Jethro's World

Can't Leave Them Behind

Why is it so difficult for us parents to leave photos of our kids behind?

Last year, the local professional photographer (Greg's Photography in Molalla) held a photo contest on Halloween (and they are doing it this year, too). We took Noah in because we thought he was rather cute in his dragon costume. The little guy tied for third place -- and won a free photo session.

So, this past Monday, we went down to Greg's to have Noah's 2-year photos and maybe some family pictures taken. Yesterday we went in to view them. Why do we do this to ourselves??? The shots turned out great -- almost all of them! How are we supposed to pick 3 poses out of all those cute shots of our little spud?

After a good 45 minutes of debating, viewing, eliminating shots, viewing again, etc.; we were able to narrow it down (painfully) to the best of the best -- and we have this year's Christmas card photo taken care of. We spent more money on them than I expected, but it was worth it.

Sure, going to a professional photographer is more expensive than going to Sears or Picture People (at the mall), but the quality and service are not even comparable -- and we are supporting a local business this way.

Now, the big question is, do I drop the $295 on the full CD of photos (complete with copyrights) so I can email them and post them here?

A Little Indulgence (or Use the force, Luke...)

I was going to wait until after Christmas to get it. It was at the top of my Christmas list. But, I just couldn't wait that long. So, I bought the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD this week. In reality, that was a pretty expensive item for someone to get me for Christmas; and I still have a full list of much cheaper items.

Now I can sit back and enjoy the original Star Wars movies in the comfort of my own living room (complete with my newly installed "temporary" subwoofer). I don't know when I will get time to actually sit and watch a full episode at the volume I really want to, but I'm sure it will happen sometime in the next year.

For me, the original Star Wars IV: A New Hope is about the best movie ever. Sure, the acting is bland and the script formulaic, but those things do not matter to a 7-year old boy.

The year was 1977. I can remember stopping at Grandma & Grandpa Roth's house -- possibly to drop Tony off -- or maybe all of us boys were already there. Dad told us that we were going to see the latest movie -- Star Wars. I didn't want to go. I had never heard of this movie, and quite frankly; the title didn't make it sound very exciting. Building houses and trucks with LEGO's sounded much more exciting to me.

I don't remember which theater we went to the first time, but it was either the PIX theater in Woodburn or Westgate in Beaverton (I think). I know that JD (or David or John or whatever he was called then) and I saw it several times in the next week. I'm sure that at least Dad was in the theater with us, but I mainly remember sitting next to JD -- somewhere along the right side of the theater, about half way back -- watching Luke and the gang battle their way through the Death Star.

On our way home from that first viewing, the interior of the Plymouth Valiant was transformed into the interior of a starship. The seat belt buttons (who wore seat belts back then?) became buttons to fire torpedoes into the Death Star's core. The door locks were flashing buttons on a control console. We were "Red 5" making a daring run in his X-wing; or Han Solo in his Millenium Falcon, making the jump to light speed.

We had been exposed to something completely new and exciting; a far-off galaxy that filled our dreams and peaked out imaginations. JD read all the Star Wars novels and comic books. We had action figures and toy starships and re-enacted the scenes all over again. And then we waited impatiently for the next installments to be released in theaters.

Sure, many film connoisseurs criticize the Star Wars movies for poor writing and bad acting. But for some of us, that feeling of nostalgia overrides any cinematic shortcomings that may be present.

What movies do you remember most from your childhood? How did they affect your thoughts and dreams?

May the force be with you!

Neil Diamond

About a year ago, I had JD make a mix CD of 70's and 80's songs. The stereo in my pickup plays MP3's, so I requested that the songs be in that format (which meant he was able to fit over 115 songs on one disc). I had a few specific requests (Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, Rhinestone Cowboy, etc), but most of the songs were selected by JD -- including a few Neil Diamond songs.

I have never been much of a Neil Diamond fan, but my dad absolutely loved him. He would blast Jonathon Livingston Seagull at full volume -- and wonder why we kids were covering our ears instead of enjoying it like he was (Hmm... history kind of repeats itself -- but Noah runs in to listen with me). I always found Neil's voice to be rather flat and ordinary - and the accompaniment of elevator music wasn't exactly dazzling. But, I do get a sense of nostalgia when I hear one of his songs.

I always thought all of Neil's lyrics had about the same depth as Forever In Blue Jeans, but lately I have been paying closer attention. The song Be has a mythical, mystical feel to it -- and the words flow quite nicely with the elevator music. I think it is Neil Diamond's best song.

