November 23-29, 2014

Time to remember Thanksgiving week from a year ago.

Sunday, November 23. During Sunday School, I talked to Keith Savage, determining that we had been in the same ward in Provo. He had lived in the Wellington apartment complex. He didn't remember which ward it was, so I said it was with Bishop Taylor, perhaps my favorite bishop. He said he was a good bishop but he didn't love him as much as our current bishop, Bishop Eyring. After church, my home teachers, Michael Angerbauer and Nathan Loveridge, came by. I had told my family they were coming, and I think I had to tell my niece, Allie, to turn down her TV downstairs. Mike did most of the talking, and he said he liked our house, I think in reference to all the Thanksgiving decorations. I told them they were mine. Then he asked if I had dietary restrictions in case he brought me goodies, so I explained my peculiar habits. That night my grandparents came over, and we went downstairs on our big TV so I could show them family history things. On FamilySearch, I showed them the names I had reserved, and Grandma said, "Oh, there are some Burrells." I showed them Puzzilla and Roots Mapper. Grandpa sometimes had a hard time hearing. I journalized as follows:
"This morning I had to brush snow off my car before church. I wore my turkey tie but didn't get as many compliments as I would have hoped. I passed the sacrament and learned that Keith Savage from the 18th Ward in Provo is in my ward now.
"This afternoon my home teachers, Mike Angerbauer and Nathan Loveridge, came by. Then I napped, and this afternoon I blogged. Grandma and Grandpa came and I showed them FamilySearch. I didn't do as much as I wanted to do." 

Monday, November 24. I went to my ward's Thanksgiving dinner FHE at our first counselor's house. I was dismayed at all their Christmas decorations, and they even had Christmas music playing. One table had Pilgrim and Indian decorations on it. I sat at a table with a bunch of other guys; Boyd asked people what their favorite movies and TV shows were. I said Nightmare Before Christmas for the movie, but I can't remember whether I was asked about TV; I would have said Gilligan's Island. At one point we had a devotional (I can't remember whether it was before or after dinner), and we sang "Silent Night"--but while everyone else was singing that, I sang "For the Beauty of the Earth" instead. Our bishop said he appreciated the Bennetts' decorations because it reminded him of the previous Christmas being together. Peter Moosman couldn't eat the turkey since he was vegetarian, but he couldn't eat the mashed potatoes either, since they had been catered and had bacon in them. I had some pie; I think I had pecan pie. When I went outside, Andy Davis talked to me because he hadn't met me before; he said he was supposed to get a picture for the online directory. I told him I already had one uploaded. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him about work. Then Shannon Kelly came out and joined the conversation too, since she also worked for the Church History Department. I said that that day I had been reading about how the pioneers wanted to destroy all the wildlife in Utah. Shannon said that the previous year, the topic of Sunday School study had been the Doctrine and Covenants, and the teachers sometimes said things she knew weren't right, since she worked for the Joseph Smith Papers. Andy encouraged her to speak up in those situations. We stood out in the cold talking for quite a while. Then I went to Winegar's grocery store to pick up some items for pumpkin pie. I think I saw some pumpkin spice whipped cream, but I didn't get it. Then I went home and my mom helped me to make the pies. I actually think she did more work, but I did my best to put the store-bought pie crusts in the dishes. While we were making them, we watched Garfield's Thanksgiving, and my mom laughed when Jon came out in a ballerina costume.

Tuesday, November 25. After work, we loaded up our Suburban to head out to California. I brought my little bag of leftover candy corn of various sorts and my pillow in a Thanksgiving pillowcase. I also brought my tape deck adapter so that we could listen to my Thanksgiving music, which I had saved to my phone. I had actually put some CDs in a CD case to listen to, but we forgot it, and I felt bad. My dad had brought some tapes, so we listened to them, including one that was Simon and Garfunkel's Central Park concert. My mom said her sister would get mad when she would sing "Wake Up Little Suzie." I hadn't heard the song since I was a kid, so I didn't know how sensual it was. I remember passing a sign pointing to Iosepa, and I said, "Wasn't that a Hawaiian community?" Later I turned on my Thanksgiving music, and at one point my mom said I had weird Thanksgiving music. I remember some of their specific reactions to some of the songs:

