Humor
My cousin, Delwin Johnson was always a quiet man…at least he was every time I was around him. Nevertheless, he was a sweet man, and it makes me sad that he has left us. I’m sure that he wasn’t quite so quiet around his family. In fact, he loved teasing his nephew, Ethan Stanko when he kept asking his mom, JeanAnn Stanko to explain the game of football to him on Thanksgiving, but then Ethan was just too busy to listen to his mom teach him about the game. It’s a typical kid thing, but funny, nevertheless. As for Del’s brother, Elmer…well, they were very close, and there will always be a hole in Elmer’s life where his little brother once was. That makes me so sad, because I know Elmer missed Del so much. 
Delwin, wasn’t a clumsy sort, but he did have a “little mishap” one time while he was out hunting with his sister, Darla Stanko. His niece, JeanAnn Stanko tells me, “He was with mom (his sister, Darla Stanko). They stopped because they saw a deer and he accidentally shot through the floorboards, hitting the transmission cooling lines. As you know transmission fluid is red, so it looked like the car was bleeding.” I can see the shock on their faces now, and then, I can almost hear Delwin saying, “Oops, I shot the car!!” Then, the shock would most likely turn to hysterical laughter…until it came time to figure out how to get home…and how to get the car fixed.
Ashley McCollum calls Delwin, Uncle Del, not because he is her biological uncle, but because her dad and Del were friends before Ashley was born. Ashley grew up around Del, and she said that Del had a profound impact on her life. When Ashley was in 7th grade, she was living with Del in a little house on Durbin Street in Casper, and their favorite thing to do was to take turns playing Zelda on Del’s Super Nintendo. They 
loved to take their fishing trips. He also helped Ashley and her dad when they needed a new roof on their house. And there was the time Del fed Angel (who I assume was a dog) the last of his pizza. Ashley says you would just have to be to understand, and that she will forever miss her Uncle Del.
Rachel Johnson, Del’s daughter-in-law recalls the trips she and his son, Jason took to see Del, over the 4th of July. Del’s grandson, JJ had such a wonderful time. He and Grandpa Delwin loved playing with the Nerf guns. Every time JJ managed to hit Del in the chest, Del acted the part of a man who had been shot. JJ loved it!! He laughed and laughed. JJ loved his grandpa so much, and after they had visited, he asked to go see Grandpa Delwin for weeks and weeks. Del loved being a grandpa, and the grandkids and step grandkids were his pride and joy. They are the blessing you get from being a parent. Delwin passed away in exactly the way he wanted to…peacefully in his sleep. We will all miss him very much. Rest in peace Del…until we all meet again.
A story is told in Hartlepool, England about an incident during the Napoleonic Wars, of an incident involving a monkey, who came into the custody of the British Army when the ship he was on was wrecked in a storm of the coast of Hartlepool. The sole survivor from the sip was said to be a monkey, who the captain owned, and dressed in the uniform of the ship. That being French, his little uniform was that of the French Army as a form of amusement for the crew. The monkey managed to make it to the shore and was found by a group of locals who apparently also were amused. They decided to hold an impromptu trial, because the monkey was, after all the enemy. Because the monkey was unable to answer their questions, and because they had seen neither a monkey nor a Frenchman before, they concluded that the monkey must be a French spy. With that, they found the monkey guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging, right there on the beach.
Apparently, any enemy soldier was to be dealt with in this manner and a trial wasn’t even really necessary. As the story goes, they proceeded with the “hanging” and found it a seriously difficult task, because the monkey kept climbing up the rope to safety. The whole situation, and the local townspeople because the laughingstock of the area, due to their inability to carry out a simple hanging. Everyone in the area got such a kick out of the whole situation, that they made up a song, and even changed the mascot of the local rugby teams to one or the other version of “The Monkey Hangers.” In fact, it was the decision of the local football club, Hartlepool United FC, who capitalized on their “Monkey Hangers” nickname by creating a mascot called “H’Angus the Monkey” in 1999. Two of the town’s six rugby union clubs also use variations of the hanging monkey. Hartlepool Rovers crest being a beret wearing monkey hanging from a gibbet, while Hartlepool RFC neckties sport a rugby ball kicking monkey suspended from a rope. 
A statue of the monkey has been erected on the Headland and another at Hartlepool Marina (formerly in West Hartlepool). The statues serve to collect coins for a local hospice. Although some Hartlepool residents find the term “monkey hanger” insulting, a large number of residents have embraced the term and celebrate it as an important and unique characteristic of the town. Those offended thought it made them look stupid and incapable of sensible thought. I can understand both trains of thought, because no one wants to look stupid. Still, maybe they should have just embraced it as the joke it was. It doesn’t look like it is going away anyway.
