David, the Athlete, like Pheidippides, Only Not Dead

This semester I am an active member of two intramural sports, The Blackfoot Ballers and The Dominators. The Blackfoot Ballers is a basketball team. The "blackfoot" does not refer to a frostbitten toe (I hear your toes turn black when they are frostbitten), but rather to the color of my teammate's one foot (he's African-American and in a wheelchair; he lost his other foot in a tragic Wii accident.) No, that's not true at all. Rather, "blackfoot" is a reference to the home-hamlet of no more than three of my teammates. Our first game was declared a disaster by the scoreboard, but in reality it wasn't all that bad, at least not to me. We had two fans at the game, and I scored the last two points! Two good to be true! The final score was 55 to 40, in their favor, but it would have been 55-38 had I not been there! This morning we had an emergency practice session at 7:30am (the 'am' portion means it was in the morning. Today is Saturday. I will let you think about that for a minute. If you still can't believe your eyes and you need further clarification, let me know and I will find you some witnesses). We played well together and are ready to take on our next foes, be they another basketball game or some matudinal excursion. Those make the worst foes of all. Moving right along, The Dominators are an innertube waterpolo team. Yes, yes, yes. If you have never heard of innertube waterpolo, allow me to explain. Innertube waterpolo is a fairly new sport that was conjured up recently. In these dire economic times polo clubs could no longer afford to stable all those horses, so some genius figured an innertube and water would be less expensive and just as fun. She was right! It's a blast and a half without horse manure or preppy shirts. Our waterpolo team also lost, but no-one drowned or got water up their noses so we considered it a success. I think I may find more happiness in my athletic endeavors then poor Pheidippides.

So Much to Be Proud Of

What a great two days these have been! Yesterday, I remembered history and its impact at a Martin Luther King, Jr. activity, and today I watched history as President Barack Obama took his Oath of Office. It feels like Black History Month has come ten days early! Last night I celebrated multifariousness with a Walk of Life candlelight vigil followed by a keynote speaker. (What exactly is a keynote speaker? Is it someone who is really in-tune? Or perhaps just someone who hits all the notes at the right time? Maybe it's someone who draws a bunch of skeleton keys on a notepad.) There was a Gospel Choir and selections from "I Have a Dream." I always get the chills when I hear that speech.

I Have a Dream that someday my four little children will not be judged by the
color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Well, Dr. King, that day is certainly here. The entire evening was a delightful celebration indeed. Today, I listened to the Oath of Office on the radio as I was rushing home to hear the inaugural address. What a spectactular day of vareigation! Probably my highlight was the following from the President's speech:

Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

This is more of a serious post, but these reverent occasions direct such an attitude. God Bless America and its new leadership, as well as the leaders of yesteryear!

P.S. Reuben has returned from his deathbed miraculously, and is almost in top condition again. Thank you for all your support. There are still copious amounts of moisture stuck in him, which freezes every morning so that not only does the exterior need to be scrapped, but the inside window as well. It's all very exciting.

Oh the Things You Hear at the Gym...

I enjoy working out. Usually sweaty, guy-dominated, crowded buildings with fearful fetor are not really my scene, but I love the feeling of a good workout and knowing that I actually deserve the ice cream sundae that always follows a gym excursion, piled so high with candy and imitation fruit that even my personal trainer thinks it looks good. But there's an entirely different aspect to the workout experience that is only available in the gym: eavesdropping. This week I heard two comments that were especially meaningful to me. The first one, that rang in my ears like a fire alarm pulled by a young whippersnapper, was, "Wallace... I love you!" Wallace is the glue that holds David to Bennett in my life, but not many people in the contiguous United States refer to me that way. So when I heard it, and then those three words that followed, I was really curious to know whose mouth it sprung from. Turns out, there must be another Wallace on campus because Cupid's arrow was not aimed at me.
The second incidence of over hearing-ness was from two girls stretching on the gymnastics mats. One of them turned to the other, hugging her knee close to her heart like she was trying to revitalize herself via genuflection, and said, "You know, I think I have pretty bad strech marks on my butt." I winced as I thought what might come next; "Hmm, let me see, I will compare them with mine" or "You only have to start worrying about those when you're pregnant." (I don't know what stretch marks have to do with pregnancy, but I always hear women using those two words together...) And finally, one last quotable quote. Pardon my French, but this is a true story. While at the BYU bookstore, purchasing my books that were exorbitantly priced, I waited in line for the next available checkout lady. While waiting I witnessed the register ring up the total for the young man in front of me. And then a funny thing happened. He received his receipt, and said out loud, teeming with disbelief and in need of a good ice cream sundae, "S@#$" as his eyes lit up like two lampposts. It was really funny, but only because it happened at BYU. People say the darndest things. If I could go back and hear more about any of those conversations, it wouldn't be the one at the bookstore (I already know how that freshman felt), it wouldn't be the woman who knows a Wallace and loves him, it would definitely have to be the lady with stretch marks? I mean seriously, how is she going to deal with that? What about when she's pregnant?