• When Nicole Westbrook's "It's Thanksgiving" played, they had to turn the volume down; my mom said it had a lot of bass. She asked how I found it, so I explained that it had been a viral video in 2012.
• When Kory Kunz's "Thanksgiving Day" played, Mom asked how I found it; I explained that I had happened to see it on the back of a CD at the BYU Bookstore and remembered that it existed.
• When Jolene Taylor's version of "Now Thank We All Our God," I explained that it was meant as missionary exercise music; Mom said it sounded like little kid music. She later said she liked the version of "For the Beauty of the Earth." Or maybe it was the other way around, maybe she liked that "For the Beauty of the Earth" first, but then I said her other songs were weird.
• When "Sliced Turkey" was playing, they began singing along, "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee." Mom asked why that was in my playlist; I explained that it wasn't "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee," and it was in my introductory piano textbook, which said to play it "with a little Thanksgiving."

Jon Scmidt's version of "For the Beauty of the Earth" was playing when we stopped for dinner in Elko. We were going to Arby's, but then I noticed we were passing a Port of Subs, and I wanted to go there to get a Pilgrim Griller. My mom dropped her phone as she was getting out of the car, and it cracked a little bit. My mom and I both got eight-inch sandwiches, but my dad got a full-size one. My mom got a drink, and I was disappointed she got diet soda instead of Powerade. She said it had fewer calories than Powerade. My dad had some leftovers, since his was a bigger sandwich. I thanked them for letting us stop at Port of Subs, which my mom and I preferred to Arby's, but my dad was visibly disappointed that we didn't go to Arby's. Then we stopped in Winnemucca at the hotel we usually stayed in.

Wednesday, November 26. We got in the car, and I'm sure my dad made some joke about me not forgetting my shoes, since I had left some shoes there in 2012. I resumed my Thanksgiving music. Eventually, "Little Birdie" from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving came on. My dad said we had already heard it, and I said that we hadn't; it was a cover of the song that previously played. My mom interpreted it as a hint to listen to something else, so they turned on the radio. I think they found a country station, or maybe it was classic rock. The DJs shared some trivia, saying it was a day when a lot of people would order pizza, not wanting to mess up their kitchen. They said "Jingle Bells" was originally written as a Thanksgiving song, which of course I already knew. They also said some things that made me uncomfortable. There were some Port of Subs commercials advertising the Pilgrim Griller, which I had just had. As we were coming out of Donner Pass, it was quite scenic, and I asked if I could turn my Thanksgiving music back on while we were still in a scenic area. I explained that the shuffle feature had decided to put both original versions of "Little Birdie" next to each other. I commented that the version of "Linus and Lucy" was the best one. And I think all three versions of "Jingle Bells" were near the end of the playlist. Then the playlist ended, and I just played my favorites playlist. When Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" played, Mom asked whether the music was supposed to sound that way. Lady Gaga's "Telephone" was playing as we exited off the freeway near David's house. We drove to their apartment, which had leftover Halloween eyes on the front door. I knocked on the front door and tried to open it, but it was locked; I heard Ya-ping inside say "It's Grandma!" Four-year-old Nathaniel took an instant liking to me. He was telling me about all the characters you could be on Super Smash Bros. and what you could do with them; I can't remember whether he was sitting on my lap or just next to me. I asked him if he liked school; he said no because the other kids said he was yucky. He also had to show me his ABC games, educational games on the computer. They were saved in a bookmark, and I think he disrupted a page where David wanted to buy something on sale. (He later got in trouble with Ya-ping for not ordering it in time.) David said to Nathaniel, "Do you have an audience?" Nathaniel was in the chair and I was standing, so I asked Nathaniel if he wanted to sit in my lap, but he didn't. I asked Nathaniel if he knew what holiday was the next day, and I asked if he knew what we did on Thanksgiving. He knew we ate pumpkin pie, and he said he had pumpkin pie at his school. I asked him how many moms he had, since the previous summer he would give a number in the hundreds or thousands; he said, "Two, because Grandma is one of daddy's moms." At one point in the day, David and Ya-ping went to San Francisco with my dad to get Mexican food for dinner. I asked the boys if they wanted to go to the playground; Nathaniel was the only one who did. He loved climbing everything. I asked him what his full name was; he said "Nathaniel Melville." I said, "Or is it Nathaniel Qi-en Melville?" to which he responded "That's a totally stupid name." He said that his dad's name was David Melville, but his old name was David Boyd Melville, and he called him that when he was a kid. I said, "Were you alive when he was a kid?" and he said, "I was a baby. I said, 'Hi David Boyd Melville!'" There was a little Chinese boy who kept saying things in Chinese. Nathaniel said, "I don't understand you. I only understand English. I don't know Chinese." The little boy said, "Chinese?" Then Nathaniel said what I knew was a "bad" word in Chinese; I told him he needed to stop or we would go home. Before we left, he pointed out to me that the Chinese kid wanted me to move the zipline handle to where he could reach it. Nathaniel found a leaf on the ground and said we could make a bouquet with it. At another point in the day, my mom and Ya-ping went to Costco and got pecan pie and some pumpkin pie almonds, which were very good. I told Mom and Ya-ping about the funny things Nathaniel had said. That night we watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; Preston was intrigued at the mention of Miles Standish, and both Franklin and Preston gave a small history of the Pilgrims. They wanted to watch the Pilgrim episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown, but that would have to wait.

