Thanksgiving Day

Christian, Shandra and keiki flew in Tuesday night for the weekend festivities. So nice to have them here. J. Lynn got to play all day with Tristan on Wednesday. Yesterday was the traditional meal, with one variation:  we "brined" the turkey for the first time. It won't be the last. So juicy!  All we needed was more family to make it perfect.

Dick & I

As I began reading the Cheney memoir, I became astounded at how much we had in common.  For instance:
1.  Dick's great-grandparents homesteaded in Nebraska.  He was born there then moved to Wyoming in his childhood.  My grandparents (Hastings) were born in Nebraska then homesteaded in Wyoming after marrying.
2.  Dick's grandparents were named David and Clarice Dickey.  I have granddaughter Clara (aka Clarice or some variation thereof), whose other grandfather is named David, aka Dickey.
3.  Dick's grandfather went broke during the Depression; so did mine.
4.  Dick moved to Casper (sited where the Mormon Trail crossed the Platte River) as a kid; my great-great-great-grandfather crossed through there on his way to the Salt Lake Valley.
5.  In high school, Dick was Senior Class Pres. and dated the homecoming queen, Lynne.  I was Senior Class Pres. and dated both the homecoming queen and Lyn.
6.  Dick went to Yale on a scholarship, got suspended and finished his degree in Political Science at Wyoming (Sep. '63 - May '65).  I got a scholarship to Stanford but went to Wyoming (cheaper after scholarship) in '64 and graduated in Political Science in '68.
7.  After graduation, Dick went to Wisconsin to work on a Ph.D. in political science, intending to teach.  I was accepted at Chicago for a Ph.D. in political science, intending to teach.
8.  Dick never finished the Ph.D., as he got sidetracked after an internship in Washington.  I never got started -- threatened by the draft, I joined the Navy.
9.  Dick counselled with former Wyo. Gov. Stan Hathaway when he was considering running for Congress.  Stan was the prosecuting attorney in Goshen County when my grandfather was Justice of the Peace there.
10.  When Dick ran for the House the first time, his opponent was Bill Bagley from Star Valley.  Bill had worked in my dad's store when I was a kid.
11.  While in the House, Dick served on the Joint Intelligence Committee.  I spent my Navy time in Naval Intelligence.
12.  Dick left Washington at the beginning of Nixon's second term.  I was at Nixon's second inaguration.
13.  Dick worked closely with Adm. Mike McConnell during the first Bush administration.  I served with Lt. Mike McConnell in the Pentagon during the Nixon years.
14.  Dick's gone fly fishing in Star Valley with my friend Paul Stauffer.

  I could go on, but you can see clearly that we were almost, like, brothers.  We probably even passed in the halls on campus.

  So then, I think, was Dick's life the road not taken?  If I'd gone to Chicago in Political Science after the Navy, instead of going to law school, might I have ended up having an internship in Washington, meeting a Congressman, working on his staff, then in the White House, and eventually become Vice Pres.?  Something to think about!