A few weeks ago at a family birthday party, a friend posed an interesting trivia question which I thought I had a fair chance at since it involved a state where I once lived: the great state of Nebraska.  Do  you know what the 3 largest cities in Nebraska are?

Answer: Omaha, Lincoln (everyone knows those two) and…  Bellevue.  I’ve heard of Bellevue, but it wasn’t my guess for third place.  I  was thinking of the western city of Scottsbluff, which is actually on the western side of Nebraska near Cheyenne Wyoming.  I guessed Scottsbluff since it has a zoo that I always wanted to visit when we resided there, but we never made it there since Scottsbluff was almost as far away from our home in Lincoln as was our family 2 states over in Illinois!  But anyway, my point is that Scottsbluff didn’t even make the top 10 of Nebraska’s largest cities.  The city of Kearney (pronounced Carnie) crossed my mind since it was always advertised as a nearby tourist attraction when we lived in Lincoln, but it was #5 on the list.  And by the way, #5-10 of the largest cities in Nebraska only have between 20-30,000 people!!

I found this info while I was looking up the answer to my friend’s trivia question, and I found it interesting, so I decided to pass it on.  Then again, it was probably only interesting to me because I used to call Lincoln Nebraska home.  Well anyway, if you come across the ‘3 largest cities in Nebraska’ trivia question, you can now impress your friends by correctly saying Omaha, Lincoln, and Bellevue!

Sorry for the lateness of this followup.  Here is the short of it: GO SEE WHAT IF… Well, if it is playing in your area- it opens this Friday.  It truly is a heartwarming movie about breaking down one person to show him what his life should have been like had he not made one bad decision that ended up changing him for the worse.  But you watched the trailer I linked to last time.  As for my experience, I arrived there Monday night at about 5:40 and there were already a lot of people waiting.  By the time the doors to the worship center opened, the lines practically went out the door.  But I did manage to get a seat, even if I never did meet up with any of my small group (or my mother, who someone from my group- Matt-  brought since I didn’t have time to go home then back to Elgin) until afterward.  My mother got a seat too- she and Matt made it inside just as they were adding an extra row.  Everyone else had to go to an overflow area where I presume they had a feed from the worship center.  Around starting time, everyone got a laugh when John Ratzenberger came out with a camera in his hand recording us- his way of returning the favor. 😀

Once the guests were seated, my pastor came out and introduced everyone and talked particularly about the director, Dallas Jenkins, since he is now on staff at the church.  Introductions aside, the movie started.  As I said already- go see it- if you are a follower of Jesus you won’t regret it, and even if you aren’t it is still a very enjoyable drama.  Anyway, once the movie was over, the campus pastor, Jeff called up the three actors present and Dallas to the comfy chairs set up on stage and there was a discussion with them about the movies.  The three actors present were Ratzenberger, Kevin Sorbo, and Debby Ryan.  If you or your child watches Suite Life On Deck on the Disney Channel, she plays Bailey.  Sorbo is best known for his role as Hercules and Ratzenberger from Cheers or more recently as a voice on many Disney/Pixar movies.  I took some pictures with my iphone, but they were pretty bad.  I’ll just say I was in the 5th (I think) row, toward the side of the center.  I was able to see three of the four without a problem, but for the last, and for Jeff, I could only see them on the screen.  Afterward, I went to my car to get my work camera (why I didn’t think of this ahead of time I don’t know).  By the time I met up with my mother and got my camera, we were at the end of the line.  How long was the line?  Well check it out:

AVI of looooong line

Sorry, I don’t have any sort of youtube or other account so you will have to bear with a link to the avi on my webspace.  Anyway, here are some photos of the guests signing What If posters.  Needless to say, I did not get up there before I left, but one of my 5th graders recognized me and offered me one since his family had a few already- God bless him.  So since I didn’t meet the actors myself, I just took these photos from the balcony above which was not blocked off by security.  As always, click on a picture for a larger version:

I had a longer weekend then most since I took Friday off. The day was filled with some time of quiet reflection for me. I was in need of some time and space to think. That evening and well into Saturday morning was filled with friends and companionship.

Since I was up so late, Saturday was one to recuperate until the evening. Then on to my oldest daughter’s house for our regular Saturday gathering. It started late, and went long. The end of the day was filled with a strong sense of family. We were there to support each other when it was needed.

There was laughter and fun this weekend. We shared food and good times. We shared in common interests. We shared fun in the life of others. In that, life continues.