Be by Neil Diamond

Lost
On a painted sky
Where the clouds are hung
For the poet’s eye
You may find him
If you may find him

There
On a distant shore
By the wings of dreams
Through an open door
You may know him
If you may

Be
As a page that aches for words
Which speaks on a theme that’s timeless
While the sun God will make for your day
Sing
As a song in search of a voice that is silent
And the one God will make for your way

And we dance
To a whispered voice
Overheard by the soul
Undertook by the heart
And you may know it
If you may know it

While the sand
Would become the stone
Which begat the spark
Turned to living bone
Holy, holy
Sanctus, sanctus

Be
As a page that aches for word
Which speaks on a theme that is timeless
While the sun God will make for your day
Sing
As a song in search of a voice that is silent
And the one God will make for your day

Are there any poetry/song lyric interpreters out there who want to take a stab at the deep underlying meanings in this song?

It Ain't Me

If any of you Oregonians have read the Ballot Measure Voter's Pamphlet, you may have noticed that a Jeff Roth paid $500 for a spot in the Arguments in Favor section for Measure 36. Obviously there is more than one Jeff Roth in the state of Oregon, as I surely did not submit that statement.

So, once and for all; NO, THAT IS NOT ME!

Thank you and have a great weekend! (All three of you who will actually read this ;-)

Mount St. Helens

Because the local evening news doesn't have enough hype about the volcano, I give you the Gifford Pinchot National Forest VolcanoCam -- updated every 5 minutes (reload page for updates).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, Canadian Thanksgiving, that is.

Tonight we will be eating turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, apple and pumpkin pies, etc. with our Monday Night Football gang. [stomach growl] Is it 6:30 yet?!? [/stomach growl]

Thank you Canada, for having your Thanksgiving on the 2nd Monday of October so we can have two Thanksgivings every year!

And thanks to my beautiful wife, Stephanie; who is at home cooking away as we speak. This year I am again most thankful for family and friends.

Have a good Turkey Day, eh?

New Photos at Noah's Playhouse

Hi, I'm Noah. My papa wanted me to let you know that he is putting up some new entries over at my site.

Oh Canada

We left Oregon after work on the 22nd of September. The sun was setting on a beautiful 70-degree day as we made our way through Portland's rush hour traffic - the start of an 1100-mile trek - nonstop.

When the sun rose again, we were somewhere between Quesnel and Prince George doing 110 KPH on the open road. We ran into a few misty showers north of Prince George, but the skies cleared as we made our way through the Pine Pass - revealing the beautiful amber fall colors on the hillsides - a gorgeous site.

As we rolled out of Chetwynd, the steep slopes gradually gave way to gentle, rolling hills and a steady breeze - a sure sign that we had arrived in the Peace Country.

We phoned Steph's mom, Sandy, to see what was going on, and found out that Steph's brother, Marc, was heading our way - and we were able to meet him for lunch at an A&W in Dawson Creek (they still have good A&W's in Canada). Much to Noah's delight, Marc was in the Kenworth truck that he drives (for a company that provides service to the oil-field industry). As Marc headed back out on the road, he gave a few good blasts of his air horn - just for Noah.

An hour later, we were unpacking at the Nofziger place just outside of Wembley, Alberta. That's 1100 miles in 20 hours with a 2-year-old (including stops for food and gas) - not too shabby.

The following 9 days went by way too fast. They included beautiful weather, a golf game, a trip to Edmonton (and IKEA), getting donuts and coffee at Tim Horton's, playing games with Doug & Sandy and Marc & Kim (and Sydney, too!), meeting for lunch at Tony Roma's, helping clean and organize Sandy's craft/sewing room (this involved burning stuff, woo-hoo!), eating wonderful home cooked meals, a Chocolate Mousse pie made just for me (yes, I'm spoiled), taking Noah on his first combine ride, visiting family friends, and just relaxing and hanging out. Many of these events were captured on film, and I hope to post a few photos soon.

And then, sadly, it was time to go home. The drive out of the Peace Country and through the Pine Pass was not nearly as pretty - as a week of wind had stripped the trees bare.

We always take an extra day coming home because we aren't as excited to get there (and we need to be rested for work). 10 hours of driving on Saturday, October 2nd, put us at 100 Mile House, where we stopped for the night.

We were back on the road by 8:00 Sunday morning and met our friend Laurel Pritchard, near Vancouver for lunch and a quick visit. I wish we could have met her at a more exciting venue, but when you travel with a 2-year-old, you naturally look for a McDonald's with a Play Place so they can stretch their legs a little.

We finally made it home around 9:00 Sunday night. It was a long journey, but it was worth it - and we will do it again!

My pickup after 2200+ miles, a few frosts, and dusty gravel roads.

After a little elbow grease and a lot of car wash soap.