A few friendly responses to my colleagues:

To Jim Stewart: Thanks for the kudos on my graveyard post. A little encouragement goes a long way. I pulled way back on my Memorial day comments -- trying to stick to the facts and a reflection or two -- but somehow, for you at least, the emotional stuff I deleted came through anyway. Less is more -- more or less.

To Dan Bammes: Your recent posts continue to provoke me. I often tend to either/or, all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking -- usually to my detriment. So since I've been trying to spot these distortions in my own thoughts, I've seen them elsewhere, too...

For example: Why not let both a man-made statue and a divinely-created mountain peak say their own somethings? There's no touching the peak, but if I needed to do some hands-on sculpture or just enjoy some mere human's attempt, I wouldn't hold myself or them to mountain-creation standards.

Anyway, Dan, thanks for sharing your journey. Keep fighting, my friend. Dex sounds like a fairly ruthless regimen, so I'm glad your treating her as a potential teacher and not just an unpleasant drug.

Found while looking for something else: Helen Keller's birthday

"Many people would be more truthful were it not for their uncontrollable desire to talk." --Edgar Watson Howe

Comment?

Bought my first full suspension mountain bike back in March. My previous mountain bike was a pretty beat up Liahona. Here are my before and after impressions.

Liahona
(About a $400 mountain bike purchased four years ago. Has seen two years of daily riding on the streets of East LA and two summers of weekly riding in the foothills of Salt Lake.)

• Climbing:
  Every bit of pressure I apply to the pedals will propel me forward. This is tough, but I definitely feel in touch with the trail. Wish I had better lungs and legs so I wasn't always having to catch up with the faster riders.
  
  
• Downhill:
  My hands ache from pulling on the brakes. My arms ache from serving as shock absorbers. Uphill hurts but not as much as downhill. Hate those creek beds and all the rocks. Why do such great rides have to have such bad endings?
  
  
• Conclusion:
  Can't believe I put up with this old bike as long as I did. What was I thinking?

Schwinn Mesa
(About a $400 full suspension mountain bike purchased in March 2003.)

• Climbing:
  At first this feels a little less efficient. Some of my energy is absorbed by the shocks and I feel much more bounce, but I can lead the way sometimes. I'm not as ragged. So much better gearing and suspension. Guess my lungs and legs aren't that bad after all.
  
  
• Downhill:
  Wow, my brakes work. I'm not in pain. Don't have worry about the rocks as much. This is also as smooth as swimming. I'm both faster and safer. And having much more fun.
  
  
• Conclusion:
  Loved my first Schwinn as a 7-year-old. I think this Schwinn's also destined for a place in my heart. If I'm having this much fun on a relatively inexpensive bike, how would something more exotic perform?

Q: Where have you been?
A: Celebrating.

Q: What?
A: Seasonal stuff.

Q: You already wrote about the birthday. That was weeks ago.
A: But not the 25th anniversary, the sixth grade and high school graduations.

Q: And?
A: Well I've already written about them. Not here. In the journal.

Q: So why even mention them here?
A: Good question. Maybe because there are related resources.

• Lesson Plans - Family Unity
• Lesson Plans - Family Traditions
• Lesson Plans - Celebrations - Let's Party

This year the Memorial Day weekend spanned my birthday on Saturday the 24th. That morning we made the traditional visit to my dad's grave in this section of the Salt Lake City Cemetary. Before this visit, if you'd asked me what's visible in the distance when you look east from dad's plot, I might have said the University of Utah, but it would have been a vague reference to the campus, not a specific visual memory of the big block U. Certainly I've seen it many times, but didn't notch it in my memory -- even though dad is a U grad. Somehow I see -- and remember -- much more detail when I'm packing a camera and knowing that I might later be blogging about what I've shot.

The Bonneville Shoreline trail includes two bike bridges spanning portions of Parley's Canyon. This is the north bridge spanning I-80. The smaller south bridge spans the I-80 exit to I-215.

The Roller Coaster trail east of the University of Utah.