One year ago on the 13th of August, future laughter was never heard. Sadness filled many hearts. Other loss was averted, but the anxiety was left behind.

It has been one year, but the loss is still there. The loss remains and will remain.

It has been one year, but the love is still there. That love seems to grow daily.

It has been one year, you are gone, but not forgotten. Memories remain, however short they were.

It has been one year, and that is not a magic number. Time heals, but scars remain. Pain fades, but the hurt is still real.

Friends, family and love continue. In those things there can be strength. It is not weakness to shed tears, it is strength and love.

We miss all of those we lose, but on some days a special one is remembered.

After a shortened night’s sleep (I’m sure some of my friends got less sleep than I so can’t complain) following a SUPER Friday night,  I had to work the dreaded 12-8 shift on a Saturday… it’s money.  Following the grind, the family (including our visiting cousin from Arkansas… one last get together before she boards the Greyhound tomorrow evening) met at my brothers for a bonfire that turned into an indoor affair (80+ degrees seems a bit warm for weinee roasting, marshmallow toasting, s’more creating).  So, hot dogs were put in the broiler and s’mores were made over the gas stove.  And we were treated to some of Season 3 of Lois and Clark courtesy of Jeff’s PS3 streaming of Netflix.

Season 3 finds the intrepid reporters of a great metropolitan newspaper at the beginning of their budding romance.  However, as was pointed out, long before the sound of wedding bells were rung.  DC Comics made it known that the union would not be made on screen before it was in the pages of the comic books.  A virtual reality adventure, a Lane/Kent family Christmas celebration, and voodoo hocus pocus (not one of my favorite episodes) filled the two+ hours.

While watching the adventures on the big screen, my other brother arrived after some car trouble.  It seems that he had a his starter replaced for naught.  Instead, it was determined that Chad had gotten some bad gas (pun intended).  “There was a quarter tank left” according to the fuel gauge.  Plenty of fuel to travel 10 miles. Sounds oddly familiar to me, somehow.

So… never a dull moment.  I’ll have to revisit my DVD collection of the four seasons of one of my favorite incarnations of the Man of Steel.

AHHHHHH… after a two week hiatus, I returned to my weekly voice lesson.  Fun times!  While waiting for K, I was entertained once again by her 5 year old son who now happily reports that he has beaten computer chess on the medium level.  A feat I could only dream of achieving.  He is also looking forward to the beginning of the school year but is a bit apprehensive because he does not know who his teacher will be.  Been there… done that! He also presented me with a colorful piece of artwork that he made while mixing a bunch of paints together.  And I got the full rundown of the family vacation.

Rehearsals are going even better than I could have imagined.  During the two week break, I scoured my books to find a few more songs to work on.  I found “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin.  WOW!  Once again, deceptive but will be fun to work on.  I dug out a few other songs that I hope to look at in the next few weeks: a few more duets, a small group piece, and some solo pieces.

After going through one of the pieces which is now ready for performance, we read some Disney songs which I will be looking at again.  I tried my best Italian crooning voice on “Bella Notte” a short little piece that must have had some instrumental during the spaghetti and meatball scene in Lady and the Tramp.

After some more sight singing, we both decided that we definitely want to do a weekend gig at the theatre.  The first thing to do is NARROW my song list.  I have a very large collection of music to choose from… ones I have worked on and have gotten near perfection, some I have looked at, and others that I want to look at, and some I have been encouraged to look at.  I was informed that my voice sounds “really good” on each of the songs I have attempted (even the ones I have never looked at before).

So…. with a little help from my friends (those who have inquired about doing a duet with me… you know who you are; those I will ask to do a little group number (or two) with; and someone to provide a bit of filler between some of the numbers) I should be prime for the public shortly after Baskervilles wraps or, at latest, after the first of the year.

Doesn’t it just sound lovely?

Tonight/this morning I was ready to sit in my lawn chair and look for shooting stars. The Perseid meteor shower was to hit its maximum two days. The sky promised to be clear. The mosquitoes did not promise to stay away, but I have my bug suit. 😉 So, I drove the truck out into the field, had my chair sitting in the bed, and I watched the night sky.

I saw a couple of shooting stars, but no storm/shower. Kind of a sprinkle. I had a grand view of the summers stars. The sky was dark enough to see the Milky Way. For an hour I enjoyed kicking back and just watching the sky turn.

