Improvables: Girl Power!

Last night, the Improvables broke new ground yet again with the first-ever (that we know of) multi-troupe all-female improv show in Utah, hosted by our troupe and on our very own stage. All six current female Improvable performers, including Brianne, Cassie, Charlotte, Erica, Megan, and Shannon, were joined by Nicole of Hot Toddy and Erin and Jamie of Laughing Stock.

Hilarity ensued. But you already knew that I was gonna say that.

Codename: Dough

You know how when you go into a restaurant and place an order, and the cashier asks you, "What name is this under?"? Employees at these places can hear and/or write down things other than your actual first name when it is very busy and there are a lot of people making loud noises nearby.

Sometimes, they can even hear/write your name as "Dough."

Did You Hear about Pluto? That's Messed Up!

Whenever the subject of science comes up, the first thing I usually think of is the word science being said, or rather yelled, whether in my head or out loud, just like that one guy in the '80s new wave song "She Blinded Me with Science" by Thomas Dolby:

"SCIENCE!"

Like many other things that happened in the '80s, you had to be there.

Speaking of science, it was, by far, my weakest subject in school. Life Science gave us the chance to dissect earthworms and frogs, which should have been cool in theory but instead let me know I am nauseated by the smell of formaldehyde, as well as earthworm/frog insides. Things didn't get much easier in earth science and Biology, and by the time I took chemistry in the 11th grade, I was downright befuddled by half of the stuff I read and/or was tested on.

The thing is, though, as little as I understand about science, I sometimes feel like some scientists honestly don't understand much more about it than I do.

A couple of days ago, I came across an article online with the headline:

“Everything We Know about the Big Bang Could Be Wrong”

Sarcasm alert: And here I had put so much stock into the Big Bang. My day was ruined for about one-eighth of a second, and then I kept on scrolling.

I think also of the planet Pluto, formerly the non-planet Pluto, which had previously been a planet the first time I learned about it when I was an elementary school kid growing up in the '80s.

Like I said, you had to be there in the '80s, or it just wouldn't make much sense.

I don't say any of this to bring on an onslaught of "Oh yeah, well science gave us this and science gave us that, and here's a Snopes article on this thing, you nimrod, and science cured polio, blah blah blah." If science is "all that" to you and your world, then I say, congratulations. Science has done some great things, to be sure. It has, indeed, cured diseases and helped us understand a lot about how people and animals and things work, and made inventions, and I'm not disputing any of that.

It is not, however, an exact science. So to speak. There seems to be a lot of guesswork involved in which a best guess is simply accepted as fact. In another decade, Pluto could be reclassified an asteroid, or a comet, or a giant, floating space paperweight, or the result of a bowel movement shot into space by Jabba the Hutt thousands of years ago.

My recurring thought is simply this: I'm glad that real, powerful, everlasting truth does not change. By definition, it never has, never does, and never will. It is not altered nor modified when people change their minds, because it comes from God. And I'm grateful I know the places I can go to find it.

Disturbers and Annoyers

The Island of Misfit Toys went to stake conference this past weekend. I had to miss the Saturday night session due to a prior commitment (improv up in Clearfield), but I got to go to Sunday afternoon's excellent concluding session. During his talk, one of the counselors in the Salt Lake City mission presidency, who was visiting our stake, shared and expounded upon Joseph Smith—History 1:20, which reads in part:

"It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom (emphasis added)."

I love this scripture, and I love the phrase "a disturber and an annoyer."

Many people might be offended to be called either a "disturber" (disturbed?) or an "annoyer"—but not this Paco. When it comes to disturbing or annoying of this nature, I consider it to be a badge of honor.

I recently spent some time on Facebook doing some profile stalking—like you do—in which I looked at the profiles of numerous people who once used to be my friends but who have now unfriended me.

Disclaimer: I have not ever unfriended someone on Facebook for having a different viewpoint or opinion on any matter. (If someone has been outwardly rude or insulting—the opposite of being a "friend"—then that is a different matter altogether.)

There's a few more who had unfriended than I had previously believed. And many of them, I'm rather positive, have unfriended me because of my views on political and/or moral issues. In fact, I'm certain of it.

This fact used to bother me, but it really doesn't now. I'm okay with it. My views are not shared with malice. They are not meant to offend nor to irritate but, rather, they are expressed out of love for the gospel and the Father's great Plan of Happiness, and for the joy that they bring me and my family. They are meant not to disturb or to annoy my friends but, instead, to disturb and to annoy someone else entirely.

As President Hinckley once said, "We are compelled by our doctrine to speak out" ("Why We Do Some of the Things We Do," October 1999 general conference).

