Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This is my favorite true Christmas story, and I post it every year at Christmas!  This year (2018) my dear sister Vina is in the hospital, and has been for 18 days.  She has had 2 operations, and bad infection.  Please pray for her! This was first posted on December 1, 2013, less than a month after I started writing this blog.  In the photo below I was about 5, and my sister Vina was about 3 and a half.   I am on the left, and my sister Vina on the righ t   The Christmas of 1939, here in St. George, Utah, was going to be quite humble at our house. My father had been in World War I and had suffered off and on with "shell shock", which now is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He had been in the Veteran's hospital in Salt Lake City during the year, and my mother, Ruth, had given birth to my sister, Mavis, on December 1st.  These pictures above were taken when Mavis was a baby.  For those who know St. George, you can see ...

This was first posted on December 1, 2013, less than a month after I started writing this blog.  In the photo below I was about 5, and my sister Vina was about 3 and a half.   I am on the left, and my sister Vina on the righ t   The Christmas of 1939, here in St. George, Utah, was going to be quite humble at our house. My father had been in World War I and had suffered off and on with "shell shock", which now is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He had been in the Veteran's hospital in Salt Lake City during the year, and my mother, Ruth, had given birth to my sister, Mavis, on December 1st.  These pictures above were taken when Mavis was a baby.  For those who know St. George, you can see the "D" on the hill -- before there were any homes built on that black ridge! In those days, mothers stayed down much longer with a difficult birth. My mother had been allowed to turn over in bed on the 10th day, and got up on the 17th day, so Chri...

This article about growing older is very fascinating!  Now I am 82 years old, even that age doesn't sound so old!  Growing old is really a privilege, and a great joy!  So those who are younger, don't dread getting old!  It's a blast!  I have been to a fascinating 3 day seminar about Mastering your Influence, and I will tell about it in upcoming blogs!  You're never too old to learn new and interesting things, and associate with people of all ages! A photo taken recently with our daughter Delsy, Dr. Andrew Barnum, (the husband of my older sister Delsy deceased many years ago, for whom my daughter Delsy was named), and Vina Ruth, my sister.  Andrew is 92 and still extremely sharp, working 4 hours a day at the college, volunteering his expertise and experience.                    My dear sister Vina and me, learning how to take "selfies"! Poll: Optimism on aging grows MATT SEDENS...

I was asked to write a musical biography for "Music House Publications", where I have some music on the internet.  I decided to use that as my entry today.  I hope it is interesting to you readers.                                 MUSIC RUNS IN MY VEINS ! I was blessed to be born to two very musical people, as their first child.  My father, Orson Pratt Miles, had a beautiful tenor voice, and my mother Ruth Allen Miles, had a beautiful soprano voice.   Pratt, as my father was called, grew up in St. George, Utah, without the convenience of television, radio or movies, and groups of young people loved to get together and sing.    On his Church mission to Tennessee he sang in duets and quartets.  One quartet sang over the biggest radio station in Memphis, Tennessee.  He brought a duet music book home from Tennessee and while working in a Church group with Ruth Allen, a...

  Today, I'm posting pictures of various family members, with a short description about each photo.  I hope you'll enjoy them!   This is a photo Wayne sent me when he was in the army in 1954.  I think Wayne is so handsome and I love the look on the young boy's face, and how he seems to really feel important with a soldier's arm around him!  This is a family photo of our daughter Pamela and her husband Robert Nicholson, and their family  taken 2007.  Standing are Skye, left, Caleb, and Miriam.   Yesterday, March 19, 2014, Skye entered the MTC in Provo, for her mission to the California, Irvine mission.  Front row, Lily, Pam holding baby Elizabeth (now 7 years old) Robert with Joy, and Leah. This is a photo of my mother, Ruth (who wrote the poems in blog # 95 -- the all time favorite!) and her sister Adelia, who was 5 years younger than Ruth, but she passed away a year or two before Ruth. This beautiful photo above...