While I’m waiting for my sweet breads to boil, I thought I’d take a minute and post up something that I have been thinking about for a while.

It was back in the mid 70’s I think, when Dad was going through open heart surgery.  Back then it was a big ordeal and not too many surgeries had been conducted.  A doctor in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the LDS Hospital was “The Go To Doctor” and his name was Nelson.  I think he is a high up in the LDS Church now, but anyway, he was “the man”.  Dad needed a replacement valve and they were experimenting with one that worked like a carburetor choke valve (flutter valve).  So Dad went in and had the operation.  I was the worst day in our lives.

While the whole family sat out in the waiting area, the hours ticked by slowly.  We had plenty of time on our hands sitting there waiting and waiting.  None of us wanted to leave Mom sitting there by herself and so there we all sat filling up the ever so small room.  I remember as we sat there it must have been around 1 a.m. and in came a group of 3 people all sad and crying.  Obviously a mom, dad and a daughter, the sibling boy had been in a very bad car wreck and was in emergency surgery.  As I sat there not trying to be obvious and stare at them, I could not help but over hear their conversations about the boy and how broken hearted they were that this terrible accident had happened to him and to them and how on earth would they ever get things back in order in their lives.  It was the worst day of their lives.

A few hours passed by and in the mean time another couple came in, again in tears, there had been another accident and their daughter was involved, thrown from the vehicle and was in very bad condition.  Just like the threesome ahead of them, they were in tears and holding onto one another for comfort.  It was the worst day of their lives.

The room was filled with all of us and each thinking of our own worst day and hoping for the best.  I was about 23 at the time and hadn’t really done much in the way of philosophical thinking, but as I stood and paced around in that room and the adjacent area I got to thinking about something and that something has stuck with me ever since.  I’m sure some of you have heard me say it a time or two as well.

So, here are three different families, all together in one spot, each with our own cares and worries and when you analyze each of our situations, you have to wonder which one has it the worst?  We have our husband and father, stretched out in an operating room with the best heart doctor in the State, and maybe in the country or world for all I know.  It’s a planned ordeal with all the stops and plans made well in advance.  We have all been briefed on the surgery and we know everything that is going to take place.  The old valve will be removed and this new stainless steel one will be placed and fixed so it will work properly and dad will once again be able to do the physical things he wants to do like he used to before his heart plugged up with good old fat.  The others have been forced to come to the hospital in the middle of the night because of accidents.  The on call doctors in the emergency room probably know just what has to be done under most every circumstance and are probably very good at what they are doing.  But it’s the uncertainty of it all, especially with emergency things like automobile accidents.  Anything can be wrong with the injured person, from the most obvious cuts and broken bones, to the internal bleeding issues.  Can these doctors discover these things before the person dies?

Just before daylight, a doctor comes in and asks if there are people who are there concerned about accident patient number one.  The threesome get up and approach the doctor.  He speaks quietly to them and tells them what they had found and what will be happening next and that they would not be able to see him until he gets out from under the anesthesia and will be in the intensive care unit.  They are relieved to think he is alive and should recover fully.  They thanked the doctor and then left the room to go and get some coffee down stairs while they wait to be able to go and see him in ICU.

Shortly, another doctor came out and asked if there were people waiting to hear on patient number two.  When the couple stood and approached him, he slowly walked them out of the room and down the hall.  We never saw them again and it is assumed the girl died.

So, now who is having the worst day of their lives?  And this is where I came up with my philosophy:  No matter how bad you think you have it, whatever “it” is, just look at the person(s) next to you.  THEY have it BAD!  What you have is nothing in comparison and trust me when I say this; They wish they had your problem.

So, when you look in the mirror and see a bulging stomach, or at the scale under your feet and see the numbers are higher than you wish they were, there is someone, lots of someones out there, that wish they had your problem.  You don’t have it that bad.

Now I’ll get back to my sweet breads!

Bears Butt

April 26, 2014

I was cleaning up my vehicle and found a note similar to this.  I suppose I received it awhile back from someone who thought highly of me and my abilities to park my car.  So I thought that maybe some of you could use it in your travels.  You should be able to save it and print it out on your computer.  It would be handy to have in your glove box (jocky box to some of us) just in case you come across someone saving parking spaces at the near by Walmart or where ever.

ParkingViolation Paper

Bears Butt

April 17, 2014

We in Utah has a wonderful experience of being in the right spot to view the total eclipse of the moon…The Red Moon it was touted and even though I did see the beginning of the eclipse, I spent the rest of it in bed.  Winemaker tried to stay with the program by getting up every so many minutes and she didn’t see it either, or at least didn’t see why it was called a red moon.

