The Unsung Hero...by Jim Terry

he·ro

  noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\

: a person who is determined to do great things and is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities

: a person who is greatly admired

: the chief character in a story, play, movie, etc.

How many of us have ever had a hero?  I remember being a young boy and having several heroes in my life.  It started with the likes of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker and then evolved, as I aged, to figures in sports like Joe Montana and Steve Young.  Of course most of us know the persons or characters I just mentioned as with most “heroes”, but I want to introduce you to and tell you a story about an “unsung” hero in my life. 

Where do I start with the sketch of this person?  It all began 51 years ago today… She was born as the oldest child to a young Mother and Father just starting their life as a family with hopes and dreams destined for greatness!  

Like most young girls, her interests consisted of dolls and toys, which eventually evolved and changed into liking make-up, fashion and music. The photos in the collage today definitely emphasize the importance of music in her life.  She can be seen in one photo with two guitars--one electric, one not—and in the other photo can be seen with her cool boom box and bright pink comb making sure she was still looking good as she sang.   With a lot of determination, voice lessons and practice, her voice blossomed into something that was so appealing to listen to and would always touch the heart to anyone within the sound of her voice.

As this person grew, it was also evident that she had skills as a caretaker and as an adult figure for her younger siblings.   Her Mother, while running her own errands, would leave her in charge time and time again with strict instructions to “make sure the kids get their chores done.”  …“Yes” there were times that she, my hero, had to take on an adult role and chase the younger kids around with a wooden spoon in order to get their chores done, but in the end the younger kids always knew she loved them by all of her other acts of kindness.  ;0)

There always comes a time in our lives where we finally “grow up”, move out and start living on our own. Kind of a scary time as a young adult for all of us but I saw my hero grasp this opportunity and embraced it as a way to grow, learn and become a better person. 

As a young married woman at the time, and moving three and a half hours south of her hometown, she knew it was time to grow further whether she wanted to or not. See she had to become the “bread winner” due to circumstances in her relationship at the time and “times were tough.”    With little to no money and needing a couch to make their apartment feel more like a home, she turned to the newspaper for help in finding just the right couch.  Finally she found “the one” that she thought would work.  …The only problem…it was over 10 blocks away. 

Their vehicle at the time was a used, sometimes barely running, light blue Opal…hardly the vehicle to transport a couch let alone 2 people.   So what do you do?  Your determination to make your life a better place with a simple piece of furniture makes and allows you to carry a couch, with a little bit of help from a teen brother, over ten city blocks in downtown Salt Lake City, up hill grades and up two flights of stairs on a 96 degree day.

Determination has also pushed this person into being the best Mother I have ever seen.   She has raised an amazing daughter who, like her Mother, is determined. Determination has also made this person the best professional I have seen in her chosen profession…and determination has made this person the best friend, sister, daughter and Mother imaginable to all those who are a part of her life.   A hero’s qualities do not END with determination either…Kindness, charity, sincerity, hope and love also embrace her character.

Ah “YES”…My UNSUNG HERO!  …The one that is GREAT in the eyes of a few but not known to all. How many of us have people like this in our lives that we can “admire” or who are OUR “chief character in a story” or in our life?  To me that would be “ADT”!  Most people may think of  a company that provides home security to help give us piece of mind when I say "ADT", but to me "ADT" stands for Angela Dee Terry…my security…my piece of mind…my friend…my sister and definitely my UNSUNG HERO.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANG!  We ALL love you!

Spring forward...by Mary Hazlett

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" said Benjamin Franklin.  I wonder if Benjamin Franklin knew how much havoc he would introduce by suggesting the idea of changing your clocks...Did you forget to change your clock this weekend?  This was the weekend, that as a kid, that I would look forward to.  It was lighter later and it seemed that warmer weather was on its way.  Funny how something as small as changing the clock can cause such controversy.  Sure enough I like it to be lighter longer, but losing an hour in my life is not anything I need any help with.  On this weekend as the time change happens, the people of the world join the "I love it" group, "I hate it" group... or Arizona and Hawaii group.

Reasons that we might love or hate day light savings time are...

1. More light in the awake hours = more time for outdoor activities....biking, hiking, gardening, playing in the park, jogging..etc.

