Humor
I never would have thought…not in a million years…that my younger sister would go to Heaven before me, much less, that a year could have gone by since her home going, but here we are. My heart feels sad, but I know where my sister is, and so, I want to focus more on the beautiful parts of her life and not on the sadness of her passing. So much has happened since you went home, Alena, but then you already know all about it. Your daughter, Michelle and her husband, Matt are working diligently on their home, and I wish you could be here to share it with them, but I know that you can see how beautiful it is. Also, you are about to become a grandmother again…twice!! Garrett and Kayla will be having their baby about July 10th. Lacey and Chris will be having theirs about August 3rd. I’m sure you have already met these two precious babies…and you’re rejoicing for sure. We are rejoicing right along with you. Mike is doing his best, but he misses you so much, as expected. Mike loves you so much, and he always will.
This year has been terribly difficult for all of us. Alena, your presence strangely absent, and yet always with us 
will always be with us. It is comforting to know that you are with Jesus, living in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and sharing sweet time with Mom and Dad, as well as so many other family members who have gone on before. We will always wish that you could still be here with us, how could we not, and yet, Heaven is so much greater than anything we could possibly imagine, and we are so happy that you can be there. Now we will remember the good times of your life. Your wonderful sense of humor, and impish ways. You loved a good prank, especially if you were the one to pull it. I don’t think anyone could pull a prank better than you could. I really miss that. I feel like there has been a lot less pranking over this past year, sadly.
Always the cosmetologist in the family, you were the one most likely to cut your hair, or anyone else’s. Of course, as you grew up, you became very good at it. What might have started as a real chop job done by a 
crazy kid, ended up being the only stylist mom wanted to do her hair. It was a big responsibility, but you took it all in stride. You even did Mom’s hair and makeup on her final day, and she was beautiful. We couldn’t have trusted anyone else with such an important look. Now you and Mom, as well as Dad get to spend lots of time together, and we all look forward to joining you all one day. Your presence her will always be missed, but we could never ask you to come back to this place. Life here could never compare. Happy first year in Heaven. We love and miss you very much.
It seems like every year there’s a day in early spring, usually around mid-April, that I can only call Slap Day. Not that anyone should actually slap someone, or that the weather makes you want to, although maybe it does, when someone chirps, “We need the moisture,” in defense of a snowstorm. Sure, we all know we need it, but couldn’t it just snow in the mountains and rain down here? Isn’t that what spring is supposed to bring? Rain! I get that the weather isn’t their fault and they’re just trying to stay positive, but it’s so frustrating when, after enjoying blooming crocuses and daffodils and watching the yard turn green, everything suddenly disappears under a mountain of snow. And every time it happens, our morale plummets into the depths of snow. No self-respecting flower would dare emerge on Slap Day anyway…they’re too delicate!
Every year, we know to simply “expect” Slap Day, but even more bizarre than the idea of “accepting” Slap Day is the idea that Slap Day may not happen. When Winter plays such a cruel trick on Spring, I want to draw the line, but not in exchange for a Summer of water rationing. Winter normally bullies all of us already. It’s just too much, when Winter refuses to take it’s turn and provide us with the necessary moisture to prevent the need for Slap Day. That is just as wrong as Slap Day itself!! Winter simply didn’t do its job this year. I hate snow as much as the next guy, but I also know that there is a time for rain and a time for snow. This past Winter wasn’t just fairly mild. It was almost non-existent, and we really needed quite a bit more snow…much as I hate to say it.
While there are few things I hate more than Slap Day, I really do hate a year of praying for no wildfires, no dry lightning storms, and even no rainy lightning storms, because lightning in a year void of a real Winter means a big chance of wildfires. So, while I would normally be ranting about Slap Day, should it arrive, I would probably actually welcome it this year, provided it didn’t bring with it a bunch of flooding. Slap Day suddenly seems very important to the welfare of the entire state. In fact, a couple of Slap Days, followed by a rainy Sprin would be very nice, again provided we didn’t get so much moisture that we got flooding. I suppose it would seem like I’m being rather picky, and I suppose I am, but I just want us to have a nice Spring and Summer. Is that so much to ask?
April Fools’ Day has been around for centuries. In 1700, English pranksters made it popular to play practical jokes on each other. Some believe it began in 1582 when France switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, following the Council of Trent’s 1563 mandate. Those who didn’t adopt the change and still celebrated the new year from late March to April 1 were mocked and teased for being gullible.
