WHAT IS A "QUOTABLE QUOTE" WORTH?

Christmas morning, amid the multiple rounds of opening presents (who's turn is it next?), we came to the moment when the Annual Papa Wyatt and Naomi Envelopes are distributed to everyone - usually from their carefully selected places of honor in the upper branches and decorations of the Christmas tree - and we all share in the love and attention of those thoughtful gifts.

As we were each considering our own portion and how we might use a few personal dollars, I noticed one of the grand-daughters intently studying a twenty dollar bill. (Their Mom had thoughtfully converted the Christmas check this year so the girls would see actual cash when they opened their own.) This bill was one of the new treasury, anti-counterfeit issues, and had that strange yellowish cast to the front and the more usual, historic color on the the back side. Most noticably, it was really a "mint" issue, meaning in this case, it was absolutly unused and as sharp and crisp and new as if straight-off-the-press that moment! A flawless, eye-catching specimen!

"This money is brand new", she exclaimed in tone of wonder. "It's never even been folded, and it's just starting to turn green."

I don't think she understood either the brief moment of silence (while the adults processed that grand revelation) or the howls of mirth and merryment as we all roared at the implications and innocence of her observation. And you know, in one sense, her description absolutely valid.

So, in the midst of a morning of abundant blessings, a money-memory was made to be enjoyed long after the new bill is spent, bent, crumpled, folded, soiled, and multilated. The memory is worth far more than the denomination, for it is priceless to us.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

For forty years Betty and I celebrated Christmas at home with our children. There were a few holidays in other places, but most were at home and the majority of those were in Alaska, of course. Then after a decade in Washington State, we began to realize that our kids had kids and needed to develop their own Christmas traditions. So now we are going to Edwin and Patty's place and enjoying the time and ambiance of Christmas in their warm and wonderful home.


This row of stockings Patty cross-stitched for her family reminds me of the stockings Betty made for each of us over the years. Those treasures were always hung with such anticipation every year in our living room, although more often from the wall-hung shelving than from the odd, metal, slanted fireplace hood. I guess we tend to replicate the traditions of our childhoods.

I have chosen this picture to share for my MERRY CHRISTMAS to you. It is my Christmas Card of choice this year. My wish for you, whoever you are and wherever you are is for peace and happiness. I hope you are aware of how much God loves you and I hope you have a chance to honor Him in return. I hope you will be healthy, safe, and amid folk who care for you. I hope you will have a chance to receive special blessings and somehow be able to pass some of your joy on to others.

I heard that the phrase "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" is considered too trite and trendy to use anymore. I really disagree. It's a compact truth, and it points to the much greater truth that Jesus is the Savior in all seasons for anyone who obediently accepts his Lordship. Giving yourself to Jesus would be a gift that He would treasure, and I urge you to consider doing just that. I'm praying for you to make that decision soon, and if I can help in any way, please, please, let me know.

THRILLS FROM MT. ST.HELENS

Well the mountain is actually in an ongoing, low key eruption all the time, but usually you can't see anything from our side. Today, however...


A mighty steam plume climbed well above the rim into the cold air above. We have had a string of many cold days, and this fairly common event continues now and then. To see it the day must be mostly cloud-free and it helps to have direct sun on the rising water vapor as was the case this afternoon. Vapor or steam rises all the time, but a minor earthquake, an avalanche, or certain atmospherics remind us the volcano is at work every day. It's quite pretty sometimes.

PAPA JOHN'S VERSION OF "I HAVE...."

[In response to Patty’s challenge recently,
(see http://clayinkpot.blogspot.com/ )
and as Thank You for a Wonderful Day at the
Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Seattle today…]

