Book Number Four

My fourth (co-authored) book for my employer, Reading Horizons, has just hit the shelves.

It contains several new stories added to the Reading Library and also updates and addendums to others. If you'd like to purchase a copy or want to have one autographed, just let me know.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, everyone. Let freedom ring!

The Second Epistle of Jon

For those not in the know, Disconcertingly Choppy has now expanded. Of sorts.

When I began this blog in the fall of 2008, I chose the name "The Epistle of Jon" and also chose that as my Web address, though the Epistle, thanks to a "thoughtful" comment from a co-worker of mine, has since been renamed Disconcertingly Choppy.

At any rate, I recently created a second "Epistle" at: http://angrywhiteloner.blogspot.com/, where I plan to post more of my deep thoughts, feelings, opinions, musings, etc. I will still update Disconcertingly Choppy from time to time, but it will now focus on the kinds of things I focused on with 2012's Project 366, aka recent photos and family news and that sort of thing.

Don't worry, folks. I'm still the same old Jon/Paco/Osote/etc. you know and love, and I'm not particularly angry - at least, not at the moment - about anything in particular. Who can be at all upset on a Sunday evening well spent with family members and a dinner that included Yorkshire pudding and roast beef?

The title of this second Epistle is merely a reference to an improv character I have played a few times in the game "Press Conference."

Crystal clear? After all, the only thing better than maintaining one blog that people largely ignore is maintaining two of them.

You have been warned.

Day 268: Ribs

On Friday night, I attended my workplace's annual end-of-summer/new software launch party at Barnes Park in Kaysville. One of the best things about it was that our dinner was catered by Famous Dave's, one of my favorite local restaurants and a meat eater's paradise. By the conclusion of our activity, there remained several uneaten ribs, and I got to take 50 or 60 of them home with me.

I ended up reheating and sharing the ribs with the family at yesterdays' bi-monthly family dinner. Kenna especially enjoyed the ribs and ate more than one:

Mmm . . . ribs are good eatin'.

Day 263: Tread Quietly

The other day at work, several signs that read "Tread Quietly" were hung all over the place:

That's good advice.

Day 221: Busy Bees

We're (or, more specifically, I, as the principal editor am) on a deadline right now at work to get our latest Teacher's Manual edited and to the printer's by week's end. This process has involved multiple edits and proofreading, and I'm also compiling a new index. I actually stayed and worked at the office until about 8:30 p.m. tonight, which is rather late for someone who usually does the bulk of his job out of his home office.


As a result, more than one person currently has a "Please don't bother me now" plunger sitting outside his/her office/cubicle.

Day 220: Free Doughnut Day!

The boss brought doughnuts in to work today.

I have a great boss.

Day 218: The Quote Board

In the "Green Room" where I work, there is a quote board on the eastern wall. Over time, my boss and other co-workers have written down random clever and/or memorable sayings that have been uttered at various places and times.

The other day, I finally made the quote board when my boss stopped by to talk to me about a project that I'm currently working on, and, quoting the Journey song - as well as a current TV commercial - I replied, "Any way you want it - that's the way you need it."

Tyson then immediately went over to the quote board and added it:

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but honk! honk!

Day 196: Geocaching

Through a writing project I completed for my employer, I recently discovered, conducted research on, and wrote about the somehwhat new hobby called geocaching. This involves the use of a GPS device and latitude and longitude coordinates to find small treasure boxes, or "caches," that are hidden around the world (which is where the "geo" part comes in). It turns out that many of these caches are hidden right here in Utah, and several of that number can be found just a short distance away.

At any rate, our latest mid-singles activity, which I helped plan and carry out, was dedicated to geocaching, which was a new experience for all but one in our group (Nick had found 59 previous geocaches, so it's a good thing we had his expertise to help us out). This afternoon, eight of us embarked on a geocache hunt that took us to several local Church historical sites, including the Bountiful tabernacle and the Heber C. Kimball gristmill, to name just two. It was an uncharacteristically cool and rainy summer day - a nice change from the hot, dry weather we experienced just a few days ago. Earlier in the day, Garrett had gone out and had placed small caches for our two groups to find.

At the end of our treasure hunting, we congregated at Founder's Park in Centerville, and while we were there, we searched for and found an actual geocache that had been placed there a few months ago by someone who uploaded the coordinates to geocaching.com. My first real geocache find was easy to miss, as it was so tiny that it could easily have fit in the palm of your hand, but we successfully located it:

Good times were had by all.

Day 145: Employee of the Month Parking

This sign hangs outside of one of the windows where I work:


They're kidding about the "violators will be fired" part. I think.