When I was a kid, my sisters and I loved trying to fool each other. We pulled all kinds of tricks, from claiming there was a spider in someone’s hair to swapping the salt and sugar in their containers. Most of the time, no one fell for it, but every now and then we’d get a completely shocked reaction, or even a scream. Historians have mentioned pranks like dressing in disguises, and even the weather seemed to join in the fun with its unpredictable seasonal changes. I think most of us have been fooled by that one—bundling up in the morning only to be too hot later, or the other way around. And of course, the weather never plays along for just one day.
As we get older, we have to be much more creative with our antics, because, let’s face it, adults aren’t going to fall for the old spider-in-the-hair trick. They know exactly what day it is. April Fools’ Day pranks need careful planning and should be harmless, because that’s what the day is really about. Of course, there’s always the chance of some unexpected hiccup when trying to undo a prank, which could backfire, but hopefully the people you prank are good sports who understand it could just as easily have happened to them.
Some of the best pranks these days are tech-based, with endless ways to make someone think their computer has gone haywire. A bit of tape over the mouse sensor can make it seem frozen, or you could change the language settings…though from personal experience, that’s tricky to undo if you pick one you can’t read…like Russian or Japanese! My favorite is flipping the screen so everything’s upside down…it’s easy to reverse, so no harm done. There are plenty of low-tech options too, like wrapping the entire office in newspaper or filling the room with balloons so you have to pop your way in. Office pranks are a great way to take your prank game to 
the next level, and they’re especially fun when your target is left completely stunned.
Some people are naturally gullible, while others have a knack for dreaming up outrageous ideas. If you fall into the first group, get ready for a day full of pranks, as pranksters love to exploit that gullibility. And if you’re one of those pranksters, this is your moment to shine. Happy April Fools’ Day! Let the fun begin and let the gullible beware!
My grandmother, Harriet “Hattie” Byer was a woman of small stature…she stood just 5 feet…in her “tall” days…more like 4 feet 10 inches or less in her later years. While she was definitely short, Grandma was, nevertheless, feisty!! Every one of her children knew that their mom could take them to the floor in one fail swoop if the crossed her. She was the family boss, and they needed to toe the mark. It wasn’t that Grandma was mean, because she was one of the most loving moms you could have ever known. Her children knew that she loved them unconditionally, but they also knew that she expected them to mind her and be well behaved.
That carried on to her grandchildren as well, which is where I came into the story. I was one of her many grandchildren. While some of her grandchildren…especially the boys, crossed her a number of times, I can only remember one spanking…and one was enough. I knew that I didn’t 
want to sass Grandma again. Some of the boys…I was the only girl in the group of four grandchildren who were around my age, so I got to hear about some of the antics of the boys and the repercussions of my grandmother. They told me about the broom that somehow reached around the corner and got you as you ran away. The way she could somehow see through the floor to the basement. The bar of soap conveniently placed in their mouths for saying “bad” words. While the antics of the boys made me feel like “amateur night” because I wouldn’t have dared to pull the things they would, I must say that I got a kick out of the stories they told. I couldn’t believe the nerve of them, but I guess that is boys. They pushed her buttons quite a bit further than I would have. These days, I think it’s just funny, but as a kid, and one of five daughters of my parents, the 
antics of boys were not in my wheelhouse. These days as the grandmother and great grandmother of boys and only two girls, I understand boys much better than I used to. In fact, I can see my grandsons and even the great grandsons pulling some of the stunts my cousins used to. None of them were really “bad” boys, just mischievous boys. And these days, it makes me laugh to see the similarities to my cousins. They probably drove Grandma half crazy. Nevertheless, she loved each and every one of them. Today is the 117th anniversary of my grandmother’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Byer!! We love and miss you very much!!
As unusual holidays go, I would say that “Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day” is the most unusual I have ever heard of. Nevertheless, “Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day” is a real thin. Observed on February 18th each year, this lighthearted holiday commemorates a unique moment in aviation and agricultural history when a cow named Elm Farm Ollie took to the skies. The event happened on February 18, 1930, when the Guernsey cow became the first of her kind to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft. During the 72-mile trip from Bismarck to Saint Louis, Missouri, she was also milked mid-flight, marking a second historical first for both animals and aviation. Why, you might ask, was this important. Well, it really wasn’t, except to show that it could be done.
