Final Fishing Trip

Mike's final fishing trip on Strawberry yielded him 2 trout. One Rainbow (upper left) and one cutthroat (lower left). The middle picture is the sunrise. A beautiful start to a fun day. Don't forget the sunscreen next time Mike.

T-minus one full day and a wake up. don't forget Mike goes to the MTC Wednesday morning. Make sure to leave your well wishes and goodbyes on here before then.

Farewell & Open House

Mike had his farewell on Sunday, July 23rd and open house immediately following. Here he is with a few of his peeps who showed up to support him.

The meeting was great with a talk by Dad, and Mike finishing up the meeting with a spiritual bang! There were a lot of family who came from far and wide to see him and had a good time being together over the weekend.

Thanks to Mom for organizing so much food and a nice place to hang out together, even in the 100 degree heat. We are at T-Minus 10 days and counting till he goes into the MTC.

Southern Culture

Foods

Some of the foods that are somewhat unique to the South are:

• Grits
• Collards
• Okra
• Chitlins
• Bar-B-Que (pork)
• Southern Fried Chicken
• Biscuits and Gravy

Language

A few phrases that are often used in the South.

• a mess a (a lot of)
• yonder (over there)
• y'all (You or you people--of course)
• cut the switch (turn on/off the light, TV, etc.)
• carry (to give a ride to)
• feller (a person, usually male)

Just for fun, the Dictionary for Yankees and other Uneducated People by Bill Dwyer suggests the following "Southern" words:

• AIN'T - The sister of one of your parents.
• BEGGER - Some people just naturally grow this way over smaller people.
• CHAIR - "C'mon now, let's hair a big CHAIR for the team."
• GOWN - "Pappy's GOWN to Birming'ham."
• HOMINY - What number, i.e., "HOMINY children do you declare?"
• LACK - Enjoy, i.e., "If yo' LACK biscuits, you'll LACK my mammy's."
• MINT - Intentions, i.e., "Ah MINT to call, but it slipped my mind."
• NECKS - What the barber says after he's finished with a customer.
• PEARS - Appearance, i.e., "She PEARS to be sickly."
• PIN - "This PIN don't write, hit's outten eenk."
• POLICE - A term of politeness all southern children are taught, i.e., "POLICE get off my foot, ya clumsy ox!"
• PUTTY - What you are if you're not ugly.
• ROUGH - The cover over a building.
• SNOWS - Many a wife is kept awake nights by a husband who SNOWS.
• TAR - If one blows out, it's nice to have a spare.
• WAR - You'll find it strung between telephone poles.
• YEAR - You have one on each side of your head.
• FISH-CAMP - A seafood restaurant
• FIXIN’ - About to do something...."fixin’ to go to the store"
• RECKON - I figure - "I reckon I ought to go now"
• MASH - To push as in a button or a gadget... "mash the button"
• LIKE TA HAVE - To almost, as in "I'd like ta have hit him"
• IN FRONT OF - Across the road, as in "They live in front of so-and-so"
• FUR PIECE - As in "Oh, it's jest a fur piece down the road..."

A Little NC Poem

The Heavens by the Sea

By J. Thurman Skipper

Welcome to Beautiful North Carolina
Nature's ever-flowing fountain,
Where the sun bathes her feet in the Atlantic Ocean
And pillows her head in the great Smokey Mountains.

Virginia, North Carolina South,
And west to Tennessee,
Scenic beauties high and low
From the mountains to the sea.

I suppose you'd call me Jonnie Reb
Because I'm from Caroline,
Born and bred a Tarheel
Near the Atlantic Coastline.

Where the people say "Howdy, y'all"
And smile when they meet,
They tip their hats and extend a hand
To everyone they greet.

The children all say "Yes, ma'am"
And "excuse me" when they sneeze,
They say "Papa" and "No, sir"
And "Pass the biscuits, please."

The folk bow their heads and thank the Lord
For all they have to eat;
They go to church on Sunday
And have a spiritual treat.

They love thier neighbor as their self
And lend a helping hand
To any fallen brother.
God bless this wonderful land.

Where honesty and integrity
Are as common as ABC
And as down to earth as a sweet potato
With their homespun philosophy.

But come judgement morning
When time no more shall be
And the saints are all wondering
Where they'll spend eternity,

When they call my name I'll answer, "Here,"
And I hope my lot will be
Go to North Carolina,
The Heaven by the Sea.

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Temple Date UPDATE

To accommodate for Close Captioning, we need to change the temple date and time to have all those coming to be there by 6:30 PM instead of 6:00 on Thursday. The session will now be at 7:00 PM. Hopefully, this will not be an inconvenience. See you all there.

Open House

The church for the farewell can be accessed from 4000 West and is about 8100 So. We will have an open house for you, family and friends at our house right after the farewell (about 2:30) at 3941 West Elwood Way, about 8170 South. (Just around the corner from the church.)