Peace-Loving Henchman

Picture of the Day for 7/29/2011. My niece Renee took her nephew (my great-nephew) Ethan to see the movie Cowboys & Aliens tonight. I was invited to tag along which I was happy to do so I could ogle Harrison Ford, who, at nearly age 70, is still very ogle-worthy. The movie turned out to be much more violent than anticipated, especially for an 8-year-old boy. Renee and I kept looking at each other in horror over Ethan's head during the movie. Afterward, we asked Ethan how he liked the film. He enjoyed it although he kept on exclaiming repeatedly how violent it was. And this coming from a boy who loves action hero movies and has stated his intention of becoming a henchman some day.

Action Hero Tower

Picture of the Day for 7/28/2011. My great-niece Hayley assembled this mighty tower of action hero figures. I can't decide if you wouldn't want to mess with this formidable group of people or if they would be unusually vulnerable to villains due their precarious balance. These are the things you ponder when it comes to action heroes. Weighty issues indeed.

Space Cadet Award

Picture of the Day for 7/27/2011. We held a going-away BBQ for our three summer interns who presented each full-time employee with an award. My "space cadet" award was a given since I've subjected the interns to lengthy discourses on the U.S. space program. The award I found most amusing was "most likely to answer a question with a complex mathematical equation no one can understand."

After lunch, a group of employees played water balloon volleyball which involves using towels to lob or catch the water balloons. As you might guess, this eventually degenerated into a water balloon war. I watched primly and safely from the sidelines.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Picture of the Day for 7/26/2011. You know that big landscaping remodel project currently underway at my house? Every single worker I've talked to has been incredulous that the basement has never flooded based on the sloping configuration of the side yard. I think they jinxed me since the house has experienced its first flood ever after a monster rainstorm today. I suspect it's because all the foliage that used to act as a buffer has been removed. Fortunately, the flooding wasn't too bad. I'm just letting it air out.

Worst School Photo Ever

Picture of the Day for 7/25/2011. I think the title of this blog entry says it all. This school photo of my normally darling nephew Ethan with a Norman Rockwell face was so bad that his even own mother didn't want a copy. His grandmother, my sister Paula, and I think the picture is hysterical.

Bedraggled Grave

Picture of the Day for 7/24/2011. I visited my parents' grave because I wanted to see it decorated with all of my dad's funeral flowers. I kind of wish I hadn't bothered because the hot July sun had done a number on the flowers in the 48 hours since the funeral. The grave looked rather bedraggled.

Letting Go

Picture of the Day for 7/23/2011. The weirdest things can make you cry. We all met at my dad's room at the nursing home to clear out his possessions. We kept a few things and donated the rest to charity. When it came time to sack up my dad's ubiquitous blue jumpsuits, I clutched the one I was holding and started to cry. Robynne hugged me and Paula had me take pictures of her holding up a jumpsuit and putting it into the sack. This was a sure sign she was trying to cheer me up as Paula never willingly submits to having her picture taken.

Military Funeral Honors

Picture of the Day for 7/22/2011. My dad's funeral was lovely. All three of his daughters spoke and I think we each gave unique and touching talks. We also featured music from my dad's grandfather, Frank W. Merrill, who was the assistant Mormon Tabernacle organist at the turn of the last century, a music professor, and a composer. My nieces sang a beautiful song, "Birdie's Lullaby," and I played a piano piece called "Blossom."

As lovely as the service was, my favorite part of the day was the graveside service where my dad, a World War ll veteran, was given military funeral honors. This honor detail from the Navy was waiting at the cemetery when we arrived...

They saluted the casket as the pallbearers carried it from the hearse to the grave site...


One of the gentleman played Taps...


While the other two folded the flag that had been draped over my dad's casket...




At this point, I stopped taking pictures and just took in the experience. The most senior of the gentlemen presented the flag to my oldest sister Paula. He leaned down and looked her intently in the eyes and gave the "On behalf of a grateful nation" speech. I was sitting right next to her so I got the full impact of the speech. It was a very powerful experience.

Afterward, we caught up to the honor detail as they were departing and I showed them a picture of my dad in his Navy uniform. I indicated I wanted them to know who they had been honoring. I let them know my dad had served on Guam and related some of his stories from the war. They said this was the first time a family had taken the time to do this and I could tell they were pleased.

