HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY B. JONES, WHO STILL CALLS NEPHI HIS HOMETOWN.

Although he has lived in various places in the Alaskan Frontier, he still calls Nephi, Utah, his hometown. He and his siblings have always thought the small rural town of Nephi was the best place to have grown up in and we have saved a building spot for him, and a burial plot for him. As kids we were not supposed to talk of the word "dead" or Cancer, but only call it the C word, and that was pretty radical in the Nephi Jones Kin who arrived here by horse; handcarts and wagons. Our ancestors were pretty dam tough......oh sorry, I was supposed to spell it out so D A M tough. Of the five kids of Alma C. and LaVon Harris Jones, Gary, at an early age was self taught to be tough and could survive just fine sleeping with all of his animal friends in the barn, or racing with his Mutts in the Iditarod of  the 1,000 miles across the frozen tundra. And after running with and feeding each of the dogs with placed food along the trail, he would then take a relaxation trek climbing one of the tall mountains in Alaska. And he was mentally fit more than the rest of us, aceing high school; then both BYU and USU. He had a strong voice, and could be heard throughout any concert hall, and still has that varoom to it. Although Gary has always been one of God's children that would always greet any kid or adult and and greet them if they were best friends. But in reality, the forest and the animals and plant life of the mystic of Alaska put him at ease. Although we all want to see him come to Nephi again, the city has outgrown itself too much, and he would not find solace here, but we long for a visit. I have traveled to Alaska to visit Gary B. and although I am not a friend of dogs, I found it relaxing to take care of his kennel while he raced. But living up their yonder is fit only for the bravest of all, as the 20 and 30 below zero never seemed fun for me. And the first time I visited, the flight was long with a plane change somewhere along the way. When I arrived, I told him I was starved and I would buy him a steak dinner. He said he would treat me to a great meal, but kept passing all the diners. He then pulled off the road under some trees. I tried to convince him that eating me wouldn't be his cup of tea, although when he was an Army Ranger during the Viet Nam Era, he was trained to live off the land, and grasshoppers and Beetles didn't taste that good to me. He then scared the Bejeebies out of me when he pulled a shotgun out of the trunk, and yup, he took down some Ptarmigans out of the tree tops, and they were better tasting than Ringneck Pheasant's, or the Pine Hens of Juab County. When I last spoke to Gary B., I told him that their are no "Bish Belliston" in Nephi anymore, and that all drivers have gone Whackos driving like the "Herd Instinct" of Dead Horse Point near Moab and told him a couple years ago I was nearly a victim of "locus en quo" speeders  by Doc Steele's  trying to kill me. Your sister told me it just may help to take down the sign off the back of my old Mazda truck which reads " ITS A HEMI"! I am not sure you can read it, but will try to put a letter of many years ago that Mom sent to you just before her transition. Happy Birthday on July 23 and here is one of your greatest books of all, if folks want to write you a letter and buy one, then you won't have to find that ass again and hitchhike back home. You did that once on a Tote Gote, so try an airplane this time!

        

                                                                                         
  

                                                                                  

HOW DOES ONE GET A PIG TO SING?

 

WHY, TO CRASH FROM THE DAZZLING HEIGHTS OF SUCCESS TO THE DARK RECESSES OF REJECTION IS INEXORABLY WOVEN INTO THE TAPESTRY OF LIFE'S STRUGGLE. WHAT DID YOU USED TO BE?        Photo credit of New Yorker.

                         

AT FUNERALS OR OTHER NOTABLE PLACES, AMERICANS PLACE THEIR RIGHT HAND OVER THEIR HEARTS. BUT IF YOU ARE A GREAT AND GLORIOUS LEADER, STANDING IN A  FORBIDDEN AREA, ONE MAY DROP THEIR HAND AS THEY JUST MAY FEEL THE NEED TO PUKE!

