It’s hard to believe that you would have been three years old today, Alec Todd. We love and miss you so much.
My niece, Susan Griffith has been having an interesting year. She has one daughter, Jala Satterwhite, who has moved out and is living on her own now. Jala also took her first cross country flight alone. Susan was a bit of a basket case over that one…which she may or may not have wanted Jala to know, so don’t read that part, Jala. Susan has been teaching her other daughter, Kaytlyn Griffith to drive, so she could get her hardship license, which she recently received. Susan and her husband, Josh Griffith purchased a placed in the country, and with Jala no longer in the home, Kaytlyn qualifies for the hardship license. It’s a little easier to take these new steps in the lives of your kids, when they are closer to home, so at least for now, Susan is ok with Kaytlyn’s new-found freedom. 
Susan has always been such an optimistic person, and she always tells Jala that every year, life just gets better and better. That is a wonderful attitude to have. It pretty much guarantees happiness. Susan says that she is the happiest she has ever been with her life, and that the 40s have been the best ever. While that is very true, the 40s can also bring about change…like empty nest syndrome. While Susan isn’t there yet, she only has one of her children still at home. She does miss her older daughter though, and nothing proves that more than the “renaming” of the dog. Susan used to call Jala, “Jala Elizabeth” and now the dog is “Olive Elizabeth” as opposed to just Olive. I think she misses her girl some. Nevertheless, Jala isn’t too far away. She just moved to town. Still, you don’t see as much of your kids when they move out, so it’s a little hard.
Life is all about change. It’s just something each of us has to deal with. Much of that change is wonderful, some is sad, and some of it is just new. Susan has a great perspective concerning change. With that, she will do well 
in life. Susan will always have her beautiful place in the country, camping with her husband, and her great outlook on life, and those things will take her wherever she wants to go. She and Josh like to travel, and they have taken the family to some great places, and I’m sure there will be more in the future, and later, some trips for just the two of them…like maybe a second honeymoon. Today is Susan’s birthday. Happy birthday Susan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Rob Masterson, says of his wife, Dustie, “This is our 22nd year together. We will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in January, but we have been together 22 years. She remains the love of my life. She is a remarkable woman at home and at work. Her boss has put her on the fast track as far as her advancement in the company. She loves her children…even when she wants to strangle them. Then again, I suspect that’s true of all mothers. I am prouder now than I was the day I married her, to be allowed to be her husband.” Such a beautiful tribute. It made me cry. Words of love from a husband to a wife. Some things simply cannot be improved upon by summarizing them.
Dustie has a way of taking things in stride, even when that isn’t the easiest thing to do. The family had a cat, named Scratch. The cat was so loved, but one day Scratch went missing. It was such a sad day for the whole family, but Scratch was Dustie’s cat, so it was especially sad for her, but Dustie persevered. Sadly, Scratch didn’t come back, and after waiting for a few months, Dustie decided that the time had come to get a new cat. 
So, they got a sweet little kitten and named him Moxie. Like Scratch, Moxie is very much a momma’s boy. Moxie loves to cuddle and be loved on, and Dustie coddles him. I think she must have a magnetic personality…especially for kitties.
Dustie has been working at Walgreen’s for a couple of years now, and she was recently promoted to ESM (Emerging Store Manager). That is second in command, and person in charge when the manager is off duty. She has worked very hard to be the best she can be. In order to receive this promotion, Dustie had to know every part of the store operations, including the Pharmacy, so she has taken a pharmacy tech training course. Dustie works very hard, and she has been learning many things pertaining to her job and possible promotions. She has a lot of responsibility now, but she loves it. As, her daughter, Raelynn said, “She’s been taking her life and making it great.” Dustie is also learning German and doing quite well. My only question is, why didn’t she learn it when I was learning it (in high school)? I needed someone to practice with. Her mother-in-law, my sister, Cheryl says she was too young. I say that is no excuse!!! Of course, the reality is that Dustie wasn’t born yet when I was in high school. Still no excuse, Dustie!!
Daughter, Taylor says, “Mom has always listened to our needs and wants. She has always been there for Rae, 
Matt, and me, especially right now and she is always checking in with Dad on how he’s feeling. Mom just amazing.” Raelynn says, “I really look up to mom. She doesn’t let things hold her down for very long.” No, she doesn’t. Dustie has always been a happy person, and that’s why we have all loved her since she and Rob started dating 22 years ago. Today is Dustie’s birthday. Happy birthday Dustie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My aunt, Sandy Patton is the youngest of my grandparents, George and Hattie Byer’s children. Life for a youngest child is normally very different than that of the oldest child…especially in a large family. My grandparents had nine children. From almost the time Aunt Sandy was three years old, basically from the time her first memory, there were babies in the household. The older children had similar experiences, but it’s a bit different when the babies are younger siblings…or maybe it isn’t. The nieces and nephews were there a lot, but they did go home too. Nevertheless, as a young girl, she always had playmates…at least when she could play.
