I liked this post by Mick Stockinger at Uncorrelated today. His politics are pretty loony (but often articulated well). His social commentary is nearly always right on and very fun to read.
I enjoyed the post but at the same time remembered how very glad I am not to have to play the dating game anymore. It was fun but also terribly stressful.
Many others have written excellent farewells.
I’ve decided to write about the one time I stood near President Hinckley and locked eyes with him.
I had the opportunity to sing in the choir at the dedication of the Bountiful Temple soon after I returned home from my mission. President Hinckley was presiding over the session of the dedication I was attending. It was very close quarters in the celestial room where the service was being held and I ended up standing right behind President Hinckley who was the first councilor in the first presidency at the time. As we filed into the room to sing each musical number he watched us squeeze into the space behind the row he was sitting on. He always smiled at the choir as we came into the room.
As it came time to do the Hosanna Shout and then sing the Hosanna Anthem at the closing of the service I joined everyone else in the temple in waving my handkerchief while speaking the words of the shout. As the shout commenced I accidently hit President Hinckley in the head with my handkerchief. He wasn’t visibly distracted at all (I didn’t whip him very hard) and after the shout he turned around and smiled at me. It was kind of cool. As we sang the “Hosanna Anthem” he turned around and watched us for a few moments. It was cool to see someone who has likely had to listen to that song so many hundreds of times (there were 16 sessions of the Bountiful Temple dedication) clearly enjoy the spirit and the music at that dedication ceremony. I’ll always remember his blue/grey eyes and the smile he had when he looked at me.
Its kind of dumb I know…the one second’s worth of attention I received from President Hinckley came because I whipped him in the head with a handkerchief but I’ll always remember that and it will always be meaningful to me. I didn’t really know President Hinckley but I believe he was a great man and the world is poorer for his absence.
I’m not quite as bitter this year as I sit down to write my Independence Day post as I was last year and I’m not sure why. Its not like I have more hope this year for a less intrusive government than I had last year. We’re faced with a government that is out of control in its efforts to control more and more aspects of our daily lives. We have only socialized medicine, more nanny government, and fewer liberties to look forward to over the next few years no matter which party is in charge. Yet even in the face of all this…I’m in a great mood.
I do have one more kid this year…maybe thats it…or maybe it is that 22.5″ Weber Charcoal Kettle Grill I got for Father’s Day this year 
I’ve used it at least a dozen times already. Life is so much better when you have well grilled beef on your plate regularly.
Happy Independence Day everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog from time to time. It sure is fun to be able to communicate with the world so easily…even when I don’t often have many interesting things to say!
Now…go fire up your grill and put some meat on it. Here’s what I recommend:
Jeremy’s Original Tri Tip (Santa Maria) Roast Recipe
Ingredients:
2 to 2.5 lb Tri Tip Roast (Go to Sam’s Club or Costco…they almost always have this inexpensive but delicious cut of beef)
Your Favorite Beef Rub (Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and black pepper will work if you don’t have your own recipe for a good beef rub…I’d add some extra garlic powder though)
Grilling instructions:
Apply the rub generously all over the roast then let the roast sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
If you have some oak wood chips (or mesquite) go ahead and throw them on the hot coals to add that excellent smokey flavor!
Cook the roast over medium high to high indirect heat for 25-30 minutes turning once (or until internal temp reaches 125-130 degrees) then cook over high direct heat for 3-5 minutes per side to properly sear the roast.
Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes under a tent of foil then slice thinly against the grain. The outer portions of the roast will be medium to medium well for those who don’t like that much moo in their beef. The inner section of the roast will be perfect.
Serve with home made baked macaroni and cheese or in sandwiches. This is my favorite food to grill. It is very easy (I’ve never had it not turn out) and it is absolutely delicious.
Happy Independence Day!!!
I like Jim Hansen and think very highly of him as a former officeholder, great citizen and former dependable hometeacher of my parent’s family when I was growing up. That said, I think anyone who lobbies local government this vigorously for a large monument to himself in the city cemetery is a little sad. Maybe I’ll feel differently about it when I’m a little closer to needing a final place to plant my bones.
