Mutant Power

When you hear the term 'mutant power' it probably conjures up mental images of X-men and comic books. You know - fantasy stuff. What if I told you that mutant power really exists? And that our family has it? Hard to believe, isn't it? But true!

Of course, it doesn't let us fly, or throw cars over buildings - oh, no. Nothing like that. Instead, it works very hard at making people forget us, or for things to go wrong.

My own mutant power goes way back. I can remember a certain birthday party when I was in elementary school where I invited every kid in the class - and only one showed up. (Okay - maybe I just wasn't very popular.) But this has carried over. Bill and I can remember parties we've had where we've invited over 30 couples, and only one showed up. When we ran into the others, it turned out they had 'completely forgotten' about it - even though we had called to remind them the night before!

And this is quite a powerful force we're dealing with as it even plays havoc in the Temple! The day that we first went to the Temple and were sealed together, the brother who was supposed to do our sealing forgot about us and went home. We had to wait until another brother was free. Now THAT is some strong mutant power! I can remember having a calling for over 6 months before they remembered that I needed to be set apart for it.

Why am I bringing this topic up at this time? Well, Bill had a real runaround with it yesterday when he tried to mail off my play to the Church Script Submission department. The mailing place printed up the label, but instead of saying 'Church Script Submission' it had 'Church Cathedral' instead. They tried several more times, and kept getting the wrong title.

You know how zip codes have two parts to them? Suddenly, just about the time they got that first part right, the zip code started printing as one long number. Since there is a deadline on getting this there, Bill wanted to make absolutely sure that the address was correct and it wouldn't be sent back as undeliverable. They tried several more times with no luck in getting the zipcode to separate into it's component parts.

Then their computer crashed. Mind you, by now Bill had been there for over half an hour trying to mail a simple package. They told him to just leave it and they'd sort it out later, but Bill was far too smart to fall for THAT. He insisted he was going to stay right there until they got the label right and he knew it was in the mail.

Persistence paid off, and the computer came back up, and they finally managed to print the label correctly (although, as Bill pointed out, we have no way of knowing if the barcode is correct!). I do have a tracking number, so we'll try to make sure it gets to it's destination. However, poor Bill spent almost an hour there. We're hoping the mutant power is as exhausted as he is and will give us a break for a while!

Isn't it odd?

We have become so used to some of the oddities in our movies and TV shows that often we don't question the validity of what we see. Let me give some examples.

Take fist fights. When the script calls for a good old-fashioned rip-roaring fist fight, the protaganists slug away at each other for what seems like hours. No matter how brutal the blow, they stagger back to their feet, ready for more. On the other hand, when the hero is in a hurry, or quiet and stealth is needed, a single bash to the face, and the antagonist is down and out cold.

And markmanship. The villains are usually terrible shots, and the hero(s) run through a literal hailstorm of bullets without a single scratch. But when the hero turns around to return fire, every shot hits the mark and the villains fall like flies. Of course, that's why he/she IS a hero, but sometimes it seems a little far-fetched.

It was my father who pointed out that if you don't want anybody to see you, bend over as you run. After he mentioned this, I started watching for it, and sure enough, when people are running from tree to tree to avoid being seen, they bend over, as if this will somehow conceal them.

It was also my father who mentioned that he would hate to be young and handsome, because according to the commercials, those are the only people who have dandruff and bad breath, etc. And speaking of commercials, why does the voice of a celebrity carry so much weight? I mean, I can understand if a famous basketball player touts his new Reeboks - after all, he uses them. But why should his opinion on toothpaste, or car salesmen, etc. be of any more worth than the average man?

Back to oddities in story plots, have you ever noticed that even though the main characters might be in a terrible hurry, they can always find time to stop and talk or have a little romance. Now, is this really true to life? No matter how attractive I might find somebody, I can't imagine stopping for a little spot of smooching when the most deadly villain in the world is hot on my trail. Maybe I'm just not romantic enough.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed such anamolies. I would love to hear what YOU have noticed that seems a little odd.

Counting the Syllables

Most of the time I don't think about how many syllables there are in my name. Most names are pronounced with the same number of syllables that they have - although there are exceptions. Cholmondely, for example, is pronounced "Chumley". Patricia officially has four syllables, but when pronounced "pa-trish-a" it just sounds like three.

So why am I bringing this up? Well, it all has to do with a strange coincidence. My daughter, Maleen, has three little girls. The first child is named June - a name with only one syllable. The second daughter is named Robyn - a name with two syllables. The third little girl is named Ivory - a name with three syllables. I'm sure she and her husband didn't have this in mind when they picked out these names.

They are now expecting their fourth daughter - and as far as I know they haven't picked out a name yet. In accordance with custom, they SHOULD pick a name with four syllables. I am therefore going to give a few suggestions as to what might be a good name:
Esmeralda
Euphemia
Isabella
Philomena
Hermione
Alexandra
Gabriella
Elizabeth
Victoria
Wilhemina
Ophelia
Lucretia
Persephone
Cinderella
Desdemona
Henrietta
Thomasina
Lavinia
Virginia
Marietta
Alicia
Carolina
Angelina
Cecelia
Josephina
Pollyanna
Letitia
Venetia
Frederica
Titania
Veronica

So how many other four-syllable names can YOU think of that they could pick from?

Are you a whisker?

When I think of the word 'whisk' in relation to cooking, I have this wonderful mental picture of a pioneer woman, or a sweet motherly grandmother, vigorously whisking away a cake mix or some other sort of goodie in a large bowl. The whisk has become very popular in the last ten years or so, and several recipes call for the mixture to be 'whisked' instead of merely stirred.

When I was growing up, I don't think I ever even saw a whisk. When you needed to stir something, you used a large spoon - or an electrical mixer with a spatula to scrape the sides. It is something I became rather adept at, as I proceeded into marriage, motherhood, and the necessity to cook on a daily basis.

Since whisking is now the rage, I have dutifully bought myself several whisks in different sizes. I have to admit that they do mix things very well, and frequently do a better job than just a spoon. However, I cannot for the life of me see how people can use them effectively without spraying some of the contents of the bowl all over the kitchen. I have to use them very slowly and carefully in order to not spill. That mental image of the pioneer woman vigorously whisking away is either a myth, or she had skills that are beyond me.

Are you a whisker?

Prayers, please

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything. Part of that is because I just can't keep up with the clever things that my younger daughter is always posting - and part of it is because I don't have a lot of time. However, the major reason is that our older daughter has been having some major medical problems, and I have really been tied up with that.

I am not going to go into all the gory details, but she has had two surgeries in the last 2 months, and is in pain much of the time. We aren't sure if her health insurance (Medicare) will cover the second surgery, so she's worried about money as well. I have been going over to her place every morning and reading to her, but it's mostly just to keep her company and let her know that I care.

So I would ask you to keep her in your prayers. She doesn't have a very cheerful outlook on life most of the time anyway (she IS on social security disability for depression and anxiety attacks). This has made things worse.

However, the cheerful blogs from my younger daughter give me hope that there is happiness in the world, and that maybe, someday, my older daughter will get a bit of it too.