Thursday, July 19, 2007 The Gunnison Valley Gazette Celebrating our pioneer heritage Bread Alone Editor’s note: The following is a true story from one of Shirley Bahlmann’s Oddly Enough books. “Marge! Bring that water and hold this ladder!” Mama called. “Why can’t Ed do it?” I asked. “He’s older.” “He’s on his way home to milk the cows,” Mama said. “If I’d thought you wanted to milk tonight, I would have kept him here.” “No, that’s okay, I’m coming.” I bent over and lifted the bucket handle. The weight of the water dragged my arms down. I was sure they were stretching out like honey taffy. If they did, Ed would make fun of me, calling me noodle arms, or worse. Even though he was nine, he acted like a little kid. I hauled the water over to where Mama rinsed rags in bucket of dirty water. Thumping the bucket down, water sloshed out, wetting my ankles and dribbling into my shoe. I shivered as the wind swished my skirt around my legs. “Thank you, Marge.” “When will we go home, Mama?” I asked as she rinsed a rag in the clean water and started up the ladder. “As soon as I finish the windows. Now hold on.” I grabbed the ladder legs with my hands. “Why do you have to clean this old school anyway?” I looked up at Mama’s skirts swishing in the wind, her grayish white underskirt blowing like a sail beneath dark blue skirt. The ladder shifted, and Mama cried out. I threw my seven-year-old body against it to hold it still, and Mama put a steadying hand against the side of the house. “I don’t like this, Mama, why doesn’t Miss Blanding do it?” Mama went up another rung, then reached a tentative hand out toward the window. “Marge, you’re a big girl. You know what Miss Blanding does.” “’Course I do. She teaches me in school.” “That’s her job.” “She could clean the school after teaching.” “She doesn’t have a helper like you to hold the ladder for her. Besides, we’ve been blessed to have this job.” I stared up at Mama, her loose hair whipping her eyes, her cheeks red. It looked as if the wind might catch her skirt and blow her up into the sky. “It’s a tiresome blessing, then,” I shouted. “I thought blessings were supposed to be good.” “It is good. I get paid to clean the school and the church house, so you can have things like shoes.” I wrinkled my nose and looked down at my soggy shoe. “But my shoe is wet.” “It will dry.” Mama climbed down the ladder. “I think that’s all we can do for today.” “Mama, when will Papa come back?” “When he’s done with his mission.” “When will that be?” “In awhile.” “Where is he?” “Mississippi.” “Where’s that?” “Far from here. Now, let’s go inside and get your little sister and brother.” “Why don’t they have to help?” “You know why. Partha’s not even three, and Kenneth is a baby.” I was quiet while I followed Mama inside the school. It was a welcome relief from the wind. For as long as I could remember, I had to help Mama all the time, with the hardest jobs in the whole house. She must have made me work when I was three years old. I bet she loved Partha more than me. We found Partha under the teacher’s desk, drawing on the floor with chalk. Mama didn’t even scold her, just told me to take her hand. She picked up Kenneth, blankets and all, from where he slept in the corner. We walked home to the square black house that Papa had built out of volcanic rock when I was two. Ed was inside, straining the second bucket of milk. “Thank you, son,” Mama said, resting a hand on Ed’s neck. “I’m proud of you, doing the work of a man.” Ed grinned. What about my help? Papa wasn’t even here to see what Ed was doing, but Mama saw what I did for her today. What if I hadn’t thrown my body against the ladder when the wind blew? Wouldn’t Mama have gone sailing off into the clouds? “Can I go to the rope swing?” I asked, putting on my cutest smile. “That’s not on our property any more.” “Why not?” Mama put Kenneth down and rubbed her face. Then she put one hand on her hip and looked down at me. “I already told you, Papa sold that property for mission money.” “I don’t know what mission money is,” I said. “I just want things to be the way they were when Papa was home.” Mama stared out the window. I thought she might be angry, but when she finally looked at me, her eyes were kind. “Things will never be like that again, Marge. Life always changes. Look at how big you are! You’ll never be a baby again.” I stared at Partha. Did she know how lucky she was? “Marge, I know it’s hard, but it’s easier because of you. I love all of you children.” Her gaze swept the four of us. “When we work together, we’ll be blessed. Okay?” “Okay,” Ed answered. Mama gave him a smile. “Okay,” I added. As I’d hoped, Mama turned her smile on me. The next day after breakfast, Ed went out to work in the field. “We need to make more bread, Marge.” “But, Mama, why do I…?” Mama kept her hands in the dishpan, her eyes on the pot she scrubbed with a handful of sand. “Why