Aunt Sandy was a sickly child, and often missed school, so in reality, her best friend was her mom. They spent a lot of time together while her mom care for her ailing daughter. When a child is sick, they need bedrest, but when they aren’t sleeping…that can make for long boring days. So, to ease the boredom, Grandma Byer told her daughter stories of the past…Grandma’s past and Aunt Sandy’s heritage. Some of the stories were about 
Grandma’s childhood years, and others were about her ancestors. Aunt Sandy learned about the Cowboys and Indians, the lives of farmers and homesteaders, early automobiles, and about Aunt Sandy’s older siblings’ antics. When she wasn’t sick, Aunt Sandy had to take on the job of catching up on her studies. I don’t imagine that was fun, and I would think that there were many times when Aunt Sandy, thought about quitting school, but she didn’t…and maybe Grandma wouldn’t have let her do that. Whether Aunt Sandy liked school or not really made no difference, because if there was one subject she did like history. She loved hearing about the past, probably because her mom made it so real to her…almost like she was right there.
Aunt Sandy still loves hearing about family today, and really enjoys hearing about all the new additions, and the exciting things everyone is doing. She is the keeper of traditions, which stands to reason, since she is the youngest. It seems like tradition always falls to the youngest child eventually…at least until they pass the baton 
to the next generation. Sometimes it’s hard to pass that baton, because you never know if there will be a child of the next generation who is willing to pick that baton up and run with it. It was the hope of her parents, my grandparents that we always find a way to keep the family as close as possible. Aunt Sandy tried her best, and hopefully now, we will continue to try our best. Today is Aunt Sandy’s 77th birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Sandy!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It has been a rough couple of years for my nephew, Tucker Schulenberg. On January 19, 2021, he lost his mother, Rachel Schulenberg to a stroke. It was an extremely difficult grieving process for a boy who was barely 13 years old at the time. Suddenly, he felt very alone, even though his dad, my brother-in-law Ron Schulenberg was there. The problem was that they were both grieving, and that makes it doubly hard. Then, when Covid hit, and school wasn’t in session, Tucker really became more of a recluse. It was a tough time.
Things are getting better now, after a long hard road. Tucker is in a new school, with smaller classrooms and it seems to be going a little better at now. This school has shown good 
success with other students, and now Tuckers grade are better too. I don’t know what Tucker would like to do as an adult, and I’m not sure he does either, but I’m sure that he will find his way. Ultimately, most kids do, and Tucker is a good kid.
Tucker really enjoys the monthly family dinners that our family does. He likes kids and it gives him a chance to play with his cousins, Reagan, Hattie, Bowen, and Maeve. When we go to their house, there is a lot to do. They have lots of farm animals, plenty of dogs, and a trampoline, which is always an attraction. Being around the cousins is a good thing for him. Since he is the only child at home, the only other social time he gets is at school, and as we all know, you shouldn’t really be socializing in class.
Tucker also has a brand-new nephew, which is very cool. Since his brother, Riley Birky and his partner Sierah 
Martin, live in Powell, Tucker doesn’t get to see a whole lot of them, but I imagine that this summer will give him the opportunity to go for a visit, and since Powell isn’t terribly far away, Tucker gets to visit every once in a while. Tucker is also going to be an uncle again, when his sister, Cassie Franklin and her partner Wesley Burr, have their new baby, coming in January 2023. Tucker is a good uncle, so I’m happy for him. So, for Tucker, there is a lot of new things going on. It is my hope that the new year will bring much healing of Tucker’s broken heart, and much joy as he sees these new babies in his life. Today is Tucker’s 15th birthday. Happy birthday Tucker!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Born the day after her mom’s birthday, Reagan Parmely is the oldest child of my nephew and niece, Eric and Ashley Parmely. She was their first blessing, and she is a great blessing to their family, and to our whole family, but Reagan wants to be a blessing to more than just her family. Reagan is taking part in 4-H now and recently sold a sheep. She made a nice profit, and she could have kept all the money for herself, but that just isn’t her style. Reagan is a giver, like her parents. So, after her sale, her first 4-H check has been deposited, and she has decided to make donations to three charities. She picked Central Wyoming Aviary-Rescue and Sanctuary, Wyoming Food for Thought Project, and The Orr’s Hope Foundation. So many people and birds will be helped because of her generosity. It was a very proud moment for her parents, and especially her mom, who might have embarrassed Reagan just a little bit when she cried as Reagan gave the check to Wyoming Food for Thought. Nevertheless, when Reagan gave 
them the donation and they said it would feed a child for almost half a year!! That is no small thing…especially for the child Reagan fed with her gift.
