Carley

Someone put on a "big hair" thing my sister once owned. The antique piece was easy to find, because we could hear it growling from the dark corner of a closet, where it was in a really, really large container. Donald Trump would be proud to have something like that perched on his mellon.

The picture is from the late 80's, maybe even before we moved to Idaho Falls. I had the "evil" beard that outraged school officials, who not only wanted us to be clean-shaven, but they wanted us in suits and jackets too. When we told them we couldn't afford that kind of wardrobe on the salary they paid us, they suggested we buy clothing from Deseret Industries. It must be fun for uneducated people in small rural communities to show those "teachers" a thing 'r two.

Something funny must have sparked my smile, because there was not much to smile about while working there. I will always feel a sadness about that, because I not only yearn to live in a small town again, but I also still love my hometown. Memories I have of living there during that time will never allow me to go back.

Carley, the niece I'm holding, is now in her early 20's. This has to be a Thanksgiving picture, and given the hat on my head, I'm still in my "red neck" phase. When it comes to Carley, I hold a Guinness Record in conjunction with holding her. One Thanksgiving a few years later, when her mom had just been getting Carley out of diapers, I would pick her up and tickle her neck. She would giggle uncontrollably, and then suddenly panic would spread across her tiny face.

Her mom would change her. It happened at nine times that day. And each time my sister Ann would damn me all to hell. It's another World Record I hold, although my wife Annie has come close to that record several times.