Sheriff Without a Gun

This is a touching story from Doug.  I think we can all appreciate his sentiments.

“Sheriff Without a Gun”

              In “The Andy Griffith” show Sheriff Andy Taylor refuses to carry a gun. Many find this so odd and so outrageous that a Sheriff would not carry a gun that they; print newspaper articles about it, make TV shows about it and a movie about it. Andy Taylor is a man you can trust. He is a friend to everybody. And he will always do the right thing and never let you down. Andy Taylor does not need a gun, he is respected.

              Having been raised on a Dairy I was taught that when you die there are four Kingdoms of Glory. I would imagine that most are familiar with these but for those who weren't aware of the fourth let me just say that it is a special place prepared for the Dairymen. Where God having realized the hardships associated with dairy cows allows a few more things to slide. Most common among these is swearing. Now it is just impossible to work with an animal as stubborn as a milk cow and not cuss just a little bit, or so Dairy Lore would have you believe. Even more incredible to me than a "Sheriff without a gun" is a dairyman who will not swear. Earlier on it came to my attention that Uncle Ross did not swear. I had my doubts as to whether or not that was even possible for a dairyman so I began to pay close attention.  Ross has never let me down. As I saw his example I thought to myself, if he can do it then I can do it. Turns out as colorful as a milk parlor can be some nights, construction job sites can be much worse. And when I am in those situations, still, I think of Ross.

              This may seem like a very small and insignificant thing to some of you, but for me it is huge it has allowed me to have a much greater degree of self-respect and to think that at least in one thing no matter the situation you can count on me to do the right thing.

               I have often thought, “Wouldn't it be nice to raise my kids in Mayberry.” As I have pondered on this I have realized that I can. I just have to surround my kids with people like Uncle Ross who, like Andy Taylor, is a man you can trust. A friend to everyone. And who no matter what will always do the right thing and never let you down.

“The Dairyman Who won’t Swear”

Thank You Uncle Ross

Mini-motorist

So just a quick post of random things I remember about learning to drive Juniper style…

My very first memory of “driving” is sitting on my dad’s lap steering the tractor, I might have been 3 or 4… Dad?

Secondly I remember being in kindergarten and “driving” Old Blue while Dad loaded the back… that must have been the longest it ever took to load a truck… Dad would jump down and give it some gas (I couldn't reach the pedals) then he would hop on back as I steered down the center of two rows, and then he would hop off and give it some gas… and on it went.  Looking back, we must have been picking up a few leftover bales or something, it seems ridiculous to try and do a legit load in this manner.

Finally, in 4^th grade, when it was time to learn to drive for real, Dad taught me to drive in the Chevy Luv (what a great ride) we would drive in the field and around the farm.  Haha… I remember once heading to the barn from the house, apparently I gave it a little more gas than Dad thought necessary (yup, started right at the beginning!) so he yanked the E-brake part-way down the hill and saved the day. 

Later that summer, we were in the field near Henrie’s and Dad found himself without a needed tool.  So I got sent on my first solo trip.  I don’t know that Mom was nearly as impressed as I was.  So that was it… I was a driver.  And like every 4^th grader, I was now ready to show off my new skills to passengers.  So, Kristen in tow, we set off on an adventure…

However.

I got confused regarding the gearing… I was thinking I needed to be in 4^th gear to go up the hill.

Oops.

So again, down by Henrie’s, I only made it part way up the hill before it died… frightening.  But with my superb skills we backed straight down the road.

No we didn't. 

We ended up in the sagebrush.  We were upright though, with no noticeable damage to the Luv.  Of course we had an audience… TJ, Tyler, I’m sure some of the Campbell boys, and I don’t know who else came by just in time to add to my embarrassment.  Don’t you worry though, I got the gearing all figured out and I was a pro by the time it came time for Drivers Ed the summer between 8^th and 9^th grade.

Side note: that summer I was also in 4-H… sewing was not my favorite thing.  I just wanted to be done, Dad came in as mom was trying to convince me to take my time and do a good job on my shorts (what???).  He told me that if I drove the sewing machine like that he would think that that’s how I drove his pick-up and he would have to take away my driving privileges.  Boo. :(

Mike and I took private lessons in Burley so we could get the lessons over quick and would be available to help on the farm (I think that’s why they put us in private lessons).  Anyway… the difference between the two of us and the “city folk” was striking to say the least.  I remember Mike and I looking at each other like “Is this guy for real?”  When we pulled into the gas station and the teacher wanted to know if we knew how to gas up the car.  We also heard horror stories about the other students.  Like when two separate students ran off the road into the same person’s front lawn… oopsie! 

One more driving story comes to mind, the city cousins came to visit, one who was a little older than me (I was 15) had never driven.  I thought “I’ll let you drive!”  Bad idea… I thought we were going over the hill by Crippen’s.

I didn't let her drive home.

Dad wasn't happy that I let her drive at all.

What are your best “learning to drive in Juniper stories?”  Or for you parents your best “watching kids learn to drive in Juniper stories?”

The Juniper Shelter

From Jerica:

At the Cassia County fair,  Juel told me it was my turn to write in the blog. I know it was a couple weeks ago but life has been...well, life. 

At my family reunion a few weeks ago, we were talking about how my older 4 siblings got to do a lot and the younger 4 got the shaft of "life". We never went on vacation, had swimming lessons, and many more. My dad kept saying stuff like "how horrible of parents" they were. It got me thinking about everything they did do for us. Sure we did the majority of stuff on the dairy or down at the flat but i learned a lot that other kids didn't learn. After living in a city since 18 yrs old i was able to see how different "city-folk" are. 

I recently got a job in Twin Falls and I am now outside of the Mormon bubble. I didn't know how much of a culture shock just moving to Twin is. I hear the stories and life styles my coworkers have chosen and I can't help but be happy for the examples my parents have shown. I have made some mistakes in my life but not as serious as those of my coworkers and I know I couldn't have the life I do now without the hard work and example of my parents. I have chosen what I did in my life for myself. Growing up in Juniper has built a huge shelter over my head but I wouldn't be who I am without my childhood/teenage years taking place in Juniper or without the parents I have. 

I keep thinking about those general conference Sundays when the kids would go outside and play soccer with two of us in tutus or playing softball by the grain shed or even those hot summer days filling up the "swimming pool" and freezing because the water was so cold but we swam anyway because we have tough skin. 

Being head butted, kicked, stepped on, etc has molded us to who we are. I don't know about you or anyone else but I take pride in who I am, who my parents are,  and where I grew up.