Rays of Sunshine: A Pocket Book of Pep

I love my job at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the HBLL. I love it love it love it.

And I love it because I get to look at cool old stuff all day, organize it, and tell other people about it!! What could possibly be greater?

So, today I found several gems. You see, I'm going through a collection of papers and junk that was owned/collected by Nellie Gubler, a long-time St. George/Santa Clara resident. She did a lot of family history and St. George history work, plus kept and used everything that she ever came in contact with. It is my job to sort through all her stuff and make sense of it. And all of this purely for historical reasons, of course.

But anyway, today I went through a ton of family history stuff, WHICH I LOVED. It was fascinating. But, I won't get in to all of that. The noteworthy stuff of the day came in the afternoon when I looked through several binders of Nellie's that contained pages and pages of inspirational stories and craps that you get at church and at activities like enrichment night, and recipes, songs, poems, etc. Just lots of junk that most people don't keep. I am sure glad this lady kept all of it, though, because it can be highly entertaining. I found some pretty great stuff today, which is as follows:

1. The title of this post was actually the title of a pamphlet found in one of the binders. Like it was a real thing.
2. "Remember that 'American' ends with, 'I can.'" I'm just trying to figure out why Obama didn't think of this. It would have worked perfectly with his campaign.
3. "Is the carpet in your bedroom worn most in front of your bed where you pray, or in front of your mirror where you primp?"
4. In a random quiz that denies its taker of any point or purpose, there was a question that read:

How would you describe your hair?
a. Pretty.
b. Long.
c. Fluffy.
d. My crowning glory.

hahahahahah. Crowing glory. kay, that's funny anyway, but that is ACTUALLY how Stephanie describes her hair. Why, I don't know. But those words have actually come out her mouth in reference to her golden locks of hair. Her crowning glory.

5. "People do not plan to be poor, they just do not plan." So maybe if you plan to be poor, you won't be, because you have a plan.

6. Dr. Whitt N. Schulyz gives us: How to Get an Extra Hour out of Every Day:
(which is something that I have been complaining about and desperately need. So, when I saw this, I exclaimed in joy, and proceeded to read, hoping to glean some useful information for my life. Unfortunately, people several decades ago think a little differently than we do today.):

1. Make up and follow a detailed, daily schedule (duh, I already do this)
2. Get up earlier (this is not worth the extra time it will give you. What if the extra time you need is for sleeping?!?)
3. Avoid allowing other to waste your time (yeah, since it's our fault, and we can prevent it, when other people waste our time).
4. Make creative use of lunch time (I already do that too.)
5. If you commute to work, use the time to study or plan (This is actually a good one)
6. Eliminate activities which make little contribution to the best results of your life. (Are we saying that no fun is allowed?)
7. Skip desserts (yep, no fun is allowed).
8. Lay out your clothes the night before (FINALLY! something that will actually help me!)
9. Relax. Ready yourself for the important jobs in life. (I thought that we were trying to save time! How can relaxing possibly do that?)
10. Learn to do other "unnecessary things" while watching TV or listening to the radio. (Isn't that already what TV and radio are for?? Making multi-tasking possible?)
11. Learn to read more rapidly (If only that were easy and possible...)
12. Avoid interruptions (because interruptions are purposeful and easy to avoid).
13. Work to your top capacity (ALL THE TIME?!?!?!)
14. Nap an hour after dinner. Then take a shower. Begin the evening hours relaxed and refreshed. (Oh wow. This one is my favorite. It really defeats the purpose of having that extra hour, if you are going to use it for a nap and extra daily shower.)
15. Call on specialists to accomplish work you cannot do efficiently. (Yes, let's pay everyone to do all the things that we can't do fast enough ourselves. We'll learn really well that way.) :)

Dear Dr. Shulyz: I'm sorry, but I don't think your advice is very meaningful or useful in a modern context. But it is very entertaining. Love, Audrey

7. In one of the binders is this old St. George song. I found it positively delightful:

Oh, what a dreary place this was when first they Mormons found it,
They said no white man here could live; and Indians prowled around it.
They said the land it was no good, and the water was no gooder,
And the bare idea of living here was enough to make men shudder.

Chorus
Mesquite! Soap-root! Prickly-pears and briars!
St. George ere long will be a place that everyone admires!

Now green lucerne is verdant spots redeems our thriving city,
Whilst vines and fruit trees grace our lots with flowers sweet and pretty,
Where once the grass in single blades grew a mile apart in distance,
And it kept the crickets on the o[p to pick up their subsistence.

The sun it is so scorching hot, it makes the water sizz, sir,
And the reason that it is so hot is just because it is, sir.
The wind with fury here doth blow, that went we plat or sow, sir,
We place one foot upon the seeds and hold them till they grow, sir.

:)

So you see, sorting through old stuff all day really is entertaining. There are all sorts of treasures to be found. And that is why working in the Special Collections really is a blast from the past.