Well someone smarter than me and had enough sleep under their belts to be able to stay with it, sent this series of snapshots into KSL TV and now I’ll share it with you.  A really cool looking view of the whole shebang!

Enjoy!

Bears Butt

April 16, 2014

My blood is starting to get going toward the upcoming turkey season.  I have to share this with you:

Sheep.  Why on earth would Bears Butt write anything about sheep?  I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten sheep meat.  Dad always talked about eating lamb and the toughness and fatty taste of mutton so there may have been times while I was growing up and too young to remember eating it, but the few times I do recall eating it are few.  Not that it tasted bad or anything, I recall it tasting rather good in fact, but there just wasn’t much to it and it would take a whole bunch of lamb chops to satisfy my hunger.  I suppose that is the main reason for me not eating much of it….oh and the fact that Winemaker grew up eating a bunch of it and she didn’t care that much for it.  Is this because they were pets and the thought of munching down on a pet for Sunday dinner wasn’t that appealing?  Or was it because that is what they had to eat and in order to survive you had to eat it or else?

Questions that can’t be answered at this time.

So, why is Bears Butt writing about sheep?  I started my research looking up bacon.  Bacon is always at the top of my food list, I like bacon!  So I went in search of “bacon alternatives” and found that in the countries making up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland etc.) in World War II, they decided that since they had so many sheep and very few hogs, they would make bacon out of sheep meat.  Which they did by brining the sheep meat the same way they would hog meat to make the bacon.  They called it “macon” (mutton bacon).  To a starving troop on the line, it would be quite good, or at least would sustain them until such time that they could open a can of spam (another story in and of itself).  OK, so one look up on the web lead to another and to another and so forth.  Pretty soon, I made my mind up that You needed to know what I have found out about sheep.

First off you need to know that the sheep industry in the US is going down.  It never was a big deal in the US anyway and it’s becoming less and less of a big deal as of late (2012)….HOWEVER….You never know if the demand will go up and if it does the herds will grow.  Texas and California grow the most sheep in the US….I wonder why?   You should be able to guess.  Utah is 5th in the nation on the number of sheep raised.  We see quite a few of them critters on the mountain while muzz deer hunting.  Utah raises on average 305,000 sheep.  Sounds like quite a few to me and if you are ever traveling toward camp the day before the opener and get stuck behind a sheep drive going down the road, it seems like all 305,000 are in front of you impeding your progress toward camp and a cold brew.

Well, most of these animals are raised for the production of wool, but for the unfortunate young of the flock, they are hustled off to a feed lot for slaughter.  They are not held long at the feed lot and will soon be coming to a grocer near you!  To the tune of  168 million pounds of yummy young lamb!  168 MILLION pounds!  That is a lot of pounds of lamb!  Who eats this stuff?  Like I said earlier, I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten sheep meat of any sort and in my mind I can’t think of too many people who eat it on a regular basis either.  Now according to the latest census in the US, there are almost 314 million people living here.  So, if we were to divide the slaughter figure of lambs by the number of people living here, each of us would be allowed about 1/2 a pound of lamb each year….that would be about 4 lamb chops if I figure correctly.  Someone is eating my lamb chops.

Well, are you satisfied with all of this about sheep yet?  I’m not done.  The story gets bigger and maybe even better, depending on how you look at it.  314 million people and 168 million pounds of sheep meat doesn’t seem to be enough here in the good old U.S. of A.  And for the countries of Australia and New Zealand, they are happy campers, because the U.S. demand has them exporting some 130 Million pounds of sheep meat, right to us!  Oh Happy are we!  So, the U.S. consumes 298 Million pounds of sheep meat each year!  Who is eating this meat?????  Do the math, that is just short of 1 pound of meat for each resident of the U.S…..or in my words, 8 lamb chops each….still someone is eating my lamb chops.

More research found that when you go to the grocery store and are standing there looking at the meats:  beef, pork, chicken, fish and lamb and if you are at any odds as to which one of them is the most healthy for you….besides fish or course….you would be better off choosing the lamb.  It is said that it has the capabilities of lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease.  Is this why the Mediterranean people look so good out there on the beach?  They eat a LOT of lamb meat.

