Jim’s Blog

When I learned that my Grandfather Smith had passed away today, I was both happy and sad.  I was happy that he was free from the body that had simply grown too old and did not allow him to do all the things that his mind and his spirit wanted him to be able to do.  Grandfather Smith always had a low tolerance for inactivity.  He was constantly doing something, going somewhere, fixing this or that….that is unless the Utah Jazz were playing! If a game was on the TV, Grandpa was in his favorite chair avidly watching the game.  His To Do List was put on hold for a little while.

I am sad that he has passed because his example was one that I always looked up to.  Now it is something that I will always remember and work to pass on.  Grandpa always made time for me as I was growing up.  One of my earliest memories of my Grandfather Smith is him taking me to the Drug Store in down town Soda Springs, sitting at the counter and getting me a 5 cent Sprite soda from the soda fountain.  I don’t remember what we talked about and that doesn’t really matter to me now.  I just enjoy the warm feelings that memory brings back to me.

Grandpa had a nickname, “Magic” is what everyone called him.  He could fix anything and was often called on to do just that! He would get a big kick out of being able to fix something that was giving other people fits! He’d just chuckle, point out what was wrong and fix it.  All the while he had a big smile on his face.  There is a picture of Grandpa on the wall in his home that has him in overalls, safety glasses on is head, fixing something.  That is how I remember him a lot of the time.

Grandpa and Grandma used to live in a house that I still call “The Brown House”.  I remember it being absolutely huge, but everything is huge to little boys! They always had apples on hand, big red juicy ones that were so good! Best of all, they had a pool table in the basement! Grandpa taught me how to shoot pool on that table, something that I’m sure caused him no end of laughter as I wasn’t very good!  I enjoyed watching my father, uncle and grandfather play.  Now that was entertainment!

Things weren’t always rosy though! One Christmas in that old brown house, I became fascinated with the fireplace.  I discovered that if you take a poker and leave it in the fire for long enough, it would get red hot.  That red hot poker got me in trouble as I then discovered that it melted right through the back of Grandpa’s leather chair.  I’m sure my parents were very embarrassed; my grandmother scolded me then gave me a hug.  My grandfather, well he put me to work.  I unloaded what I thought were 100’s of bags of apples and hauled them to a cooler.  Grandpa then sat me on his knee and told me that work would always keep a growing boy out of trouble! That is something that is true to this day.

As I grew older, got married and had children of my own, Grandfather delighted in being a Great Grandfather.  He introduced my twin sons to ice cream while they were still little infants, and laughed the whole time! He loved spending time with our kids, and it showed.  On one of our last visits to see him, he took our family out to Riverside Hot Springs.  He was content to just sit at one of the picnic tables and watch the kids play.  Afterwards, we went on a drive and listened while he told us about the history of the valley, about where he grew up and lived.  My children remember that very well.

So, Grandpa Magic you have left me with many wonderful memories of times that I have spent with you.  You have taught me many valuable lessons that I try to teach my children so that your legacy is passed on for generations to come.  I will forever cherish the fact that you sealed my wife and I for time and all eternity.  I thank you for being the man that you were, for the example that you set.  Most of all, I thank you for my own Father, the son you raised.  He is my greatest example, someone that I look up to and strive to be like.  Enjoy the rest you have now from your earthly cares, but get to work quickly! I expect that there are some things around that need fixing. We’ll see you again down the road.

Love,

James Smith

About 28 years ago I was faced with a pretty serious dilemma. Jennifer Inderlied, one of the most popular girls in school, (She was also one of the most drop dead gorgeous girls in school!) had asked me out on a date. Now, it was well known that Jennifer’s calendar was well booked and that if you were fortunate enough to be asked out by her, that was it….that was your chance. If you blew it, well…let’s just say that you didn’t want to do that! Getting a date with Jennifer was synonymous with attaining Nirvana, and was just as hard to obtain.

