christmas gift suggestions

Our annual Cabela's Christmas catalog arrived today. So I thought I would post a few choice items to consider since the holidays are right around the corner.

Broken Silence Turkey Alarm Clock. Need to launch those children out of bed in the morning? There's no better way to start the day than with sounds of the hunt. When this alarm goes off, you'll hear an owl hoot, a hen cutting and then a gobble. Push the snooze and stop the gobbling with a shotgun blast. (Seriously, I could not make up details like that if I was Chuck Palahniuk)
Only $44.99. [click to order]

Camouflage Crib Collection Your little hunter is sure to have sweet dreams of the outdoors when you adorn their room with a complete crib set of camo. The only downside is that your baby may be effectively hidden from you. Only $59.99 for the complete set. Perhaps the two Amys will want to coordinate Susanna's and Jayne's rooms since there are also regular sheet set sizes available and surely our babies could never outgrow this exciting decor. [click to order]

Bridger Mountain Man Coyote Fur Hat. Relive the era of the mountain man with this authentic full-body coyote Mountain Man Hat. The hat drapes down in the back for added warmth and protection of those heads that might be a bit sparse on top. The classic styling and authentic coyote hide make this hat a conversation starter at any school or church event. The perfect gift for those fashion-conscious teens and environmental enthusiasts. Rated 4.7 out of 5 by satisfied customers. On sale now for only $199.99. [click to order]

And finally, one of my most favorite items considering all my vegetarian children:

Tur-Duc-Hen. Picture this - chicken stuffed with your choice of five dressings, stuffed inside a deboned duck that is stuffed with more dressing. Then put those two birds inside a turkey filled with even more stuffing and you have a 15-lb. delicacy known as a Tur-Duc-Hen. A unique dining experience that will have your holiday guests raving. Arrives fresh and ready to cook. A real deal at $129.99 for this specialty meat...er, meats. [click to order]

We can hardly wait to see the entire Hale family in Utah for Christmas! That hasn't happened in years. Now...whose name do we have? Ah. Brad and Susan. Excellent.

Sherri

awe

I haven't been able to stop crying yet. I am awestruck. I had lost my faith in the political system years ago while I was working in politics, disillusioned by the reality of what I witnessed behind those closed doors of the ivory towers, what the political rhetoric translated to for those elected officials who said they served the people, those people who did not walk their talk, officials for whom their message was only words.

2001 happened.

2004 happened.

The message of hope and change began small and I dismissed it as campaign hoopla. But it continued to grow. It was pervasive. I listened with a cynical ear. I heard it in person in the packed Portland Coliseum - cried at the weight and substance of Sen. Obama's message, cried at the pain of not knowing if we could dare to hope that such a man with such a message could reach a place of leadership to actually make a difference.

As the last months have escalated in intensity, as the negative response from the extreme right has become louder, my dread has increased. How could such a simple message calling for change and hope hold against an entrenched system? I have never been afraid to be an American before - embarrassed, yes, but never afraid. My early childhood was in a military setting on foreign shores - I did not know that every movie theater in the world did not play the American National Anthem before every movie. And now, to hear the anger and the hatred coming across the airwaves and in the news from parts of our own country whipped up into a frenzy of campaign drama, I grew increasingly afraid for my family, my children and their children. And for a future that might embrace that negativity. My only hope became for Sen. Obama to succeed.

I am so relieved. I am so moved by the message that has remained steadfast and clear. I am so awed by all the greater implications of the outcome. A little piece of my faith is restored, and my little scrap of hope carries it forward.



Sherri

added by Rick:
Spontaneous "Star Spangled Banner" breaks out in Pioneer Courthouse Square
by Michael Rollins, The Oregonian Wednesday November 05, 2008, 9:53 AM

A crowd gathered last night at Pioneer Courthouse Square Park. At 8 p.m., when television stations called the race for Barack Obama, people broke out in an a cappella rendition of the National Anthem.


www.oregonlive.com

Sleepless in Connecticut

Wow, that was original, wasn't it? An echo of an old movie, echoed in my beautiful wife's earlier sign-off...

Yeah, so the absolute worst thing about working away from home is the inability to sleep without Sherri by my side...or underneath me...or on top of me, as the case may be depending upon where we are in the nightly tango (tangle?) that is our way of sleeping together. Oh, except boys don't like to cuddle, so forget I just said all that...

I'm grateful that cellphones have become so inexpensive to use, and thanks to the benefit of that modern technology we remain connected on the facets of everyday life. I can't quite imagine what it would have been like in the time from not so long ago to forever back in human history where that was simply not possible, and for the married man who had travelled 6,000 miles, coming home must surely have felt something like trying to re-become a person he once was, while returning to a person (and a life) he once knew.

My biggest challenge on this brief trip to the east coast has been the result of the three hour time differential. Between that and the aforementioned lack of my cuddle partner, I've been falling asleep between 3:00 and 4:00 AM, then waking up around 7:00 to go to work. Woo-hoo!! I don't think tired begins to describe the way I feel. I'm glad the "daily commute" involves no driving, only stumbling down the hotel hall, headed for the pre-work meeting in my boss' room with a mug of hot tea in my hand.

Even in the midst of my exhaustion, this is a wonderful life to live. Our friend John (who is also Sherri's business partner, of sorts) was good enough to come across town last night to pick me up and take me to an A.A. meeting close to where he lives, after which he gave me a tour of his home, and then we just kicked it for a bit and shot the breeze with his wife Sheryl before he drove me back.

(Now...A.A. isn't the 12-Step fellowship I'm most comfortable in, but it'll do as a substitute... {/inside joke} )

It is nothing short of amazing to me that Sherri and I have friends that live all over the world. Freed from the depths of the misery, terror, and pain of our addiction, we walk among a community of friends that quite literally spans the globe.

As someone I am very fond of would say, "It's a fucking miracle", and I will print that here even though C.A. would not let that particular word past the editor of its quarterly newsletter in an article she was requested to write for it.

~~~~~~~
Today we entered the room of an elderly woman (and her cats) who is living here at this hotel. As we removed her 10 year old tv to replace it with a new 42" flat-screen hdtv, I commented that I imagined it looked a lot different than the first one she ever saw. As I left the room she began to tell a story about that first set to another member of the crew who was in the room completing the installation. He later made a comment which revealed he considered her tale a lot of boring chatter to endure.

Which left me to wonder if all our marvelous technology has done humanity any good at all.