Well, I don’t plan on going out and picking up any lamb chops any time soon, and if I was to raise a sheep for slaughter I would most likely want to do the cutting up myself.  Of course I found this masterpiece of some help:

It comes from the British government and the butchers have to report where the cuts they package came from, I think I would pass on the “scrag end” cuts myself, as the name just doesn’t sound very appetizing….”Sir, would you care for another cut of ‘scrag'”?…….But then, the “chump” doesn’t sound too good either.  And what cut will you obtain from the “Best End”????  Oh I get it!  It’s the “best end of the backstrap”!!!  Oh ya!  I like that end the best and only a “chump” would like the other end of the backstrap.  It’s sure a good thing I have cut up a lot of deer and elk myself over my lifetime.  I got this one figured out.  But still, someone is eating my lamb chops.

Bears Butt

April 9, 2014

This was the sunset the other night…thought you might like to see it.

And now for some punny stuff!

Can you guess this one?                                                                                                                            Making a VanGogh!

And last but not least!

A beautiful spring day is in store.

Bears Butt

April 8, 2014

Several years ago the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources began a program in which they pay landowners in exchange for the right of the public to trespass for the purpose of wildlife related activities, like hunting, fishing, trapping or just plain sight seeing.  In my opinion it is a wonderful program and I’d like to see more landowners join in the program.

As with any program, there are kinks that must be ironed out along the way and most of those kinks are “people” related.  Not observing the fact that they are “guests” on this piece of land and destroying the property in various ways.  In so doing, the landowner pulls the land out of the program and it becomes a No Trespassing area once again.

The program is called “The Walkin Program” and I have used several of them over the years to hunt turkeys especially and for that same number of years I have sent emails to the DWR asking them to create a map showing me where these walk in areas are located.  Well, they finally did it!  A state wide map that shows where the walk in lands are located.  It goes much farther than I had suggested to them, in that you can click on the outline of the land and it shows you the name of the owner and what can be done on that land (i.e. fishing, hunting, trapping) and what types of animals you can hunt, fish for or trap.  Way cool!

On this site, you can also narrow your search down to specific animals and whether you are just sight seeing or hunting/fishing.  Once you make your choices up pops those properties in the program that meet your specifics.  It’s cool!  Go check it out!

http://dwrapps.utah.gov/ram/start2

Bears Butt

April 5, 2014

People are very resourceful and there is something for everyone.  Maybe what I should be saying is, People are crazy and there is something for everyone.  Anyway, I was surfing the web today and discovered this.  Can you imagine someone who has the time and thoughts to melt aluminum cans to about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and then pour it down an ant hole.  Why would anyone want to do that?  Especially the first person that did it.  Were they just so bored they wanted to see a million ants come jumping out of the ground all around the ant hill or were they so terrified of ants that they would go to this extreme to get rid of the ants?  It’s anyone’s guess about the first guy, but after that and the end results I can now see why someone would do it….it’s cool.

Enjoy!
Bears Butt
April 1, 2014

The ice is off most of Utah’s waters right now and it’s time to get ready for some serious fishing.  For those of you with boats, don’t forget you HAVE to place a certification on the dash of your tow vehicle stating you have properly treated your boat and equipment against the spread of Quagga and Zebra Mussels.  Most of these forms can be picked up at the launch site, but sometimes vandals make sure there aren’t any of the forms available.  If there are no forms on the site, you are illegal to launch, and are subjecting yourself to a heavy fine and confiscation of your boat and equipment.

I suggest you go to the DWR website and take their on line course, it’s free and takes about an hour to complete.  Once done you can print out your certification and put that on your dashboard when you go to the lake or river.

You might be reading this and thinking….well, that doesn’t apply to me.  Let me tell you right now, IT DOES!  If you go to Bear Lake or Lake Powell or Flaming Gorge or Blue Lake (out by Wendover),  or anywhere in between, be it lake, pond, stream or river…it’s the law to put your certification on your dashboard.  It has to be signed and dated and for sure you do not want to loose your hard earned money, nor your equipment because you thought the law did not apply to you.

A simple trip to the Bear River for some cat fishing is a perfect example.  Or a float trip on Mantua with your float tube.  It even applies to you and your kids going to Willard Bay and getting out on the water with blow up rafts or noodles.

The law states “If it floats, it’s a boat”!  And the law applies to you.

Please do your part and learn about these nasty little critters that once established in a body of water are IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of.  The best treatment is to keep them out of the water in the first place.  It’s not a joke.

Just like this picture of two boats colliding…it’s not a joke.

