Things I have eaten

Because of my many years (40+) in the airline industry I have been able to travel overseas quite a lot. Over the years I have eaten many different types of food, some with full knowledge of what it was and some by accident. Here are a few examples:

One of the most memorable meals was in Jerusalem. Our group of Swissair employees was invited to dinner at the home of Gabriel Khano. We had roast lamb and stuffed grape leaves. Gabriel's mother spent the entire day in the yard turning the lamb on a spit over an open fire. The stomach cavity had been stuffed with stuffed grape leaves. The grape leaves were stuffed with rice, raisins and pine nuts. We ate the whole meal Bedouin style (no utensils).

Another meal was while I was in India. It was called a Wazwan dinner and consited of 27 courses of lamb. Each course was prepared differently and served in a large bowl of rice. Again it was eaten without benefit of utensils.

In Cairo, Egypt Sharon and I had camel brains. It was a buffet lunch and they looked so good and I didn't know it was brains until I asked the waiter what it was and he pointed to his head then to the two camels outside.

In Greece we (again Swissair employees) went out to dinner and for an appitizer were served a bowl of little round things. After eating about a dozen it was revealed that they were sheep testicles (also known as Rocky Mountain Oysters).

In Bali, Indonesia the shrimp (I do not like shrimp) are called prawns and are served with all the legs, feelers, heads and beady eyes looking up at you.

I was in Montreux, Switzerland and had gone for lunch at a restaurant that was recommended to me. The menu was in French (I could have asked for an English menu) but I decided to try my luck. I saw "porc" and decided to try it thinking I would get a pork chop. I should have read more closely. I ordered Pies du Porc. It turned out to be pigs feet.

In Kenya, Africa we had "bush dinner". It consisted of samples of 5 different animals: Crocodile (tasted like eating a fish flavored eraser), Warthog (just like eating pork), Giraffe, Wildebeest (also known as a Gnu) and Zebra. All was served at the end of a spear.

Also in Kenya I was invited to drink cow blood right from the neck of a cow (I politely declined).

I ate monkey in India (tasted like chicken) and when I was a Boy Scout I ate rattle snake (also tasted like chicken).

The Israeli breakfasts are excellent. Hard boiled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, cheeses, yogurt and hard rolls. Also some of the best pork I have eaten was in Israel.

The list could go on but you get the idea. It was always good to come home and have a Mickey D.

Venting

I need to vent a little here.

Microfilm ordering at the Family History Center (known henceforth as the FHC) has undergone some major changes as of last week. Previous to last week when a patron ordered a film they filled out an order card, paid their $5.50 to cover postage from and to SLC and then they had the use of the film (at the FHC only) for 30 days. When ordered I would call in the order to the Global Service Center and the film is then shipped to me, when received I log the film into our database (which is accessable by SLC) and when returned I so note in the database.

As of Sept. 21 patrons now order the films on-line and pay the $5.50 using their credit card. The patron receives an e-mail when it is shipped, when it arrives here, etc. etc.

Now when I receive a film I log into the on-line database and make all the necessary notations.

Sounds easy, right? Nay!! Of course some of the problem I encountered was my own doing because I needed to enter about 15 films manually but in doing so I entered the wrong film number for each film.

Now the problem: I called SLC yesterday to remedy the situation (because after meticulously following printed directions it wasn't working). I spent 90 minutes on the phone - well part of the 90 minutes was redialing after being disconnected several times - and explaining my problem to various elderly, part-time missionaries, no solution was found but everyone kept telling me to go to the Users Guide (which I was looking at right in front of my face) and follow the directions.

So again this morning I tried to brave the "help desk" again and spoke to a very nice sister and SHE COULDN'T MAKE IT WORK EITHER!!

So she took down the wrong film numbers (supplied by me) and said she would git 'er done (she didn't actually say "git 'er done) but to give her a few hours.

Techinally speaking it should all work well but sometimes technology gets in the way.

Hot Stuff

I thought that might get your attention. I have nothing to post about so I'll just ramble.