Ray put out another Album. I like it even better than his last.
I only heard him sing once before I lost touch with him…but that wasn’t really a song that would have fit too well on one of his albums.
Here’s a great interview he did with NPR that includes a few songs from his latest CD.
It should be noted that I knew the boy Ray Lamontagne…I do not know Ray Lamontagne now. Please do not contact me with questions about him. I will not share any information other than what I have already foolishly posted. Thanks.
When my family lived in Mountain Green there was a kid who used to raise money for Scout Camp or whatever by selling salsa. My family always bought a jar or two when he came by and it was very good…at first. After the first couple of batches I started to notice that some bites of the salsa tasted bad…like soap or something. I had no idea for years and years what that taste was even though I found it in several other (mostly mexican) meals. I found out when I moved out to Virginia and had a roommate who grew his own herbs that the devil weed responsible for that foul taste was called Cilantro.
I told my herb growing roomate about what I thought cilantro tasted like and he thought I was crazy. I’ve since learned that Julia Child hated the stuff too and don’t feel so weird. It is said that the aversion to cilantro is genetic and it doesn’t have negative effects on most people. Now that I’ve found this site though…I know that I’m really not alone…and I’ve joined in the fight against the evil stank that is Cilantro.
Hat-tip: Virginia Postrel
I am a pretty big dork. Ask anyone who knows me…they’ll tell you the same. I’m a nerd who is completely happy in his dorkiness. I think that started…or at least intensified…the summer before I started High School. I lived in one of the prettiest places on earth, Mountain Green, UT and had great dorky friends. My really good friends that summer were Chris Walthers, Murray Triplett, and Ray Lamontagne. We liked to play D and D and a Tolkein role playing game that I don’t really remember and just generally basked in nerdiness. I loved it and have always remembered those people and times with a lot of fondness.
I was bored today during a break at work and decided it might be cool to Google the names of old friends. I tried Ray Lamontagne first and found his website. Check it out and listen to the music there…he is excellent. It was fun to listen to the tunes and remember that this was the guy who used to jump on my trampoline with me and Murray while we all pretended we were fighting dragons and orcs. (I told you I was a nerd!)
Heh…I guess this post isn’t very good publicity for Ray so I’ll stop…but it sure is cool to see that a friend from a long time ago has made such a success of himself through his great talents.
UPDATE:
Wow…Murray has a movie that he wrote/directed listed on IMDB and another film making the festival circuits…thats pretty cool too. I had talented friends!
One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump. The story and acting and stuff are all great but the real reason I love the movie is the scene about 3/4 into the movie when Forrest finishes running back and forth across the country. He looks dead tired from all the running when he stops on Highway 163 in Southern Utah which runs between the little town of Bluff, Utah and Monument Valley, Arizona. It is the most beautiful place on earth (Here’s a great picture). I’m often embarrassed when I watch this scene with anyone else because I always have to wipe tears off of my face. I only lived in the area for 9 months or so on my mission but that part of the world is very dear to me in a way that is kind of hard to describe. I don’t know of another place where the air is so clear and where everything is so quiet and peaceful. (more…)
I was at Pizza Hut last night and saw this sunset.
Sometimes I miss my mission. I’ve never seen sunsets as pretty as those I saw in New Mexico. Most of that state is pretty ugly but they do have pretty sunsets. Once I got into a wreck in our truck with my coolest companion. We spent the whole day digging the truck out of the sand (we were doing some ‘tracting’ on the back roads of New Mexico. We had to rip the windshield off the truck and drive home without it. As we were driving home the sun was setting and the site was amazing.
There are some images you see that are permanently burned into your head. That sunset and the memories attending it are things I’ll never forget. I remember being very nervous about getting in trouble for the truck (Pres never found out about it because Elder Farnsworth was awesome)…but I also remember that as one of the funnest days of my mission.
