Nicole was asking questions about money this evening.
"If a poor person bought something that cost $500,000, would that make them poor?"
"Poor people don't have $500,000. If we had $500,000, we would be rich."
"Are we rich?"
"No."
"Good. Because I hate being rich. If I were rich, and I saw a poor person, I would just give them all my money...or half of it."
She was probably along this line of thinking because of our church lesson this week about King Benjamin (Mosiah 4), but I had to chuckle, because she sounded like a socialist!
Friday, April 24, 2020
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Grandpa
I spoke with my aunt who takes care of my Grandpa today and shared this blog with her so she could show Grandpa, so I thought I would post a story my Grandpa shared four years ago at our 2016 family reunion. My uncle recorded the story, so I transcribed it because it was compelling to me (first names are withheld for privacy reasons):
Now, I don't know if any of you have been poor, but I have. Very poor.
And you know, it won't kill ya to go 4-5 days without food. I can tell you 'cause I'm here. But you gotta have water. But water's cheap. We take it for granted. But, when we first moved to California, and I wanted to be a city manager, but I needed a master's degree first, and I decided the best school was the University of Southern California. A private university. Not a state one--a private university. I'm going to a private rich man's school on a poor man's budget!
We ran out of money! What do you do when you run out of money? Well, it's not fun. But I can tell you, you can survive for 4-5 days, because I've done it. I remember the hunger, and I remember in later years, when I was in a position to instruct a dozen or more bishops on their duties and responsibilities and their...[inaudible]...to the poor, and I tried to help them understand how poor people feel. It's not just that they're hungry...
Their spirit is crushed. It's a--it's a terrible thing. And we have a lot of hunger in America, and lack of understanding--I don't know why I tell you this. But it's true, when you're talking about poverty and prosperity and poverty.
When this man was a 4-month-old [pointing to my oldest uncle], and I got tired of cleaning his cloth diapers on a washboard, rubba-dee-dub [chuckling]...I got tired of it, and I said to [Grandma], I said, "There's gotta be a better way. We'll never survive this. Maybe you'll live, but I won't! Let's go see the bishop. Maybe we can—maybe he can help."
I went to the bishop along with [Grandma], and asked for some help. Do you know what he said? He said "No. That's for poor people." It almost made me cry, and I remember I pulled her arm and said, "Let's get out of here now." I didn't want to start crying in front of the bishop when he turned me down. But later years, do you think I can talk to bishops about how people--who are poor--and how they feel?
And their spirits can get crushed...
[Grandpa went on to tell that the bishop did stop them before they left and gave them help.]
In part because of this testimony, my upbringing to not waste, the dire situations of many around the world during coronavirus, thinking about the lifestyle changes we need to make because of climate change, as well as the example of the 8th generation Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, I understand now why we pray over our food. Because food is sacred. And why would you waste something you just blessed?
Now, I don't know if any of you have been poor, but I have. Very poor.
And you know, it won't kill ya to go 4-5 days without food. I can tell you 'cause I'm here. But you gotta have water. But water's cheap. We take it for granted. But, when we first moved to California, and I wanted to be a city manager, but I needed a master's degree first, and I decided the best school was the University of Southern California. A private university. Not a state one--a private university. I'm going to a private rich man's school on a poor man's budget!
We ran out of money! What do you do when you run out of money? Well, it's not fun. But I can tell you, you can survive for 4-5 days, because I've done it. I remember the hunger, and I remember in later years, when I was in a position to instruct a dozen or more bishops on their duties and responsibilities and their...[inaudible]...to the poor, and I tried to help them understand how poor people feel. It's not just that they're hungry...
Their spirit is crushed. It's a--it's a terrible thing. And we have a lot of hunger in America, and lack of understanding--I don't know why I tell you this. But it's true, when you're talking about poverty and prosperity and poverty.
When this man was a 4-month-old [pointing to my oldest uncle], and I got tired of cleaning his cloth diapers on a washboard, rubba-dee-dub [chuckling]...I got tired of it, and I said to [Grandma], I said, "There's gotta be a better way. We'll never survive this. Maybe you'll live, but I won't! Let's go see the bishop. Maybe we can—maybe he can help."
I went to the bishop along with [Grandma], and asked for some help. Do you know what he said? He said "No. That's for poor people." It almost made me cry, and I remember I pulled her arm and said, "Let's get out of here now." I didn't want to start crying in front of the bishop when he turned me down. But later years, do you think I can talk to bishops about how people--who are poor--and how they feel?
And their spirits can get crushed...
[Grandpa went on to tell that the bishop did stop them before they left and gave them help.]
In part because of this testimony, my upbringing to not waste, the dire situations of many around the world during coronavirus, thinking about the lifestyle changes we need to make because of climate change, as well as the example of the 8th generation Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, I understand now why we pray over our food. Because food is sacred. And why would you waste something you just blessed?
Hi, Grandpa!
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| Nicole, Mommy, Allie 12/8/20 |
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| Allie and Daddy 3/5/20 |
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| Allie 3/5/20 |
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| Nicole 3/5/20 |
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| Nicole, Allie, Mommy 3/5/20 |
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Rulers of the dirt
Inspired by their cousin's Easter pictures, I went ahead and took Easter season pictures of the girls yesterday in our next door field! Let me know which are your favorites because I might print some of them.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Tonight, the coronavirus folk song genre was born
Today, we got to witness the birth of the coronavirus folk songs that will be remembered by history, a theme that is no doubt emerging in households all over the world. It all started when Nicole did her school assignment for music, which was to make a musical instrument. We managed to create a drum out of cardboard, a large tin can, and duct tape. Later in the day, Nicole set up all her dolls and stuffed animals on the couch, and Allison and the dolls got to listen to Nicole put on a concert with songs about...all sorts of subjects. Allison enjoyed the charade immensely, and clapped and cheered at the end of the songs, encouraging the dolls to do the same. Later tonight, Allison restarted the concert with her own songs, and Nicole joined in. By the end of the night, all the songs were about coronavirus.
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