job (Mom helped occasionally) but I am excited to have it in.

Early in the week I met a local ward PFR in Kamiah to look at a job we're doing and afterwards we sat in the pickup and he told me his life story for about 1 1/2 hours. The most interesting part was his experience in the Korean War. He was in the first Marine Division that fought it's way into North Korea and all the way to the Chinese border and then got cut off from behind. They were told they would have to fight their way back out. There were 30,000 of them against 150,000 Chinese. He made it all through the war and never spilled a drop of blood. He did receive 8 different commendations (medals). Now I am into the Korean War history. When you know someone who was there it makes it much more interesting. Much of his fighting was done in the snow at about 30 below zero. Google it if you want. They are called the Chosin Frozen (a name they gave themselves). The Chosin is a reservoir they fought to take. I even found the name of my cousin that was killed in that war.

In 1964 Eugene and I went to the National Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. On the way we stopped in Dearborn, Michigan and toured one of the Ford assembly plants. They were making a new car called the Mustang. As we were going along the assembly line there was a huge box of Mustang Fender Emblems. Some of the guys took some. I didn't and have always wanted one. So, with my birthday money from Grandpa, I ordered a left hand and right hand emblem. They are now proudly displayed on my bookcase - 45 years later.

For Mothers Day in the ward, Mom suggested a "Brunch" during relief society. She put it all together and after the opening exercises we open the accordion door off the relief society room and there is was, all set up. There was chicken salad crescents, vegi trays, nuts, mints, etc. The men all picked up their children and went to the nursery were the real circus began. Those without children sat in the foyer and visited. The sisters seemed to really enjoy it and had fun visiting and talking. The Elders have requested Sister Zirkers doughnuts for Father's Day.

That's about it for now. More next week.

Bucksnort - One of the many towns I've seen while driving around the Tennesse countryside.