My niece, Dustie Masterson, joined our family a little over twenty years ago, when she married my nephew, Rob Masterson. They were perfect for each other from the very start, and they have built a wonderful life together. In addition to Rob’s daughter Christina Masterson, they added Raelynn, Matt, and Taylor to their family. Rob’s thought on his sweet wife, “She’s a looker!!” That says it all doesn’t it. Rob is so in love with his bride, and as it goes with long term marriages, the love grows stronger and sweeter every day.
A few years back, Dustie switched jobs, going from Sam’s Club to Walgreen’s. Now she is assistant manager at Walgreen’s. Part of becoming the assistant manager or manager (down the road) is that she must study and obtain her pharmacy assistant license. For many people, 
that could be a daunting task. Dustie passed the test on her first try, something she and everyone else, is quite proud of. Dustie absolutely loves her job, and she is so good at it. Dustie is one of those bosses who has the ability to make people want to do well. They want to make her proud of them. They work hard to please her. That’s loyalty.
While Dustie loves her job, her real world is her family. They are her reason for living. She is so proud of each of them. She encourages them to do well and supports them no matter what. Dustie is such a positive influence on her whole family. Recently, Rob had to have a procedure done on his knee. It’s basically burning the nerves to reduce pain. Radiofrequency Ablation (its scientific name) sounds awful, but patients can return to normal activity sooner than other procedures. Still, Rob was down for a time. Dustie and the kids took care of him while he recuperated. It’s all just part of what she does. Dustie has also been known to help my sister, her mother-in-law, Cheryl Masterson whenever she is able. She has a very kind and giving heart, but Dustie also 
has a great sense of humor. She loves joking around with her family and friends, and in general just being silly. I think Dustie takes the view that if you can’t laugh and smile, then you need to take on a new outlook…one that includes God. I think she is right. Truly, Dustie has been a friend to all of our family from the moment we first met her. Her sweet personality, and willingness to join our family as not just an in-law, but as one of us, makes her fit right in. I can’t imagine our lives without Dustie in them. Today is Dustie’s birthday. Happy birthday Dustie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When my brother-in-law, Mike Stevens retired on July 1, 2022, our nephew, Ryan Hadlock, who had worked with his uncle for quite some time at Contango Energy, was promoted to the position. Ryan hadn’t been groomed for the new position, but they saw something in him…the ability to excel. Now, over a year later, Ryan is doing great at his job. He really enjoys the work, is well respected, and always received high praise from his bosses. Ryan knew the work that the men under him were to do, because that was the work he had done, but knowing the job, isn’t what makes him good at being a supervisor. That is something that not everyone can do, but Ryan is quite good at it.
Ryan is quite handy in many ways. He and his wife, Chelsea recently helped his parents, Chris and Allyn Hadlock replace an old fence on their property. They did a great job, and now that fence will stand strong for a number of years to come. Fencing is hard work, but Ryan is no stranger to hard work, and he really loved helping his parents. Ryan likes working with his hands. This past summer, he and Chelsea rebuilt the retaining 
wall at their house. Chelsea was quite impressed with Ryan’s abilities on the jackhammer, that he used to get the old wall out. I’ve never used a jackhammer, but I’ve heard that the person using it had better be pretty strong, because it’s quite the job.
Like his dad, Ryan could be an expert carpenter, but recently, Ryan has found that he is interested in watches, and the repair thereof. For anyone who has ever seen the inside of a watch, you know that there are about a zillion very small pieces in there, and if everything isn’t put back together just right, the watch will not work, so watch repair is another very impressive thing that Ryan can add to his list of capabilities.
Ryan and Chelsea are a part of a “football family” which comes stands to reason, when on person in the family is a coach of a college football team. That said, they go to quite a few of the Wyoming Cowboys football games. What is not quite so common is for them to attend the away games. This Saturday, that is going to change, however, because they will be heading to Colorado Springs for the Air Force vs Wyoming Cowboys game. Since it will be a first for them, I hope that the Cowboys can bring home the win. Of course, I always hope the Cowboys will bring home a win, because the members of this family are Pokes fans all the way.