As part of the International Air Exposition in Saint Louis, organizers chose Elm Farm Ollie, also known as Nellie Jay, for her calm nature and impressive milk production. She was loaded onto a Ford Trimotor, a sturdy aircraft nicknamed the “Tin Goose,” piloted by Claude Sterling. The flight aimed to promote the air show and showcase the stability and potential of modern planes for transporting livestock. I would hate to have been the poor maintenance guy who was given the unpleasant task of cleaning up after this crazy event.
Although the mission was largely a publicity stunt, it also had a quirky scientific angle. Researchers were 
curious about how high altitudes and the vibrations of flight might impact a cow’s behavior and milk production. During the trip, Wisconsin dairyman Elsworth W Bunce did the milking, and Ollie yielded 24 quarts of milk. The milk was sealed in paper cartons, tied to tiny parachutes, and dropped from the plane to the crowd waiting below at the exposition. Of course, these days, such an event would be very unlikely, because the milk couldn’t be pasteurized or homogenized.
Nevertheless, this day celebrates the creativity and quirkiness that marked the early days of flight. In the 1930s, aviation was still new, and daring stunts like Ollie’s flight showed people that airplanes could be more than just risky machines…they could be reliable, adaptable tools. If a 1,000-pound cow could fly safely and calmly at high altitudes, then air travel was clearly dependable for almost any cargo or passenger. That success played a role in making air logistics a normal part of life.
The holiday is also a nod to the dairy industry and the resilience of farm animals. Elm Farm Ollie shot to national fame after her flight, earning the nickname “Sky Queen.” Thanks to the dedication of Wisconsin dairy fans, her story lives on, turning the anniversary into a day of celebration and historical appreciation. It’s a reminder that progress can stem from the most unusual experiments and that even the quirkiest ideas can change how people see the world. Elm Farm Ollie was a Guernsey cow known for producing rich, high-fat milk.
Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was said to be among those who tasted the “air milk.” The Ford Trimotor used for the flight was considered one of the most dependable planes of its day. Ollie the cow lived another eight years on her farm after her brief brush with fame. To celebrate “Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day,” one might enjoy a tall glass of milk or a milkshake in honor of the “Sky Queen.” Those near a dairy farm or aviation museum can take a more hands-on approach to the holiday, and some fans even throw small parties to share the tale of Ollie and her 24 quarts of milk dropped by parachute. For those who enjoy the creative side of the holiday, writing a poem or sketching a flying cow is a fun tradition. It’s a day for sharing laughs over one of history’s quirkiest milestones.
As a girl, I loved hanging out with my uncle, Bill Spencer. We always just clicked. He was a favorite of all my sisters too. Uncle Bill was my dad, Allen Spencer’s older brother…older by two years. The brothers did everything together. Uncle Bill was always protective of his little brother, keeping an eye on him and teaching him all the things boys of the Great Depression era needed to know to get along in life. They were close, and they were “partners in crime” or at least in the antics of little boys. Being farm boys, they played with and in the things of a farm, one of them being the wood pile. The thought of the boys playing there makes me cringe a little, but they survived, so I wonder in the wood pile was smaller than I imagined or solidly stacked. Uncle Bill told me once about a time they were playing on that wood pile. When he looked over to check on his brother, who was 3 or so, my dad was sound asleep…standing up but leaning against the wood pile. The story might seem incredulous, but I’ve seen my great grandson, Axel Petersen asleep standing up, leaning over my coffee table. It still makes me laugh, so I can imagine what Uncle Bill did. 
Being farm kids, my aunts, Laura Fredrick and Ruth Wolfe, as well as my uncle and my dad knew how to work the hay, gardens, wood piles, and how to remove stumps…with dynamite!! These were just boys, but they had been trained since they were little. So, by the time they were old enough to stay home alone while their mom, Grandma Anna Spencer went to town for supplies, they were also old enough to get into mischief, and so they did. They decided one day to see what would happen if dynamite was set off on the top of a gatepost. Well, they found out alright. When that dynamite went off, that gatepost sunk several inches into the ground. Now, they had a dilemma. The gate wouldn’t close, and their mom would know. So, the boys got busy repositioning that gatepost so the gate would close before her arrival…and then to act like nothing happened. It was a typical antic the brothers pulled off, with their mother none the wiser…or if she was, she never let on. I suspect my grandmother knew more that the brothers thought, but they were good boys, so she gave them some latitude.