Bears Butt

March. 30, 2014

Winemaker and I made a special trip down to the Golden Spike Fairgrounds yesterday and met up with our friends Barry and Lalie Howard.  They were there to cheer for their son, Travis, who is a team driver for one of the contestants teams in the “World Championship” chariot racing event being held at the fairgrounds this weekend.  These races have been going on all winter long, but starting last weekend (March 22), they began racing to eliminate and advance teams for the culmination of this racing season.

I have never been to these races before.  I have heard about them and threatened to go see what they were all about, but until yesterday I had never been.  In the picture above is Doral Howard, a lifetime member of one of the local racing groups and a key player in making sure this sport became a living adventure for the enthusiasts who enjoy it.  Doral made sure this track at the fairgrounds was put in place and made sure it would be a track the racing teams would enjoy driving on. Looking at the track, I could see literally thousands of hours of labor and hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of dollars in materials going into the building of it.  Doral is also THE MAN who invented the release doors at the far end of the track.  His invention is the one that makes it all fair when the teams are loaded up and ready and the doors are opened, that they all open at the same time.  It’s his invention that has become the “standard” in this industry!  Thank you Doral!  A more fair man could not be found.

The picture has Doral surrounded by his Son, Barry and Grand daughter Sheckie, both enthusiastic about this sport and there to support their son and brother in his races.  I forgot to take a picture of Lalie and Travis.  I am soooo bad!  But my mind was on the races, not on this story.  I guess that is why I do stories like this for fun and not for profit.

So, here is a driver, standing on a platform about the size of the bottom of a bushel basket, hanging onto two reigns hooked to two very powerful horses.  His job is to “hang on” and make it from the starting gate to the finish line, a quarter of a mile down the way.  Nothing is protecting him, or her, from the flinging hooves and dirt balls or the horses tail flapping him in the face.  He does have a small handle to hang onto at the beginning of the race so that he stays in the chariot as the horses spring forward out of the gate, but once his body catches up with the momentum of the horses he can let go of that and get to directing the horses straight forward.

We did see where one of the drivers was flipped out of his “ride” as the horses came out of the gate a bit sideways and caused his chariot to hit the guide boards, causing it to flip and him to roll out.  I assume he was alright, I saw no ambulances and no announcements were made to the contrary.

Barry explained all about the racing to me and it sounded exciting, and very much scary at the same time.  I would never put myself on that little platform behind two big old horses and expect anything but death to be the result.

We were there to cheer on Travis!  Travis has been racing in these events for about three months.  THREE MONTHS!!!????  Yes!  And he has been nominated as “Rookie Driver of the Year”!  His blood runs cold through his veins and he does not care about his own safety…his mind in on the gold!  He wants to win and that is what it takes to be a top notch driver in this sport!  Forget about the mud being slammed into your face!  Forget about the other team driving into your lane!  Forget about the fact that the tires can come off the cart you are standing in and cause you to flip from side to side and under the driving hooves of two 1500 pounds animals.  Forget about anything except closing that quarter of a mile distance before the other teams get there.  GO TRAVIS GO!!!!!!!

Well, because we were there to watch his race, I did not take any pictures of it, Sheckie did that on a video, but I did get a few pictures of another set of teams racing.

AND THEY’RE OFF!

AND THE OUTSIDE BLUE TEAM IS IN THE LEAD!

BUT WAIT!  NOW THE INSIDE, WHITE TEAM HAS CLOSED THE GAP!  IT LOOKS LIKE THE WHITE TEAM JUST MIGHT TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE LINE!

And they thunder past at about 40 miles per hour!!!!!

To be quite honest, it was a thrill to watch them rip on past and hear the crowd cheering on their guys!  We did it too when Travis went flying past us.

I have tried to copy the video that Travis took from his helmet camera as he and his team went flying down the track, but I’m not sure I can put it on here.  The link is this one:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=713427808688528&set=vb.100000639457740&type=2&theater

It sure give you another prospective of just what is going on as those teams go racing down the track!

So, Travis won his event yesterday and today he has to race again and if he wins today, he will be in the finals on Sunday…THE WORLD CHAMPION FINALS!  We are talking about WORLD CHAMPIONS here folks!  I had found a lucky penny on the ground while I was there and with a little coaxing I gave it to Travis for luck in his upcoming races!  I really don’t think he needs the extra luck as he is a very good driver and has had some expert coaching from his Grandfather and his dad.

I wish you the best Travis!  GO GET EM!

Bears Butt

March 29, 2014