I have an unshakable faith in Almighty God.
I have a wife who is truly a saint in the Lord’s church.
I have three kids, each much smarter and more polite than I.
I have a terrific son-in-law and a special daughter-in-law.
I have five really special grand daughters.
I have lived in six states.
I have been to all fifty states.
I have traveled by car, train, plane, boat, burro, and shank’s mare.
I have waded in the Gulfs of California, Catalina, Mexico, El Golfo de
Venezuela, and the Bight of Benin.
I have swum in a Salton Sea and in a Great Salt Lake, both buoyantly.
I have fished among sea lions, porpoise, and great grey whales.
I have directed a “mule camp” using wild, free range burros.
I have baptized a man in his wheelchair.
I have two precious Bible Study LIFE Groups I enjoy teaching,
I have visited friends and family in Togo, West Africa – twice.
I have read between two and ten books a week since I was five,
I have walked on Patty’s glacier and others many times.
I have fond memories of the bonsai I used to create and nurture.
I have a fascination with Japanese foods and cooking techniques.
I have donated many gallons of O- blood.
I have a large and wonderful church family.
I have to take nine pills a day currently.
I have a lifelong curiosity about earthquakes and volcanoes.
I have been a janitorial business.
I have a really full schedule, especially on Wednesdays.
I have had a twelve mile long bicycle newspaper route.
I have raised chickens by the hundreds for income.
I have been one of Pacific Telephone’s first long-distance operators.
I have worked in the world’s largest avocado packing plant.
I have rolled massive granite boulders off of a steep mountain.
I have about fifteen versions of the Bible.
I have a thing about shopping at garage and estate sales.
I have a sensitivity to caffeine.
I have a secret 100% productive halibut hole in Alaska.
I have driven the Alaska Highway and all Alaska State highways.
I have a pet-free home.
I have a Dad who is a real special gentleman.
I have my Dad’s career toolbox.
I have been in six foreign countries.
I have viewed NYC from inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty.
I have flat feet.
I have untold and uncountable blessings.
I have a collection of Indian pottery.
I have a son who teaches 3rd grade and does summer mission work.
I have a multi-talented daughter.
I have preached where most folk did not speak/or understand English.
I have a son who is a skilled airplane pilot.
I have a gentleman’s orchard with twenty-two different kinds of fruit.
I have most USA stamps from 1901 to 2000 in mint condition.
I have been shipwrecked in a desert.
I have a fairly large personal library, with emphasis on religious texts.
I have started in oil-painting and have joined a guild of oil painters.
I have had a valid Amateur [Ham] Radio License for about 35 years.
I have fond memories of gillnetting for salmon in Alaska.
I have seriously underused my 22’ camping trailer.
I have a serious itch to move and improve our housing/life situation.
I have climbed Tahquitz Rock with technical gear.
I have directed the musicals Brigadoon and Oklahoma.
I have done a little spelunking.
I have a splendid collection of everyday Togo artifacts.
I have driven the entire Yukon "Top-of-the-World Highway".
I have walked beside the mighty Yukon River.
I have watched noodling on the Mississippi.
I have trucked Duke Snyder’s avocados to the packing plant.
I have free dived to 35’ for abalone at Point Loma.
I have type II diabetes and also take a heart medication.
I have rafted on the Ohio River, Tom Sawyer style.
I have owned at least twelve vehicles in fifty years.
I have, at foot of Niagara Falls, looked behind the falling water.
I have panned gold in famous gold camp communities of Alaska.
I have twice climbed all the steps of the Washington Monument.
I have slept overnight on the New York Subway.
I have seen most of the grand National Parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, National Mall, Carlsbad Caverns, Denali, Death Valley, Grand Teton, Mesa Verde, Redwoods, ETC….
I have precious heirlooms which were my grandparent’s favorites too.
I have pitched chum (bait) on a San Diego deep sea fishing vessel .
I have been a church elder for nearly fourteen years.
I have unknowingly been near a tornado.
I have memories that date to World War II.
I directed a Highways Dept. OJT Program for the Governor of Alaska.
I assisted in emergency communications when Mt. St. Helens erupted.
I helped with recovery efforts when the Princendam sank in Alaska.
I learned to drive in a secret, contraband Model B Ford Roadster.
I attended Tanda church camp for 17 straight years.
I regret selling my '33 Plymouth Coupe with rainbow opera windows.
I was within a few feet of a (25’?) foraging killer whale.
I once had a precious and awesome mentor named Clark.
I taught English classes for a year at Columbia Christian High School.
I am married to a famous published author.
I experienced an early form of school desegregation in Ohio.
I coached golf for a school team.
I passed up a good scholarship from Sanford to attend Pepperdine.
I lettered in Swimming.
I once found rare CA Indian artifacts that were a thousand years old.
I was an Audiologist for the State of Alaska.
I used to camp for days at a time in the Sonoran High Desert.
I retired in 1987.
I soloed an airplane on 8-8-88.
I used to buy 50-80 hamburgers/fries/drinks at a time at McDonalds.
(It was one of the first three stores and burgers were only 12 cents.)
I “vacationed” in Caracas, Venezuela when Betty and I visited GK.
I sunburned badly on a Carribean island.
I am supportive of missions and missionaries that preach the Gospel.
I once enjoyed reading encyclopedias and finished three sets.
(World Book; Book of Knowledge; and much of Encyclopedia Britannica)
I used to play in a Bluegrass Band with a bunch of teacher buddies.
I have way too much stuff.
I am currently in a process of downsizing and minimizing my stuff.
I love genuine bluegrass music, but especially Gospel Bluegrass.
I had dozens of jobs as a teenager.
I really enjoy Bible study.
I am totally frustrated by the rapid pace of change in recent years.
I am convinced that most change does not better the situation.
I wish I still had a boat.
I learned to waterski in New Hampshire; my teacher was a blond.
I saw a GIANT crocodile in the Everglades as it crossed the road.
And just today, thanks to Patty and Edwin, I saw portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls in that inspiring exhibit in Seattle's Science Center. Thanks, Kids.

