Tanner Family Reunion

Dear family members, I am sending you an invitation for a family reunion on July 11th. The enclosed attachmente has all the information. I have a limited E-mail list and I would appreciate you sending this to as many family member that you can both by E-mail and regular mail. We hope to have a good turn out and the event will prove to be worth your time. The surprise we hope to have for you will be a preview of a film that TC Christensen is doing on the life of John Tanner. He has produced many films you will be familiar with and some you should. The books will be a great blessing to the family. There is still a few week we will be able to extend the pedigrees to the 5th, 6th, and 7th generations, but the cut off date is very soon. Once the text is in the publishing soft ware additions will not be made. I am grateful for all those who have worked to bring the work to pass. If you will please forward any E-mail addresses to me. drwwtanner@msn.com so that the address list may be increased. Regards, Cousin Bill
Joseph Smith Tanner Reunion 2009.jpg

Summer Solstice

Now I know as well as most people, that summer solstice is the 21st of June -- the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, and that is how I have always viewed it. However, there are others throughout the world that actually have summer solstice celebrations, most of which are paganistic in nature. These rituals date back to Druid times or earlier. (The internet has a lot of intersting facts about summer solistice). Growing up in Utah I was rather sheltered. If such paganistic rituals took place here I never knew about them. My first experience with such was while living in Washington. There is a fun, quirky-funky little suburb of Seattle called Fremont. I may have liked Fremont had I not been there during summer solstice celebrations. Why, you ask would you be there then? Rich was a volunteer for an organization called Teen Link, which is a crisis hotline for teens. Rich had to work a certain number of community hours and so he had volunteered to work the Fremont Festival, where Sterling and I tagged along. Like most fairs there were booths promoting and selling all kinds of things from fun and practical to the odd and weird. What we didn't know was that some people in the parade (mostly bicyclists) were nude. Granted they had painted themselves, however the fact remained they were NuDe! The first person I saw as we turned the corner happened to be an old man who I swear had to be 80. I turned to Sterling and said, "That old man is wearing painted shorts!" Yes indeed, all he was wearing was his helmet, "shorts", and sneakers. Not a pretty sight on most people but certainly not when you are close to 80. I turned to Rich and said, "Rich, we're not in Utah anymore." We didn't go to the parade that year, but the following year Rich had to work the fair again. This time we attended the parade. The only thing I remember were the "nude bicyclists with painted clothing" and a group of belly dancers. The dancers were dressed in Red and there was one man also dressed in red that they danced with and around. He had short dark hair and a goatee (I thought he looked like Satan). I looked at the banners/flags that they were carrying and thought to myself, "What an intersting flower." Then I realized what I was looking at -- it wasn't a flower but a uterus and fallopian tubes. I was so glad that we didn't have to go again. It was just too Paganistic and wrong for this Utah girl. Even Rich thought so and he was about 14-15.

On MSN news I saw an article from Hagerstown, MD about Sunday being a "nude hiking day". Summer solstice is the one day a year where this group hike naked. Of course hikers who prefer clothes are not happy, as it is Father's day and families will be hiking with their children. It doesn't indicate that this is summer solstice celebration, but they do choose that day.

I tried to find a correlation between being nude and summer solstice. There is one thing I found that may be a correlation -- "Many esoteric traditions celebrate various rituals during this important event. The ancient Druids gathered at this time period to celebrate the forces of light. Many Pagans celebrate this time period as Litha or Midsummer’s Eve. It is celebrated as a triumph for the forces of light over the forces of darkness with a huge bonfire. Wiccans honor the Horned God in all his glory and the Goddess as pregnant, and ready to bear the fruit of the harvest.

Altogether, Midsummer is a favorite holiday for many Witches in that it is so hospitable to outdoor celebrations. The warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the celebrants are not in fact skyclad, then you may be fairly certain that the long ritual robes of winter have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel. As with the longer gowns, tradition dictates that one should wear nothing underneath -- the next best thing to skyclad, to be sure. (Incidentally, now you know the REAL answer to the old Scottish joke, 'What is worn underneath the kilt?')" I don't know if this the reason or if it has to do with fertility. Who knows? I think I'll just continue to stick with Christianity.

Pomp & Circumstance

Here it is -- the day I've known was coming for 13 years. Am I ready? Is Rich ready? Like his mother Rich is a procrastinator. We found out at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon that he WAS going to be able to walk with his class. Mind you graduation starts at 6:30. No pressure what so ever. (LOL) Rich is smart, however he is too social. He also has this bad habit of doing the work, just not turning it in. Hopefully he will have learned this practice isn't good and change things before college. (Is this wishful thinking?) I no longer have to worry about lunch money, parent-teacher conferences, class parties, and field trips. Now I just worry about how he will do in college and life on his own.

Rich has always had such great teachers. It started with Ireta Lindway and Sue Roberts for preschool, then on to Gayle Chapman for kindergarten. and many others, whose names I can't remember (or too numerous to mention). Gayle retired about a year or two ago and taught two or three of my younger siblings. She still remembers Rich. Her words "he is one of those kids you can't forget." I don't think she meant it in a bad way. Even then he was quite the talker. She even put him at his own desk away from everyone and he still talked!

Rich was never a "jock". He was never one of the "popular" kids. He did have a part or two in a play here and there. (The Pied Piper, The Wiz, and a class play his freshman year.) He enjoyed journalism and helped with the school paper (the few issues they produced). I've been told he has a quite a talent with writing, as he is a very deep thinker and his writing is beyond a high school level. His greatest accomplisment by far though has been his photography. He has won several awards with his art and we are very proud of him.

Though Rich doesn't win awards for sports, or popularity, he has compassion. He has always been the friend to the underdog, the misfits, etc. Compassion will get him farther in life than being able to play ball. I often think as a parent I failed. Especially during the time when I was a single parent. I think, "if I could just turn back the clock." Then out of nowhere my son surprises me. He listened, he learned, not just from me but from his teachers, friends, and the others involved in his every day life.

Congratulations Rich! We are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments and know that you will go far if you set your mind to it. We love you! Mom & Sterling