Beyond 20 Gallons of Milk

As I reached for my card to pay for my groceries, a message appeared on the payment screen, “do you want to save five percent on groceries with your points, today?” Say what? I looked at my paltry pile of produce. Those points represent a savings of 50 cents a gallon on gas. I chose…

I just plain did not feel well that day. My mom knew what to do. She went to the kitchen, dropped white bread into the toaster and heated a cup of milk over the gas stove. After buttering the toast, she broke it into pieces and poured the warm milk over it. The butter melted…

Nothing about the plain envelope betrayed the excitement I felt when I opened the sheet of paper with its secret message. I knew the code to interpret it. It began with J3:16 5. Mk14:3 24. I picked up my King James Bible and looked up John 3:16 counted to the fifth word and wrote down…

Initially, the creators of Ben and Jerry Ice Cream promised equality of workers. They said that the highest paid CEO of the company would never earn more than five times what the least paid employee earned. The company made delicious ice cream and followed that principle for 16 years. Then in 1999 management decided it…

In the 1700s both Protestants and Catholics across Europe and the United States began Sunday Schools to teach literacy to children who worked long hours in factories six days a week. These schools taught basic literacy so that students would be able to read the Bible. In the 1700s, preaching the Gospel and discipling followers…

“Can you meet at the …” I ask every person who buys something from me on Facebook. Usually we meet near El Dorado city limits. For instance last week I sold two items. Both buyers wanted to meet in the city limits. No problem, I go to town most days for exercise and errands. To…

Perspective changes through time and experience. When my parents moved us from the hills of New York to the mountains of southwest Utah I encountered a new culture. It began with the frequent inquiry, “What ward are you in?”“Ward?” we asked. We quickly learned that in a state where 65 percent of the individuals attend…

Lately I find myself thinking about Tante Jans In “The Hiding Place.” The author Corrie Ten Boom describes her live-in aunt at the beginning of the 20th century as a deeply conservative, spiritual woman. Tante Jans declared mutton sleeves and other modern fashions like “bicycle skirts” as sinful. Tante Jans asserted the clothes detracted from…

I guess I passed all the tests. I responded as told: I grabbed the good looking male nurse’s fingers as hard as I could. I gave him a big ole smile, closed my eyes and raised my arms up to him. He checked everything off his list and passed me on to the next person.…

Our tortoiseshell cat Kramer came into full alert when she heard water flowing in the bathroom. She would rush to the tub, hop in and flick her paw at the drain swirl. We expected her attendance at any Draining of the Tub or Running of the Shower. We all did except my then college aged…

The museum we took our granddaughters to visit had a room displaying death jewelry: items made with hair of the deceased. I scanned the descriptive placards and explained each display to the girls. As we left one said, “the best part of the museum was that jewelry.” The museum visit had expanded her knowledge about…

For days the weather news predicted Snowpocalypse 2026. Thursday, the sun shone warmly as I went into town to exercise and pick up a dozen eggs. I couldn’t think of anything else I might need if snow kept us home.Friday, clouds hung around the horizon. I went to town to exercise and buy a can…

It’s amazing to see what can happen during financial duress. With my family I want to help, but I won’t because 54 years ago we began marriage financially strapped.How strapped? Well, let’s just say when we bought our first house, we borrowed money for the down payment before we signed the loan for the mortgage.…

Fruits, veggies and chicken. I bought all of that to avoid the holiday excess. Then the carbs came calling.First the overly ripe bananas had me pulling out the cookbook. “It’s time to make banana bread for the holidays. I will make small loaves and freeze them for holiday gifts.” Of course, as the cook, I…

The odds and ends at the estate sale included a high school memory album, one student’s personal information, collection of signatures and final good-byes. On the cusp of adulthood, the high school senior (HSS) had one plan for her life after graduation: Her upcoming wedding. References to her marriage appear frequently in the album. For…