I can’t believe I’ve just recently discovered Ingrid Michaelson. I love her.

In the early days of Utah, before the railroad came through, merchants who wanted goods from the eastern states would make the trip as far east as the Missouri River by stagecoach. Often they caught a train there and continued by rail to New York. It was a long, tedious, and expensive trip. To save money, time and resources, several merchants collaborated and designated one person to make the trip and do the purchasing for all of them.

It was on one such trip that my great great grandfather, Charles Henry Bassett, had a bit of an adventure. On this particular journey, Charles was entrusted with $25,000 to $30,000 in gold to make purchases. The gold from the other merchants and $5,000 worth of his own gold was packed in a small wooden box, then in a larger box, nailed up tightly.  (To be carried in the boot of the stagecoach with the luggage) Charles also carried with him a significant amount of $20 gold coins. They were stitched into his quilted vest. (The vests were quite the fashion then) The weight of the gold in the vest became an almost unbearable burden before the journey ended.

The stageline traveled through a rough and rowdy strip of the west where outlaws and Indians ran rampant.  When the stage arrived at one station they found it in smoldering ruins. The station keeper had been killed and the horses stolen. A woman on the stagecoach was so overcome and shocked by what they saw, that she begged Charles to shoot her rather then let Indians take her in the instance of an attack on their stagecoach.

They finally reached a small town on the Missouri river where they could catch a train to take them to St. Louis. They arrived early in the morning and the train was scheduled to pass through around midnight. Charles took his box of gold and handluggage to a small hotel to wait. While there, the proprieter of the hotel convinced him to take a nap. He assured him that there would be ample time to catch the train because the train crew usually stopped long enough to eat supper. Having been persuaded, Charles removed his coat and boots and went to sleep on a sofa in the hotel parlor.

He was suddenly awakened by the proprieter that night who told him that the train crew had decided not to stop for supper. Charles pulled on his boots, picked up his luggage and followed after the hotel porter who had rushed ahead shouldering the box of gold. He arrived at the station just in time to see the porter toss the box of gold onto the rear platform of the train as it pulled out of town.

Charles did not tell anyone that the box contained gold. (for obvious reasons) He immediately telegraphed the next station asking that they take the box off the train and that he would follow to pick it up.

He assumed an air of indifference and awaited the train the next day. When he arrived at the next station he found the box tossed among the other frieght.  With profound relief he went to the express office and had the gold mailed to New York rather than taking another chance of losing it along the way.

If this had happened today, I’m sure he would have let out a huge sigh of relief and said something like, “Dude!  I almost lost it there.”

“You think you’ve got it bad? My wife fought with a bear and won!”
-Pop Tory

On a sunny afternoon in Yellowstone National Park, my grandma and her aunt decided to go on a walk to look for bears. Pop Tory and Grandma ‘Moine stayed back and got settled- or tried to. I don’t know how much time had passed when Grandma and Aunt Vannas got back from their walk, but when they did there was a large group of people surrounding their car. Someone said, “She’s fighting with a bear!” and that’s when they saw her. Grandma ‘Moine was stubbornly clutching a package of bacon while a bear pulled furiously at the other end. It didn’t look good for Grandma ‘Moine, but she wasn’t about to give up either. Finally she yanked the bacon away, and threw it into the trunk of her car. The bear went for the bacon and Grandma ‘Moine slammed the trunk on it’s paws. It yelped in pain, pulled back it’s paws, and ran away.

Now, this is a true story, and I’m told that park rangers used it for years to come as an example of what NOT to do when encountering a bear. Pop Tory used the story for years too. I don’t think he and Grandma ‘Moine fought much.

Related post: Dancin’ With Myself

The picture above is Ryder with his mom- my favorite sister. ; )

I’ve recently decided to explore the online dating scene, and I can honestly say it’s a whole new world to me. I find the whole concept and process of meeting someone on a dating site very interesting. I’ve been on a few dates through these sites, but I’d only give one of those dates a rating of 5 stars- if you know what I mean. Most of the time I get along great with men while we’re in the emailing, chatting, and exchanging photos stage, but I’ve found that nothing replaces the face to face chemistry (or lack thereof) that you feel when you meet. Is it pheromones? I don’t know, but there’s definitely something to be said for up close and personal physical attraction.

Online, I can be charming and witty and have perfect grammar, but during face to face conversation- I’m not so perfect. So, I understand when I meet someone from a social networking site that it truly is a 1st meeting. I may know this person’s favorite hobbies, movies, name, phone # and a million other little things, but I don’t know this person. Nothing can replace the moment, the experience, or the feeling of meeting in person.

Throughout my life I’ve tried not to judge by looks alone, and as a general rule I don’t, but I’ve learned that when dating online I can’t judge by words alone either. Saying that sounds a bit stupid in the traditional sense, but it seems relevant and real when the internet and social networking come into play.

I’ve read books and seen movies about the internet being a detriment to society, satires that predict a population full of fat and stupid people who rarely experience something real. (versus virtual) I’m so happy that I can say that nothing replaces the real thing. Nothing replaces sunshine, the glory and physical effort of hiking in the mountains, and nothing replaces a real human body. I’m thankful for the irreplaceable experience of reality and I’m thankful for the progress and improvements technology provides to society. I’m happy to say technology for me, will always be a supplement to living, not a replacement.

On the subject,

Books I’ve read and movie I saw :