2.  Maybe your children get up at 5:30 already...not mine of course... mine get up a little before 5:00.  So, it makes it feel okay that the clock reads 6:30 instead.  (Of course this is only for 2 days until they adjust too.)

3.  Late night sunsets.

4.  Inconsistency throughout the year. Maybe you just got on a good routine and now you have to change it...so you can change it again in 8 months.

5.  The dark morning time... harder to get up.

6.  Insomnia for nearly a week....can't go to sleep, can't wake up....YAAAAAAWNNN!


Whether you are part of the "lovers", "haters", or the Arizona/Hawaii group... this weekend is a rite of passage for spring.  I have seen blossoms starting to appear and a slight tinge of green on the trees.  Step outside for just a moment and breath in the air, you can feel it too....spring is on our doorstep and so is the yard work.

Here is to a Happy Monday and a hope that you caught the shift in time yesterday so you can be on time today....Heavens knows we don't need one more thing to mess up a monday!

Share with us your stories at nutshellstories@gmail.com.

Hello... LOL... by Ben Hazlett

In 1876 a young 29 year old said "Mr. Watson, come here, I need you."  What's so special about that?  It was the first time anyone had successfully transmitted a verbal message across wires.   In fact on this day of that year Alexander Graham Bell received his patent for what would become one of the greatest inventions of all time... for everyone except people with teenage daughters.

Can you imagine a world with out telephones now?  They have opened up possibilities to communicate with people anywhere in the world.  I recently completed a software implementation with my hospital that consisted of weekly telephone conference sessions for several months in which the participants were in conference rooms in 4-5 separate hospitals in Idaho, Oregon and Michigan.  Some people even called in to those meetings in the PJs from home!

From: libladygenblog.wordpress.com

From: http://onemom.com/2009/07/our-regularly-scheduled-friday-flyer/

Phones have definitely evolved since Mr. Bell's time.  Remember the rotary phones?  One of my patients saw a picture of one and asked me if it was for a video game.  The most significant jump for me as a kid was when we got a cordless phone. It was magical.

Some aspects of the phone industry weren't so great. Caller ID, for instance, was a stupid development. At least I thought so  at around age 12 or so.  You see, my 2 buddies and I thought we were pretty cool.  We got one of the cute girl's phone numbers and then dared each other to call her.  All of us were too scared to actually talk so we took turns calling and listening to her pick up the phone and say "hello." It took several months before I learned about this amazing new technology that could magically identify the person who was doing the calling... when I found that out I was hopeful that the girls we called didn't have it... They did, and of course we always did it at my house and we were the only Hazletts in the phone book (in a few years no one will know what a telephone book is either).

Remember Zack Morris or Magnum PI with the Cell phones the size of telephone books?  I got my

From: http://magnum-mania.com/Episodes/Season8/Transitions.html

first cell phone in 2003.  It had one of those nifty antennas that you pulled up to call and it came with Tetris.  Course the drawback was that texting "hello" or "LOL" took 4 hours and cost you $300.  Now, believe it or not, I still have a DumbPhone, paying for the data package makes me cry so I haven't given in.  But look at all the things a SmartPhone can do! With the right phone you can call, text, Facebook, Skype, FaceTime, SMS, and more all from your work, school, car (hands free only please!), house, or from the middle of the forest.

With all that communication ability, I hope it means we are getting better at communicating... but that's a topic for a different blog.  We curse when we drop calls or when the picture message doesn't come through.  Instead, we should remember that it wasn't that long ago that we were still using pony's and smoke signals to communicate.

I, for one, just hope that the next time my son leaves me 24 voicemails that all say "Daddy, I love you... come home from work right now!" or when I get to sing my daughter a song from hundreds of miles away on a business trip, I will smile and think of Mr. Bell and the glorious invention of the phone.

Princess Puppet Master...by Gina Waite

Just this last weekend I got a notice on my iPhone that it was time for another software update.  I was reluctant to upgrade because Apple definitely did NOT work out all the kinks before issuing the last one.  I decided to go ahead with the updating and everything seems to be working out just fine...in fact a little better than before.  That got me thinking....wouldn't it be nice if our brains had an internal software update every-so-often?  Like...say, once a month our brains would be set for an automatic upgrade that would help us think, process information and run at optimal efficiency for the tasks at hand!  Nah....then we may become robots that do whatever the programmer thinks instead thinking for ourselves.  Which reminds me of the time that my Mother took Valium for a post-surgery dental appointment and my sister, Lora, decided she would make all my Mom's decisions for her...by whispering into my Mom's ear while she was half-asleep, doped up and completely agreeable to all the requests my sister made of her!

