May 14, 2010

Tell about the first dance you ever went to.

If my memory serves me correctly and usually it does(n't), I remember going to dances in Elementary school in the later grades. It was usually with a small piece of paper and ten names that we had to write down of girls that we would dance with and that was where we were first taught the square dance. Then in Junior High (or actually High School since 7th thru 12th grades were included) we continued by having special dances that were just for 7th -9th grades around the same time as the major dances for the high school only they were during the last two class periods of the school day. We were not allowed to go to the High School dances so that was how they appeased us. The only major dances that we had though were the Home Coming, Junior and Senior Proms. There were no girls choice dances. It was fun and we would have some less major dance after ball games on friday nights once in a while but even then they were very few. So to answer the question well I can't since I don't remember the first dance I ever went to. There were also dances that were put on by the church and they were even fewer.

May 13, 2010

What kind of dances did you do as a youth?

Foxtrot, waltz, jitterbug, square, swing, ChaCha, Charleston, Tango. But do not ask me to remember any of them besides the waltz. I could always seem to dance that one pretty well. Marie and I were in a dance festival and practiced for several weeks then when it came time to go I became very sick and was unable to go. I have never forgotten how I let her down.

May 12, 2010

Tell a favorite singer and a song that he/she sang.

My song that I remember the most is "Hey Jude" by a group called (and you may have never heard of them) The Beatles. It was special to me because it was a song that lasted seven minutes and I got to dance with Marie for about 5 minutes of it before another guy (Leon Mallow) tapped in and took her for the rest of the dance. And worse than that it was the last dance of the night. I did get to have the last word of the night with her since I walked her home after the dance. There were other songs that I liked and when I looked through the list the other day I could instantly recall the music in my mind. They actually made some really great songs during that area that are still popular today.

May 11, 2010

What was your favorite singing group or band?

It was probably “the Sons of the Pioneers” first and then the Monkee’s and the Beatles. However Neil Diamond has come to be my most favorite over the years as time has gone on and his songs have continued to be created aand sang as well as the old ones still being popular.

May 10,2010

Name some popular hit songs from your youth.

I went to the internet and was flooded with memories and was interested in how many I could still sing. Music does make an impact on our lives.

1960’s.

1960s Top Ten Dance Songs:

1. The Twist - Chubby Checker 2. Build Me Up Buttercup - Foundations 3. Sugar Pie Honey Bunch Honey Bunch - Four Tops 4. I Want You Back - Jackson 5 5. More Today Than Yesterday - Spiral Staircase 6. Heatwave - Martha and the Vandellas 7. Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations 8. The Loco-Motion - Little Eva 9. Jimmy Mack - Martha and the Vandellas 10. Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley

May 9, 2010

Do you remember any childhood songs or rhymes?

We sang all of the primary songs that were written at the time like "Give Said the Little Stream" and "Pop Corn Popping on the Apricot Tree". There were others but those are the two that come to my memory first. Then there were all of the nursery rhymes like"Little Boy Blue Come Blow your horn", Jack and Jill fell down the Hill", and "Jack Be Nimble Jack be Quick". Plus there were a host of them and it has been every fun going to Lori's preschool graduations and seeing them acted out by the children and they always do such a great job that it brings those rhymes back to my memory very vividly. I think though that there might be one or two that might post date my youth. I am looking forward to seeing them again at the end of May this year and I will have to pay a little closer attention to see if I knew them all and had just forgotten them or if there are really some new ones.

May8, 2010

Relate your family Mother's day traditions, or tell me more about what kind of person your mother was.

Mother's Day traditions were always go to church and watch mother graciously receive the flower from the Bishopric, Sunday School and Relief Society. I think they were all a part of it. Then the rest of the day was spent at home doing the sabbath type things.