Day 130: "Princess & the Gator"

At a recent work luncheon, we were divided up into groups and were assigned with the task of creating our own fairy tale, as well as with the task of writing and illustrating it, all within a 15-minute time frame. What my group came up with was "Princess & the Gator," which, as you can see, turned out rather awesome:


If it is noticeable (in the upper righthand corner), we were awarded the "Most Creative" prize.

Day 65: A Visit to Job Corps

Earlier today, I had a very eye-opening experience. For the first time since I've worked for Reading Horizons (going on five years now), I visited a location that has been using our product in the classroom and got to see up close and personal the kind of impact it is having on people in the real world.

My friend Grant Murray, who is one of the instructors at the Clearfield Job Corps, invited me to visit the campus and to sit in on a couple of class periods as student immigrants from multiple international locations, including Africa, the South Pacific, and Southeast Asia, use Reading Horizons in their efforts to master the English language. I met and conversed with young men and women from Eritrea, the Marshall Islands, Vietnam, and a few other places I didn't even know existed before today. The Clearfield Job Corps is, believe it or not, the most internationally diverse Job Corps site in the United States, with people from 48 states and 33 foreign countries attending.


I am grateful to Grant and his co-workers for showing me a little piece of the good things they're doing day in and day out. It's the kind of thing that has motivated me to try to do better in my own day-to-day efforts and has reminded me yet again that I am fortunate enough to work for a company that is truly making a lasting difference in many people's lives.

Mr. Plowman's Opus (So Far)

Since they were published nearly a year ago, many of you have inquired about the three volumes of educational books that I co-authored for my workplace, Reading Horizons.


It just hit me that I had not previously publicized these books here on the Epistle, so this post is meant to correct that. The books, collectively called the Reading Library, are a result of literally years of researching, writing, editing, rewriting, editing again, and rewriting some more. They are intended mainly for children or young adults (from beginning readers to high school students) but, hopefully, will appeal to all age groups.

Mainly, it's just nice to have something published that - I dunno - didn't end up in the National Enquirer or something.

If you're so inclined, you can read an official company PR blog post, authored by my colleague Angie Stevens, about the books here: http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2010/05/05/Teaching-Reading-with-Reading-Horizons-Direct-Instruction-Materials-Part-3.aspx.

If you're interested in purchasing the books (I will autograph them for free), you may find the link here: http://athome.readinghorizons.com/store/ages-10-adult.aspx.

A Lesson from the Liberty Tax Dude

Most every time I drive past the intersection at 500 South and 500 West in Bountiful, I see the Liberty Tax Dude on the corner. If you've driven through there or have seen one of his many clones along another street corner somewhere else in America, then you know whom I'm talking about.

The guy may arguably have one of the worst or least-desired jobs out there, and I consider fast food work to be among them. (I speak from experience here.) I can't imagine that the pay is anything great, plus he has to wear a Statue of Liberty costume, hold a Liberty Tax sign, and dance and wave to people on the street corner all day long, no matter what the weather might be like.

Still, the guy at 5th and 5th has earned my respect. The man is always cheerful and happy and always waves at me. If I wave, he waves back; or if I flash the "peace" sign, then he flashes the "peace" sign back at me.

I am a firm believer in the mantra that "anything worth doing is worth doing well." I think that credo certainly applies to the Liberty Tax Dude, who always seems to do his job - whatever your perception of what that entails - to the best of his ability.

Autograph Hounds

Earlier today, I ate lunch at a fast food place that I used to work at years ago when I was a teenager. Every so often, I will visit this establishment to relive old times (notice that I did not write good times.) The name of the place is not important; suffice me to say that it rhymes with "Flurger Hing."

As I was in the middle of eating my Whopper sandwich, a couple of (I would have to guess) 15- or 16-year-old girls came up to me. One of them said: We (giggle, giggle) love you in Improvables, and we (giggle, giggle) were wondering if we could (giggle) have your autograph (giggle, giggle).

She then handed me a pen and a Burger King napkin. Not having a whole lot of experience signing autographs - in other words, none - I wasn't really sure how or in what style to sign my name. But I did the best I could to give them their autograph, thanked them, and they then walked away with their napkin, giggling.

The thing is, I don't think I could remember ever having seen those girls before at any of our Improvables shows. After each performance, we make it a point to meet and greet the people in the audience, and I was drawing a blank as to the identity of my two autograph hounds. But it did not matter. It was one of those experiences that made my day, if not my week.

It's nice to know once in a while that people appreciate you, ya know?