AT THE END OF WORLD WAR TWO, THE ALLIED FORCES WERE ACCEPTING THE SURRENDER OF THE NAZI  KILLERS  OF GERMANY AND WALKED AWAY FROM GENERAL JODL. SOUNDS AS NOBLE AS GENERAL PATTON. AND TO THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING AT THIS HISTORY PRESENTATION WANTING TO KNOW IF PIGS CAN SING, THE ANSWER IS I REALLY DON'T KNOW, AND NEITHER WILL I SHAKE THEIR FEET OR HUG THEM, LIKE MANY PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE DONE IN THE VOTING BOOTHS OF YESTER YEAR.

 

INTERESTING.....BUT SAD STATISTICS ABOUT THE VIET NAM WAR

1. This weekend in Nephi, Utah is always great, as we celebrate the Ute Stampede, a rodeo that has been a yearly celebration where families and friends get together. As two of my brothers pulled up where I had been watering our horse pasture, I  recognized the 9th Infantry patch on the hat of Hal Jones, who was a Medic on the front lines of the horrific killing spree that met the Allied forces in a swamp called Nam. I thought I would put off the rodeo celebration and gather some statistics from that war of wars. I had three brothers in the military during the Era of Viet Nam, and glad they all came home, and only Hal with sadness to be a victim of that upfront fighting. Hal was partially hit with an explosion when his medic partner was ordered to go in a Chu Chi tunnel that was a booby trap that killed his partner and partially hit Hal, who turned down a Purple Heart, as he only wanted to return home which he did and safely so. And he had a chance to travel to Washington D.C. to  see the Stats on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
2. There are 58,267 names now listed on the polished black wall, including those that were added in 2010.
3. The names are arranged in the order which they were taken from their families and within each date the names are alphabetized. 
4. The first known casualty was Richard Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. He was killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III.
5. There ae 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
6. The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered for. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National forest. and in  the patriotic camaraderie typical of  Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
7. The Buddies of Midvale, Utah were LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, and Tommy Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived near each other, and played ball on an adjacent sandlot. They all joined the military and traveled to Viet Nam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three were killed.
8. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968-245 deaths.
9. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May, 1968-245 Deaths.
10. For most Americans who read this will only see that the Viet Nam War created. To those who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, the survivor's and the Medics only see their faces, and hold them for that last shot of Morphine and their transition is felt. They feel the pain for ever. Remember, we too will pass, so never ever forget those who fought for our liberty. 

                          THERE ARE NO NOBLE WARS, JUST NOBLE WARRIORS.

GOD VS.THE DEVIL

                                                                              

                                                                               

A SHORT HISTORY OF NEPHI AND THE UTE STAMPEDE

Today's history lesson is a brief overview on the Utah City of Nephi, named after an individual that the LDS folks believe was directed by God to this the western part of the world. We have submitted information about Nephi's Centennial Jubilee of 1951. If you are now or may be a future leader of our area, we would encourage  all to seek out the book that I have used to explain the beginning of our County and Cities within Juab County. They didn't have hand held "Gigaphones" or "Retro Emulator's" to chat with each other and the many organizations you could join to play with the instruments' of the several marching bands or join the all female band called the "Dellu" or perhaps attend the Presbyterian Church located along Main Street on the west side at about half way between 2nd and 3th North. And since the rodeo of the Ute Stampede is around the corner, we thought about showing a page about it's beginning. I am not sure, but when it was named that, there was a big crowd of the "Ancient Ones", which we refer to as Indians, and they often came to Nephi to watch the Stampede. I don't remember Utes arriving, but several Navajos liked to be here for the good entertainment that is still here. When I was a kid, those Indians and the Cowboys would often camp out beneath the Cottonwood Trees that used to be lined up on the west side of the arena. They could wash up in the irrigation water nearby.   

HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY TO EMMA OCKEY CARTER

 I am not sure why, but today's blog entry is on a beautiful gal now and back a few days ago for her June 18th birthday. I guess she was trying to get my attention, as her funeral program fell in front of me and perhaps that was her way of reminding me, as we had birthdays on the same day, but a couple years apart. If you didn't know Emma, you missed a golden chance of meeting the beauty within her and her dry wit and honest words. When I interviewed her a few years ago, I reminded her she and I were "First Cousins", she instantly gave me a verbal reprimand! She said something like "all of us are cousins, and not first or thirty first", and she knows the truth, and one can always expect Emma to let you know the truth of things. Her very best friend was her sister Dora, and another close friend was a "Cousin" named "Marian Garrett Mickelson" and my guess is that both are having a "Heavenly" good time. I became acquainted with Emma and her sister Dora as they both took great care of their mother- Pearl Jones Ockey, who I loved visiting as she would take me down to the farm where she grew up and we would pick mushrooms and wow, she would cook them up while I pulled her weeds. and cut her lawn. I was about ten years old and wrote notes of how things were in "the good ole days".We now present the beauty of Emma Ockey Carter, and she married Jack Carter as when he came home from the war, he looked so handsome in a uniform, just like her Dad-Bill Ockey when he returned from W.W. One and gave his 30-40 Craig Rifle to Paul Ockey and now with granddaughter-Debbie. Bill was tired of killing and told my father that! And Deb has that now, and proud of her Veteran Family!

 

SARAH TAYLOR ROBINSON HAD HER FUNERAL EARLIER TODAY.

Sarah was just 50 years old, but she suffered from a deadly Cancer for some time and is finally released from that burden. God, being a perfect being, sent her to earth to brighten up people's experience here. For those that knew her, she was the ideal gal that would do that, as she had a smile and a personality that could be felt by all. I first met her when I was campaigning for Nephi City Council. After knocking on her door, she readily invited me in and wanted me to meet her kids and I could feel the positive energy within. She told me she was a police officer for Nephi City, and loved her work. I was elected and soon found out that some old habits are slow to stop. After 42 years of being a law enforcement officer, I had often carried a 32 auto in my bib overalls, and watching for any cop that may need backup, as I don't believe that most residents have little understanding of what the beat was really like, even in Nephi, which used to be a small rural town, but escalated too fast. I wanted to give back to the greatest place I grew up in. I chose working for the City, and doing it was next to a full time job. I used to help the DUP at their museum, being a janitor and cleaned up the old Territorial Jail that turned into the Juab County Jail. One of the fun times was having the 4th Grade students and Scout Troops come for a demonstration of how to grind up wheat to make flour, in the same manner of what our Pioneers used to do. Then we would go through the Jail. I had obtained two wooden Batons or nightsticks used at the Utah Territorial Prison where the Sugarhouse Park is now in Salt Lake. I hung those on the Jail wall and had a pair of old handcuffs that hung nearby. I guess I didn't hang them high enough, as a couple boys got a hold of them and decided to put them on the wrists of one of their friends. When they couldn't get them off, I was notified, and it took a specialized barrel key to open and I didn't have one. So we called the Nephi Police, and wait for Sarah Robinson to drive up with her bolt cutters. She laughed and said something to the effect "Jones, why have you put the cuffs on the best kid in school"! I found out later he was and remembered that "Kids will be Kids" much like I was and still am. I kept an eye on Sarah as well as other cops, even though they have good back up with the UHP and Sheriffs office, but knew what it was like when only one cop was on duty, and little time to wait for a back up. I had always sensed what a good human being Sarah was, and regardless of the situation, she kept an upper lip and found her down time by being with her family and one could sense their love for her. Although the words of "Remember Me" are on the back page of the program, I believe that all that knew Sarah will in fact remember what a special spirit she is to all, and I believe that she is very much alive in a spirit form, and will be your angel in disguise, and like her Father In Heaven, she and He will respond to your prayers and needs. She had a church full of good people, who all can rely on, so be happy as she is no longer having the hardship of Cancer. And to the Relief Society, thanks for the great Funeral Potatoes!