Saturday, August 30, 2008

When are we going to learn?!


Would somebody please speak out about this besides me? I am tired of going to socials, meetings, or any other sort of gatherings where the host furnishes an assortment of store-bought cookies. Naturally, the good cookies go fast. This includes the chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies, and sometimes even the snickerdoodles.


But there is always an abundance of left-over raisin cookies. Let's wake up, people!

Buy less raisin cookies!


The history of Samuel Brooks, Sr.

I haven't been blogging much this summer. After having finished my administrative degree in June, I was looking forward to writing in here a lot more. But something came up...

I don’t think I’ve really ever explained my major focus of this summer that just ended: the autobiography of my grandfather, Samuel Brooks, Sr. (1886-1962). Several months ago, I told my father that I would be willing to take the autobiography that his father typed in 1960 and retype it into the computer, adding photos, editing it, etc. Initially I thought I would be spending a few short hours simply typing, but as questions arose and my interest increased, my labor turned into complete absorption. All summer long I typed, read and reread, asked my dad questions for clarification, scanned photos, visited St. George for a photo-seeking tour, and scoured the Internet for additional info. After adding in Sam Sr.’s military journal, which included info about his courtship with my grandmother Winnifred Parry Brooks, dozens of pictures, and over 200 footnotes, what began as a 50-page autobiography turned into a 100-page document. My brother Pete sent it to a printing company where we had 25 copies bound in soft covers, and we gave copies to each of my siblings and their children. I was extremely pleased with our final product.

Yesterday (my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary) I presented a copy of the history to my father and mother. We read excerpts aloud, discovered facts about our family history many of us never knew, wept, and rejoiced.

I cannot help but wonder if I was perhaps some sort of small tool in the hands of Heavenly Father to help my grandfather’s story and life lessons to be told to his descendants. I look forward to meeting my grandfather someday, who died five years before I was born. But now I know him.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Homo high

My friend Will recently sent me some information about California's proposed AB 2567 bill, which would make May 22nd an official day commemorating homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality in California government schools in honor of the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of Harvey Milk, the late San Francisco supervisor who was a homosexual activist. Will was outraged about this. This was my reply:

Hay Will,

This whole Harvey Milk thing is udderly unbelievable, and a bunch of bull. It seems the ho-moo-sexuals will be pulling for their agenda for-heifer, or until they get their way. It really gets under my skim. I don't know... maybe we need to put this issue out to pasture for a while, or perhaps form a Graze-Straight alliance to meat-iate between the two groups. If those who are a little "light in the hoofers" successfully steak this claim, who knows what their next beef will be. I for one think it's a little jerky of them, and affirm that in no way should we cow down to them.

At any rate, I just wanted to throw in my 2%'s worth on what I consider a pour decision.

Con leche,
Timbo

P.S. If this goes through, I'll be calling in sick with you.