TAG, Now it's YOUR TURN. Just tell me where to find your list.

ELECTRONIC ENTROPY

With apologies to my favorite son-in-law, I must briefly discuss the entropy or devolution of most modern electronic devices, especially those of the "must have to be cool in the post-modern age" variety. It was bad enough when we were swamped with battery powered electrical gadgets: tape recorders, transistor radios, motor driven mechanical toys, flashlights with real incandescent bulbs, and host of other essential stuff. Then along came the microprocessor and suddenly everything from the blender to the toothbrush to musical Christmas cards HAD to have a "mysterious-type chip" in it somewhere to be desirable.

I've long ago been dragged by scorn and shame into the "laptop age", and I can actually blunder around mostly on my own nowadays in the safer and simpler portions of MyPrograms or in Internetland for Dummies, and most of this all by myself. But I am still wary of an electronic world/universe in which I don't quite grasp what things do, let alone how they do it. My bride may leave me if I ever again in her hearing ask "WHY?" when simply seeking to grasp the independent behavior of my P (for Personal) C (for Computer). Now just when was it that we lost control of our personal lives and privacy??

Today after weeks of struggle I dropped the hammer on my most recent electronic whiz-bang: my darling digital camera. Without my permission or approval, it had decided to rarely take an acceptable flash picture. Either it would underexpose and wash out all the color with darkness or it would grossly overexpose and eliminate most color in a snow white blizzard of pure glare or it would flash brightly and then delay a few seconds before actually taking the picture by which time people sometimes moved clear out of the frame or worst of all, maybe once in fifteen or twenty shots it would most randomly produce a fairly good flash assisted picture. It was worse that a broken clock which is right - but predicictably - only twice a day.

This little gem had all the features I had sought during the shopping phase. Pocketability, Hords of controlable features, and most of all a compact but excellent 10X optical lens system on board with a fully controlable stabilization system. And much, much more. But when it went on "electronic strike", neither the manual, the internet, two friendly camera gurus, and two brand-carrying photo stores, nor endless experimentation were able to put the malfunctioning humpty-dumpty back in working order. So back to the local emporium it went. I returned the thing.

I had this camera just over five months, so I immediately - within minutes - attempted to replace it with the same model (secretly hoping for an updated version perhaps) as the defunct one only half a year ago was the last available wonder just available on the cutting edge of the camera market. And immediately - within minutes again - I was informed that not only was that special model now discontinued, it was considered obsolete. Something is not right or fair about that, Folks! Obsolete in only five months? I had barely finished reading and understanding the manual, for crying out loud.

Bottom line?? This blog has no pictures to offer today. And until I can find that particular camera, maybe in a discount magazine, Eh? - You'll have to struggle through future blogs with me in primitive old black and white words. How regressive and antique it is going to seem. Let's call it "Retro Weblogging". OK?

Isn't it amazing how transient our moderm electronic wonders actually are? From amazing devices to junk in the failure of a microscopic pathway deep inside a chip, and the monetary value simultaneously
drops from breathtaking levels to pennies - and we have been told recently what little worth and great bother pennies are today.

I am currently deep into dispossessing myself of four decades of "ham radio gear and other electronic whatchamacallits that were vital to a happy life at some point in my past. Some of it still works, but no one really cares about it anymore. Some of it is defunct or even broken treasures I just couldn't part with without trying to fix it, and some of it was acquired by some sort of perverse reverse black hole in my attic. What most of it has in common is disrepair or obsolescence. In a moment of reverse polarity a nice piece of equipment can turn from a world spanning quality shortwave receiver to a lousy boat anchor. Thus it has always been; thus it seems after dabbling with electronics for forty years. What I am really afraid of now it that this spendy crackerjack laptop will arbitrarily decide (like it's little digital camera cousin) to fry itself. That would truly be ugly.

ANOTHER BOOK SIGNING

Friday evening, during the Downtown Vancouver Art Walk Hour, Betty was hosted by the proprietor of the Carnelian Tea Shop in cooperation with the owner of the Cover To Cover Bookstore for a very special time of presenting and signing her book, Jessie; The Story of a Genteel Lady in Frontier Alaska.During the event several acquaintances made the special effort to stop by and celebrate the evening with Betty, including daughter Patty and several friends from church. One who came early with his daughter was a lifetime Alaskan who actually owns property in Eagle where Jessie lived for so many years. It was fun visiting with him about the "Last Frontier" and his career.

Let me also comment on the wonderful hospitality of the ladies in this very unique and attractive Tea Shop. Many beautiful gift items are artfully displayed, and the samples provided of jams and scones and precious teas made the evening quite memorable indeed. By all means, make a special effort to visit this friendly store during the holiday season, and while you are there step across the parking lot to the bookstore too. You may find the perfect gift for your special someone in one of these remarkable shops.