Then I noticed some of the horizon stars were not as bright as they had been. Passing clouds I thought, not a big deal. Then I noticed more and more of the stars were just that much harder to see. Dang too many clouds except I stood up and the sky was clear once again. The cloud had formed much lower as fog around my truck. I stood for a while in hopes to see one or two more meteors, but within 15 minutes the fog was at my head. No more star gazing.

I should have guessed with the heavy rain this afternoon, and the warm temperatures today that fog would form easily. I just wish it would have held out for an hour or two. I’m sure I could drive one way or another to get out of my little fog bank, but the bed and work are calling me. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

It began with Wonder Woman… and now the Dark Knight is going to undergo a costume change.  However, Batfans do not despair.  The change is nowhere near as dramatic as the Amazon Princesses.  I do not follow comic books closely enough to know that Bruce Wayne has “retired” in the current mythology and will be making a dramatic return in November.  I do recall the “Knightfall” saga in which he was beaten and paralyzed by the villain known as Bane.  Paralleling the Death and Return of Superman storyline, the millionaire (or is it billionaire) playboy was replaced by a new Batman until Wayne recuperated enough to reassume the cape and cowl.  AH… only in the comics!

The only MAJOR change (That I see) in the Caped Crusader’s appearance will be the return of the black bat on the yellow background emblem.  Not an Earth-shaking switch by any means.  Besides, I do believe that he does possess an array of different costumes for different purposes.

I normally don’t do things like this, but since I have a blog, I might as well. I have decided what I want my first book to be and I have already started on the research.

I am going to write about Egypt! A young woman, early twenties, I think, is going to be touring Egypt and finds herself in Ancient Egypt. There she sees all the monuments in their glory and learns about Ramesses II and Nefertari. That’s all I’m giving up. So, any thoughts? Would anyone be interested in reading it? Of course, it could take years because of all the research to do.

My daughter Disney is 3 years old and full of questions.  Today was her first dentist visit, and she had questions about every aspect of going to the dentist.  On the way home, she had more questions: Can I still sneeze?  Can I still drink?  Can I still eat?  She had no idea what life would be like with clean teeth.  Before the appointment, she was a bit scared, but in the end she found getting her teeth cleaned fun and tickle-y.

After the dentist, something happened that will have me laughing for a long time.  A stoplight turned yellow, and it was one of those with the pedestrian’s crosswalk really far in front of the light, so I had to hard-brake, which for some reason prompted little Disney to pipe up from the back seat and ask me, “What the h*** are you doing?”  I turned around and asked her where she learned that word, and her sisters looked terrified that they were going to somehow get blamed for this – the looks on their faces were priceless.  “From Kirsten”, said Disney, referring to her little friend at the babysitters.  I was relieved to know that it wasn’t something she had picked up from home, and we had a little chat about some words not being appropriate to say.

Kids will be kids, and I’m not worried in the slightest about my sweet little 3-year-old becoming as foul-mouthed as a trucker’s reputation.  Actually, I will think of this little episode every time I need a smile  – it was so funny how she just blurted it out that way, it makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it!

According to JJ my parakeet, the best way to spend 88 cents is on this little number:

I saw this little bird toy at Walmart the other day, and even though I knew it would scare the heck out of my scaredy-cat parakeet, I bought it anyway.  It’s a piece of plastic in the shape of an upside-down T –  a perch for the bird to sit on, while the part that sticks up hold millet sprays  – a favorite treat for parakeets.

I adopted my little guy JJ (short for Jungle Jack Hanna named after my favorite celeb) back in January, and he hasn’t ever been interested in playing with any of the toys in his cage.  My 2-year-old son used to bang on JJ’s cage, and so the little bird became afraid of people, and I haven’t been able to pet him in months – he flies away from me.  I was so afraid that he led a miserable existence locked away safely in my bedroom – until about a month ago, when I moved him from our bedroom (where he was by himself most of the time) to the living room (the centerpiece of most of our large family’s traffic patterns).  JJ has been SO happy to be a part of the action!  I’ve been happy to see him happy, but he still wasn’t playing with toys – until I bought this 88 cent Walmart Wonder on a whim.  At first, JJ kept his distance, and I feared I was right – he WAS afraid of everything!  I had to leave the house for awhile, and when I returned, the millet was gone from the toy – I was ecstatic!

The next day, I snapped the above picture of JJ perched on his new toy, and ever since, he’s been in love with his 88 cent Walmart toy!  He sits next to it and preens himself, and he even gazes at it lovingly.

I reiterate – BEST 88 cents spent (on a pet) EVER!!