I have a whole new group of school children that I drive. My routes take me to the same neighborhoods as before but all new students with all new challenges. I have more pre-schoolers than in the past. I also have some students that are severely challenged, non verbal and physically handicapped whose parents have earned or are earning special rewards for their patience.

I work fewer hours (about 4.25 per day) but I got a raise of $.40 per hour which in comparison to the last few years is eaten up by fewer hours.

My aide hurt his back 2 weeks ago playing around with another drivers child and he has been off work for the past 10 days, so I have had a substitute aide. She is very nice and takes kind care of the children.

The Family History Center is undergoing some changes. In the past when patrons rented microfilms they paid us for the rental/postage. Now they can order the films on-line and pay the fee with their credit card. It makes my life (from the admin perspective) easier.

That's about it - oh, Sharon has a very bad cold. She gets these whiz-bang, super colds about twice a year. Her nose runs like a faucet, her throat gets real sore and it just lays her low for a few days. The funny thing is I never catch whatever she has.

Pistachios and Dates and Lockers

I love Pistachios. I didn't know this but the Pistachio is a small tree that is either male or female. A male tree can pollinate up to 8 female trees. It takes about 20 years for a tree to reach complete maturity and it will bear fruit every other year in larger amounts. The first Pistachios were cultivated in Western Asia primarily in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Greece, Egypt and most of the "stan" countries. Recently they are being grown in California, New Mexico and the Western U.S.

My first real encounter with Pistachios was in Israel and Egypt where in the souks I saw huge burlap sacks full of green and red pistachios. Then at a tea shop in Cairo I saw 4 men sitting around a table playing dominos, drinking tea, smoking from a hooka and eating Pistachios.

Dates

When I was young I thought dates only came in bread (which my mother made) and then as I grew I found out that they were really very good even if they were stickey. Then on my first trip to Israel in 1968 I was driving (I wasn't actually driving but was riding) south from Jericho toward Massada along the shore of the Dead Sea when we passed a huge grove of palm trees with bags hanging from them. I found out on the way back that they were date palms being grown by the local kibbutz. We stopped and bought some and these weren't anything like the dates I had eaten at home. They were delicious, soft and sweet and still stickey. I ate what I had over the course of the next few days and then bought some more to take home. I gave some to my mom to eat and she MADE DATE BREAD instead of enjoying them in their natural state!

Lockers
As the start of school approaches I will share with you my big fear when I was in high school. I feared that I wouldn't remember my locker combination.

Nauvoo

On our first day of summer vacation we decided to take a trip to Nauvoo.  From here it is an easy 6 hr drive (unless it rains for the entire drive home).  We arrived about 3pm and went to the visitors center where we were able to watch a musical "High Hopes and Riverboats".  This performance is done by youth of the church (most looked to be about 16-18) and was a lot of fun.  We drove up to the temple and looked around before heading to Fort Madison and our hotel.

The next morning it was decided that I would go to a 10:00am session at the temple.  Conveniently there is an Arrival Center where you can change from your travel duds into Sunday go-to-meetin duds to enter the temple.  I cannot accurately describe how beautiful the temple is inside.  The use of a very dark wood for stairs, paneling, rails and accents against the pure white is beautiful.  There are beautiful murals on the walls of the various rooms and a really awesome spiral staircase.

The temple is built on the footprint of the original temple (finished in 1846).  The original temple was destroyed by firer and then a tornado and the rebuilt temple was dedicated in 2002.

The Sun stones are beautifully carved.  The grounds of the temple are immaculate and provide a great view of the Mississippi.

We took a wagon ride around old Nauvoo and were able to determine sites to visit on our own.  we went to the Land and Records office where a senior missionary helped us look at the data base to see if and Hawleys owned property in Nauvoo (I already knew they didn't) but we did find a Rufus Hawley who owned a plot of land.  He's not a relative (I'm sure at some point back a few years he is).
Then it was on to the brickyard where we got a brick to go with the last brick we got there on August 14, 1982 (that's the last time we were in Nauvoo).  From there we (mostly me) had to go to the Johnathan Browning Gunsmith Shop.  I didn't know that he was a church member.  In case you didn't know he invented the repeating rifle and his descendants later developed the Browning Automatic Rifle (Known as a BAR used in WWI & WWII).  From there we went to the Bakery where we ate a gingerbread cookie and then to the Family Living Center where there are demonstrations on quilting, making rope (we made our own 6 ft length of rope), candle making, weaving, carding wool and much more.  All of this is done by senior missionaries.