My Uncle Bill and my dad always had a little bit of the mischievous boy in them. It was a permanent part of who they were, and probably one of the things that endeared them to us the most. They really were the little 
boys who would never fully grow up, and that was ok with all of us. I think that if they had been too serious, we would not have had so much fun when we were around them. These days, they live in Heaven with their parents, siblings, and even their spouses. Uncle Bill had been divorced for many years, but as neither he nor Aunt Doris had ever remarried, I believe they always loved each other, and I believe they are good friends in Heaven too. I look forward to seeing all of them in the future. Today would have been my Uncle Bill’s 104th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Bill. We love and miss you very much.
While my uncle, Wayne Byer was the younger of the two sons of my grandparents, George and Hattie Byer, he was also the taller of the two boys. That became a bit of a competition between the brothers. It wasn’t that Uncle Larry Byer could do anything about it, but that didn’t stop him from trying. The difference in their height was not huge, probably an inch or two. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that if Uncle Larry stood on his tip toes, he could be pretty close to Uncle Wayne’s height. To add to the situation, the boys were quite humorous. In fact, they were very much tricksters.
Never was that more evident that at one particular Christmas party held in the late 70s. For that particular party, a photographer had been hired to take some family pictures. The pictures turned out great, but there 
was something going on in one of the pictures that most of us didn’t know about. I suppose that the siblings knew about it when they saw the pictures, but the cousins probably did not. In fact, I didn’t know anything about it until recently when my Aunt Sandy Pattan told me why her older brothers seemed to be sharing a secret amusement. It seems that Uncle Larry was standing with his heels on the edge of a piece of molding, probably the mopboard. In the picture, the effect was that the two brothers appear to be close to the same height, if not exactly the same height. The only hint that something is “off” is that the brothers couldn’t keep a straight face. Both of them had a sheepish grin on their face, that told you that something funny was going on. For years, I thought that they must have saif something funny, but that wasn’t it at all. Uncle Larry was standing there, as tall as he could, and Uncle Wayne caught it out of the corner of his eye, knowing that even on tip toe, his brother couldn’t quite make it to his height.
It’s funny how two known comics, like my uncles, even as adult men, couldn’t resist goofing off…even during a 
photo shoot. We wonder why kids like to make funny faces or jokes when pictures are being taken, and we’ve even come to expect it from them, but somehow we figure that adults can keep their composure and “behave themselves” for the camera, but it isn’t always so, especially when two of the siblings are the comics of the crew. And my uncles were definitely the comics of the crew. Today is Uncle Wayne’s 88th birthday. Happy birthday Uncle Wayne!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My uncle, Bill Beadle, spent much of his working life in the pipe yards before running his own rathole drilling business alongside his sons, Forrest and Steve. While he was a skilled machinist and all-around mechanic, his real passion was fishing and bird hunting in the Worland area with Steve. I think that’s why, in his later years, he was happy living with Steve, his wife, Wanda, and their family. I can picture them sharing stories about fishing trips and walking the fields in search of pheasants and chukars. Bill loved the thrill of hunting them…the sudden burst of a bird flying up out of nowhere, giving the hunter just seconds to react, with success only coming to those who were truly skilled.
Uncle Bill always felt it was his duty to keep the nephews on the right track, and if they 
ran into trouble or seemed headed the wrong way, he’d sit down with them, talk things through, and have them back in line in no time. Uncle Bill knew that boys can get…competitive and might not always think things through. If they seemed to be hanging out with the wrong crowd or doing things he didn’t think they should, he would sit them down for “the talk” before things got out of hand. This trait made him especially dear to my cousin Elmer. Uncle Bill did have a few vices, one of which was his enjoyment of his pipe and his chew. Because kids are impressionable, Forrest and Elmer thought chewing tobacco was pretty cool, so as kids, they once got into a big block of chew, not realizing they shouldn’t swallow it. They did, and both turned about three shades 
of green. Though the memory still makes Elmer cringe, when he thinks of chewing tobacco.
Uncle Bill was a guy with a great sense of humor and a knack for making kids laugh. There was always a mischievous sparkle in his eye and plenty of good-natured trouble behind his smile. He loved to tease, and the kids loved every bit of it. His infectious laugh would fill the room, and we’d all have a great time together. He wasn’t often serious, at least not with most kids, unless someone was headed for trouble. Then, his tone shifted…never mean, just straightforward…and by the end, the kid knew the right path to take. Uncle Bill was truly one of a kind, and we adored him. Today would have been Uncle Bill’s 97th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Bill. We love and miss you very much.
