Potpourri Or Mini Posts 2

The Legend of Sleepy Church Street Canal
For those who haven't heard, a dead body was found in the Church Street Canal Monday. When I first heard about it, I was told it was a young woman or girl in just her underwear which implied the worst. Within hours, conjecture and rumors were swirling around the valley about the "murder" victim. As it turned out, it was an older lady in her fifties who had been known to have drug and mental illness issues. She apparently had been making her way alongside the canal and decided most of her clothing was a nuisance. After a while, she apparently made her way under the bridge or somewhere in the canal and it is believed, succumbed to the elements and froze. Very tragic. But it was interesting to be reminded of just how small a town we live in. Had this occured in our old neighborhood of Gilbert or Mesa, it would have been viewed as just another day in paradise, but in Thatcher, not so much. My friend, Rhett Dodge, whose home was near where the body was found, told me he had a lady come into his business and emphatically declare that anyone who had a daughter should get her home immediately because they had found three dead bodies between Safford and Central, all young women, and they had had their heads shaved. Another rumor floating around was that there were three young women found under the Pima bridge with their hands and feet cut off. My aren't we a morbid little group here.

Compare this to the morning I went out my front door in Gilbert to go to work and four police officers with shotguns and shields were walking down my sidewalk and asked (told) me to go back inside my home. Apparently the man who lived in the home right across the street from us had gone and got his ex-wife's current husband and kidnapped him. When the kidnapped individual tried to escape, my neighbor shot him. We knew none of this at the time, we just huddled in our home praying not to be shot. Shannon got to be on the news later that day in the typical "He was a quiet kind of guy" interview. But the next day, life returned to normal without much thought to it anymore. This, by the way, happened in the "#1 Housing development in the Phoenix Area." My what a difference a few million people make.

Logan Quote
As we get ready to go on our Disneyland trip, I, as any good Disney nerd would do, ordered the Disneyland Vacation Planning DVD even though I could probably make one after all of our trips. Anyway, it came and I had the kids sit down and watch it with me. Right as it started, Logan said, "Is that Disneyland?" I said, "Yes." To which he replied, "So Disneyland is a real place?" I guess we have provided a little to much hype and not enough solid proof.

Bailouts and Stimulus Packages
Can we bankrupt the country and mortgage our grandchildren's future? YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

Root Canal Update
Shannon finally reached a milestone in her root canal saga. After three visits and 6 hours in the chair, they finally were able to finish the basic root canal and fill in the "mysterious void" that appeared during her second visit with some sort of oral cement concoction. Now we get to wait to see if it gets infected and puss starts gushing out of her mouth. Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like your sweetheart oozing puss from her satanically possessed tooth. If all goes well, after 6 months, she will return to have a crown placed on said possessed tooth. If all does not go well, Shannon will likely have to have the tooth removed and we will be forced to move to Mississippi where she will not feel out of place. In what I am sure is an unrelated topic, our dentist is finishing up a major home expansion project that appears to be going very well. Just kidding Dr. Lee. Our dentist is in our ward and he has been great and more than fair. We love Dr. Lee. Any contribution we could make to his new home addition is done so happily.

Lost
Lost is the best show on TV. Period. Actually, period is kind of weak after a declaration of that kind. So, Lost is the best show on TV. Exclamation Point. I have realized just how often I make very bold declarations. The best this and the best that. Oh well, at least no one can say I don't take a firm stand on things, regardless of how silly those stands may be.

Vacation Hallucinations
We must be getting close to our Disneyland trip. Everything is reminding me of something. I walked into the hospital cafeteria and smelled something that made me think of how much I was looking forward to a Churro. I have caught myself with my eyes shut a couple of times at my desk daydreaming about being on the Soarin' Over California ride. Lastly, a couple of time, I have smelled a slightly musty smell that isn't necessarily unpleasant, but it has reminded me of the ride queues for both Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain. My gosh, I need this vacation.