what?” “Never mind,” I said. “I’ll help.” The yeast smelled yucky. The dough stuck to my hands. But I helped. We sewed while we waited for the bread to rise. Mama fed Kenneth, and I fed Partha her lunch. At last, the smell of bread baking made all the work worth it. We finally had five and a half golden loaves of bread laid on the table in the lean-to kitchen to cool. I’d had two slices of warm bread, as had Mama, and Partha had one. Kenneth didn’t have any teeth yet. Mama pulled out her white dishcloth, the one with the flower she’d let me embroider on the corner when she was teaching me. I’d chosen pink thread, since pink is the best color in the world. The petals made uneven loops around the center, and Mama said that’s just how a flower is supposed to look. I was older now, and sure I could do better. “Marge, get Partha, we’re going out to weed the garden.” “Haven’t we worked enough?” I asked. “The weeds don’t rest, and neither do we,” Mama said, scooping Kenneth up into her arms. “Ed’s been out all day. Now come along and do your part.” I thought I already had. I followed Mama out with Partha trailing along behind me. I settled her in the garden and spent too much time showing her where she could build a dirt castle. I even helped her get started. “Marge,” Mama called. “I need your help.” “Isn’t Partha old enough to help?” “She’d pull the vegetables with the weeds,” Mama said. “I can show her.” Mama kept pulling out straggly green plants. “I’ll help her. We’ll do a whole row. Come on, Partha, let’s pull weeds.” She wasn’t very good at it, but I watched her close. When she went back to dirt castle building, I kept weeding. It was hot, bugs kept buzzing my head, and sweat made tricklies past my ears. “Let’s go in, Marge,” Mama said from the end of her last row. “We’ll make supper for Ed.” That sounded like the best idea all day. Mama pulled her bonnet off and walked into the lean-to. “Marge!” “What?” I hurried in behind her. “Did you give out some of our bread?” “No, how could I?” I stared at the table where four and a half loaves of bread lay uncovered. “I was with you.” Mama moved closer to the table and looked underneath it. “Bad enough that someone took our bread. I can understand people being hungry, but to take the cloth, too? Why would they do that?” I had no answer. Mama asked the neighbors. There were only fifteen families in LaVerkin. None of them knew what happened to our bread. Mama figured it was some tramp who’d come by, smelled it, and taken off with a loaf, plus the covering for whatever purpose he might have in mind. She remembered to mention him in our family prayers that night, then we forgot about it. Parents, help teach your children Drivers Education News By JESSE BURRELL It is time for my quarterly Driver Education Article. I do have one main topic that I wish to address in this article, but I am going to ramble for a moment on a couple of other items. FIRST, teenagers have a chance to legally drive for an entire year with one of their parents in the passenger seat. I know that many parents give their teens a chance to take advantage of this practice driving. BUT, I have found that there are many teens that do not get the practice driving that they need. The reason the changes have been made to Drivers Ed over the years is to allow students to learn to drive with their parents first and then to spend time with the driving instructor to ensure that the teens can properly perform certain maneuvers. Some of the maneuvers on the driving test are as follows: U-turn; 3 point turn; left and right turn about; left and right turns; lane changes; angle, perpendicular and parallel parking; speed control; stop signs or lights; as well as other maneuvers. Not all teens need to have a driver’s license and not all of them are ready when they are 15, 16 or even 17 to drive responsibly. But if they are going to get a license they need to get some practice in real live situations. When they get their license they are not just legal to drive on Farmers Freeway or between here and the outskirts of Richfield. They are legal to drive just about everywhere in the United States. Practice, with a parent in the passenger seat is very important. So, why do we adult drivers perform certain maneuvers inappropriately, thus passing them onto the teens? Part of the reason is we as parents have certain ways we do things (habits) and we continue to do them whether or not they are correct or legal procedures. Another reason is that there are plenty of bad examples in other drivers out there for students to observe and model. Even though these maneuvers are discussed in the drivers ed class, some students don’t get it. SO, we as parents need to be willing to sit down with our teens and go through the Utah Drivers Handbook so that the student and the parent get an idea of what the laws really are we learn together how to drive correctly. NOW, I