My Dad's Viewing

Picture of the Day for 7/21/2011. We held a viewing (or "visitation" as it is called in come circles) for my dad tonight. It was a nice evening with a steady stream of well-wishers who came to honor my dad and to support the family.


Earlier in the day, my sister Paula and I had gone to the mortuary to dress my dad in his temple clothing. Having family members dress the body for burial is very much a Mormon tradition. Paula and I had done this for my mother two years ago. That experience ended badly when I made the mistake of opening up a can of Diet Coke too close to my mother. The Diet Coke spewed over her new, pristine which clothing. Oops. We were able to quickly clean it up, but I've never lived this down. As my mother's most difficult child, it seemed to be an entirely fitting final gesture from her deadbeat daughter. When I arrived at the mortuary today, I was presented with a can of Diet Coke wrapped up in a towel. The smart-alecks.

Emergency Preparedness

Picture of the Day for 7/20/2011. My sister Robynne is using the money she made from a big blow-out garage sale to buy food storage and make emergency kits. She presented me with my own emergency kit (filled with a ton of useful items) with strict instructions to keep this in my car. Her exact words to me were "I knew you'd never do this yourself." How well she knows me. I was delighted to receive this.

55 and Over

Picture of the Day for 7/19/2011. The purchase of this mop has left emotional scars. The young woman ringing it up for me asked if I were 55 or over (presumably so she could give me a senior citizen discount). I asked her to repeat it since I couldn't believe what I heard. I asked incredulously if she were kidding. One would think my tone of voice would have given her all the answer she needed to that question, but she informed me solemnly that no, she wasn't kidding. Damn. The people I've related this story to have universally informed me that I should have just accepted the discount.

Condolence Gifts

Picture of the Day for 7/18/2011. I sent an email to my work colleagues letting them know of my dad's passing and that I would be out of the office for most of the week making funeral preparations. My sweet work colleagues immediately began to shower me with an assortment of gifts that brought a smile to my face. My office knows that I'm obsessed with the white cheddar popcorn that is available in our break room vending machine. One woman went and emptied out the machine and showed up with her arms completely full of bags of popcorn. I also received the mini light-saber (with cool sound effects) and gift certificate for ice cream pictured below.

Robert I. Merrill

7/17/2011. My dad passed away today a little after 1:00 p.m. You might think that this blog entry will address how sad I am at his passing. (True, it's like a light in my life has been extinguished.) You might also think that I'm going to write about how much I loved my father. (That's true too- I was absolutely crazy about him.) You would be wrong. I'd like to talk about how irritated I am with him. He passed away six hours before I arrived home from my trip to Ohio. If he were here, I would say, "Really, you've lived for 90 years and you've lived several months past what was expected and you couldn't wait just six more hours to go? Really?" Sigh.

Actually, I'm just happy I listened to my gut which told me to make sure I fit in one last visit before I left for Florida and Ohio nearly two weeks ago. I took a picture (see above), fed him some double-dipped chocolate peanuts (a favorite treat of his), and had a nice chat about my impending travels and the fact it was the 4th of July. He took a sharp turn for the worse shortly after this and the selfish part of me is glad that my last memory of him is of a very lovely visit.

Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop

Picture of the Day for 6/17/2011. Had a couple of hours to spare before leaving for the airport so we squeezed in one more aviation-related activity by visiting the Wright brothers' original bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. I loved this rather snarky quote (pictured below) by Wilbur Wright about other people's failed attempts to build an airplane.

Holy Grail of Astronaut Pictures

Picture of the Day for 7/16/2011. I attended the National Aviation Hall of Fame annual enshrinement banquet solely in the hopes of getting my picture taken with Neil Armstrong who was there to present the award to Dorothy Kincheloe, widow of Iven Kincheloe, one of this year's enshrinees.

As you can see, I was successful. Sadly, I think this is a terrible picture of me (I look jowly and older than my years- an observation that will be germane to an upcoming blog entry). Also unfortunate is the fact that my camera accidentally got knocked off the proper setting so the photo came out a little blurry. Oh well. I accomplished my mission and the banquet and accompanying ceremony were lovely. I took over 50 pictures of the event, but I won't plague you with them.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Picture of the Day for 7/15/2011. I spent the day at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. This is a massive museum with exhibits focusing on:

The early years of aviation...