While this story of Reagan’s generosity is on the spectacular side, it isn’t unusual for Reagan. Mature for her years, Reagan is a loving big sister, to her younger siblings, Hattie, Bowen, and Maeve, and a big help to her parents. Over the years, I have watched her grow, and while I’m sure there are some of the normal kid disputes, Reagan has always been a nurturing force in the lives of her siblings. She has shown them the rope of life and played the childhood games with them. They all look up to their big sis.
Because our family has a monthly family dinner, I have had numerous opportunities to have conversations with Reagan. She is an interesting girl who is full of ideas, inspiration, and dreams of adventure. She is very 
comfortable on her horse, as are her siblings, but then they all had a great teacher in their mom. Reagan is a good student, and according to her teacher/mom, she is very smart. Infact, Ashley sometimes feels like it’s difficult to keep up with Reagan. Nevertheless, challenge or not, having a smart student is always fun for the teacher. They are quick learners and therefore easy to teach…making school fun for all. Today is Reagan’s 10th birthday. Happy birthday Reagan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Ashley Parmely has been a part of our family since she married my nephew, Eric Parmely on July 23, 2011. Since that time, we have seen the many sides of Ashley. I’m not talking about personality sides, although there is that too, but really, it’s more about her capabilities. Ashley has grown as a person, of course, and she is a great mom. She and Eric have four children, Reagan, Hattie, Bowen, and Maeve. Ashley homeschools the older girls, while brother Bowen attends pre-school for one more year, at which time she will homeschool him too. Maeve is too little right now, but will go to pre-school next year.
While you might think that homeschooling would give Ashley little bits of free time here and there, you would 
be wrong. Ashley and Eric own a farm. but Eric also works full-time. That means that Ashley has the working of the farm and feeding the animals during the day…in addition to caring for her four children and making all necessary trips to town as the transport for the kids. Ashley is an accomplished equestrian, and a great teacher of the same. Her children are totally comfortable around horses, as well as all the other animals Ashley and Eric have on the farm.
Another side of Ashley that some people may never have seen, is her generous heart. It’s not that she doesn’t show her generous heart, because she does. It’s just that if you haven’t had a need, you might not have had first-hand knowledge of her generous heart. Ashley is the person who first thinks of bringing in a meal when it is needed. She is the one who invites family to her home for a meal once a month, to make sure we all stay close. She is a giver, often giving to people in need. She is a photographer, and her work always has a very special touch to it. I think it’s because Ashley always thinks about how she would feel about the project…how 
she would want it to look. That is important when you are doing things for people. That is the heart of what Ashley is. When I think of Ashley, that is how she makes me feel. The heart she has for people is always on display. It is what makes her the beautiful person she is. Today is Ashley’s birthday. Happy birthday Ashley!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
To most of us, committing espionage against our own country is…unthinkable, but there are those among us who wouldn’t give that a second thought. I think most countries have spies who do their best to find out information about another country, and I suppose that by design, that would mean that someone would have to commit espionage. I guess the two would go hand in hand, and it would depend on just how loyal a person was as to the limits they would go.
George Blake, who was born George Behar on November 11, 1922, was a British MI6 agent, and at one time thought to be a loyal agent, but during his time as a prisoner of war in Seoul, during the Korean War, he was apparently converted into a Communist, and strategically set up to be a double-agent. I suppose there is a number of prisoners of war who traded secrets for life and freedom from torture, and some who honestly changed their viewpoint, but to me it is outrageous. George Blake must 
not have seen it that way, because he was a double-agent until he got caught in 1961.
During his active double-agent years, he is believed to have betrayed the names of more than 40 British agents to the Soviets. Many of those he betrayed disappeared and were thought to have been executed. His betrayals basically destroyed British secret service operations in the Middle East. It must have been almost impossible to get agents to work in that region. Blake is believed to have passed on the names of almost every British agent working in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut. Lord Parker, Lord 
Chief Justice, the judge sentencing him, likened his actions to treason, and said, “It is one of the worst that can be envisaged other than in a time of war.” Blake was charged under the Official Secrets Act in May 1961. Blake pleaded guilty to five counts of passing secrets to the Soviet authorities during his trial, part of which was held in camera.