The First Amendment: It's fan-tastic!

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12; emphasis added)."

I've been told by some that I talk about politics a great deal. Well, I'm guilty as charged. It's because there's a great deal of spiritual wickedness in high places in our time. It's not only in foreign lands, but it's right here in the United States—in Washington, D.C., as well as locally, too. It's another reason why I speak out.

While watching an episode of the Ken Burns documentary "The Roosevelts" today, I heard this magnificent quote from one of my top 5 favorite U.S. presidents, Teddy:

"Neutrality does not serve righteousness; for to be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong."‪

In other words, if you're not a disturber or an annoyer, than you might unwittingly be one who aids and abets.

I can't stay neutral. I feel I must stand up for many of the things I believe. I'm happy to be among the disturbers and annoyers. And I'm trying my best not to be disturbing nor annoying in the process.

There is a difference.

Bookmobile Witness Protection

In the early '80s, to the best of my recollection, there used to be a Bookmobile that drove from place to place all over southern Davis County. As you might assume, it was a mobile library of sorts. You could check out books from the Bookmobile. Then, theoretically, you would return these books to the Bookmobile whenever it came back into your neighborhood or to your school.

Somehow, The Monster at the End of This Book never made it back.

Someone in my family checked this book out from the Bookmobile in 1981 and never returned it. As a result, this book has remained in my family's possession longer than all but three of the people in my improv troupe, by my figuring, have been alive. If the Bookmobile police ever catch up with the book and/or us, we might be facing a late fee of something like a combined total of $30,000.

Mom has also been recorded reading the story of The Monster at the End of This Book. My sister arranged it at the recording studio where she works. In this recording, Mom reads Grover's story in her best Grover voice. It's hilarious. All of her kids now have copies of Mom reading this story, and it is an heirloom I hope we will all cherish for a long time.

It's amazing how very simple things like The Monster at the End of This Book can mean so much for these simple (and other reasons). I have my own copy of the book now, and, the other day, I picked it up from my bookshelf to re-read it for the first time in a few years. It took me all of 30 seconds to complete it. All the while, I could hear Mom's voice narrating in my head.

Then, somewhere off in the distance, I also heard a siren in my head, and I immediately began to panic. Because I know that somewhere, somehow, the Bookmobile Police are out there, and they will not stop searching until they track us down one day.

Casey's and Melissa's Wedding Toast

One of my favorite things about participating in improv is that the unexpected always happens. Such was the case this past Friday night, when our fan and friend Casey popped the question to his now-fiancée Melissa on our stage as part of the game "Wedding Toast." Their first date was at one of our performances in Clearfield, and this brought it full-circle for them.

Well, I can't get it to embed for some reason. But here's the link on YouTube:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YLJt0L37Osw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Granted, we in the troupe were in on it. But the toasts were improvised, and the feeling was one of spontaneous fun. It was a memorable evening for all involved, and the electricity that shot through the players and our audience was palpable.

Testifying with Lovin'

My mind can be much more like a sieve than a steel trap sometimes. Countless hours of "Simpsons" quotes, video games, "Weird Al" songs, and more all crammed in my noggin are probably to thank for it.

Nevertheless, I rarely, if ever, forget a face. I do not always remember names (though most of the time I do), but I almost always recognize faces, even when I haven't seen them for many years.

Last Sunday, it was Fast Sunday on the Island of Misfit Toys. That, of course, meant fast and testimony meeting. Rather unexpectedly, a familiar face stepped up to the podium to bear her testimony. It was one of the people I least expected to see there.

It had been more than 20 years since I last saw this person. Yes, folks, I am old enough to remember people from over two decades in my past. My knees frequently remind me of that fact. I'm not really the baby-faced young lad you might surmise to be 23 or 24.

At age 16, I started my first job (one that was not delivering newspapers or selling concessions at Utah Jazz games, anyway) working at (where else?) McDonald's in Centerville. That is how and when I first met this person. We did not get along all that well, from what I recall. I heard more than a few curse words escape from this person's mouth, and she also smoked.

Back to last week's testimony meeting: This same person stepped up to the pulpit, professing her belief in Christ and in the Atonement and stating that she knew she is a daughter of God. In the years since I had last seen her, her entire countenance had completely changed. With her testimony, she strengthened mine.

Like I said, it was the last person I expected to see. It's strange how people you never expect to see again, people who made cameos once upon a time, can suddenly reappear in your life. It's truly amazing what time can do and to witness the enormous capacity of people to change their lives. The gospel is a marvelous thing, isn't it?