We then went to the Joseph Smith Historic Site which is owned by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church).  Saw the grave site of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Smith home and the Mansion House.

There are tons of things for children of all ages to do and see.  There is a campground for those interested in that.  We opted to stay in Fort Madison, IA and cross over into IL.  Nauvoo hotels are a little pricey so we felt it was worth the $1.00 bridge toll to stay outside of Nauvoo.

The senior missionaries do a terrific job at each of the sites telling the story of that site and involving the viewers.  They also participate in one of the shows in the evening.  While we were there the BYU Folk Dance Ensemble performed (we were too tired to go to a show in the evening). 

You can easily spend 2-3 days there and it is so inexpensive.  There are no admission fees or ride fees just sister missionaries at the visitors center eager to talk to anyone who will listen and tell them where you are from.  One missionary we talked with was from Gilbert, AZ.

This is a great family vacation site, something for everyone.

There is a web site you can go to to search for names during the Nauvoo period. www.earlylds.com

Sylvia Edwards

A few days ago I received an email (via Ancestry.com) from a man I didn't know asking for information on Sylvia Edwards who at the time of her death in 1933 lived on Rialto Ave in Venice, Calif.  I recognized the address as the home where Auntie Louie and Uncle Ted lived.  Auntie Louie was my grandma Ritchie's sister (Louisa Jane MacGlashan and Uncle Ted was Edward Edwards) and they lived just through the block from grandma and grandpa. 

This man wanted specifically to know how Sylvia died and why at such a young age (she was 12) so I looked at my family history info and found that she died of erysepelas.  Obviously I didn't know what erysepelas was but thanks to google I found out.  "Erysipelas is a superficial infection of the skin, which typically involves the lymphatic system. Erysipelas is also known as St. Anthony's Fire, an accurate description of the intensity of this rash. Erysipelas was a feared disease in pre-antibiotic days, especially in infants."  So I called my mom to ask her if she knew anything about Sylvia's death.  I figured she would because mom and Sylvia were only 2 years apart in age and they lived very close to each other and grandma and auntie Louie were very close (they died within just a few days of each other).  Mom said that Sylvia had a new bathing suit and went swimming at Mud Lake in Venice and the suit chaffed her and she got the infection from bacteria in the lake.  I also found out that the home they lived in was built by grandpa Ritchie. 

The disease is easily treated by antibiotics now but penicillin had not yet been developed.  Had Sylvia lived now treatment would have been a simple matter.

Mud Lake was in a swampy area in what is now Marina Del Rey.  As a teenager Dick Faulkner used to take us (by us, I mean the kids in my age group) water skiing there.  The lake and swamp were drained in the 1960's to create the Marina.

Out for a walk

This morning after my bus routes I was reading and Sharon said there was some geese in the neighbors yard.  Upon closer inspection we found that mom & dad goose were taking their 5 babies out for a walk.  I know water fowl usually have their nests in close proximity to water and this got me to thinking "where is the water?"  There is a large pond about 1/4 mile to the west of us and another large pond about 1/4 mile to the east, so my guess is that they must not have liked the accommodations at the west pond and were going to try out the east pond.  As you can see from the picture one goose walked in the front and the other "brung" up the rear.  They were walking at a pretty good clip too.  I guess they weren't too comfortable walking through enemy territory.

I saw 3 families yesterday at work (we have several ponds nearby) and during my driving we pass a large pond where we have seen geese and ducks in the past because a guy that lives across the street from the pond puts feed out for the critters.  He has squirrels, ducks, geese and 2 weeks ago had 5 deer in his yard eating whatever he puts out for them.

There have been many instances where traffic will stop while duck or geese families cross the road.  It is so darn cute.