What day is it?

I've forgotten a lot of my birthdays through the years. It became almost a tradition. Strange that as one gets older and would like to forget them, more and more folks are eager to be the string around the finger.
Probably the most notable lapse - for me at least - the one that stands out in my mind - is of the birthday at BYU in 1962. It was right in the middle of finals. For CE101 the final was a project that involved producing the working drawings of an adjustable vise. As I remember we had to jockey for time in order to get enough time at a drafting table to comfortably complete the drawings without smudges, inconsistent lines, poor arrowheads, etc.. My bane were arrow heads… inconsistent lines… etc.. At least we didn't have to ink them.
It was my thinking that working late in the evening would give me a good amount time without interruption or distraction. And so after my last class on Monday I went to the "lab" resolved to finish the final sheets by the end of the evening. Things went fairly well and it didn't bother me that I missed supper. Even though it would've been the first good meal since Friday. Weekends were fend-for-yourself at 2320 North 835 East and I would either heat soup on my iron or try to choke down Helaman-Hall-cafeteria-test-kitchen-failures. Mostly I ate soup. Although there were some girls through the block that liked to exercise their mothering skills and could be counted on occasionally to save me from starvation. And so I didn't drag myself back to the dungeon until close to… well, I'm not sure when it was but the lights were out. Everyone was in bed. And there was a note on the table next to the cake my mother had arranged for.
The note "thanked" me for not showing up at my birthday party. Indelicately worded but still within the guidelines of the Honor Code.

The one that I didn't forget but still missed the party was my seventeenth. I was grounded and my friends had arranged a surprise party. They assumed since I was able to talk myself out of about anything and considering the situation… it seemed liked a slam dunk. Alas…
That one I wish I could forget.

On the other side of the coin - of all my birthdays I think the one I've most enjoyed is the one at Gari of Sushi watching Ninja Warriors with my guys. That's the real thing…

"Pants... on the ground... "

I Resolve...

My resolution for the new year is… obviously it's not to stop procrastinating - look at the date!
It's… Well, let me start another way.
I was doing a search for Beecher stuff and came across a blog (Dear Reader) by one Suzanne Beecher. Ms. Beecher is a busy and ambitious young lady. She has owned a restaurant, founded and published a business magazine, founded a non-profit program to feed the homeless, home-schooled her youngest son, and writes a daily column at DearReader.com. And in her spare time she wrote a book, Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy-if disorderly-Life which will be in bookstores on or about June 1, 2010.
That's not all. She also designs book clubs for publishers, book sellers, and libraries across the country. If you join an online book club, every day, Monday through Friday, you will receive in your email a five-minute selection from a chapter of a book. By the end of the week, you'll have read 2-3 chapters. you'll know whether or not you want to add that book to your to-read list. Additionally, since Suzanne likes contests, you could win a bubble machine, a signed copy of a book, or some of her homemade chocolate chip cookies.
But with all that what really struck me was something she wrote on Wednesday of this past week. Suzanne wrote, "I do my best writing when I'm living in Mayberry." Mayberry? Why Mayberry? Well, it has to do with making life more enjoyable - more meaningful. A way of dealing with life's little irritations and at times things that go far beyond the trivial. Looking past what might seem to be impolite and offensive and attempting to find the good. Pulling my boots out of the mire of the mundane to join the celebratory parade. Seeing life in a positive light. Not through rose colored glasses but accepting reality. To tolerate but not embrace. Allowing freedom of choice and choosing happiness. Allowing life to be more fun. And isn't that what it's all about - to have fun? Or to say it another way - to have joy or to find joy in living?
Again then, my resolution for the new year is - yes, to read more but more importantly - to find at least one thing each day that someone else has done that day to bless my life. And give thanks for it.
So, to quote Suzanne Beecher, "Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends."

The Julie/Julia Project

I just watched the movie Julie & Julia. At the end I had to ask, “Is that all there is?” There had to be more. It seemed so unfair that Julia hated Julie and her blog. She must have gone to Julia and worked things out. Would you have? She went to the museum! So I went looking. I had to find out why Julia disliked Julie. Google led me to the Food Renegade, You-Tube, and the real Julie Powell. And I found out that Julia felt that Julie was not serious about cooking. Of course you know how Julia feels about cooking. So I read a few of Julie’s postings.

Now I understand why Nora Ephron wrote the screenplay and her character Julie the way she did. Julie of the blog is a whining, expletive spouting, narcissist. If Ephron had made her Julie true to real-life Julie, it would have meant empty theaters after the first week. But I think she tried to warn us. She wanted us to know. Know that this is a nice little movie about a nice young lady. But the person of the real The Julie/Julia Project is not. Why else would she have written that ending that ignores such a slap in face? And Julie of the movie did describe herself as a b****. But did you think she was? I didn’t.

We were warned!

Although I didn’t read the book and can only judge it from the blog, I’ve got to say this is the only time the movie is better than the book.

Happy New Year!

Well, here we were again. The Beechers gathering together at Josefina's for our annual New Year's mini-family reunion. This time it was the home team only. All out-of-towners deciding to stay away. We missed one person in particular - Alex - hoping he 'hurries' back from vacation. But not too quickly. We don't want him to get hurt on the way.

In tribute to my dear mother whose greatest wish was to see Ireland - a brace of Irish blessings.

May the new year bring
The warmth of home and hearth to you.
The cheer and goodwill of friends to you,
The hope of a childlike heart to you.
The joy of a thousand angels to you,
The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

And so…

Here's to the bright New Year
And a fond farewell to the old;
Here's to the things that are yet to come
And to the memories that we hold.
May God be with you and bless you.
May the best of this year be the worst of the next.
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness.
From this day forward.

Happy New Year!