Thursday, November 27. I woke up and asked Nathaniel if he knew what day it was. My dad had gone running and encouraged me to do the same, but I was reluctant. Ya-ping and Mom went shopping, including to a dollar store to get a tray for the turkey. Ya-ping wanted the boys to go out and play, but it was too cold. I was watching Free Birds that day, and David asked if it was OK if we watched it that morning while it was warming up for the boys. I said "yeah" and Ya-ping gave her approval. She later asked for an explanation of what was going on in the movie; in typical fashion David explained in Chinese. Then we went out to play; I was wearing red shorts and roast turkey socks. The older boys went and played on the field with their dad and my dad, while Nathaniel again wanted to climb the playground.

 I was holding a large frisbee with a hole in it. To free my hands, I put it on my neck, and Nathaniel said, "Your shadow looks like a clown." I asked if he liked clowns, and he said, "No! Why would you ask that!?" Then David came over to get the frisbee. Later in the day we ate our meal. They boys didn't care for the food. Mom said, "This is a traditional Thanksgiving meal," since they hadn't really eaten one before. David had said he wanted spicy Thai. Preston did, however, love the "salad" my mom makes with whipped topping and Jello powder. That night, at the request of the boys, we did watch the "Mayflower Voyagers" Charlie Brown episode. Afterwards, Preston said, "In Free Birds, Miles Standish was the bad guy, but in Charlie Brown he was just a nice guy." David said the truth was probably somewhere in the middle. (Now really, most people are nice, so I know of no reason to just assume he was less than nice, especially since he wasn't spectacularly nice in the Peanuts show.) I told Preston that Miles Standish was our ancestor. David asked Preston if he thought he was our ancestor from his mom's side or his dad's side, but he didn't get it.

Friday, November 28. The next day we talked about going to Six Flags, which wouldn't open until later in the day. I put on my new Santa socks, and I asked Nathaniel what was on them. He said, "Snowmen. I mean Santa Claus." Then we went to Six Flags and got on the shuttle from the parking lot to the park. I was amused at the graffiti that I assumed meant to say "4 Ever" but instead said "7 Ever."

