So many books; so little time
All of us can probably remember some reading assignment for a high school English class that seemed onerous at the time… if not torturous… if not downright cruel.
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Back to the Beehive
Since moving back to my native state of Utah, over eight years ago, I have been reminded, on a daily basis, of our rather unusual state symbol.
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We Came, We Saw, We Helped
That Encouraging Spirit of Collective Philanthropy We have all witnessed those heartwarming and faith-restoring displays of some determined collection of people coming together around a worthwhile cause and doing something—donating money, fundraising, contributing time and energy and effort—to bring about some favorable result. Sometimes such causes can capture the national, or even international,…
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Songs of the season: Finding the spirit of Christmas
It’s not worth the number of words it would take to explain why we didn’t get a Christmas tree this year. We just didn’t.
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Last swim of the season
It is a day in late October. Not a particularly hot day—60 degrees at most; and I have made the deliberate and determined decision to pedal my bicycle to a local pond for a ceremonial polar-bear-plunge into what I know will be bracing autumn water—the kind of cold plunge that will immediately take your breath…
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Ghosts in our midst
I have a cousin who has always been interested in very old things. An inveterate rock-hound and arrowhead-seeker, he is continually on the hunt for that rare item of hidden beauty, or historical significance. Such expeditions have led him into several old abandoned mining towns, and ghost-towns, of our Western United States, opening up a…
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Singular joy of desert downpour
I recently caught up with a young friend who had just returned from an extended stay on the Oahu Island of Hawaii. When I asked how he found our Sanpete Valley after three months in such a lush, tropical setting, he answered me with a single word… “Brown.” I understood. Having lived in the verdant…
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Is someone there? I don’t really believe in ghosts … do I?
Let me begin by stating—unequivocally and for the record—that I have never actually seen a ghost. I’m not even sure I believe in them; at least, not those intrusively bothersome kind from the horror movies, that tend to lurk nefariously in closets and behind shower curtains. But I could definitely feel something—an ethereal, yet palpable,…
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Blissfully Bashing in the Barn- The Old Barn Rings Again with A Joyful Noise…Finally!
It’s been a long time—too long—since I’ve felt the need to warn neighbors of an impending clamor they could soon expect to hear from within the dusty bowels of our old pioneer log barn. Such rhythmic ruckus has become something of a summer tradition in the barn: dozens of eager young hands, each wielding a…
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Being Ishmael Johnson
Adopting the Pioneer Persona of An Original Sanpete Settler It’s that time of year again, when I let my chin-whiskers grow a bit, dig the period costume out of my closet (blue, band-collar shirt, suspenders, wool breeches, suitably weathered scally-cap), and rehearse the history—the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, triumphs and tribulations—that all came…
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A joyous metamorphosis: When springtime whispers her welcome reassurance
My wife and I are in the habit of taking ourselves out on a roundabout ramble: a circuitous loop that meanders through town, before turning eastward, up the canyon road, then north, through a sprawling scrubland of junipers, then finally westward, and back down toward the town. We go romping ‘round this loop most days,…
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Beam me up, Scotty!
Beam me up, Scotty! Realizing My Fondest SciFi Fantasy… Almost By Randal B. Thatcher 2-24-2021 As a kid, I looked forward every week to another episode of the popular TV series, “Star Trek.” It was thrilling to watch those courageous crew-members of the Starship Enterprise continue their intergalactic explorations, boldly…
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