I would love to tell you more about my Mother however. Mom was a very loving and kind person, she got this trait from her mother and father. She was always very forgiving and loving toward anyone she knew or met or had any association with in her life. I remember her getting upset but can't remember her ever really getting mad. A story was told about her when we were gathered as a family after her funeral that was a good depiction of how she was as a person. It was told that mom felt really bad after hanging up on a caller trying to sell something over the phone. She felt very bad about having hung up on them. (Now I don't feel bad about hanging up on them and even often try to think of things that I can do to waste their time a little by just setting the phone on the counter until it starts to beep letting me know they gave up.) I know though that mother would let me know how unkind that was and that it was just their job and I should just be grateful I don't have to make a living doing that. Mother was kind to animals as well even though she still wouldn't allow them into the house even on the coldest of days, they had plenty of other areas where they could go to get warm such as all of the other buildings on the farm like the barn.

She was also very much into giving and not letting people pay for what she gave. An example of his was when we were visiting her sister in Mapleton and Aunt Zelma had given her some fruit from their orchard or something, I can't really remember what it was for. Well Aunt Zelma, a younger sister to mother, wouldn't have anything to do with it either and she promptly lovingly handed it back. They were just raised in the same home however so mother promptly returned it to her again. I don't recall how times this sequence was replayed but Aunt Zelma finally gave up and took me off into another room, gave me the money (I think it was 5 dollars) and told me to give it to mom after we were a long ways away from their home. Well I waited for a long distance, to a child, and gave it to her after we were about a half mile from their home. Dad was instructed to turn around and we returned to give it to Aunt Zelma one more time. I think that mother would have mailed it back to her even if I had waited until we got home to give it to her.

She also loved flowers and trees and would plant them all over the yard. The only instance where she was unable to get to grow one of her trees was when she planted a mighty Oak as a seedling that kept getting ran over by the lawn mower. Dad didn't mean to do it but it was just to small to see. It never made it but a lot of other trees of various kinds did and a whole lot of flowers as well. There were even a number of rock gardens that were planted around the farm because mother loved beautiful rocks of all sizes.

So that is just a little more about my mother whom we all loved very much. She and dad were a very perfect union and thus she would never remarry after dad passed away even though she had someone who wanted to marry her. She was in love with dad and no one else. She spent her 21 years without him going on a mission, taking care of Great Aunt Zelma until her passing at a ripe young age of 104, doing temple work and family history work. She loved her family and grand and great grand children and spent as much time with them as possible as well.

May 7, 2010

Tell about some good advice your mother gave you.

There were may times that my mother gave me good advice and the one that sticks out in my mind the most was “The Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight so be home before then.” It was good advice then and good advice now. Obviously the Holy Ghost never goes to bed but our ability to listen to him becomes more weak the later it becomes in the night or earlier it becomes in the morning. So when I was dating I was always asked to be home by midnight and knew that mom would be awake when I got there. Actually she was always awake until midnight or after and Saturday nights were especially bad because the kitchen floor had to be mopped before we could go to bed and it always seemed like it was almost midnight before we could get to it.

May 6, 2010

May 5, 2010 Leilah Poulson birth

We are welcoming a beautiful child into the world, Leilah Poulson. 6 lbs 19 inches.

Also the question for the day is:

Tell a favorite memory of your mother.

There are a hundred stories I could probably tell about mother but none come to mind at the moment. I spent a lot of time with mom in the library for several years and really cherish the time that we were able to spend together then. A story that just came to mind is when Richard was engaged to Lauren we found out that mom had spent her mission in South Dakota when Lauren's father was a young Elder in the mission. There is a picture that shows them with their companions when they served in one area together. It was an interesting connection and the world got a lot smaller when we found out.

I'll have to tell more later. It is bedtime.

May 5, 2010

Did your mother ever make anything for you?

Yes, an awful lot of dinners, etc. However I am guessing this is more along the lines of something specifically for me. Well the only thing that I can think of is a stuffed bear that was made from the old fabric that had been used to cover the couch. Most of you will remember the couch that we had while you were growing up and it was that couch that had been reupholstered giving way for fabric to make a few stuffed animals for the children.