Ryan has decided to join the ranks of many men at this time, by growing out and keeping a beard. t is a trend these days, and many of the men I know wear a beard, so while it will be different on Ryan, it will not be that unusual in our family. I know it will look very nice, and I’m sure his family will be subjected to our family’s famous “whisker rub” that was started by my dad, Al Spencer. Ryan is a teaser from way back, so I’m sure he is looking forward to that tradition too. Today is Ryan’s birthday. Happy birthday Ryan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest of life events, and when it is a child, be it a young child or an adult child, it is even worse. For my uncle, Lester “Jim” Wolfe and my aunt, Ruth Wolfe, the loss of their adult son, Larry Wolfe in an explosion on May 16, 1976, was a devastation. They, like any parent, had a really hard time coping with the loss. They were living in Vallejo, California at the time, but after their loss, they could no longer stay there. They had to get out of California. It was then that a move to Washington state seemed their best option. I don’t know if Washington had been on their radar prior to Larry’s passing at 26 years old, or not, but they moved the entire family to the mountains outside Newport, in eastern Washington state. They purchased basically the entire mountain top, and built three cabins, where they would live out their lives.
They lived a good life on the mountain top. They were completely off the grid, something that is common these 
days, but not so much back then. Nevertheless, they craved total isolation, and the mountain top provided just that. Still, while they wanted to be left alone, they still enjoyed traveling, and they came out to see our family several times after that. Aunt Ruth was my dad, Allen Spencer’s sister, after all. Uncle Jim lost Aunt Ruth to cancer, on May 11, 1992, when she was just 66 years old. I’m sure he quickly learned to dread the coming of May. After that, we lost touch with them unto shortly before Uncle Jim passed away on January 30, 2013. We had reconnected with his daughter, my cousin Shirley Cameron in 2011, but by that time Uncle Jim was already in a nursing home with Dementia. We were always sad about that, but for the most part Uncle Jim was happy. His favorite things to do were strolling down the halls in his wheelchair singing and flirting with the nurses that worked there. They all loved him and thought his flirting was cute, and knowing my uncle like I did, I’m sure he was also a great jokester. He always had been, so playing pranks on the nurses came naturally. He once tried hiding in the nurses’ station but got caught. I’m not sure if his plan was to scare them or to catch one around the waist when she wasn’t looking. I wouldn’t put either choice past him. Uncle Jim was always a lighthearted person and great fun to be around. He loved to take his family camping, and maybe that was a big part of the reason the family moved to the mountains of Washington in the first place.
It was with heavy hearts that we attended the funeral of our uncle. My mom, Collene Spencer, sister, Cheryl 
Masterson, and I all made the trip to Washington. It was a bittersweet trip. We were happy to see their family again. We had not seen my cousin, Terry Wolfe, Shirley’s brother in many years either, although we had texted back and forth a little. We just wished that the reason for the trip had not been my Uncle Jim’s funeral. While it would have been hard, we would much rather have been able to visit him at the nursing home just once before his passing. Today would have been Uncle Jim’s 102nd birthday had he still been with us. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Jim. We love and miss you very much.
My aunt, Dixie Richards has been a caregiver for most of her life. Aunt Dixie was born in 1943 to George and Hattie Byer. She was the eighth of nine children. When she was born, her dad was 50 years old, and her mom was 34 years old. There were 16 years between her parents’ ages…not uncommon in those days. They married December 24, 1927. Her dad would pass away just 37 years later, and during his later years, she would be a big part of his caregiving and also her mom. Aunt Dixie was no stranger to caregiving or to having family living with you. Because her husband, my Uncle Jim Richards’ dad died when he was young, so Uncle Jim helped his family through the years.
Aunt Dixie and Uncle Jim have been babysitters for their grandchildren and for a number of other kids too. 
Many of the children of her nieces and nephews have spent time in the Aunt Dixie Daycare. They all remember it fondly. Aunt Dixie and Uncle Jim have always been there for their kids too, running errands while they were at work and unable to get away. They are the kind of people everyone knew they could count on. They had a heart of gold and would gladly give the shirt off their backs to help those around them in need.