It was 1995...such a stressful time in my Mother's life.  She was planning a wedding, readying two sons to go out into the world for church missions AND undergoing massive reconstructive dental surgery.  To say my Momma needed some drugs to help lessen the physical, and probably emotional, pain she was experiencing was a HUGE understatement!   As my Mother came home from her dental procedure, she popped her pills with a Pepsi and lounged out on the recliner in front of the T.V.!  In those days, my Mother rarely took ibuprofen so to say the she was a pharmaceutical lightweight would be putting it mildly!

You must understand, my Mother was rarely seen in a seated position during the daylight hours...which drew immediate attention from ALL within the household...for we knew if my Mom wasn't moving at light speed, something was amiss!  That's about when my sister walked into the house....Enter Lora!  To know her is to love her, she's like a lab rat on amphetamines!  The girl has tireless energy and is always ready, and willing,  to help...whatever the plight!  Once in the house, she immediately went to my Mother's side.  First and foremost out of concern for my Mom (this girl was my Mom's BFF) but she was also well aware that if my Mom DID opt to take the medication, she wanted a front row seat for the SHOW that would surely ensue!   .....And....Oh what a show it was!  Lora proceeded to ask my Mom questions similar to these:

Lora: "How are you doing today Mom?"
Mom's answer: "Green!"

Lora: "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Mom's answer: "Marlene!"

This continued for quite sometime until we were all seated round about my Mom and  Lora...known hereafter as Princess Puppet Master!  It was all fun and games until my Mom, almost incoherent, started asking my sister for her advice in answering the questions.  She would say, "What sssshould I say Lor" to which my sister would obligingly whisper HER desired answer into my Mom's ear and my Mom would parrot the answer she heard, right back!  My brother's, being the opportunists they were,  started offering suggestions for questions my sister should ask my Mom.  Then, with a  promise of payment, asked if Lora would coax my Mom into answering in their favor...for example:

Lor:  "Is it okay for the boys to take the car and go to the movies?"
Mom's answer with Princess Puppet Master's help: "Of course you caaaann take the ccccaar!"

Lor:  "Is it a problem if the boys pay for the movie with your credit card?"
Mom's answer with Princess Puppet Master's help: "You bbbet...it's in my waallllet!"

This continued until my Mother, completely inaudible and practically unconscious, could no longer move her lips....to which my sister improvised and decided she would act as ventriloquist too!  With her fingers, Princess Puppet Master took my Mother's lips and began to answer the boys questions...all while moving my Mother's lips in time with her own response.  I think even Gepetto would have been appalled!  All I can say is if you are in need of a good laugh, or your source of entertainment has been limited...find a family member going in for dental surgery, grab a video camera and wait for their return...I know I DEFINITELY wish our video camera was rolling!

Lunch, With a Purpose...by Gina Waite

Have you ever looked at something and realized it's not what you thought it was?  This picture of my daughter's face completely emulates how I feel when realizing that "THINGS are not always what they APPEAR to be!"  Take for example the time I thought there was a man standing in our vegetable garden in our backyard.  Upon early morning, and the beautiful rising sun, I realized that my son had laid his coat over the top of a shovel.  As the shovel had been pitched in a perfect  vertical position, and the coat having been draped directly over the top of the handle...it looked (in the dark, wee hours of the morning...while my husband was away on a business trip) in perfect proportion to a very short, stocky man!   I was plotting and planning my attack should he move from his stronghold in the garden...little to say, I got very few hours of sleep that night and, it was all for naught!

Which brings me to my thoughts about lunch...with a purpose.  Most often times when your friends or family members tell you they would like to take you to lunch, it's with the purpose of eating and enjoying one another's company...no strings attached.  Little else is expected and most often times the lunch, and the company you enjoy while lunching, are like a Vitamin B shot in the butt and you're on your happy, merry way!  That is, unless the purpose of the lunch is to warm up your lunch mate long enough to release the blow of the true purpose of lunch...at least that's how it was for my brother, and me in 1991.