My dilemma was that I had already committed my time for that evening. I had not 20 minutes before agreed to babysit three younger children while their parents had a quiet dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I was horrified that I would be missing the opportunity of a lifetime to babysit three little children. My father arrived home and noticed that I was somewhat in a tizzy. When I told him why, he told me that I would under no circumstances break my commitment to babysit just to go out on a date. I tried to reason with him and explain just who the date was with and how important this was to me, all to no avail. My father, being the kind and loving man that he is, insisted that I honor my commitment to the babysitting job.

So, I called Jennifer back and explained to her that I wasn’t available, that I had made a prior commitment that I was going to follow through on. She laughed and said, “Whatever, you’ve had your chance….” and hung up the phone.

I remember that night like it was yesterday, however in hindsight things are different. You see, I had a ball babysitting those kids that night. We played games and wore ourselves out on the swing set. We had pizza for dinner and watched Gilligans Island that evening. I don’t remember thinking about Jennifer while I was babysitting, although I must have at least once. I was a young man you know! As it turned out, I ended up dating Jennifer for almost three months a little while after that. I was the only one, she said, that had turned her down for a date and that impressed her.

30 years ago when you shook someone’s hand over a deal, it was as binding as any written contract. It was a given that if you shook on it, it was a done deal. A commitment had been made. Verbal agreements were the same way. If you agreed to something, it was just as if you had signed a contract. When I was 17, I was hired by a local farmer to come out and work the haying season. There weren’t any contracts or applications to fill out. I simply agreed that I would be there to do the job. I also knew that if I didn’t show up, that the other people there would have to work that much harder to get the job done, and that wouldn’t be fair to them. It was hot, sweaty, brutal work that left me exhausted at the end of the day, but it was worth it. I had committed to the job, I got it done.

I don’t think that the same level of commitment exists today. People smile, shake your hand and say they will be there, then on Saturday morning when you arrive to help someone move…you find you are the only one helping.

Someone needs comforting in the middle of the night because they are scared, sick and feeling alone. I’m out of town and don’t know of anyone I can call to visit the ailing person because it’s in the middle of the night and people don’t react well to being woken up to go somewhere at that time of the night…It’s inconvenient for them.

I’ve watched as people that committed to do a job decide right in the middle of the work that they don’t need to do it anymore because they “Don’t see the point in it…” Or that they have an appointment that they forgot about and had to leave to go and attend to that appointment.

What has happened to peoples’ sense of Integrity? Do they not teach the meaning of that word anymore? Do people not understand that when you commit to something, you do it! Or at the very least find someone to take your place. If you commit to a job, it’s not just as long as it’s comfortable for you, or as long as it has meaning for you, it’s until it is done.

That’s all I have to say about this.

It’s another glorious day in paradise! We’ll have mostly rainy skies today with a high of around 50 degrees.  For some, it’s going to be just another day in the Ozarks, but for my wife and I it’s a special day! Today we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.  Yep, your eyes are not decieving you…15 long years has my wife put up with me!  I am certain that there are angels in heaven right now elbowing one another and saying “See!! I told you he could do it!” I’m also delightfully certain that another being is stamping his foot in frustration. 

So, what were you doing 15 years ago? I was trying to get my wife out the door and to the Logan Temple…forgetting our marriage license in the process! Some friends of ours coming in from Jackson Hole, WY were plowing through 2′ snow drifts trying to get there in time (I’ve since lost track of them, so Mike and Patty, Matt and Jana, if you read this know that we are thinking of you!).  It was a wonderfully gorgeous day that cold February morning and now 15 years later, after many, many ups and not so many downs, I still wake up every single morning thnking “Good morning Beautiful! How was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side, then I open my eyes to see your sweet face…It’s a Good Morning Beautful Day!” (Words to a song by Scott Holy).  That’s how my every morning is. 

