Ramblings of a Dadman

Fall, I have fallen for you.   This is my prayer to celebrate this triumphant occasion.   Oh, the bounties that thou hast provided this illustrious juncture lifts my heart and fills my soul with joy as I look upon thee and the blessings thou doth bring.   My cup runneth over, for the autumnal splendor that explodes upon me is more than I can contain.   I pray thee well, oh mother of nature, for thou hast provided us this season of thanks and giving. My dear, glorious, beautiful division of periods set between the warmth of summer and chill of winter, thou hast brought me so many things for which I am grateful.   I want to thank thee openly - for the world to see, read, and hear.   I shout my gratitude to the heavens and feel it burning in my bossom. Bountiful grace I extend to thee for the bringing of the football, for it fills my everlasting presence with a happiness unmeasurable by the accounting of man.   I thank thee for the oblong t...

Yup, we are going back to February, there was more you needed to know. If you are looking for a few words on Valentine’s Day, there, you just got them.  I have decided to spare us all the pain and agony of reading another article about the love day, hard pass.  Instead let’s focus on February itself.  As you may or may not know, February is the second month of the year, it also has an “r” which makes no sense to me.  I mean it’s like Wednesday with its rogue “dn” messing with everything we know about English. Now let’s get to the real meat and potatoes of the whole thing – where does the word February even come from?  Well, here it is: February was named after the Latin word februum, which means purification because the month was a time for purification – don’t ask me, I didn’t come up with this. This is actually quite interesting because the Old English word for February is Solmonath.  Why is this interesting?  Well for starters Solmonath is...

That is a serious question there.  I mean, why do we make them?  When I say “we” I mean the rest of humanity, I don’t make them.  So why is it that people go through the motions of making resolutions knowing full well they have zero intention of keeping them?  Unless you are that person that keeps them, and if you are, move along overachiever. Do you know why we make resolutions?  First let’s look at the when, you may be surprised here.  Well, according to a website (I am not in school anymore, so I am not going to cite it…I am living dangerously here), this tradition dates to 153 B.C.  Yup, you read that right, this exercise in futility has been around far longer than even Aunt Bethany’s green Jello mold. In case you were wondering, and I know you were, January is named after Janus, not Joplin, but rather Janus, a mythical god of early Rome.  He is a god of many things like passages, beginnings, and the change of time.  Janus was tw...

Ah, November, the 11th month in the calendar year, the month where dreams come true, where love abounds, and peace resides.  If you don’t believe me, just ask me, I’ll tell you…hear me now, believe me later.  You get where I am going with this, right?  Yup, November, is quite possibly the greatest month ever to be created as the 11th month of the year! Let’s take a closer look at November.  Did you know it comes from the Latin, novem, meaning “nine” (the “ber” comes from it being cold, it’s science, fight me)?  It only became the 11th month when everyone realized how awesome it was and that it need two #1s to reflect its awesomeness.  These are all facts, I looked them up. Alright, what else makes November such an incredible month?  First off, the obvious one we all think of is Black Friday.  Am I right?  Black Friday is the day where we all lose our minds.  We shop ‘til we drop, or until we are trampled by everyone else racing...

Utah’s Other July Holiday With this title, some of you may be thinking that I am talking about the 4 th of July, I am not.   The 4 th will always be #1 in this guy’s book.   Not just because we get the day off either.   Nope, my national game is strong, but I do love me some Pioneer Days and all the goings on associated with it:   rodeos, parades, family BBQs, furniture and car sales all celebrating July 24, 1847. What?   You aren’t familiar with the 24 th of July?   Did you just move to Utah?   Been living under a rock?   Wanting to know why this hasn’t turned into a drinking day akin to St. Patty’s day and Cinco de Mayo?   Well, let me break it down for you. Let’s skin out (that’s how they talked back then, John Wayne, told me so) On Saturday, July 24, 1847, Brigham Young, and his band of hardy Mormon pioneers made their way into the Salt Lake Valley.   The culmination of a long and arduous journey/exodus...

We all live for this moment Most of you probably think I am talking about falling in love, fulfilling a lifelong dream, mounting that towering summit, overcoming great odds, flat out winning at life.  I am here to bring you back down to reality, Skippy.  I am talking about moving.  Yeah, you read that right.  Moving. So here is a statement that we can all get behind, and quite frankly if you can’t I don’t want to know you:  Moving sucks.  I am NOT talking about the adventure and thrill of moving to a new place, a new city, a new part of the country or the world, I am talking about the actual physical move.  The thing that makes you want to rip flesh from bones, eyes from sockets, bash your head on a wall…basically anything horrible, except actually moving all your crap from years and years of hoarding. I am no stranger to moving.  I have moved my family multiple times throughout our lives together…unfortunately a trait I picked up from my...