Travels with Lar

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

January 16 – 20, 2012

 This was a work trip. I really don't mind going to Ottawa. I think it is a beautiful place. But in the middle of January – really? It is just cold – still beautiful – but cold. And it is always dark – a long ways north so that in the winter the sun sets earlier and rises later. I didn't see much of Ottawa this trip. Besides, we had an ice storm one night and a snow storm another night – which meant driving around wasn't going to be a lot of fun. So my pictures of Ottawa come from postcards this time.  Oh, and you will notice these are spring time and summer postcards.

This one could have been a winter picture.  In the winter, this canal is a favorite ice skating area.  My class said I sould go down and ice skate on the canal.  I don't think so - there wouldn't be anyone there to take me to the hospital.

The class went well.

The motel was nice – and it was only 1 kilometer from the office so I walked all three days.

It was an okay trip.

Memories

January 10, 2012

1812 Overture

I have many memories of my high school years.  Many of them I would like to forget. And many of them I have forgotten.  But occasionally something will happen that jogs one of those memories to the fron of the grey matter.  Today, I had a grey matter jog event. 

As I have been driving, lately I have been listening to classical music.  I have now been listening to Tchaiskovsky's music.  On the CD, the last piece is the 1812 Overture.  I do like that piece, and not just because it has cannons.  It was one of my father's favorites and so I grew up listening to that stirring music until it plays in my head.  One time in high school, that familiarity really saved me a lot of grief.

I don't know if Mr. Shull hated me or liked me.  I think he was disappointed in me because I had some promise that he saw, but I never really applied myself to music.  You see, he was my junior high and high school band teacher.  In fact I would have to say he was one person outside of my family who had a great influence on my life.  I, like I alluded to, I think he saw talent in me that I never bothered to develop.  But he did his best to try to inspire me, along with a lot of other students.  He was elected as Teacher of the Year by the Colorado Education Association during my junior year.  But I digress.

There were times in band when we worked grueling schedules to prepare for a concert or a competition.  Day after day after day, we would play and practice the same thing.  Some of them were fun, but many got to be "old" with too much repetition.  But right after a concert, it was exciting to see what Mr. Shull would pass out for the band to start working on next.  On one such occasion he walked in and passed out a symphonic band arrangement of The 1812 Orchestra.  I was excited because I loved the music.  There was also trepidation because I knew it was HARD.  Actually, I knew it was too hard for a high school band.  Still, it would be fun to play it for a while.  I couldn't see how we would ever practice enough to really perform the music.

Anyway, he passed the music out and then went to his podium and put the score on his music stand.  It looked like an encyclopedia.  He said that he wanted to see how well we could sight read it.  He raised his hands to start, then dropped his hands and said he wanted one of us - a band member to direct this.  And then, without waiting for volunteers he looked at me and said, "Larry, come and direct it."

WHAT?  This had to be some weird joke.  Overnight he must have decided I needed humbling, or humiliating.  I was frightened.  I was not the most social person in high school, and even though band was really the center of my social experience, I didn't know many of the people in that band very well.  I went to the front and Mr. Shull gave me his baton and he just walked away.

I opened the score and looked at it. 

Each page was one line of music, with each parts in the band shown.  How in the world was I supposed to know what was going on.  I looked at it and suddenly realized that I could read that music.  I knew that music so that it just played in my mind.  And with that, I knew what was going on in the score.  And so, I stated to direct.  I must admit that we had to stop a couple of times.  Sometimes it was because I needed to figure out where we were.  Sometimes it was because I needed the band to figure out where we were.  But in the end, my high school band sight read The 1812 Overture with me directing.  And at the end, the band gave me applause.  It felt good.

Ant then Mr. Shull walked up and said, "Okay, pass that music in."  It was just for sight reading. 
We weren't going to play it.  But for me, well I appreciated knowing that just once I got to direct The 1812 Overture and I did it alright. 

Mr. Shull never brought that experience up, but there were other times when he would stand up and say, "I want one of you to direct this," and more than half the time he chose me without waiting for volunteers.

Christmas Poem - 2011

Did we mention that this year was crazy busy over Christmas – well we only got about 20 Christmas Poems actually mailed out – so for all of the avid readers, here is the 2011 edition:

It's the night before Christmas, the halls decked with holly.
The lights and the tinsel make Santa Clause jolly.
So he jumps in his sleigh and he dons his red hat,
And flies to the south, to see where we are at.

Andrea's clan had a big change this year,
They left Southern Cal, and went without fear.
A brand new culture they are learning to taste.
They are now in Virginia at the Quantico base.

The move took two months and to save them some fuss,
While Ben found a house, they spent six weeks with us.
They played in the mountains, and explored all about,
In August, with Nana, they left and went out.

Ben's new assignment has less deployment,
For him and his family that means more enjoyment.
Their home in the woods means Andrea's looking
For ways to spend time besides cleaning and cooking.

Michael's found love, with a Colorado girl.
Jasen's happy out East, his head's in a whirl.
"Diary of Dork", are Emma's fun books.
Spencer's king of his class, with his style and his looks. 

Mat and Andi's family had some big changes.
Like nine months in Leadville, over yon mountain ranges.
They loved the life style with its camping and bikes,
But 12 feet of snow and the cold there – well yikes.