It seems like with every weather report, it is just as likely that the weather reporter will get it wrong as often as they get it right…maybe more often. It’s not that we think that they are lying or careless. Most of us just think that it’s impossible to really predict the weather accurately. Nevertheless, there are lots of times that they get the weather report pretty close to right on.
When we really understand all that goes into predicting the weather, we might find it easier to forgive the little errors. For example, a one-day weather forecast requires about 10 billion math calculations. Yes, a one-day weather forecast takes around 10 billion math calculations to produce. And that’s just for one day. So, tomorrow the same process repeats itself again. This huge number comes from the complex algorithms and data analysis meteorologists use to predict weather patterns with accuracy. The process involves millions of data points, like temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed, all crunched by powerful supercomputers to create the forecast. Without those supercomputers, we would have hurricanes and tornadoes showing up with little warning, unless we knew very well how to read the sky. The weather reporter often gets it wrong because the atmosphere is complex and constantly changing. Meteorologists use advanced tools and models to predict the weather, but things like temperature changes, shifts in air pressure, and varying moisture levels can throw off their forecasts. Even with satellites, radar, and computer models, the ever-changing nature of the atmosphere makes long-term predictions less reliable.
For those who love a good laugh, plenty of videos and channels poke fun at the weather reporter’s blunders. They often showcase the humor in meteorologists trying to predict the unpredictable, offering a playful twist on the science of forecasting. Still, maybe we’re a bit too hard on them. While it’s easy to gripe when our weather app gets it wrong, forecasting has come a long way in recent decades. Today’s five-day forecasts are about as accurate as three-day forecasts were in the 1990s…little comfort when you’re caught in a surprise storm. The lingering stereotype of unreliable forecasts comes partly from the fact that accuracy varies. Five-day predictions are right roughly 90% of the time, but 10-day forecast accuracy drops to about 50%, and anything beyond that is basically a shot in the dark.
So, why is nailing the weather still so tricky? Well, meteorologists rely on those very sophisticated computer models that use data from satellites and other sources. These models work fairly well for short-term forecasts, especially for predicting temperature. Nevertheless, when it comes to pinpointing exactly when or where it will rain, it’s anyone’s guess. Accuracy drops for longer-term forecasts, because there isn’t enough data and the atmosphere is too unpredictable for the models to keep up. Right now, billions are being invested to improve weather predictions. One startup is using artificial intelligence to boost model accuracy. While AI seems to be a 
source of intelligence, we have also seen where it can be manipulated, so do we believe it or not. Another information source is sending sailboat drones to gather critical data from remote ocean areas. Something like that might be more plausible, but until these technologies improve, those 90-day forecasts are best taken with a grain of salt…and maybe a good sense of humor too, for those little weather mishaps.
When I think of my husband’s aunt, Esther Hein, I am reminded of the relationship she had with my mother-in-law, her sister-in-law, Joan Schulenberg. These days they are both in Heaven, and I can just imagine them reminiscing about the old days. When Esther was a young girl, her family lived on a ranch in Montana. By that time, her brother, Walt Schulenberg (my father-in-law) was married and living in town. Montana winters can be harsh, making it tough for kids from rural areas to get to school. To solve that problem, from time to time, Esther stayed with her brother and his wife, my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg. As kids often are, she could be a bit rowdy and mischievous…not a bad child, just a kid. My mother-in-law, being a mom herself, had to maintain order, so 
whenever Esther did something she didn’t like, she’d say, “Don’t, Esther!” She might spank her own kids, but dealing with a sister-in-law was different, so her go-to discipline was just that phrase.
When my mother-in-law was older, she was afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, and eventually, it all clicked. I’d always known who she meant but never understood the connection to me. Esther and I had a good laugh about it, and I told Esther it was better for her to take the blame…after all, she was far away and didn’t have to deal with Mom actually being mad. As for me, I decided that if I ever did something my mother-in-law disapproved of, I’d just say, “Esther did it!” It figured it would be sure to keep me out of trouble…sorry about that Esther!!
I think Esther forgave me for my little fib when putting the blame on her. In fact, when I told her about it, she 
thought it was really funny. When you are dealing with an Alzheimer’s patient, each day is a new story, and you have to learn to “roll with the punches,” so to speak. When my mother-in-law said, “Don’t Esther,” it gave me an out, and as her main caregiver, sometimes I needed a way out of taking the blame of “bossing” her around. Alzheimer’s patients often need to be told when to go to bed, get up, when to eat, and most other activities as time goes by. Blaming Esther gave me “a way out” of being the bad guy.