Replica of the Wright 1909 Military Flyer which was purchased by the U.S. Army for $30,000 and became the first military airplane.

World War ll...

Bockscar is the plane that dropped the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb on Nagasaki.

Korea and Vietnam...

The Hanoi Taxi was used in the final days of the Vietnam war to return American POWs from North Vietnam. Senator John McCain was one of the POWs who flew on this plane. In 2005, this aircraft also helped evacuate people from Hurricane Katrina.

Cold War...

B-2 stealth bomber.

Missiles and Space...

My buddy Blake and I standing in front of the actual Apollo 15 capsule.

Experimental Aircraft...


XB-70 Valkyrie.

Presidential Airplanes...

JFK's plane which carried him and the first lady to Dallas and then his body back to Washington D.C. after the assassination.

The thing I loved about this museum is the fact it wasn't just a collection of aircraft, but it had exhibits with memorabilia and vignettes:

Jimmy Stewart's jacket.


Ronald Reagan's coat.


Glenn Miller's trombone.

The museum is also home to the National Aviation Hall of Fame. I'm pictured below with Fitz Fulton, pilot of the XB-70 (pictured above) and a 1999 enshrinee.

Wright Brothers Memorial Park & Huffman Prairie Flying Field

Picture of the Day for 7/14/2011. I'm in Dayton, Ohio to attend a National Aviation Hall of Fame event. In the meantime, I'll be spending a couple of days sightseeing. "What is there to see in Dayton, Ohio?" you might be asking. Plenty. Dayton, Ohio was home to the Wright brothers and is home to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is located.

The sightseeing started off with a visit to the Wright Brothers Memorial Park (pictured above). At the visitor center, I managed to keep a Wright Flyer up in the air for three minutes in a simulator which earned me a certificate. The certificate was designed mostly for children, but I still took one!

After the park we took a short jaunt to the Huffman Prairie Flying Field (pictured below) where the Wright brothers spent a couple of years after their first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk laboring to produce a workable airplane. They focused their time and energy solely on this task, conducting experiment after experiment. Their dedication is amazing. Pictured below are replicas of their 1905 hangar and launching catapult.

Restaurant Row

Picture of the Day for 7/13/2011. I've now spent enough time in West Palm Beach, FL that I'm in a restaurant rut. I'm sure there are other lovely places I could eat, but I'm stuck on the three pictured here- all located on Okeechobee Blvd. Of the three, La Granja is my absolute favorite. I dream about this place. In fact, I'm tempted to move to Florida solely so I can eat at this Peruvian restaurant regularly. The roast chicken is so divine that I literally gnaw all the meat off the bones. As I am not a big meat eater, that is saying something.

Florida Hair

Picture of the Day for 7/12/2011. Honestly, what's up with my hair and the Florida humidity?!?! They aren't a good match for each other. With my wild hair, I kind of feel I resemble Bertha Mason Rochester.*

*I'm not going to make it easy for you and tell you who that is. You're on your own for looking up that obscure literary reference. ;-)

Nerdy Space Souvenir

Picture of the Day for 7/12/2011. I'm still in Florida so you're probably expecting me to recount yet another adventure. Sorry to disappoint. No one wishes I had done something exciting more than I. Instead, I spent 12 hours in my hotel room today toiling away on my work laptop. In fact, I was so hard at work that it wasn't until a few minutes before midnight that I remembered I needed to take a picture of the day. There's not much pictorial subject material in a hotel room so I settled on taking a photo of my latest space souvenir from the Kennedy Space Center- space suit glove oven mitts. Don't give me crap about this- I actually needed some new oven mitts.

Airboat Rides at Midway

Picture of the Day for 7/12/2011. On my frequent travels from Orlando to the Kennedy Space Center, I've passed a sign for "Airboat Rides at Midway" which has always peaked my interest. I decided to take a chance and go on an airboat ride today. It was great!


Our guide took us out on the St. Johns River...



Where we saw birds (a white Egret pictured below)...


And alligators...



And cows (free range)...


Once we returned to the dock, we were able to hold a baby alligator. It was squishier than I anticipated.


And what business isn't complete without a resident pig?