Blurred Paradise

I guess it could be said that "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" and in many cases that might be true; but it could also be said that "you don't know what you don't got, 'til you got it." For me, this was definetely the case...

On March 14th (which also happens to be my younger sisters birthday) Seth and Melinda were nice enough to take me to the eye doctor. Despite the long wait and crowded office, if it can even be called that, I was very grateful to go. Sadly enough, I had only just noticed, a month or so previous, that my eye sight was getting increasingly bad -or else, that I had just been placed in a situation where "good eyes" would be preferred. For instance, reading the white board. All my professors use one. It was in my Math class where I put my foot down (sort of).

In class there is a long white board and on it, the professor rights out all the problems. I didn't mind it when she wrote in the middle or on the side that I sat closest too, it was only when she wrote on the farthest side when I began to get frustrated. I couldn't see! Everything was fuzzy! ...I suppose there is no real reason to get angry...it has just always been that way.

Another thing that scared me, or rather, another reason I needed my eyes to get "fixed" was when I took on the responsibility to cover a shift at another Subway Store. It was quite a ways a way, possibly a little less than a half hour. I had driven a co-worker to the store and he was able to direct me to the restaurant. The actual shift was fine, but when it came time for me to go home things started turning for the worst. ...Well, in a matter of speaking.

It was about eight-thirty or so, I can't really remember, when I rolled my little Buick out of the parking lot. It wasn't until I met up with the road when I started to panic. I pulled out the small crumpled napkin whereon, an employee was kind enough to give me directions, but all I could see was a bunch of lines and random street names. It wasn't until then where I felt really grateful for the compass-rose -only problem was, this map didn't have one. I stared up and down the roads trying to find where in the world I had first come from. It was hopeless. I read and re-read the map a dozen times. Hopeless. ...There was only one thing I could do. Go for it!

I won't go into details concerning what happened next. Just know that it was a very long drive and that the moon was fully shinning when I finally pulled into the parkway. Thankfully, my cousin has a strange sort of omniscience when it comes to matters such as these. She just knows. Her antenna, or whatever it is, must have sent out a message telling her that I was utterly lost. Either that or she realized that I was running well over an hour late and decided to call.

Anyway, going back to the subject of "not so good eyes" -it was during this hectic drive of mine when I began to feel very worried about this malfunction of mine. The fact that I couldn't see clearly meant taking a lot of wrong turns. I can read the sings, I really can, but ...only when they're right in front of me, and by that time I'm either in the wrong lane to turn or just on the wrong road completely.

Well I got my first check up on the 14th and then, about four days later, I got my first set of contacts. Naturally, it took me a few tries to get them to even touch my eyeball, but when I finally fit them right, I was surprised at what I saw. I had no idea that the world could be so wonderfully in focus! I love it! As I walked out of the office I stared around me with wide eyes and curiosity. I wanted to jump up and start singing "I can see clearly now!" as loud as I could, but, eh...I didn't want to embarrass my cousins ;)

Then, just after Easter, I went, with the company of my cousins, of course, and picked up my glasses. My cousin said, and I fully agree, that having a pair of glasses around even though I have contacts, would prove beneficial. And she was right. I have found that having a set of "easy to put on eye fixers" was very good. I am grateful that she helped me in this. Without her I would still be suffering in my Math class trying to read the board, either that or somewhere in Ohio trying to find my next exit... hmmm...

I guess all I'm trying to say is: I love being able to see! I love it! Every bit of it!

Steamboat Arabia

I had the wonderful privilege today to go to a museum for the very first time in my life! The museum is called "The Steamboat Arabia Museum" and, as you can guess by the title, it is indeed about a steamboat. I found it to be very interesting. I enjoyed taking pictures -its amazing to me just how well all of this cargo was preserved!


Too thick to drink, too thin to plow, were the words best used to describe the Missouri River. Yet the muddy, swirling waters of the river served as an expressway to the West.