So, Good Morning Sweetheart Thank you for sharing this life with me and for all that you do for me, for our family.  You truly are a wonderful gift to me from one who loves me on high.  I am grateful for the years we have spent together and know that we have many more yet to come.  Happy Sweet 15!!

XXOO

James

First off on this post I need to wish my sister Heather a very Happy Birthday!! You’re awesome lady and we miss you and your family!

Now I’m sure that all of you out there have had wonderful Mondays, or at least one wonderful Monday in your life.  You know, that certain Monday that you remember even now when it has been years since that wonnderful Monday?!

I’m having that Monday today.

What is occuring today will assure my place in the annals of my companies history for the ages to come.  I will be known throughout all time as the one who brought the iPhone to my company.  Now as to whether or not those pages in the annals of history extoll me or flay me as the villian that I am…remains to be seen! However it all turns out in the end, today is the day that all of our cellphones currently using the A***el Network are being replaced with iPhones on the AT&T Network.  That’s a lot of iPhones!

So, now I’m off to get these phone configured, teach people all about iTunes, have everyone sign their lives away and then find some time where I can sit down and play a little Labrynth.

cya

Jim

Ok, so last weekend was the annual boy scout/father son campout thing and Steven was not feeling well enough to go, which broke my heart (?).  Anyway, in order to cheer him up, I agreed to go camping with the boys this weekend, just the three of us.  I admit, it was done in a moment of weakness and that is why I am now getting ready to go camping…in a one person tent…with a sleeping bag…and the threat of rain in the forecast.  Can I pick them or what?!

In all seriousness, I’m looking forward to going and I think that it will be a good time.  We are going to be doing some dutch oven cooking, I’ll have my camera, it’s all good.  I’ll be sure and update you tomorrow as to the success of this little outing!

On another note, James and Steven are having their annual Kick-A-Thon through their TaeKwonDo class and they are asking for sponsors.  The deal is that you pledge however much you want per kick.  The good part is that you are only paying for 100 kicks! Which is good because both James and Steven did over 2000 kicks last year! We are actively recruiting sponsors for the boys, so if you would like to participant, send me an email at smith.jamesb@gmail.com and we’ll get you set up!

Cya,

Jim

You know how in my last post I said that I had been living under a rock? Well, that was just reiterated to me the other day.  I’m on Twitter and two of my cousins are burning the airwaves talking back and forth, wondering who is going to take Album of the year etc.  So I chime in saying that I think the digitally remasterd copy of the Rachmaninov Concertos should take the prize.  This led to a whole discussion about music and we started passing back and forth about different groups.  I’m sure that the people following me on twitter shut it down after a little bit!

Anyway, I was turned on to some new music and in the process stumbled across the AGT phenom called Nuttin But Stringz.  Can I just say WOW!! The whole nation has been in an uproar about these two brothers and I’m just now finding out about them.  Unbelievable! Then, there’s this Russian group called  Apocalyptica.  5 guys making Cellos do things that I’m sure their makers never intended them to do.  Their rendition of Metallicas “Nothing Else Matters” is incredible.

So I’m coming in to the 21st century now and I’m finding out that there is a lot of pretty good music out there that I’ve been missing (sigh). Now I have to update my iPod again…

Jim

Ok, so I just spent 45 minutes catching up on everyone elses blogs, and there were a lot of them. Somehow I must have been under a rock for the last month cuz one of my sisters had like 12 posts that I hadn’t read, the other had 6 or so, there were 12 from my mother, 16 from my father…the only one that I was caught up on was those of my wife!!

So, because of this deplorable oversight on my part and because I’m supposed to be a responsible, over 18 adult type person, I’m going to make a late year resolution, hence the post title. I just finished watching a video by John Bytheway entitled “What are you carrying in your backpack” and in the video he talks about using time wisely. I’m going to start using my time a little more wisely, at least that is the goal. So, this is post #1 of the new wisely spending time Jim!

Now, catch up time. The Old Transportation contest came to a conclusion on August 31. To be honest, there was only one other person that participated in this contest so the outcome is a forgone conclusion, but I wanted to share some of the pictures that were sent in, because they are good!