Aunt Dixie always had a soft heart. She really hated to hurt anyone’s feelings. That was never made so clear to me than the time that she “adopted” the rooster that my mom, Collene Spencer had been given as a baby. Mom was sure that it was a hen, and she intended to raise it and have eggs for the family. Never mind the fact that raising chickens in town was illegal back then. I guess my mom was just ahead of her time, because these days it’s egal and lots of people raise their own chickens now. Sadly, for my mom, “Queenie” proved to be a rooster and not a hen, which presented my mom with a dilemma. What to do with “Queenie.” Keeping the “rooster that should have been a hen” was not an option, and she didn’t have 
the heart to kill and eat it, so she asked her sister, Aunt Dixie to take it and add it to her brood. Well, soft hearted Aunt Dixie did take “Queenie” and while I’m quite certain that the rooster became Queenie Noodle Soup at some point, I seriously doubt if Aunt Dixie ever told my mom that, and while Mom might have known it deep down, she never asked or assumed that her beloved “Queenie” was gone. I guess it was a matter of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Today is my Aunt Dixie’s 80th birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Dixie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My brother-in-law, LJ Cook is a classic “funny guy.” He has always loved joking around and making people laugh. He has been like that for as long as I’ve known him, which is over fifty years. I first met LJ when I was about 18 years old, and many was the time he left everyone in the room laughing about one funny comment or another. LJ is a tall man, standing 6’6″ tall, and that has good and bad thing for him over the years. I will never forget when my youngest daughter, Amy Royce was just about two years old, she was out in my father-in-law, her grandpa, Walt Schulenberg’s garage, as was LJ. He said something to her. LJ is the tallest one in the family, and because Amy is the shortest person in the family at a whopping 4’10” in adulthood, you can imagine how short she was at two. She was trying to look up at her Uncle LJ, and started backing up to see him, when she fell into a pan of oil that had been drained out of a car. Whether he was trying to be funny or not, that moment was one of the funniest in LJ history. We were all just shocked. Here was Amy in a white dress with little red hearts on it, sitting in a pan filled with black motor oil. Of course, it was totally unintentional, and LJ really felt bad, no one could stop laughing about it. Amy wasn’t hurt. She never had far to fall, so it wasn’t a hard landing. She was just as shocked as we were.
LJ was always pulling so prank. For a number of years, he was a Deputy Sheriff in Casper, Wyoming, and since his future brother-in-law, my husband, Bob Schulenberg was often out “driving the strip” which was the local pastime in those days and could often be seen going “just slightly” over the speed limit, the police in town had a tendency to keep an eye out for him. One deputy sheriff, LJ Cook, had one other reason to keep an eye out, in that he was dating Bob’s sister, who would later become LJ’s wife, Debbie Cook at the time. Debbie was probably what could be considered Bob’s “polar opposite” and really didn’t speed, so LJ couldn’t pick on her as easily…for speeding anyway. So, when he would see Bob out driving the strip, and miraculously not speeding, he would pull him over…full lights and sirens, of course…and always in the most public place possible. The whole thing was designed to bring the most embarrassment possible, and LJ usually hit his mark quite well. While getting pulled over by the police was not an unusual event for many teenagers, Bob included, it was nevertheless embarrassing when all your friends are driving by laughing about the fact that you were about to get a ticket. Little did they know that Deputy LJ simply wanted to tell his future brother-in-law hello. Hahahahaha!!
Those years are behind LJ now, because he is retired, and mostly likes to spend his time at home or camping in 
the Big Horn Mountains. He is a girl-dad with two daughters, Machelle Moore and Susan Griffith, as well as Grandpa to four grandkids, Weston Moore, Jala Satterwhite, Easton Moore, and Kaytlyn Griffith. LJ and Debbie are still going strong, and just celebrated their 49th anniversary. LJ has had w few health issues, and needed back surgery recently, but he is feeling pretty darned good for a man of 74 years. Today is LJ’s birthday. Happy birthday LJ!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
In every branch of service, and every war, the US servicemen are given a handbook. The book is filled with useful information, meant to make the transition from civilian to soldier a successful one, even if it is not an easy one. No young civilian preparing to go to war really has a good idea of what they are getting into. I suppose more of them do these days, than their World War and prior wars era counterparts. Nevertheless, each of them is proceeding head on into a massive reality check. The handbook can be a sobering little book, especially when the new soldier reads the chapter that recommends the writing of a will. The need for a Last Will and Testament will become crystal clear when the soldier sees his (or her) first battle. The sight of dead bodies takes away any misconception the soldier might have of their own mortality, and the possibility that they may have been given a one-way ticket to this battle.
While many of the things contained in the handbook are sobering and even quite scary for the soldiers, there are some things contained therein that have a much more practical usage, and a few that looking back, anyway, are just a little bit funny. One such tidbit contained in the US servicemen’s World War II handbook was the simple statement that, “The British don’t know how to make a good cup of coffee. You don’t know how to make a good cup of tea—it’s an even swap.” I suppose that statement is true, at least as it pertains to the fact that British “bad coffee” is an even swap with US “bad tea.” I don’t think they US government was trying to “bad-mouth” the Brits, but rather that they were simply stating a fact. If the men were in a British camp, they simply shouldn’t ask for a cup of coffee, because they would be sorely disappointed in what they were served.