don’t want people to think that I am trying to preach to them, I will save that for the kids. I do want people to know that many of us are not driving according to the law and are not doing maneuvers correctly. I have had to change several things about the way that I drive since I have started teaching Driver Education. There are still habits that I have that I still resort to when I am driving. Sometimes my wife or kids will call me on something. BUT, if we as adults are not willing to know what the laws and the proper procedures are for certain maneuver, we cannot expect our teens to pick up the correct habits. Students need a minimum of 40 hours practice driving with their parents, do what you can help your teen get more than this. Now onto the topic I wish to address with this article. I will make this short and sweet (or at least short). When we are turning onto a 4-lane road, which lane should we turn into? I think that 99% of the population can answer this question properly. The answer is the closest lane to you that is going in the correct direction. For example, if you are approaching Main Street after getting your mail at the post office in Gunnison, and you want to turn right, which lane should you end up in? The answer is, you should end up in the right (outside) southbound lane, not in the left (inside) lane. Now, for a second example, if you are at the same intersection and you wish to make a left turn, which lane should you turn into? The answer to this question is the left (inside) northbound lane, not the right (outside) lane. The only exception this rule is if there are 2 turning lanes. If there are two left turning lanes and you are in the inside lane you should end up in the inside lane. If you are in the second left turn land you should end up in the second lane when you are done with your turn. Almost daily I can point out to students’ situations where people are turning into the wrong lane. Why do people do this? Maybe they are just lazy and don’t want to make a lane change later. Maybe they don’t care what the law is. Maybe they really don’t know what the law is (this reason I think is least likely). I think that good and bad driving habits are contagious. If we are willing to do the right thing, others may model what we do. But, if we continually do the wrong thing others will see this and model this instead, especially teens. So, let’s do what we can to turn into the correct lane. If we need to be in the other lane soon, simply complete the turn and make a quick lane change. This is completely legal. And parents please take some time and review the Driver Education Handbook. Laws are changing every year. If you think you know what all of the laws are just because you drive regularly, you are probably sadly mistaken. If I was not the driver education teacher I am sure that I would miss hearing about some of the new laws or the changes to the laws. Think about how much attention you paid in your drivers ed class years ago. Did you ever zone out or drift off in class? Again, I have been amazed at the things that I have learned form teaching the driver ed program. I think we all could benefit form thumbing through the book. Lotsa Motsa Sports Calendar GVHS Cheerleader Try-Outs Friday, July 20 • 9 a.m. • Wrestling Gym GVHS Girls Volleyball Try-Outs Monday, August 6 • 9 a.m. to 12 Noon See BREAD, Page 7 The Scouting News! Page 5 Pizza • Calzone Breadsticks • Salad Free Delivery (Limited Area) 528-3792 57 South Main • Gunnison HEAP WEEK of the Mark Henline/Gunnison Valley Gazette The wolves and bears from the Fayette and Gunnison 1st Wards gathered in the park Tuesday to learn about action/reaction in science. The first experiment was an example on jet propulsion. Vinegar and baking soda were mixed in a bottle and then the bottle was corked. The pressure built up, shot the cork out and propelled the bottle across the ground. In the second experiment, water and an Alka Seltzer tablet were placed in a film canister and then sealed up. When enough pressure built up, the canister blew into the air. The third experiment took all the scouts by surprise. Leader Shannon Jensen filled a baking sheet with water then she took two pieces of hair and put them in the water. As the hair moved closer together, she told the scouts to look close at what happens. When all the scouts got really close, she slapped the tray spraying water onto all the scouts’ faces. She then said, “See how the action of my hand slapping the tray caused all of you to react by jumping back?” The scouts then enjoyed a picnic lunch after they had dried off their faces. 528-7513 435 South Main • Gunnison Tilly Miller This week’s Heap of the Week goes to Tilly Miller. Tilly drives a red 1992 Ford Tempo. “It’s so UGLY!” The Scouting News is Sponsored by ACE Paints Sporting Goods Whirpool Appliances Happy to Serve You HEAP of the WEEK Is Sponsored by: