Turn off the Movies

Being less internet savvy, I couldn't find an e-mail address for the movie producers. If you can, would you please send or forward this letter (below) to them? Thank you!!!

My Good Friends in the Entertainment Industry;

When I was a very young boy my father would have us change the channel on the TV every time a tobacco advertisement came on. You could say, he was ahead of his time because years later the networks were told to take tobacco ads off the air.
Is it time to turn off the movies?

While watching Ghost Town I was shocked to hear the “F” word a few times. In the military, I got the same heart sick feelings when vulgar men used it. These were men that gave honor to their country but disgraced and disregarded the virtue and honor of women. Telling them that they would never use that language around their mothers or sisters seemed to deter the use of such a vulgar and disrespectful term.
I was with my wife and two daughters when your company used such indecency. I know you were portraying a loathsome unfaithful adulterer but it didn’t need to reach that level of graphic verbiage to convey the message to a mature and sophisticated audience.

Also, the sacred name of the Son of God (Jesus Christ) was used inappropriately in causal vain disrespect. Even if writers, produces, and actors aren’t believers it would be a higher and more respectful act of sensitivity to regard His name with more honor as to respecting the belief of others' faith by not putting His name in the context of a curse, oath, swearing or even casual response of an actor’s surprise or discuss. We would never use Budha, Mohammad, Zeus, Allah or other people’s gods or prophets with such flippant disrespect or disregard.

Please take these things out of the movies and TV shows.

Pornography, visual sexual acts, graphic violence and obscene language undermine our society and will decay and corrupt the basic fibers and people of a healthy society and destroy them the same way as it would corrupt a clean and healthy family unit. It will undermine trust in relationships, partnerships, and obligations much like AIG has done financially to the fiber of the lending community.

Instead of blindly creating harm whether by AIG, entertainment, business, or whomever… some self-regulation and holding to a wholesome standard would go a long way to strengthening our communities. Please consider, taking the high road.
I don’t believe people in the entertainment business are evil. I understand they are trying to make a profit. I would like to see them do that without sacrificing high standards of virtue, integrity and right.

Please let me know when it is safe to go to the movies again.

Thank you, so very much.
David Welch

Chantell and Joels' Wedding

Time flies on wings of lighting. You cannot call it back. This is the way I feel as I see these precious moments come and go so quickly. Only a few short days have past since Elle's birth and she seems to have grown so much already and little Stetson is as tiny as she was. It is wonderful to cherious these special little spirits and savor the sacred moments.

Grandson

Welcome home, Stetson Floyd Stanger!

Sweetheart Dance

This is Tiffany and best friend Megan before picking up their dates. Tiffany and Megan have been friends from the time they were babies.


This is Tiffany and Jordan before the dance. The day date was bowling at the Logan Fun Park. The candlelight dinner was at the Welch's. And the dance was at Mountain Crest High School.

The Sweethearts dance was Valentines Day and Tiffany and Megan ask dates (girls' choice) to attend with them. This is a small clip of the candlelight dinner they had at our house. After which Ronda and I had our own candlelight dinner.

Visit to the Johnsons

It was a fun visit. I loved every minute of it. It's great to be a Grandpa and Grandma again... #3.


How very precious... she has her Grandpa Welch's hair.

The "Montana Kid"

This is my good friend Chuck Jones "The Montana Kid" and is faithful horse "Prince".



This is what you can see of "Joker" and I.

Tosha, Ronda and Tiff putting the new crib together upstairs in Tosha's new house.
Tosha

Twilight

Singing that song took the blood right out of my head.

Twilight has nothing on me when it comes to the vampire look. This one is for Tiffany.

I was messing around on my you cam at Christmas time. I know it is late but let's have that Christmas Spirit all year.

I Love My Toy Horse

Matayia knows how to document a classic on video.

The Benson side of the family and the Grandpa Tom side comes out in her as she talks about horses... her toy horse. Next, it will be a real horse. I can't wait to catch that on video.

Yesterday as I drove Joshua back home, he talked of building old fashion rocking horses with exotic wood like the one in the video. Put your orders in. It will be expensive but well worth the price for a custom handmade family treasure to pass down through the generations. Remember, you heard it first here on the family blog.

Christmas Orange

Late Wednesday night, I was trying to think of something to give my elementary school children for Christmas. Standing on the Christmas isle at the grocery store, I saw was over a hundred feet of neatly wrapped boxes and tins of sugary candy treats. If I were to put one of everything in an extremely large bag it would have been more than a strong man could carry or eat over a year's time. It just didn't make sense to stuff children with candy Santa Clauses, jelly elves, marshmallow reindeer, peppermint candy canes, red and green frosted cookies, and chocolates of every shape and size.

Then I remembered, many of the old time Christmas stories I have hear. They tell about a Christmas orange like those I've heard about from James E. Faust, Little House on the Prairie and other stories. Times were hard and oranges in the winter were a real treat and very hard to come by. Oranges seemed to be a symbol of giving something of value through sacrifice, love and thoughtfulness. With that thought, I hurried off to the produce isle and bought two large bags of Jolly Green Giant's (not related to the other Jolly old fellow) California oranges.

The first three oranges I gave away were to my Kindergarten group. I handed them each an orange and wished them a Merry Christmas.

Jack took his and with a puzzled look on his face examined it carefully in his little hands turning it over numerous times.

Finally, he looked up and asked, "What does it do?"

___________________________________________

Now, I have a Christmas orange story of my own. Thanks Jack! Merry Christmas!!!

Three gaints coming down

The roots were uncontrollable and were of great concern to our foundation and sewer. It was also time to harvest the wood for next winter. One year of drying time is important. The three eighty foot giants were coming down. I have three fifteen feet tall lodge pole pines already growing in their shadows that are taking their place. A branch of the plum tree was ripped off when the first big tree came crashing to the ground. It was trimmed and will do just fine.

The wood is all cut and drying. Evenings after work for clean up will still take another week or two . My friend Chuck and I did the cutting up and Ronda, Tiffany and I have been doing the branch clean up and stacking. The video shows the smaller pieces stacked. The big pieces are stacked by the stumps on the north side of the house and are to large to move until dried and split a year from now. It looks like one years winter storage of fuel and/or a old fashion fence at the edge of our backyard. We still have a forest in our yard with four more giants by the backyard fence. They provide wonderful hot summer day cool shade for spending late afternoons having family picnics in the yard. I have three maples growing in their shade just in case I ever have to take them out.

I think I'm more of a tree farmer than a gardener. I love trees. At one time I counted over eighty tree in my less than one third of an acre yard. Well, quakies have a lot of small starts.