55 - The Best 60%

1976

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2005

55 & Exceeding the Fun Limit

55 years ago my grandparents living in Utah received a surprise - my folks called to tell them about my birth. Having moved to California the year before, and times being what they were, it was relatively easy for my folks to keep my impending birth a secret from their folks. Following up on that surprising beginning, I have no doubt spent a lifetime surprising people.
So just for fun, here are a few photos from my life showing some of the people and times I am so very grateful for. (By the way, if you have trouble picking me out of some of the photos, let me know.) This is the oldest photo of me I have found to date. The setting is between sessions at a stake conference in Gridley, CA. Remember how there used to be 2 sessions each on Saturday & Sunday? This is the lunch on the lawn between sessions - I am the one standing on the left with the help of my dad.

Here I am with mom, Mike & Joseph in front of 1410 Youngs Lane in Yuba City. This is probably in 1955, the summer before the flood.

This photo is exactly 50 years old. On Halloween night in 1959, 6 days after I turned 5, we left 1410 Youngs Lane for the ward Halloween party at the Clark Avenue chapel. Afterward we went home to 373 Second Street where I lived for the next 14 years.

Here we are, some of us, on that great little VW (before dad painted it yellow). Note the doors are still on the little shed on the side of the garage.

And here I am with my dad again, in front of that old green Dodge Pioneer.

I don't appear old enough to be a boy scout in this picture, but somewhere I must have acquired a tee shirt from GTSR.

Another photo, probably around 1970-71; I remember I got that shirt as a Junior. This time, my mom is in the scouting uniform. Happy times in the back yard of 373 Second Street.

Peter & I with Wayne Adair at Donner Mine YW Camp during the summer of 1971. Lots of interesting stories came out of that summer.

Gold & Green Ball 1972. Brown suede shoes, a flowered shirt, and a cool double-breasted - corduroy - sport coat borrowed from my brother Joseph. Note the really neat parquet gym floor the Clark Avenue chapel used to have.

In the green Hornet (AMC) in NYC.

In front of our apartment in Newark, NJ - by Branch Brook Park. Here we had a copper Vega and covered the entire southern half of NJ for Spanish speaking people. In Newark we lived down the street from a Hershey's chocolate factory, so we got a nose full every time we walked down the street.

Here we are 33 years ago in one of the proofs of our wedding announcement photo. Without a doubt the best decision I have ever made, or ever hope to make.

Here we are on a cold day in December 1976. A great start to a wonderful marriage. Did I mention I like brown?

In order of appearance, left to right: James, me, Andrea in curlers. This is from when we lived in Bountiful shortly after James was born in 1980.

The roadshow kids in Bennion - 2 smurfs, a care bear, and a troll. Boy I could sure use those ears now.

Our family just keeps growing and growing. Here we are in 2005 in Harter Park behind the museum in YC. The photographer was Rebecca Knudson of infinite patience.

Since then we have added some more, shown here earlier this summer in Don & Jana's back yard.

Me & my friend the bear in the redwoods last year.

Another of us together - I seem to have a lot of these from over the years.

More additions to the ever expanding R&J Hall Family - at the very famous Indy Zoo earlier this year.

And finally, the happy couple last Christmas at the Sacramento Temple when we all gathered after Peter returned from Switzerland. Stay tuned. . .

Push Back Against The World

Yesterday morning I awoke early (bad habit, can't break it) and listened to an great CES Fireside talk by Elder D. H. Oaks entitled Push Back Against The World. This was given from Pocatello, ID in 2007, and after some follow up comments from his previous CES Fireside talk, which originated from Oakland, CA, he gave a wonderful talk on how we can push the world out of our lives most effectively by keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

At one point, maybe more, he quotes Chapter 16 of the Presidents of the Church - Spencer W. Kimball manual, The Sabbath - A Delight. So I reviewed that chapter and found a treasure of inspiration to obey more completely this commandment. I share some of it with you as part of my testimony that God lives and has revealed through prophets how best to live.

"President Kimball saw the Sabbath as a day for active, joyful worship—a time to leave behind the things of the world and fill the day with righteous activity. Quoting scriptures, he encouraged the Saints to make the Sabbath “a delight” and to approach the day with “cheerful hearts and countenances” (Isaiah 58:13; D&C 59:15).

"Moses came down from the quaking, smoking Mount Sinai and brought to the wandering children of Israel the Ten Commandments, fundamental rules for the conduct of life. These commandments were, however, not new. They had been known to Adam and his posterity, who had been commanded to live them from the beginning, and were merely reiterated by the Lord to Moses. And the commandments even antedated earth life and were part of the test for mortals established in the council in heaven."

We're Back

Holycow! The last time we posted something was over a fortnight ago. Well, as an explanation, we have actually been without internet service for most of October. Our router/modem went kaput and we had the dickens of a time getting it properly replaced. But we are now back with service, and can bring you all up to date on our adventures (the positive ones).

Yesterday we went to Apple Hill with Grandma and Pete & Mel. Apple Hill is an area just east of Placerville up Hwy. 50. There are lots of apple farms, flower farms, tree farms, pumkin farms, etc. Some of the older ones may recall having gone there once long ago. The various farms are very different in their approach to wooing the consuming public, so one needs to be discriminating, but overall this is a really nice place to visit. Uncle Peter & I decided to return one day and just go from place to place eating. They have bbq, tri tip sandwiches, German food, and of course everything you can imagine doing to an apple or pumpkin to make it edible. By the time we got around to the place that boasted 15 different kinds of carmel apples, the cars were lined up for over a mile just to turn onto the side road the farm was on. We turned tail & went the other way. So we didn't eat much yesterday, but saw a lot. Here's a sampling:

A shot of a beautiful japanese maple lit by the sun, just right through the trees.
Georgeous mums, hundreds of them, made this place beautiful.

This little guy was "outstanding in his field" watering the lawn, and doing a great job of it.

They had copies for sale, but we couldn't find out how much.

Uncle Peter says he can make one easily enough.

And here is the little guy in action - kinda reminds you of someone, doesn't it?

This was just one of the kind of neat places they have stuff to eat.

Uncle Peter was impressed that they had German potato salad & lots of sausages.

And finally, here's the lovely couple mugging it for the camera. By the way, that is ROOT beer in the steins :)

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS!

Have you heard of the latest Ken Burns special? Well, I watched the first episode tonight online. I cannot tell you about it as words fail me. But I can say this: I don't have many regrets from our years of rearing our children, but a profound one is that we never made time to visit Yellowstone and Yosemite together as a family. I better do better with my grandchildren.