In 1966, Blake escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison after serving five years of his sentence and having been removed from the list of likely escapers after only a year. Apparently, his supposed acceptance of his exceptionally long sentence lulled wardens into a false sense of security. It is assumed that he had help from the Soviet Union, and after his escape, he was quickly whisked away to the Soviet Union, where he lived out his life. He passed away in Moscow, Russia on December 26, 2020, at the age of 98 years.
The Navajo Bridge is a pair of twin steel spandrel arch bridges that cross the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park (near Lees Ferry) in northern Coconino County, Arizona. The first bridge was officially named the Grand Canyon Bridge when it was dedicated on June 14, 1929, but five years later in 1934, the state legislature changed the name to Navajo Bridge. When the first bridge was built, it was really too narrow to be used for the vehicular traffic of today and almost too narrow at the time it was built. That is really what sparked the need for a second bridge, and the newer of the two spans is well able to carry vehicular traffic on US Route 89A over Marble Canyon between Bitter Springs and Jacob Lake, allowing travel into a remote Arizona Strip region north of the Colorado River including the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Sadly, during construction of the first bridge, a worker named Lafe McDaniel died after falling 467 feet to the Colorado River below. Initially, a safety netting was considered, but supervisors had rejected the idea, believing that it would catch on fire from falling hot rivets.
The dual bridges of Navajo Bridge are tied at ninth place among the highest bridges in the United States. Their heights are nearly identical with the original span at a height of 467 feet, and the second span at 470 feet. What really caught my eye was that if you are looking toward the red cliffs from beside the bridges, it looks as if they go straight into the rocks. They don’t, of course. It’s an optical illusion, but it is interesting, and quite pretty. When the second bridge was completed, and was wide enough to handle the modern-day traffic, the original Navajo Bridge was changed to allow only pedestrian and equestrian use, and also an interpretive center 
was constructed on the west side to showcase the historical nature of the bridge and early crossing of the Colorado River. In addition, the original bridge has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 13, 1981. In 1996, California condors were reintroduced to the area and can sometimes be seen on and around Navajo Bridge, making it even more interesting to visit.
In a very different time in America, being a communist was not accepted, and it really shouldn’t be accepted now, but that is not the opinion of every person in the United States today. Nevertheless, on October 20, 1947, saw the beginning of the notorious Red Scare. At that time, a Congressional committee began investigating the Communist influence that was, or at least was suspected of infiltrating one of the world’s richest and most glamorous communities…Hollywood, California.
One of the greatest fears after World War II, was that the Cold War began to heat up between the United States and the communist-controlled Soviet Union. Conservatives in Washington were working hard to remove any communists in government. Then, they set their sights on those people who were alleged “Reds” in the liberal movie industry. During the investigation that began in October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) questioned a number of prominent people. During the interviews, the committee asked point-blank, “Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”
It might have been fear or maybe a sense of patriotism, but some witnesses, including director Elia Kazan, 
actors Gary Cooper and Robert Taylor, and studio honchos Walt Disney and Jack Warner, all gave the committee names of colleagues they had suspected of being communists. That began a more grueling interrogation of a small group known as the “Hollywood Ten.” All of the “Hollywood Ten” resisted the accusations, complaining that the hearings were illegal and violated their First Amendment rights. The 10 were Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr, John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo. While they weren’t convicted of being communist, they were all convicted of obstructing the investigation and each served jail terms.
The Hollywood establishment, after being pressured by Congress, started a blacklist policy. The blacklist involved the practice of denying employment to entertainment industry professionals believed to be or to have been Communists or sympathizers. Actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other American entertainment professionals were barred from work by the studios. This was usually done on the basis of their membership in, or alleged membership in, or sympathy with the Communist Party USA, or their refusal to assist Congressional investigations into party activities. The policy brought about the banning the work of about 325 screenwriters, actors, and directors who had not been cleared by the committee.
Those blacklisted included composer Aaron Copland, writers Dashiell Hammett, Lillian Hellman, and Dorothy Parker, playwright Arthur Miller, and actor and filmmaker Orson Welles. The policy wasn’t always strictly enforced, and even during the period of its strictest enforcement, from the late 1940s through to the late 1950s. The blacklist was almost never made explicit. It was rather the result of numerous individual decisions by the studios and was not the result of official legal action. Nevertheless, the blacklist quickly and directly damaged or even ended the careers and income of scores of individuals working in the film industry.
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