O Pioneers!

Yesterday was Pioneer Day.

To celebrate,

I ate at an old west restaurant in Lehi

called Porter's Place,

where you can order a drink called

"Rattlesnake Venom--guaranteed to kill your thirst."

We wanted to order everything on the menu.

I made a Pioneer Day playlist.

I feel like my grandfather's granddaughter

when I listen to cowboy music.

I danced the Virginia Reel

and ate homemade chocolate pecan pie

that made me want to sink into the soft earth

and die happily.

...

Over 150 years ago,

my people were pushed out

of every place they tried to settle.

So they followed the sun west,

across the endless plains

and over the towering mountains.

Finally,

they settled in this cozy valley

where I now live.

I love those people,

and others like them in every country.

I like to think

that I hold onto some bit of their strength.

How to be more American, Star-Spangled Edition.

Listen

The Star-Spangled Banner,

played on original instruments

from the National Museum of American History,

and arranged in the style of the mid-19th century.

Watch

Whitney Houston sang the national anthem

at the Super Bowl during the Persian Gulf War.

The way she sings it

makes the broad stripes and bright stars glitter,

and your heart swell 

with the bombs bursting in air.

Sing

While you're at it,

go ahead an sing all four verses.

Out loud.

Right now.

And think about how it would feel

to see your flag still waving over the battlefield,

to know that this young, hard-earned freedom

had not been prematurely torn from your hands.

And for fun,

look up 

"Bob Dylan wannabe sings The Star-Spangled Banner"

on Youtube.

Any song sung in the style of Bob Dylan

will make you more American.

How to be more American, Part 2.

Listen

"Down the Dirt Road Blues," Charlie Patton

Delta blues--
music born and bred right here in America,
raw and sad.

See

Photography by Dorothea Lange

Lange photographed migrant workers
during the Great Depression,
capturing in stark beauty of
the souls of the American people
and its land.

Read

via

Maybe its authorship is questionable,

but its sentiment is dead on.

Always America moves west,

chasing that big ole sun.

"They came here--
the exile and the stranger,
brave but frightened--
to find a place where a man
could be his own man."
-Lyndon B. Johnson

I love that one of my country's ideals
is that a poor old human soul is worth something,
no matter what.

And that soul can be his own man.

How to be more American, Part 1.

The big day is only 3 days away,

and so I present to you

the following series

which will help you be the most American you can.

Listen

"Fortunate Son," Creedence Clearwater Revival

It started with the Boston Tea Party,

and it ain't never stopped.

Nothing more American than a good protest song.

And John Fogerty's voice

is the voice of America.

Watch

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

The story of America

as the years pass is ever and always

"My ancestor's couldn't;

I can.

And my children will."

Read

"Let America Be American Again," Langston Hughes

"Oh, let America be America again--

The land that never has been yet--

And yet must be--the land where every man is free."

America is as much of a dream

and an ideal

as it is a reality.

And those it has wronged

have been woven into its fabric,

and brightened its hue.

But it's a dream worth holding on to.

Midsummer.

In pagan cultures,

magic is thought to be stronger

at midsummer.

And I believe it.

Each year,

I see more and more

how magical summer is.

...

This year,

I was determined to celebrate midsummer

and the summer solstice.

So I did.

Snow cones,

swing sets,

The Sandlot.

There are all sorts of pagan midsummer rituals

that I would have liked to do too.

Like jumping over bonfires

or dancing around a maypole

or casting wreaths of flowers into the river.

What I did was sleep with flowers under my pillow.

(It seemed easiest.)

Apparently,

when you sleep with flowers under your pillow

at midsummer,

you dream about your future spouse.

I guess you're supposed to have
at least seven different types of flowers.
All I had was a hollyhock
and some sort of weed that resembled a flower.
(Limited resources.)

At any rate,

I don't remember my dreams from that night,
but it was still fun.

...

Pagan comes from a Latin word
meaning rural or rustic.

I like the idea

of doing the same things

that centuries of simple folk did

to try to make sense of the world.

The cruel war is raging.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today was a beautiful, American day.

There ain't no doubt I love this land:

This morning,

I ate breakfast at Denny's.

I listened to patriotic music,

especially Civil War songs.

(Gotta take the holiday back to its roots, yo.)

I felt like both a Yankee

and a Reb.

I tied a red bandana in my hair. 

With my chambray shirt,

I looked like a less terrifying Rosie the Riveter.

Allyson & I went to the other side of the lake,

where I've never been.

I love the wide-open promise 

of a quiet country landscape.

We visited a Civil War encampment,

a historical inn,

a one-room schoolhouse.

We bought those olde time candy sticks--

root beer flavored, of course.

We went to an old military cemetery,

where all the headstones said "Unknown."

We drove home,

got 50-cent slurpees,

played four-square

and badminton

and bocce ball,

and swung on swings

into the blue sky of evening.

Melissa gave us chicken and dumplings.

I read My Antonia aloud to Genevieve.

And I thought about how dyin is sometimes

more important than livin--

when it's for something that really matters.

To this nation,

and to its noble dead,

I give my heart.

How to Celebrate Presidents Day.

I promise you that your life will be fuller and richer

if you begin celebrating the minor holidays.

Tomorrow is Presidents Day,

so why not start now?

Here is your how to guide.

1. Memorize the presidents in order.

There are only 44.

You can really do it.

If you memorize the presidents 

and pass it off to me within the next week,

I'll give you a prize.

2. Do a Presidents Day craft.

Yes, you'll feel like you're in elementary school.

Yes, that's the point.

3. Recite or listen to a speech by a president.

And then think about it.

Not that long ago we lived in a world

where choosing to pursue the moon

was a daring and controversial choice.