In spite of the fascination associated with the trade, navigating the Missouri was a difficult and dangerous business. A variety of perils awaited the steamboat pilot as he carefully guided his craft along the river's uncertain course.

The steamboat Arabia was a sidewheel steamer built in Brownsville, PA in 1853. She measured 171 feet long and was capable of carying 222 tons. Against the Missouri's swift current, the twin 28-feet tall paddlewheels could push the steamboat upstream at a speed of over 5 miles an hour. The Arabia was considered a dependable vessel and soon gained a reputation for speed, safety and comfort.


Lying silently at or just below the water's surface was the "snag", a thick trunk of a huge, fallen walnut tree. With its roots deeply embedded in the soft mud, the timber lay directly in the path of the approaching steamboat.

Eventually, as with the Arabia itself, all evidence of the early salvage attmepts were erased from view. Seasonal flooding often covered the site, depositing layer upon layer of rich, black topsoil. And for 132 years the boat lay quietly hidden from the outside world.

The first task was to determine the boat's exact position. A series of test drillings located the hull. Then its perimeter was marked with chalk, thus revealing where Arabia lay underground. The summer and fall had been spent assembling equipment for moving earth and waste. Bulldozers, backhoes, wells and well-drilling equipment and a 100-ton crane were brought to the site by road and by the river.

A visit to the museum is a glimpse into the past. The Arabia's collection reveals details of frontier life seen nowhere else. A museum tour is partially guided, introducing visitors to the Arabia's history and sinking with a short video presentation of the remarkable excavation.


Lawrence
An interesting discovery they made was finding the bones of a mule. The mule was tied to a piece of sawmill equipment. When the excavators first found the mule, they thought it was a horse. They later found an article printed in a newspaper saying that the owner of the mule tried to save the mule, but the mule was too stubborn. They found out this story was not true, because the mule was tied to the sawmill equipment. When the Arabia sank, the mule had not panicked until the water level was up to his nose. Then it began thrashing wildly; by then it was too late. They named the mule Lawrence after a movie they heard about. The movie was named “Lawrence of Arabia”. His bones are currently at the museum. -The funny part about this is that one of the guys who helped uncover The Arabia tried really hard to get the Mule out of the museum. He didn't think it was very proper to show of this poor dead animal. He also informed us that many of the students who come by find that their favorite part of the exhibit is actually the mule. Personally, I'm glad they left it in. As sad as it is, I enjoyed hearing the story. (-if you click on the image you can definetely see it better. Just so you know.)


Charlotte
The story about Frozen Charlotte was told in a poem or song. A frozen Charlotte doll was found in one of the carpenter’s toolboxes, wrapped in a woolen sock. The doll had no clothes on, except for a bonnet and mittens, because the children would make the clothes for the doll. This is the story of Frozen Charlotte:

It was New Years Eve and it was very cold outside. Charlotte was waiting in her new dress for her boyfriend, Charles, to take her to the village inn for a New Year’s Eve party. Finally, Charles’ sleigh came. Her mother asked her to put a blanket around her so she wouldn’t be too cold. But Charlotte did not want to crinkle her dress, so she did not take the blanket. The village inn was 15 miles away. They had gone five miles when Charlotte said she was cold. Charles made the horses run faster. Five more miles they rode when Charlotte said she was getting warmer. Finally, the village inn was in sight. Charles jumped out and called her many times. Charlotte did not move or say a word because she was frozen. Then he came over to her and felt her hands. They were very cold. He now knew that Charlotte had frozen to death. He rode Charlotte back to her cottage. Her parents were very sad. Charles was very upset, too. He died of a broken heart.

First Artifact
During the excavation, the excavators found thousands of shoes and boots, so it is not surprising that the first artifact they found was a shoe. The shoe was discovered next to the timbers of the huge wheel.

Practical Joke
A funny thing they found, before the shoe, was a golf ball. They soon found out that Jerry's two sons, Greg and Ron, hid that ball a day earlier as a joke.

