Janet's Blog

Our recent rains have produced some green grass at last. Thank you, God! I was walking on the path that borders the east edge of Scottsbluff National Monument, just at dusk. It was a beautiful evening for a walk, still hot, but somewhat cooler since the sun had dropped behind the Monument. A soft, southeast breeze kept me comfortable as I moved briskly along the path. My first glimpse of the carnival, in the distance. As I headed south, back towards my car, I spotted a light, flashing in the distance. At first, I wasn't sure what I was seeing. The blinking light reminded me of a police car's light bar, but it was the wrong color. As I walked along, I began to notice other lights twinkling on the far side of the alfalfa field--hot pink and green, blue and yellow. Then, it dawned on me: it was the Oregon Trail Days carnival, set up at Red Rocks on the southeastern edge of town. I haven't been to a carnival in years, not since our kids were quite small. As an adult, I find car...

Bill and I went to a concert last week. This shouldn't be big news. Throughout our married life we have attended dozens of concerts--sort of "together." This may have been the first time, though, that we attended a concert of my choosing. Last week's concert. When we lived in Traverse City, Michigan, Bill was the assistant manager of an ice hockey arena that also hosted several big-name concerts each year. During the summer, when most concerts were held, I helped out in the front office occasionally, organizing files and selling tickets. Bill was sometimes elected to introduce the performer of the evening, but no matter what, he was required to work at every concert, making sure that the entertainers and their entourage had everything they needed. It wasn't always easy, because some of the people were extremely demanding and downright rude. As a perk of Bill's job, we always received free tickets to every concert. I was lucky if Bill got to sit with m...