Random thoughts from oldmcgyver

🌾 We Are the Generation That Isn’t Coming Back We didn’t have much. No smartphones to keep us busy. No internet to scroll through late at night. No endless toys lined up in our bedrooms. But somehow, we had everything. We had front porches where neighbors sat and talked until the stars came out. We had bikes that carried us across town until the streetlights reminded us it was time to go home. We had dinners where every seat was filled and no one reached for a phone—because there wasn’t one. We had parents who worked hard with their hands, who didn’t always say “I love you” out loud, but proved it in every meal, every repaired shoe, every light left on so we wouldn’t walk into a dark house. We are the generation of shared blankets, borrowed sugar, and front doors that were never locked. The generation of handwritten letters, of saving every penny, of fixing instead of throwing away. We didn’t measure happiness in things. We measured it in moments. And now, as we grow o...

Dino Potestio’s daughter Gege sent me a text to notify us that Dino passed away in June  His wife Mary a very good friend of Patti’s had passed away about two or so years ago.  Gege ask us for memories  so we put this together. Dino and Rich. (A short story - true life)     Dino and I met in San Francisco at the Army Base called The Presidio. I was back from a one year tour in Korea.       We became friends because of a shared back ground. Both farmers me from Michigan and Dino from Colorado - instant friends.  My family was dry land farmers and Dino’s family were irrigation farmers. We had enough in common that we clicked.  We shared a barracks room with 10 other guys and spent most of our free time together.         Patti and Mary met each other in high school in Mesa AZ. Patti was shy and Marry was very outgoing and they had some classes together in high school. Mary was very friendly she had many friends...

​    God is still writing your story, quit trying to steal the pen. trust the Author!      You can be a mirror to reflect Gods love for others.       Don’t complicate the gospel. We humans tend to create bylaws and sub-topics etc and suddenly we are so burdened with expectations that we can’t accomplish anything.       Don’t forget that maybe you are the lighthouse in someone else’s storm.      Obedience brings forth blessings, but exact obedience brings forth miracles.       When you can’t have what you choose, you just choose what you have.        Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to make a point:  Never mind what you’ve done, just come home.       More Nephi and less wifi

​     I was about ten when dad bought his first combine, it was a used one and I will delve into that in a minute or ten.      Prior to that (as far back as I can remember one of our neighbors, had what was known as a threshing machine). Back to that in a minute or five.      Dad had a machine called a binder, it was pulled by two horses and it would cut the grain close to the ground (oats in July and wheat in August).  It would cut the grain and bundle it and tie it with binder twine. When it had four bundles dad would kick a lever and drop the bundles to the ground. My brothers and I would go to each group and stand three bundles upright and lay the forth bundle across the top to protect from rain or dew.      Dad would make an appointment with the neighbor to bring his threshing machine and four or five neighbors would come to help with wagons and horses.  They would go to the field and load the bundles of grain to thei...

​     Thoughts for ministering from Elder McKay      In three words:  Just Show Up      In four words:  Give Help When Needed      In five words:  Bring The Spirit With You      In six words:  Be A Blessing In Their Lives      Home is more than four walls and a front door      It’s where my parents were      It’s where my wife and children are      It’s where my God is       Elder McKay: “Some believe in the idea of God but not God Himself. To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair and that there will be wonderful surprises. We are like small smooth stones, warm and cradled and sure. No matter what happens He will not let go.”      Elder McKay: “Revelation is not something grand and overwhelming. It is a soft and quiet understanding. It comes in many ways, feelings, thoughts, angels, dreams ...

​     So, coming back from Korea the Army gave me 30 days leave and and a plane ticket home. Leaving Korea we landed in Japan to change planes for the trip to Travis Air Force Base in California.  In those days we crossed the Pacific ocean in a two engine passenger plane with 30 men on board and 2 stewardess. I felt really bad for the 2 stewardess because some of the guys didn’t know how to act like gentlemen but the girls knew how to handle their remarks and put them in their place. We stoped in at the island of Guam and Hawaii for refueling.  We landed in Guam at night, looking down from the air all we could see was a single light and they didn’t light up the landing strip until we were lined up to land.  We were not allowed off the plane and as soon as it was refuled we were off again to Hawaii where we were allowed off the plane but locked behind a chain link fence and then back on the plane to Travis AFB where they gave us a plane ticket home, 33 hours in t...