Like the warning labels of items these days, like not to shower with a running blow dryer, or to shut off the engine before trying to remove the fan belt on your car, the point was to make the reader aware of the ramifications of making such bad choices. Still, some “warnings” make more sense than others…or do they? While the electricity problem of the wet running blow dryer and the finger removal outcome of putting one’s 
hand out to touch a fast-moving fan belt, seem like rather stupid wisdom (is there is such a phrase), the idea that a person would automatically make a bad cup of coffee, simply because they are British, seems equally ridiculous. Nevertheless, the US servicemen were warned to expect “bad coffee” from the British, so that they were prepared to either drink tea with the Brits, or swallow down the offending coffee so as not to offend the Brits. I’m sure that much of the rest of the handbook contained valuable information, but it is possible that the most valuable information contained in the World War II US servicemen’s handbook, was intended to avoid the notion that the Brit might have poisoned them with the British coffee.
Every year that my sister-in-law has been in Heaven seems more and more impossible to me. Marlyce Schulenberg left us on August 13, 1989, meaning that she has been in Heaven for 34 years now. Marlyce was 39 years old when she went home. I still miss my sweet sister-in-law every day. She brought so much joy into our lives, because while she was developmentally disabled, she had such a great capacity for giving and for bringing happiness to or lives. Marlyce was fairly high functioning, in that while she was unable to live on her own, due to her mental age, she was well able to do things like knitting and baking, and it gave her such great pleasure to see the faces of those people to whom she bestowed her gifts.
Marlyce, being a part of a large family of six children, was faced with the teasing of her siblings. They weren’t cruel, they just all picked on each other, and some handled it a little better than others. Marlyce kind of liked some of the teasing, especially about supposed boyfriends, which she may or may not have had at the time. She would grin and maybe even blush a little, but other types of teasing just made her mad. And her siblings, Debbie Cook, Bob Schulenberg, Jennifer Parmely, Brenda Schulenberg, and Ron Schulenberg knew just which type of teasing was which…much to the irritation of their parents, Walt and Joann Schulenberg, who would shut it down when they had had enough. You have to understand too, that Marlyce was the oldest, so all this teasing was going on among children, and if you have had siblings, you probably know all about teasing. Nevertheless, the siblings all loved Marlyce very much. I joined the family when Marlyce was 25 years old, and I really never took part in the teasing, so I got to be the loved sister-in-law. It’s not that I was against teasing, but rather that she was always so sweet to me that I didn’t have the heart to tease her…even in fun.
Mom and Dad always worried about what would happen to Marlyce when they were gone. She couldn’t live 
alone, and I’m sure they wondered if the siblings would take care of her. Of course, we would have. It was just understood, but it would have been a lifestyle change for the sibling she lived with. In the end, of course, it didn’t matter, because she went home before Mom and Dad did. I don’t think any of us were thinking about that the day she left, we just knew that everything had changed, and we would always miss her very much. Marlyce would have been 73 years old today. Happy birthday in Heaven, Marlyce. We love and miss you very much.
It isn’t often that a couple is together all their lives, but really, that is the case with my in-laws, Walt and Joann Schulenberg. Their parents, or really, their moms were best friends. Walt’s mom, Vina née Leary Schulenberg (later Hein) had two children…Marian in 1927 and Walt in 1929. Joann’s mom, Nettie lost a son, William in 1929, and then went on to have Joann in 1931. I’m not sure exactly when their friendship began, but by the time Joann was born, Vina and Nettie were friends. In fact, that is how Walt and Joann “famously” slept…well napped…together when he was two and she was an 
infant. I think that story is sweet, but my mother-in-law was always more than a little bit embarrassed, whenever the subject came up.
Of course, they weren’t a “couple” all those years, and in fact, my mother-in law once told me that for a number of years she absolutely did not like my father-in-law in the slightest little bit, but eventually, he grew on her and they started dating. My father-in-law was a very likable guy, so it doesn’t surprise me that she started to like him as time went on. He has a wonderful sense of humor, and while she was a more serious person, his witty personality balanced with her serious one quite nicely.
They went on to have six children and move from Forsyth, Montana to Casper, Wyoming where they raised their family. Like most families, it was a “job market move” that brought them to Casper. My mother-in-law was a stay-at-home mom, and my father-in-law worked at Pathfinder Mines as a mechanic for many years.
Theirs was a long and happy marriage, lasting 64 years before my father-in-law went home to Heaven. I was blessed to marry into this family, and to know these two wonderful people. In fact, anyone who knew them would tell you what a wonderful blessing they were. Dad went home to Heaven in May 5, 2013, and Mom went home on January 4, 2018. We miss them both very much. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad Schulenberg. We love you very much.