We went on a few rides near the entry, then Preston and Nathaniel wanted to go to another ride, but when we got there it was closed. I called my parents (while the park speakers were playing Christmas music) to meet up with them. We found them. Later we walked through the shark building, and we ran into some of Ya-ping's friends, whom they had gotten into the park. David was in line for a ride with the two younger boys, but then Franklin decided he wanted to go ride the train, so I took him. I was glad he was willing to go with me, since in previous years he wouldn't have been. We didn't talk too much, as it was hard to hear, but we talked about favorite holidays. He liked Christmas, and I was surprised Valentine's Day was among his favorites. The ride operator asked for a group of three, but since there were two of us, I didn't speak up; but it turns out he meant three or less, so once I figured that out, I spoke up and we got on the train. I couldn't figure out how to open the door, but a girl in the seat in front helped us. We rode the train through lit trees. Later, Franklin was talking about the time the previous summer when I had sat on our weight bench and lifted him like a weight. He was saying he could be a weight for Halloween. Then we got in our car and I helped buckle Nathaniel. Preston asked, "What time is it?" I said, "It's seven o five," and Nathaniel said, "You mean seven zero five, because o is a letter." I said, "You're right, I do mean seven zero five, because o is a letter." My mom said something like, "Take that, English person." Then we went home and watched the three-minute Christmas clip of the Peanuts Motion Comics Collection. They thought it was funny that Linus was mad about getting the presents he wanted.

Saturday, November 29. We went to Point Reyes National Seashore, where, despite the name, we didn't see the seashore. We walked along the Earthquake Trail, a short, paved loop. Nathaniel and Preston ran it and got way ahead of us. I wanted to keep up with them, but I didn't want to miss out on the geological interpretive signs, so I ran from sign to sign. I was fascinated by the replica of the fence that was displaced during the 1906 earthquake.

 When I caught up with the boys, I told them that they had missed the cool fence.

 I watched Nathaniel play around the tree stumps and picnic tables. He wanted to hide from his dad and scare him, but I don't think it worked out like he wanted.

 On our way back, we put in a short Christmas tape my dad had brought. I was saying I didn't like many winter songs, like "Baby It's Cold Outside." David said the lyrics were perhaps in poor taste but it wasn't as bad as some people said, and it was still an awesome song; I said I agreed but thought it was an annoying song. It was raining, so my dad turned on the wipers; later it wasn't raining, and David said, "Are you going to turn the wipers off?" since they made a squeaking sound. Then we went to Target. We looked in their movies; my dad got Hotel Transylvania because it was only five dollars. I saw She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown and some Magic School Bus DVDs. We looked at food we could get for our trip, so we got grapes, bagels, and lunch meat. I wanted to get gingerbread Pop-Tarts, but they didn't have any, so I got the sugar cookie ones instead. They got Doritos for the boys. We looked through the Christmas goodies. I wanted to get chocolate peppermint granola bars and fruit snacks, and Franklin said, "Thanks Uncle Mark," and my mom told him that I hadn't said I was going to share with them. She wanted to get candy cane Tootsie Pops. Preston liked the "snowflake" Ritz crackers, and I said I refused to buy them because they had eight points instead of six, and David said, "Wait, is it impossible for snowflakes to have more than six points?" He seemed like he didn't believe me, and I was surprised he didn't know that. When we were checking out, the cashier said, "Getting ready for Christmas?" and I think he asked where we were from. We went back to the apartment, and I think my dad did some awkward lane changing out of the parking lot. I went to watch my Christmas show of the day, the weird episode of The Bob Cummings Show, and Preston said, "This isn't Charlie Brown." Nathaniel took one look at the black-and-white and said, "I don't like this movie." He went to play his ABC game. (He played them a lot during the trip and at one point printed snowmen, which annoyed Ya-ping.) Preston kept asking, "What's up with the grandpa?" in the episode. After it was over, we were watching Hotel Transylvania. David asked me if I could watch holiday movies out of season. I said for one thing, I didn't even know if it was a Halloween movie. David told Nathaniel we were watching a movie, and I don't think he realized that the black-and-white episode was over, so he said, "I don't like that movie!" David said, "You'll like this movie. It has pumpkins in it," since he loved the pumpkins in his ABC game. After the movie they watched a short on the DVD. David said it was a better movie than it deserved to be. The boys ate the Doritos we had bought.

 David made "fake eggnog" with spice and pudding but no eggs. He gave me some and asked if it tasted like eggnog; I said it did because I could taste the nutmeg. We also ate the "winter" Oreos with red filling that we had bought. The boys played the Clue game that we brought for them, and Nathaniel told me that he could see through my cards.