Ramblings
Below are some of my rants. They are just for fun. If you feel they are offensive, the best thing to do is to not read them.
Colfax Excitement
It is time for an update on life in the burgeoning city of Colfax. When we see excitement, we usually lay down beside it and take a...
read moreLazy Beckmans
Ruth and I really need to get involved. This fall we went to NC for a Sibling Get Together. Then our church had its 150th (Sesquicentennial). Ruth cooked for 70. I am a Do Chef. I also led the choir and was MC of the Celebration Time. Movie...
read moreEvening Primroses
Graestone always has a surprise for us. After seven years we still have new plants and flowers appear. Ruth plants things all the time, but these are plants that were waiting for water and care. About four years ago, Evening Primroses appeared in the “cemetery,” and every morning in the summer we look out at the yellow flowers. By 10:00 am they are wilted and gone, but the next morning more have bloomed. What we didn’t know was that when a flower blooms it happens in about fifteen seconds. This film clip is dark because this...
read moreThe Church in the Movie, The Graduate
In the movie, The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman climbs side stairs of a white church and bangs on the glass inside because Catharine Ross is getting married. The church was the La Verne United Methodist Church. My family were members of the church, and there were no side stairs. The studio rented the church for $1000 a day. We had recently built the church, and I suppose the six days brought in some much-needed cash. The fact that there is a bare breast clip and that Dustin Hoffman’s character is having an affair with one of his...
read moreAn English Wedding- June 2017
The wedding was “brilliant” as the people in the UK say. This was the first wedding on my side of the family since I married Ruth. (Well, other than the weddings of our children.) The venue was Sherbourne Park: It is worth a look. We assembled before 1:00 PM at the big house and “walked through” to the church. The service was Anglican and quite dignified, and yet the Vicker had a dry wit. After the wedding, we moved back to the main house and the marquee (tent). There was an ice cream cart and Pimms. They also had nibbles...
read moreCatharine
Catharine Janzen was my mother-in-law. She was a giving woman who did not suffer fools gladly. Catharine heard Dan West talk about his idea for sustainable gifts to those in need. Dan West conceived of the idea of sending a pregnant animal to someone in need. That person passes the first pregnant female animal on to the next Heifer Project recipient. Catharine married Paul Janzen and they operated a dairy in Madera, California. The first Janzen heifer, named Faith, was sent to Japan in 1956. Heifer Project is a family tradition. Ruth and I...
read moreCleaning Culverts
I love rain. When I was a boy, you could hear the rain on the roof. I suppose that was because there was not a lot of insulation up there. While I was sleeping, snug in my bed, my father would be out checking the gullies and culverts under the driveways on the place. He knew that if it hadn’t rained for a while, culverts would plug up with leaves and twigs and would wash out driveways. I remember thinking how cold it must be, out there. We lived in Southern California and probably most of the rains were in the 40s and 50s but what did a kid...
read morePlu-To
I am thinking about Pluto (Plu-Toe), the planet. When the 9th planet was discovered, it was such a big deal Walt Disney named a dog after it. Fast forward to my teaching days. As an elementary teacher, I taught science and of course I passed on information about the nine planets. There are probably 1000 former students who know that Pluto was the 9th planet. Well, I suppose, given my questionable abilities to teach, there are perhaps 600 students who may have a vague recollection of planets and possibly, Pluto. I retired and to tell you the...
read moreMicrowaves Are Not Faster
Ruth didn’t want a microwave for years. She said she could heat things on a gas stove faster than a microwave. She still can. Ruth believes in a big fire under things. But of course we eventually got a microwave and have worn several out. I have decided I agree with Ruth. Microwaves are no faster than other devices. When I punch plus one (1) on a microwave the timer seems to take about one minute. I stand impatiently and say things like, “A minute on this thing seems to take about a minute. I thought it was supposed to be fast.” I have...
read moreCafeteria Bottlenecks
(As with the rant “Cafeteria Design” this is moot as lunches are now pre-packaged and shrink-wrapped at a central kitchen.) The movie Home Alone has a scene when Kevin is sitting in a chair eating ice cream covered with all sorts of junk food. He yells, “Guys, I’m eating junk and watching rubbish! You better come out and stop me! ” Of course he is home alone so no one stops him. I always thought that his parents had not spent a lot of time stopping him before, but that is just me. My mother was an official...
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