In 1991, life was awesome!  I was a Senior at Bonneville High School and my brother, a Junior!  I had a great family, lots of fun dating and amazing friends!  I also enjoyed the results of having finished up most of my core classes by my Junior year so I decidedly scheduled a "Party Year" as my Senior Year!   My class schedule included  Drama, BHS Players (musical theater) , Bonnevaires (choir) and Creative Writing.  I did show some responsible behavior by holding down a part-time job at Hogi Yogi (shout out to my homies that either worked or managed me at that great little sandwich/yogurt shop) but to say that I had time to do what my little heart desired was a complete understatement!  The very fact that my parents expected me to have responsibilities at home was a complete insult to my intelligence.  I was determined to have fun and be involved in as many productions as I possibly could...and I did, with very little interruption from home!  The only responsibilities that were entrusted to me at home were to help with dishes and the cleaning of the house..and I did those, with as little effort as I possibly could.  My inattention to cleaning did NOT dovetail well with an amazingly keen, and CLEAN,  Mother!

My Mom was a brilliant woman with eyes that could visibly carry out a white glove test from 20 yards away!  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that she was an amazing housekeeper!  I remember bringing my friends to the house and NEVER feeling ashamed or embarrassed because there were NEVER any messes!  In fact, I remember one friend remarking that in my house, she loved looking at the vacuum-mark patterns that were ALWAYS visible on the carpet throughout our house!  That being said, my Mom and I had several tête-à-tête in regard to the way I kept my room.  We were expected to make our beds and pick up our rooms before leaving for school each day.  On one particular week, I remember my Mom reminding us several times about our duties to contribute to the household...but it was all in vain!  My brother and I were failing to fulfill our simple obligation to keep our beds made and our rooms tidy!

I was in second hour at Bonneville when I received a note from the school secretary informing me that my Mother would be meeting me at the office to take me to lunch.  Upon arriving at the office, my brother stood there with a similar note and we concluded how wonderful it was that our Mom was so thoughtful!  This is not the first time she had taken us out of school to do enjoyable things with her and it was definitely not the last!  My brother and I stood there with smiles on our faces as our Mother walked in the front door of the High school to pick us up!  I'm positive we both expressed our appreciation for her thoughtfulness as we walked toward the parking lot...then into the car and off to lunch we went!  No sooner had we finished our fried rice and mandarin chicken that our sweet Mother dropped the BOMB!  As we were readying ourselves to go back to our friends, AND all my Party Classes back at school, my Mom broke the news by saying, "Well, now that you have had your lunch we're going back home so that you can make your beds and pick up your rooms!"

My brother and I looked at each other with an incredulous expression, surely my Mom was kidding!  I think we both chuckled to ourselves then turned to look at our her together.  My Mother's expression remained stoic when she said, "I'm serious...you two are going home to make your beds and clean your rooms." Well....I'll be a Monkey's Uncle...I did NOT see that coming!  Quickly look at the picture of my daughter's expression again...pretty sure my Mom got a whole lot of THAT when she announced our indentured servitude!  I think both myself, and my brother, remained quiet the entire trip home and to this day, I still remember how duped I felt in accepting a lunch invitation with the Grande Dame of Deception!  Years later...I laugh and admire my Mom's strength and willingness to teach a very important lesson...to always do what you're asked and contribute what you can to make the environment you're in...BETTER!  

What happened once my Mom took us home, you may ask?  Our beds were made, our rooms picked up and never again did my Mom have to pick us up for lunch with the purpose of cleaning our rooms!  As a result of this experience, I can neither confirm OR deny that a similar slip of paper was recently handed to my Mother's grandson at his High School declaring, "Your Mom will be coming to pick you up for lunch today...Please be waiting for her near the office!"  You may now call me the Grande Dame of Deception!  ;-)

Don't "Suck" Or You'll Be "Kut"...by Jim Terry

Happy Post Oscars!  How many of you have seen the new movie Gravity with Sandra Bullock? Did you like it? What are your thoughts? 

I was amazed to see the use of special effects in the movie but more so…the acting.  I was impressed by the remarkable job Sandra did to convince us that she might NOT make it back to earth and how scary that would have been if you or I were faced with the exact same situation.   How many of us could act out the depth of fear Sandra did while simply sitting in front of a green screen or on the stage that she was on?  To pretend that you are spinning out of control towards the emptiness of space all the while knowing you are safe at Hollywood studios in California…I simply could NOT do it!  

