Musings on Life and Living

Gretch and I went to my high school's Operation Snowball event this weekend. It is something I have done nearly every single year since 1998 (excepting only the two years that I was serving a mission in California), so this was my fifteenth such event at Washington Community High School. Gretch started going in 2008, shortly after we'd started dating, and has been six times now. (She didn't go last year due to medical circumstances.) The theme for Washington's Snowball this year was "Under Pressure" and thus it has been on my thoughts a lot the past few days. It seemed particularly appropriate for these students whose lives have been under immense pressure over the past couple of months. You may be aware that there was a massive tornado that blew through a few communities in central Illinois this past November. What you may not realise is that the community that was hit the hardest was Washington. The town is still struggling to recover and rebuild, but th...

I enjoy going to restaurants. I don't get to go as much as I would like, due to financial priorities, but whenever I do, I usually try to provide positive feedback to places that have impressed me and send respectful messages when something is not quite up to par. I have recently had to do this twice with two very different stores. I thought I would share one of them on here, mostly so I can keep a record, but also so I can point out how very reasonable some stores have been about responding to our needs! It was the Burger King here in Savoy. I went there about two weeks ago to pick up some food Gretch was craving while recovering from a nasty cold. Even though the weather was truly frightful, I ventured out and ordered some inexpensive bacon cheeseburgers from the Value Menu. After paying, I realised that the price I was charged was higher than the menu board had listed, so I went online and sent a message through the corporate office: I went to the Savoy Burger King this a...