cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, & Maxine Shirts
`The whole world will change by the time we get here in time and space. Most assuredly we will come up with a better name than Grandkidlets over the next two years. Oh well! We only `see through a glass darkly' when we `remember the future.'' (Written 13 Sep 2001, see Thoughtlet 0137.html for reference to the Grandkidlets idea conception.)
"Back on the 9th of September 2001 (see ../0137.html), I wrote how I `decided I need to come up with something like a 'Grandkidlet' to e-mail the grand kids every week from the time they are 3 until they turn 12, when they will be put on the Thoughtlet e-mail list.' This was Ethan's week to turn 3, and in the spirit of fulfilling impressions from a couple of years earlier, I started Grandkidlets on Sunday, 03 August 2003 (see http://www.walden3d.com/grandkidlets).
This Thoughtlet was a week or two late being written because of my trip to Southern Utah, to the SEG in San Antonio, and the terrorist attack of 9/11 (../0138.html). I seemed to know the whole world would change by the time we get here (Ethan's 3rd birthday) in time and space. I thought I would come up with a better name than Grandkidlets. I didn't. Oh well! We only `see through a glass darkly' when we `remember the future.' And looking to the future, I have absolutely no idea how these Grandkidlets will evolve. The first 14 are simply a photo response to Ethan's interest in cars, which, since I'm behind on writing Thoughtlets, I realize has moved to rocket ships, even though I'm only 6 Grandkidlets into my 14 Grandkidlet story about cars. The story I came up with is:
Since I relate to 3 year olds like oil relates to water,
I am very open to suggestions as what to do after I finish
the current story on November 30th. I like the Journal
Entry's which Kate sends. Since I'm mentioning them here,
I took the time to catch up the five I hadn't posted.
Kate forgive me. I'm caught up now. For those who don't
know about this they are at www.walden3d.com/GrantMatthew.
I also like the photos Sarah has posted of Ethan, Ben, and
her. This is a great way to keep in contact across the
distances and time separating us. For those who don't
know about this they are at www.bn-sn.com. Melanie has
sent me a bunch of neat photos of Colby Cade. I haven't
decided what to do with them, and am looking forward to
suggestions.
I find great pleasure in sharing information and keeping up via the Internet. Maybe it is safer emotionally than personal interaction and my ongoing fear of rejection. And I'm not sure the limited communication we now have over the Internet makes up for all of the filth and trash that it brings into the house. However, Marc Roulston, my computer specialist, has made some significant progress, and I anticipate by the end of the month we will have a good filter on all e-mail which comes into and is forwarded by walden3d.com. The approach he has selected requires folks sending messages for the first time to send their first message twice. There is a white list (accepted e-mail addresses) and a black list (unaccepted e-mail addresses). I'm currently building the white list, and if any of you have e-mail addresses you want on that list please forward them to me. The black list will come from mail that sits in a holding box for more than a couple of days and is not repeated. Plus if spammers send mail through twice, I will add those spam addresses to the black list. It should work pretty good. The first time someone who is not on the white list sends a message to an address at walden3d.com they will get the following response:
When we actually implement the change I will forward
instructions to each of you with a forward@walden3d.com
address. Sara sent me a copy of one of the nasty e-mails
sent to her through sara@walden3d.com. I'm sorry there
are such butt heads in the world. I've done my best to
protect you kids from them, and now you are all pretty
much grown up, you need to fight the dragons on your own.
In terms of the week, it was quiet without Andrea. Rachel was working. Monday night I watched two Lee Marvin movies: `The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' (1962 with John Wayne and James Stewart, where it said, `Are you afraid of Mr. Peabody?' With the response, `The answer is indubitably yes.'); and `Ship of Fools' (1965 with Vivian Leigh, where it said something like, `We are all traveling on a ship of fools.').
On Tuesday Jack Jenks at SUU made arrangements for me to meet with him on Friday to transfer the Willys Whippet to SUU. Wednesday the 30th I forwarded the Thoughtlets sent from Cedar back to Grandma Shirts. Thursday, I outlined the first set of Grandkidlets while on a Nottingham Ward youth temple trip. Friday the 1st of August we finally got the cultural files built for the Casey Ranch project. Saturday I mowed the lawns. Sunday the meetings changed to 11:00-2:00 to better accommodate the large size of the Katy 2nd Ward. Andrew Beckstrom returned and gave his hitchhiking testimony again. The second time he did it was the first Sunday Rachel got back. So his testimony was kind of bookends on her summer. Hopefully each of you will always be willing to pray if you ever get lost, and nice people will come and help you find your Grandfather (or whoever you are lost from). Brother Burnham came over for dinner again. I made banana nut bread and took half the loaf over to Rich, Jennifer, Lauren, and Ben(?) Lozier, our new neighbors. He works for Schlumberger, and she is business development manager for an Austin investor. Later in the evening I Home Taught the Schmidts. And the highlight of my week was starting a new, extensive, lot of work project, which will last the rest of my life, named Grandkidlets."