08/26/07

Hey Babs,

No e-mail this week eh? Must be busy or otherwise engaged about your Father’s business. I just heard in your letter to Ma and Pa that you are in a 3-some. Ha ha ha. Oh man. Sorry, that isn’t funny… For you that is. Ha ha ha ha ha. I NEVER did any kind of threesome. Even when I had to do splits with sisters or whatever, I would never do the 3 way. I’d always split with their DL’s companion and send the DL with them or I’d send my companion with the 3 way and I’d take off on any two-banger I could arrange for. I would never do a Tre’ no matter what. I don’t know why I thought it would suck so bad at the time. I guess I don’t really think it’s that bad now in retrospect, but I still feel some pain for you. Sorry. It must be cool chillin’ with E. VanLeeuwen again at least. Did I leave out any vowels in his name there? It seems like I can squeeze in the full range of AEIOU and sometimes Y into his name and get it right. I guess I’m super tired right now cuz I’m sounding a little silly in my letter right from the gate. It’s been a long weekend as usual. I spent most of Thursday Yarkin' up my Royal Red Robin Burger that my body disagreed with and rejected with extreme prejudice in what amounted to 4 times. The first of those times was in the middle of an exit interview with an outgoing employee. Oh boy! that was embarrassing to put it lightly.

Suzanne and I had to speak in Church today. Suzanne’s was on Putting on the whole armor of God and mine was on finding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Both talks went very well I thought. We got a lot of good feedback from most everyone in the ward. Our Ward is way cool. I’ll miss the crap out of it if we ever end up moving. Not that we are losing patience. I’m cool whenever and it’s only been on the market for just over 2 weeks, so no rush. But I’m really in no hurry to move right now. I’m loving my ward more than I ever have. I did my Elder’s Quorum draft yesterday and we had a blast. As much fun as our main league was to draft, it was just as fun with my E. Quorum. We had Brats cooked up, live draft over at the EQ pres. House. I hear their cocky smack talk and just blush for them. Seriously. They are just wee lads when it comes to the game of FF. This is all of their second seasons. They think they were bustin’ out all this knowledge last night with their fantasy football magazines they all bought from somewhere. Please. Don’t come at me with that $6.00 mess. I gots mines right under this pretty head of hair you see before you. Let me drop some teams on you and let you critique them…

It’s set up a little different, there are fewer players and team D, but here are my starters:

QB: Tony Romo

WR: Chad Johnson

WR: Andre Johnson

RB: Steven Jackson

RB: Edgerrin James

WR/TE: Lee Evans

K: Shayne Graham

Def: Chicago

Bench: Matt Leinert

Bench: Ronnie Brown

Bench: Ahman Green

Bench: Santonio Holmes

Bench: Todd Heap

Bench: Michael Turner

Seriously, if I don’t win this league, there is something really wrong with me. It was like taking candy from babies in this live draft. How in the world when I have the number 4 draft pick, do I end up with Steven Jackson. As soon as that happened, I knew I was going to own every last one of these fools. I was even drafting for a missing guy who went to Idaho yesterday. So being distracted drafting for his team and giving him a fighting chance, I still managed to draft the best team in the league. In fact, watch, that guy I drafted for is going to take second place. I like my chances in our main league too. What were your thoughts as you looked over my team last week? I’m way more invested in that team. The big season kicks off this coming Sunday I think. I’m not sure, but I want to say it’s this coming Sunday. Hooowahhhhh! I can’t wait.

The bummer note of the week is a good friend of mine James Linder, who was an apache helicopter pilot, went down in a training exercise in his apache west of Utah Lake in the Cedar Hills area and killed him and his co-pilot on impact. That happened Monday. I’m his home teacher too, so I got the phone call at 12:30 AM last Monday night. That has been weighing heavy on me all week. I have been doing a lot of set ups and take downs and help with the rest of the quorum over here to get stuff ready for dinners, funeral, media, etc. I was on channel 5 news on Friday since I was on Media Patrol to keep the media away from where the family could see them. Just trying to keep a few things sacred anyway. But considering that happening on Monday and just getting my call to talk in church just the day before on finding faith the Jesus Christ, I can tell you, I was feeling the weight of that responsibility all week. How do I speak to the ward in a time when a close friend of all of ours just died. He was 33, my age. He had 3 young sons. I love that family. In fact, we just released him as E. Quorum teacher and he was team teaching Brinlee’s primary class with his wife for the last few weeks. I actually skipped home teaching them last Sunday because I had to go do those visits with other families in the ward, but planned on seeing them this Sunday. That would have been the day before he died. He was an awesome guy. We used to switch off teaching gospel doctrine together when I was a gospel doctrine teacher. Let’s just say I didn’t get through my talk today without losing it a couple of times. I had to address that, of course, with a topic like that and everyone thinking about his death anyway. But you know me. I’ll get emotional if I hear one of my favorite shows on TV is going to be cancelled.

I was doing my home teaching today to my other two families, we skipped the Linders since they are down in Parowan burying him where he grew up. But at one of my family’s houses, we got talking about hunting and I was getting pretty psyched up for some hunting. Not so much on the deer or elk that we talked about first. I’m still not all enthused about that action, but I was pretty amped on the duck, pheasant, chucker, and dove talk we were doing. That guys family was all in Minnesota this week, so it was just him and my companion, myself, and Todd all realized we were of like mind when it comes to guns and hunting. We make some preliminary plans to go to this gun club out by Lee Kay and do some skeet and trap shooting. That will be fun. They asked me if I was any good with a shotgun and I paused for a half second as if to consider giving them an honest answer or play things down a little. I just winked and said I’ll be your huckleberry. (Quiz time: What movie is that from and who said it?)

I told them I’ll leave my 12 gauge home on that day and whatever they do with their 12’s, I’ll do with my 20 gauge and I’ll do it left handed. Ha ha.

That will be fun. Seriously, after some conversations and stuff over the last week, I’m considering taking down our for sale sign and calling it good. But it really is still time to go. But I’m going to miss the crap out of this ward. Dang!

It’s time for your quote of the week and I gots to bust to bed.

“They who go forth in the name of the Lord, trusting in him with all their hearts, will never want for wisdom to lead the people in the way of life and salvation. Go in the name of the Lord, trust in the name of the Lord, lean upon the Lord, and call upon the Lord fervently and without ceasing, and pay no attention to the world.”

- Brigham Young

Sorry to rush off. I am dog tired. I hope to get a little love this week.

Love you.

Trav