Tasty Finds
On January 4, 1989, they found bottles of bright green pickles. Jerry actually tried some. He really liked them, and said that they tasted like regular pickles. Some of the other excavators wanted to try some, but wanted to see if Jerry survived.

Perfect Cents
The last object found from the site was an 1856 one-cent liberty coin. It was in mint condition. Earlier on they found, in a box, I think it was, a small pouch with twenty-five cents in it. We were informed that on the entire boat there was found only a total of twenty-six cents! But, the very last thing that came out of that excavation site was the stern of the Arabia herself. They hauled it out on February 9, 1989, when the excavation ended.

This is the very first museum that I have ever been too! Isn't that cool! I think, or rather, I know that being here with my cousins has given me a better chance to do the things that I have always wanted. I saw a high school play here for the first time, I experienced the wonderful food of the Chinese folk. I have learned a lot about independence. Holy Cow I didn't realize just how independent one must be in order to survive in this world! I'm glad I learned early, I would have been in quite a pickle had I not. I have learned a lot more about who Julia Willis really is. (And she's quite a handful, let me tell you! It's like she won't leave me alone, for goodness sake!) I have had TONS of fun experiences here, I think the term is "Having a Blast." I have discovered that there is, indeed, life beyond what my simple mind has beheld. (I am told, quite frequently, that I am very, whats that word again: naive.) And I have gained two of the greatest friends while here ;) and they are so good to me!

Isn't life good? Don't you just love it!

Missionary Bliss

I never really looked at Jacob as my older brother. He is two years and two hours older but the fact that we're so close, almost twin like, and that he usually acts three years younger anyway, really puts a struggle on seeing his "olderness." But yesterday I really felt it.

I was at work- just finished an order at the register when I heard it. That silly tune vibrating out of my tiny cell phone. I must have jumped and squealed at the same time because really, my mind couldn't have done one after the other - everything was too jumbled as it was! I had worked myself up to complete excitement and was now in a solid state of bliss. Oh goodness! I had to ask the costomers to repeat themselves like five times in a row! It was ridiculous! I couldn't seem to keep my mind on anything!

Anyhow, I raced to the back of the store for my phone - and keep in mind that there are customers waiting to be helped (but don't feel too bad. I wasn't that ignorant. I made sure that my co-worker was there to help.) But anyhow, with my cell phone in hand I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear. Unfortunately, my brother left me a message. "I got my papers and I've already opened them, but I can't tell you where I'm going until I'm actually talking to you. So yeah, I'll call back shortly and let you know."

I growled at the message dialed his cell phone. No answer. Growling again I dialed the home phone. No answer. With a final grunt I dialed my dad's cell phone. I was glad he picked up. I might have done something rash if he hadn't.

I said hi to him of course and then he handed the phone to my brother. "Where are you going? I'm working right now so you're just gonna have to tell me!" On any other occasion I would have welcomed the beating around the bush part, especially with something as exciting as this. Right now, however, the bush could just die for all I cared.

But you know my brother. He was very careful not to touch the stinkin' bush. "Well, I got in my suit just like you told me," my brother noted in his missionary voice he had gained during these past few months of heavy preparation.

Though this bit of information meant a lot to me, my anxiety was far overstretched. "Jacob!" I squeaked. "Just tell me!"

"Okay -I'm going to Phoenix, Arizona and-"

In my excitement I jumped. "Sweet!" I had been worried that he would get sent somewhere far away. Somewhere that my brother would struggle with. He isn't one for change. Though a foreign mission would have been ideal for his teenage coolness, I feel as if the states are for the better. And its only a few states away! He'll be speaking Spanish. How cool is that!?

He's leaving on May 21st and I have no idea how I'm gonna get down there or even what day it is. I'll have to check. I am so excited and I actually and in a hurry to go to school. I really must get going.

....these are going to be the longest two years of my life, not just that my brothers leaving and all, but that I'll be working on school and transferring to BYU-Idaho. Holy Cow! And I won't even have my Jacob to complain to...Awww. Stinker. Oh well.

My Brother's going to ARIZONA!!!!