Reuben, the Alpine Wonder

For those of you who haven't met Reuben (occasionally known as Sven, in come circles), Reuben is the cousin of Little Red. Reuben is a 1995 Saab 900s, painted ruby red, and he has been with our family for quite some time now. I first met Reuben in 2000, and I had the privilege of driving him across the country a few years later, in 2004, with my sisters. He then loved the West so much he decided to make Utah his permanent residence, although he insisted on keeping his Massachusetts plates until 2007, when the title was changed and the (shudder) DMV forced a plate lift. I have had the opportunity of getting to know Reuben much more closely over the past two years, as the sole driver. All this reminiscing is surfacing because Reuben has been very sick recently. It all started two weeks before Christmas when his back window fell out of its groove and wouldn't go back up. Luckily, with a little help and guidance, we suction cupped the window up. We left Reuben by himself over the break and, unfortunatley, he had some bad internal gastrointenstinal and optical problems when we got back. There was an ice rink on the dashboard and he refused to get out of bed (wouldn't start). On Friday my brother and I took him into the clinic (he is now best friends with Boyd's in Sandy) and made a list of all things that went wrong. It went something like this:

Dear Boyd's-

Here is what's wrong with our poor Reuben (they are on a first name basis):

1. Dome lights won't turn off. (We have been putting the switch in a neutral position, half way towards on and halfway towards off).
2. Blinkers won't turn on, and consequently neither will the Flashers.
3. Rear light failure.
4. Rear window failure.
5. Emergency brake failure.
6. Driver's-side-door-seal failure.

Any assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your constant care and consideration, we love you. Seriously, we do. Love, the Bennett Family

So yeah, please remember to keep him in your prayers this week! I have a feeling that at 193,625 miles, Reuben has a few more to go before we need to pull the plug forever.

My Christmas Break

Well, my two week Christmas break was wonderful. I had time to post on my blog, have quality family time, sleep (I averaged nine hours a night), shop, celebrate some fantastic holidays, eat, read, and catch up on some Boston sports. I also watched a boat-load of movies. Below I have listed the movies I remember watching, one sentence about them, and a rating out of five Stars.

• Into the Blue "Great underwater camera shots and a twisting plot make the movie quite
  enjoyable- and it has Jessica Alba" Star Star Star Star
• License to Wed "It had its moments, but generally was a cake short of a complete wedding" Star Star
• Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest "It's called Dean Man's Chest because you wish you were a dead man in a chest when you watch it; Master and Commander meets Star Strek" St
• The Good Year "A fantastic movie with gorgeous scenery, although I didn't understand half of what was said regarding the sommeliers" Star Star Star Star
• The Rookie "A movie as dry as the Texas barrenland, saved by an oasis of baseball scenes and an affecionate ending sure to bring tears to anyone." Star Star St
• Mammia Mia! "The Grecian Setting and Abba music saved this movie from a collapse." Star Star
• Eagle-Eye "Do not watch this movie if you have a weak heart or respond poorly to stimuli; once it gets going, it doesn't stop." Star Star Star
• Ghost Town "Very British humour, and Tea Leoni was a gem; I laughed continuously." Star Star Star St
• Traitor "A dissapointment of a flick due to its excessive violence; it was pretty much a 'How to be a Terrorist' instructional movie." Star
• The Interpreter "Astonishingly good movie with smashing acting, an appropriate score, and an intricate, current events plot that was ablaze with action and excitment." Star Star Star Star Star
• Red-Eye "A fairly typical thriller, although there was some good action; it was an all around entertaining experience-and it has Rachel McAdams" Star Star Star
• Batman II: The Dark Knight "Of course it's good, even the third time around." Star Star Star Star
• The Big Bounce "You'd think a movie set in Hawaii, with Morgan Freeman, Owen Wilson, and Charlie Sheen would be breathtaking, but, although it was good, there was room for improvement" Star Star
• Win a Date With Tad Hamilton "Um, yea, a total chick flick to the utmost degree, but I still found it to be very funny, and (I didn't cry, I swear) very sweet." Star Star Star St
• The Holiday "Another chick-flick, but one with Jack Black and one with a unique plot that made it worthwhile." Star Star Star

I did do many productive things this break, such as read F. Scott Fitzgerald, attend a Harvard women's hockey game, play my trumpet, get well rested, spend family time, and write emails. Vacations, in my book, are Star Star Star Star Star!

Welcome, 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! New Years is a great holiday because it brings with it such optimism! Everyone sees the new year as a renaissance, a time of revivification. Even the government takes the day off to enjoy a milkshake and a hot bath. 2009 promises many great things across the span of the globe, including New Zealand, where the sales of incandescent lightbulbs will cease in 2009, and in Western Australia where the hot topic of Daylight Savings Time will be bantered with. Western Australia has been in a three year 'trial' period with the whole daylight savings time thing, and in 2009 those Aussies will head to the polls and give their opinion. Man, so much to look forward to in 2009! The Romans would have called this year MMIX, or the year of Mix. Yes, all you people who have been holding off burning that special mix tape, now is your year! For all those chefs saving that unique pomegranate and cheese pancake mix, now is your year for baking! And for all the travellers, mix it up with a new destination, like Northern Alaska or Afghanistan. The Chinese call this the Year of the Ox. It was supposed to be the Year of the Man-Eating Siberian Snow Leapord with Wings, but I guess they couldn't fit all that onto eye-glasses so they just made it the Year of the Ox.

My resolutions for 2009 are not few in number. When you have as many peccadillos as me, setting goals for improvement is not difficult. For example:

1. Literacy: Get through at least one Berentstein Bears Book (by myself)


2. Hygeine: Remember to put on deodorant four times a week


3. Physical: Grow a tail


4. Mental: Memorize my 1's multiplication tables (at least 1x1 through 1x9)

Sure they won't be easy, but then again, neither will deciding on Daylight Savings Time or Just Saying No to incandescent lightbulbs.