Each and every movie has what I call an "Oscar Moment."  It's the moment within the movie that generally draws the audience more into the movie by facilitating an emotional response from the viewer.  In Gravity, I believe that moment was achieved and tugged at our heartstrings when Sandra or Dr. Stone began to give up hope while on her way to the Chinese Space station named Tiangong.  She started thinking about her deceased daughter and her life back on earth and finally resigns herself to being stranded in space and shuts down the cabin’s oxygen supply in order to take her own life.  Remember the tears that gently started to flow from Sandra’s eyes and became airborne simulating the vacuum of space?  Which got me thinking…how do actors cry spontaneously on command and create that "moment" that may win them that golden statue? 

As I was compiling information on learning how to “cry” on command to further my acting career--"yeah, right"-- I found out that the number one recommendation to help one “cry” is to use a “tear stick.”  How many of you have heard about a “tear stick?”  It literally is something you can buy that contains a form of menthol that you rub underneath your eyes to stimulate the tears ducts to duplicate the act of crying.  Other methods mentioned were to “tap into your memory driven tears”.   Really? Who wants to be sad when you are an Oscar nominee and making millions of dollars?  “Tap into your fears”, “Be in the moment” or "gently splash" some water into your eyes were a couple of other recommendations.  ...I have to laugh at the last recommendation regarding the water in the eyes because I have used this method a couple of times in my life before. I am not one to be too serious so I would "ham up" the "crying" by using this particular method in order to try and get out of a date, a commitment or something else I didn't particularly care to do and create my own "Oscar Moment" very similar to this clip here. ;)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKbZEzDlZZ0 

Doesn’t this “crying” stuff sound like it is just too much work?  …I definitely agree!  So if I am going to be an “actor” I have decided to only act in movies or reality TV that are all about comedy. Laughing is just so much more fun and as the doctor says, “is the best medicine.” 

My advice for today..."know your limitations."  Because while attempting to do a dramatic part like Sandra Bullock did in Gravity, I wouldn’t want the director do come to me and say Jim you “suck" and then proceed to say “kut" to his supporting staff unless it was in the same exact FUN context as this video listed below.  Happy Tuesday and remember to LAUGH.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AioVDsXidh0 

Snowed...by Mary Hazlett

Funny how a little word like"snowed" can have different meanings.  It could mean the little white stuff that fell from the sky or it could mean something completely different like utterly exhausted (as I frequently hear from the younger generations).

I am sure you are looking at this picture thinking my title today is perfect.  This picture was taken in the winter of 1997 and this is me... excited for the work.   I think I was laughing at least the first hour of shoveling.  

The majority of my growing up years we lived in this beautiful home on the outskirts of Idaho Falls.  Those who know this area know that it blows and blows and blows.  If two inches of snow fell, we could end up with five foot drifts.  There was this one area on our driveway that I would watch as the drifts would pile up.  Because if the drift crossed the driveway, school was definitely going to be cancelled.  Longingly, I would look out the window each winter morning and look for that drift.  I remember one morning... not the one pictured here... I looked out and the drift was hefty and definitely across the driveway and so I optimistically went back to bed.  Only to discover that school continued as usual...bummer!  That was the only time though that I was wrong. 

The pictures posted here is still quite a vivid memory for me.  I remember that night I parked my car by the fence (on bare ground) with only a small chance for a storm to hit Idaho Falls.  The forecasters were definitely wrong with 14 inches of snow and hurricane winds, my car was barely recognizable by morning. (Due to just the antenna protruding out from the snow.)  My family and I shoveled for hours.  It was AWESOME!  I loved every minute of it.  Of course this is the mind set I had as a teenager... now... I think I would be more annoyed than anything.

I think I felt a lot of gratification that day.   To know that I had something important, special, and valuable underneath all this snow and the only way to get it was to put in the time, energy, and effort to get it.  I did finally get my car (which I lovingly named Lola Big Hubs) out of the snow as you can see here in the picture.  I am glad to have had this experience to remind me that hard work, though  perhaps mundane and redundant, will result in treasure.  So, tonight as I lay down in bed exhausted from working all day long for my little family and greatest treasures... I will know that it is all worth it to be "SNOWED". 

Please share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.