Then they move one more time, a less lofty scene.
To a town in the foothills that's called Evergreen.
They think this is better, and why? Well to start
It got a McDonalds and a closer WalMart.

Mathew has a new job, HR for a mine.
He likes it a lot, it's more than just fine.
Andi's adjusting to all that has changed
Her schedule and life style are all rearranged.

Andrew likes his new school, he does great in his class.
Mylie does active sports – she love games that go fast.
Wyatt is so happy to play cars some more.
They are happy each morning to see deer out their door.

Erica and Rich did their level best
To not change their house - or at least their address.
But they did do construction, they finished downstairs
To build for their daughters, their own private lairs.

Rich keeps on working, providing the best,
Erica's busy just feathering the nest.
Alice has pre-school, self-assured and so bright.
Evy is precocious, but her smile makes things right.

We miss Aaron's hood-winks, his talents and smile.
To recall without tears has taken a while.
Our reunion this summer was not all about fun.
We all went to the temple, Aaron's work was all done.

A Louisville duplex, Brea and Ben's new abode.
The old Stones's homestead is just down the road.
They are making it theirs, they are making it cute
And they wake every morning, as the train blows its toot.

Brea helps REI selling boots for the trails.
Ben's working at Croc's driving internet sales.
They try to be active; they have lots of friends,
And with their church callings, their pace never ends.

Michael's out on his own with his lovely new bride,
Named Taylor, his help-meet, his love, by his side.
In South California they're making their marks,
And their family has Tonks, when she's happy she barks.

They both have a job and they're both taking class
And finals just ended, they're glad that they passed.
And coming this spring, their life's changing fast,
Cause then they're expecting a wee baby lass.

Larry and Margaret thought it was wise
To buy a new home with a bit larger size.
It gives them more room where visitors stay.
And it gives them more room where grandkids can play.

Larry traveled a lot, what more can we say,
You'd just have to blink and he's flying away.
All over the States, but that was not all,
Israel and Malaysia were two ports of call.

Mar worked real hard and finished her schooling
To become an RN, the last year was grueling.
Then she studied some more, and doing her best
She just took and passed the national test.

Santa's back on his sleigh, all the presents are gone,
But our hearty good wishes he carries along.
To all of our friends and family, too,
He's taking our love and best wishes to you.

Events

Christmas Season - Family Time

Christmas was really family time this year. We had a number of events and each of them filled somebodies house to the brim. It is so nice to have adult children. No one has to do everything. They just get together and say, "you bring this and you bring this and I'll bring this – and voila – an event happens. Mind you, this is all happening in spite of all of the regular Christmas season craziness.

December 18 – Family Birthday Party
We opted to have this at Mat and Andi's house. December is the birthday month for Erica, Lar and Mathew so we all get together and celebrate them together. This year's attendees – Lar and Mar and Grandma Baker (3), Mat and Andi (5), Erica and Rich (4), Breanne and Ben (2), Ricky and Deanna (6) – Total 20. We ate, played with the Wii and other games and just did family things.

December 24 – Christmas Eve
We have the big holiday dinner on Christmas Eve. We held this one at our house. Lar and Mar and Grandma Baker (3), Mat and Andi (5), Erica and Rich (4), Breanne and Ben (2), Michael and Taylor – who flew in from Southern California early that morning (2), Ricky and Deanna (6), Sean and Heather (2) – Total – 24. We mostly just ate and played.

December 25 – Christmas
This is an open buffet sort of get together where we just eat all sorts of goodies we put out for the day – and of course show everyone what we got for Christmas – and play with it. Lar and Mar and Grandma Baker (3), Erica and Rich (4), Breanne and Ben (2), Michael and Taylor (2), Sean and Heather (2) – and the Missionaries (2) – Total 15.

December 26 – FHE
We just had fun with Brea and Ben, Michael and Taylor, Michaels friend Amanda and her husband Neal. Danced to the Wii and played Psychiatrist after eating Pizza.

December 27 – Baby Shower
Breanne and Erica had a Colorado Baby Shower for Taylor. It's a girl,s thing with food and games and just talking – Total 12. No wait – Michael and I kept a low profile and watched kiddos – 5 of them – making a Grand Total of 24.

December 29-30 – Play Day and Goodbye to Michael
Not a real event – just a good family time. It happened at Mat and Andi's. Breanne and Ben took Michael and Taylor up to Mat and Andi's on Thursday night. They ate and played games and Breanne and Ben came home and left Michael and Taylor there. Friday, Mar and Lar drove to Mat and Andi's. We had pizza and just goofed around. Then we drove Michael and Taylor to the airport where they flew home after a brief delay. Over the evening, Mat and Andi hosted 11 – just for fun.

January 1 – Not it's not a New Year Party – It's Ben's Birthday
We had Ben's birthday party at our house – dinner, presents and games. Lar and Mar and Grandma Baker (3), Mat and Andi (5), Erica and Rich (4), Breanne and Ben (2), Ben's parents, Ron and Nedra and his sister Rachel (3), Bens' brother's family Jessie and Becky (6), Ben's friend Danny and his wife Ammy (4), and our missionaries (2) – Total 29 – Yikes.

January 2
No one came over. We took down all of the Christmas decorations. I have to go back to work tomorrow. I guess it is over – until February – when we are having the February Birthday Party at Erica's, because she will have her remodel finished.