More pictures can be seen over here.  My mother, being the only participant, was selected as the winner and as soon as the picture is decided upon, I’ll post it here.  I’m going to get another contest going, I just haven’t decided what topic to go with.  So, if you have any ideas, let me know!

Have a great one!

Jim

Well, I am two weeks behind on posting these winners and I apologize! Somehow Life got ahead of me and I’ve been playing catch up for the last couple of weeks! Anyway, here are the two winners, both entered by Mom Smith:

This is probably one of my favorites of the pictures submitted. I love this picture!

Here is this weeks winner which I think is a great lawn decoration! Mother said that there were several of these cars decorating the lawn. What a great idea!

Just because I can, here is a picture that I took while on my journey through Northern Arkansas’

Have a great week and keep the pictures coming in!

James

This picture was submitted by my mother and is a wonderful capture of days gone by…

Congratulations Mother on a wonderful picture! There were some other pictures posted as well, so please go and check them out at www.aboutmoments.com/projects.

James

Wow, I wrote that title and then realized that there is no way I could catch everyone up on what has been going on since my last post in any kind of detail so here is a synopsis!:

Received iBook, loved it, couldn’t keep it so it went back. Misery as now I’m Macless! Work is hectic, busy, glad it pays the bills! Boys had scout camp, wonderful week at home with my daughter and wife, missed the boys terribly tho! Shooting Baseball, Indoor Football, headshots, T-Ball and Family pictures. New Alien Bee strobe light set came in! 1600 combined watts lights up the room really well! Shed door painted, deck spotted, oil based paint….not good! LeeAnn painted the picnic table, looks great!

And that brings us to today. LeeAnn and I went with some friends to the temple in St Louis early this morning. It was a fun trip and we really enjoyed the company. For me, it was great not to have to drive! After we made it home, we touched base with the kids then it was back out the door for a wedding reception for the daughter of the lady that VTs LeeAnn. That event was saved when I saw the amount of chocolate treats available! Most excellent

Now I’m getting this post done then I have to look at the Priesthood lesson again for tomorrow. Allergies have been acting up lately and my head feels like it’s in a fog right now. Oh, I did forget one thing in the synopsis. I went on a golf outing last Thursday with my boss and my two work colleagues. It was definitely an outing to be remembered! It was hot, muggy (read 94 degrees and 62% humidity. It felt like a 100 degree wet sauna!) and the sun was shining bright. I hadn’t touched my clubs in over 18 months so it was also an exercise in frustration as well! I went well prepared with about 40 spare golf balls, just in case. I really should have brought my tennis racket along too tho, I probably could have at least hit the ball better! I have no idea what my final score was and that’s probably just as well. I really do enjoy golfing, just not right now! At least that is over until the one next year, for which I have plenty of time to prepare for.

Ok, now for the challenge. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with my mother and commenting on how often she had been posting in her blog lately, as well as the pictures she has been posting. I especially liked the one with the rusted out trucks and the old crane sitting in the pond. While talking with her, I had an idea. I would like to challenge everyone to a picture contest. On my photo site, here I have created a photo gallery titled “Forgotten Transportation” The challenge is for the rest of this month and the month of August, ending on August 30th, and here are the rules:

• The picture must be of a form of transportation.
• That form of transportation must have been made prior to 1975 and have “Character”.
• Extra credit will be given for creativity!
• Pictures will be judged by a panel of specially handpicked judges ( my kids )
• You may enter as many pictures as you like and the best one for each week will be posted on this blog.
• All pictures need to be emailed to me at smith.jamesb@aboutmoments.com along with a brief description of the picture. I will post the pictures to my photo site so that everyone can see them.

Remember, be creative, enter as many times as you like and have fun! I haven’t decided what the prize will be yet, but be assured that it will be something you will enjoy!

Have a great one,

James