Can you imagine that?

4. Eat something special.

Like jelly beans--Reagan loved them.

Or Mamie Eisenhower's fudge recipe.

Just something special.

If it's not presidents related,

then talk about presidents while you're eating.

5. Memorize a few presidents facts and quiz your friends.

Like,

Which president had an alligator live at the White House?

This one, if you recognize him.

In general, just think about America

and be grateful.

And spend it with me,

if you can :)

Haiku.

"Be my Valentine?"

"I guess that would be okay.

You're not made of wood."

Where meek souls will receive Him still

I love this video.

Not only do I love cathedral choirs,

where the big men sing the low parts,

and the little men sing the high parts

and wear those funny collars,

but I also love how the congregation joins in.

I love the way the old men,

so stately and distinguished,

sing about the angels and archangels,

cherubim and seraphim.

And how that mother and her adorable baby

remind us of Mary & Jesus.

I love this little group of believers,

singing their praises.

This video is what it means in O Little Town of Bethlehem:

Where meek souls will receive Him still

the dear Christ enters in.

The condescension of God.

I am a Christian.

And I love Jesus Christ.

I know that Jesus Christ lived as a god,

but he came to where we are

to be with us and help us.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

"He came down to earth from heaven,

who is God and Lord of all.

And His shelter was a stable.

And His cradle was a stall.

With the poor, and meek, and lowly

lived on earth our Savior holy."

Jesus Christ with the lowly
at the pool of Bethesda

"Our God, heav'n cannot hold Him,

nor earth sustain.

Heav'n and earth shall flee away

when He comes to reign.

Jesus Christ at His second coming.

In the bleak midwinter

a stable place sufficed.

The Lord God Almighty,

Jesus Christ."

"For as surely as thou livest,

behold, I have seen my Redeemer;

and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman,

and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name.

Now, when he had said these words,

his heart was swollen within him,

and he sunk again with joy"

Alma 19:13

When I think about these things,

I feel happy!

I feel important

and not alone.

And that's enough for me

to know they're real.

DELAWARE.

To you, today might be Pearl Harbor Day.

And it is.

But it's also another important day in history:

Delaware Day.

December 7, 1787:

Delaware is the first state to ratify the Constitution.

Holla!

Doesn't it just make sense that someone who loves America 

as much as I do

would have to be born it its first state?

I inadvertently wore my Wilmington Blue Rocks shirt today.

But I think it was meant to be.

For your enlightenment, I have draw up the following list.

WHAT MAKES DELAWARE WONDERFUL:

1. Vice President Joe Biden

2. DuPont, the company which made lycra.

Yes, you have my state to thank for spandex.

3. Bob Marley's mother lived in Delaware at one point. True story.

4. Our state bird is the blue hen, known for its fighting ability.

5. We have an event each year after Halloween

entitled Punkin Chunkin,

in which we catapult off old pumpkins.

You better believe it, baby.

6. We have probably the classiest licence plate in the whole US.

Can't beat gold and navy.

7 - ∞. Etc.

And at the end of the day,

at least we're not New Jersey.

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Today is a great day!

 

It's Election Day.

 

I'm sporting an Eisenhower t-shirt

and, of course, my LBJ button,

 

 

a red bow and a red cartigan,

 

and blue jeans, blue earrings, and blue shoes.

 

I tried really hard to dress bipartisanly.

 

 

Four years ago on election day,

 

I covered a large wall in my house

with the names of famous politicians--

 

democrats on the left

and republicans on the right.

 

No matter what happens today,

I love America!

 

And I love that we can vote.

 

That is all.





Let us live to make men free.

Guys, I just really love America.

Last year, I said I couldn't love Independence Day the best because it's too commercialized.

But I've changed my tune.

How could I not love my country's national day more than anything else?

This year, I decided a couple of things.

1. All that you need to have a good Independence Day is

a pancake breakfast

and

this

and

this.

2. I have to vote.

I watched Iron Jawed Angels, about Alice Paul & the 19th Amendment.

Once upon a time, women couldn't vote.

And they went to jail, and went on hunger strikes, and fought and fought.

And you don't take lightly that kind of sacrifice

for that kind of freedom.

3. Fireworks make my heart swell with all the glory of the loftiest human triumphs.

I think they should make fireworks that blaze the shape of George Washington's head in the sky.

Right?

I like the gold ones the best.

4. I'm going to have a patriotic wedding.

No question.

No matter what time of year I get married.

Won't it just be the best?

5.I want to move to Washington, DC & be a yuppie.

Like, it needs to happen.

I'll work for the Smithsonian,

jaunt around eating sundry cuisine,

wearing Banana Republic,

participating in free patriotic events in our nation's capital.

And John Phillip Sousa marches will be my life's soundtrack.

As He died to make men holy,

let us live to make men free

while God is marching on!

Decoration Day

For Memorial Day today, I shot a gun for the first time.

No, it didn't have a bayonet.

But I did shoot an AK-47.

I feel a lot more disturbed after going home and realizing what an AK-47 really is, thanks to the internet.

I shot a milk carton

with an assault rifle.

I don't think shooting guns is for me.

I'd rather talk about Civil War balls.

Grateful.

Last year I began a tradition of writing

100 things

I was grateful for in my journal on Thanksgiving.

I just wrote my list. 

I actually couldn't stop at 100, so I've got 108 things.

I went back and read my list from last year, and it's clear that I've changed.

This year, 

over 40 items on my list just had to do with people that I'm grateful for.

Last year it was only 20.

I wish I could shout it from the rooftops.

I LOVE PEOPLE.

I LOVE LOVE.

I LOVE YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving.