Sunday, August 16, 2015

The End of the Road?

"The river of time keeps on pulling us..."
I've become increasingly disinterested in updating this blog and may just call it quits. I have not written about trips I/we have taken, thoughts I've had on the upcoming 2016 presidential election, ongoing events in our family, my personal feelings and struggles, my mother's age and physical state, and any number of other topics that once would have seemed worth commenting on. The biggest problem is that I've tended to "accumulate" topics for one long blog post, instead of picking one and writing about it only. However, I'm also "written out" on a variety of subjects, and still others cause me to feel depressed -- and I'm already in too deep a psychological pit to want to keep "digging." (The odd thing is that I write in my journal more than ever these days, so I know it isn't just a question of making myself write.)

I guess I could write in "stream of consciousness" mode, as I often do in my journal, hopping around from topic to topic without any concern for paragraph structure. But...no...I don't need a second journal.  So let me say a few things, post some photos, and I'll call it good.

First, I'm thoroughly amazed that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are even in the conversation about next year's presidential election. Clinton is about as scandal-ridden a candidate that there's ever been; the mere fact that she conducted her official business as Barack Obama's secretary of state on a personal server -- including the exchange of classified e-mails -- might have won her prosecution for espionage were she a lesser political luminary (or a Republican). Democrats may ultimately reject her again, as they did in 2008, but it all goes to show that an Ebola virus might run successfully for office if it had a (D) after its name. As for Trump, he has as detestable a personality, and has the least class, of any rich person I've ever seen. However, he's struck a populist nerve with his politically incorrect opinions on illegal immigration, and I think Rush Limbaugh was dead-on in saying that Trump's appeal lies mainly in his not being a card-carrying member of America's corrupt, poll-driven political class. I would vote for practically any other Republican, although I haven't yet decided which of the 'Pub candidates appeals to me most.

Since March, I have traveled to Las Vegas (again) for business. Dorine and I went to Utah for spring break, partly to take Nicole her new car (her great-grandmother Gloria Finnemore's old Mustang). And Dorine and I have gone to the cabin twice, once in April and the other time in July. (Actually, we went a third time a few weeks ago to help install new kitchen cabinets and plumbing, as well as to do some general clean-up of the property, with three of the other shareholders -- Bob Lenberg, Danny King, and Lynn Thurgood.) Here's a series of photographs from some of these travels.

City Creek Mall, SLC (March)
University Mall, Orem, UT (March)

SLC Temple from roof of Conference Center
Ryker and Kayla, City Creek Mall
Plaza Inn, downtown SLC
Devery and her kids at cabin (April)
Church Office Building, SLC
Rainbow Trail, West Forks (July)

Noelle in the loft of the cabin (April)
Mason in the loft of the cabin (April)

Mason and Tyler at cabin (April)
Heidi at cabin (April)

Kids at cabin (April)
Old headboard from cabin, going to charity


Newly remodeled kitchen at cabin
Maddi, Hailee, Ryker (July)

Chris at cabin (July)
Zach at cabin (July)

Alexis and Ryker (July)
Alexis, Hailee, Maddi (July)

Dorine with Hailee and Maddi (July)
Pinegrove cabin

Me with Hailee and Maddi (July)
Campfire at Pinegrove (July)

Dorine with Maddi (July)
At overlook (July)

Garrett, Zach, and Dorine on Rainbow Trail
Nicole at cabin (July)

Nicole with the little kids (July)
Me at cabin (July)
Inside of Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas (March)




Kids getting muddy at cabin (July)

Devery and Heidi and Kids (April)
At Treasure Falls (April)
At Treasure Falls (April)
In Pagosa Springs (April)
Me with Noelle (April)
Card game at cabin (July)
Dorine with Maddi and Hailee (July)
Kristy and Chris and kids (July)