All the Happenings--

Here are some photos from today's Saipan Tribune.

T-BONE RULES: Members of Team Bumblebee and Team T-Bone, composed of boys between the ages 8-10, pose for the camera after the first ever cubmobile race on Saipan Saturday. Team T-Bone had the fastest time and won trophies. Team Bumblebee was given rubber snakes as consolation prizes. (Contributed Photo)

SCROOGE'S STOOGES: Scrooge's stooges Harold (Jacob Conner), Richard (Sam Conner) and Thomas (Tommy Baik) perform as Scrooge (Leo Goode, Jr.) and Christmas present (Bree Reynolds) look on during the Friends of the Arts' second production of the much-loved Christmas musical Scrooge at the Charley's Cabaret of the Pacific Islands Club. (Jacqueline Hernandez)

Being Monk-ish

Uh-oh. My OCD is showing. This morning I ended up at Price Costco about 5 minutes before opening, so I grabbed a cart and settled in to wait with the little group that had gathered to get their shopping out of the way early in the day. I knew right away that the shopping cart I had chosen so carelessly was a reject, so I quickly pushed it to the side and pulled out the next one. It rattled too loudly--no way was I going to stroll around PC with that! I felt a little self-conscious pulling on the next cart, but what could I do? It came out easily, but a little unevenly. I gave it a little shove as I strolled nonchalantly around to the other line of carts, hoping nobody would notice. (i.e., "What is the crazy American lady doing?" Oh well. At least I can't understand them.) I groaned inwardly as I realized that the next cart I pulled out was horribly unacceptable. I could see now though that just a couple of carts away was one that looked relatively new, so I quickly tugged on the two intervening carts to move them out of my way and, sure enough, slid out the cart of choice. It glided smoothly and quietly as I turned to the faces of my fellow-shoppers. The lady closest to me (an islander) smiled what seemd to me to be an understanding smile.

And then there's my bed pillow compulsion. . . .

THANKS-giving.

Fourteen pies (Kait made the two pumpkins AND rolled out the crust for several others), 32 for dinner, and 1 Pie Night open house later and we've once again come happily through what is possibly the favorite holiday in our household (actually it's an impossible-to-call-it tie between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

So much to be thankful for and so little ability to express it:

• Alexa's home. She arrived at 3:30 A.M. last Sunday morning. The kids didn't know. The day before was Ezra's birthday, and since we were pressed for time to do all the things we had going for that day, I had told him that we would give him breakfast in bed on Sunday morning (it's kind of like birthday cake in our family--it may not be everyone's favorite thing, but it's expected by both the givers and the receiver), and I'd get a special surprise for him. Anyway, so we had 6 Japanese high school athletes staying with us that weekend (OK, so there's a thing or two that happens here that I don't get around to blogging about--yatahay), so our boys were all sleeping in Sam's room. The girls got up to make Ez's breakfast, and we took it down with a cheery rendition of "Happy Birthday". We just stood there chatting for a while and trying to wake up Sam and Jake (teenagers sleep like newborns--awake when you'd like them to sleep and vice-versa), when Kait asked me what the special surprise was for Ezra. "Oh yeah. Just a second, I'll go get it." So I ran down to my room where Lex was sleeping and told her that we had a little window of opportunity to totally surprise the rest of the kids. She got up and grabbed the gifts she had brought for Ez and you should have seen those faces when she walked in the room!!! It was so fun! For a second everything just stopped, and then Kait threw herself at Lex and held on. She kept her eyes squeezed shut like she was afraid of waking up from a dream. Jacob kept saying, "It's Alexa! It's Alexa! Sam wake up! It's Alexa!" and wiping his eyes with a shirt I had tossed to him (he was still under the sheets). The little kids were just watching with big grins on their faces as if they weren't quite sure what was going on--it was great!

• Wonderful friends. Not the least of which happens to be my husband. I learn so much that I need to know and understand and work on from watching my friends and they are so kind and patient and tolerant of me that it just amazes me sometimes. I'm also grateful for the ability to store these friends in my memories and recall those incredible people who aren't physically near me anymore for whatever reason and the things I gleaned from my association with them.

• Time and perspective. I don't think I'm particularly slow to understand concepts, but I am very slow to put them into practice. My aunt used to say, "Oh, if I only lived as well as I know." But I can look back on my life from here at almost 50 and see that in many things I am better--I am kinder, more empathetic, even stronger in some ways. I'm thankful that the Lord has given me the time to have the experiences that have helped to polish off at least some of the rough places.

• The ability to realize my blessings. I knew that the Lord doesn't think or act the way we do and many blessings I asked for came in the form of trials, but I found that I was having a hard time recognizing these things. So I asked the Lord to help me so I would have the joy that comes from feeling grateful. He did and I do. Very grateful.

He Just KILZ Me!

We've had a great week. Thursday was our 27th wedding anniversary and we went "away" for a few days and stayed at a resort here on island. It was so fun--we went kayaking and snorkeling and played at the waterpark...Case said it would make up for all the anniversary dinners we ate at Sam's Club. Actually, I never minded the Sam's Club dinners....

Anyway, his mind must have still been on vacation when he was getting ready for church this morning. I was at the bathroom sink putting on my makeup and he was ironing his white shirt. I heard him get out the spray starch, but I guess I was too focused on what I was doing to notice the irregularity of hearing a mixing bead rattle as he shook the can. The next thing I know Casey's saying, "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" Yup. Luckily he noticed that he had sprayed his shirt with KILZ primer before he laid the iron to it--what a mess that would have been! It actually did a pretty good job of sizing the shirt while covering stains at the same time, but the shade was slightly off. It was the only good white shirt he had, so he quickly pulled a blue shirt out of the closet and hurried out the door.

He told some of the guys at church what had happened. When he said that he had accidentally sprayed paint on his shirt one Filipino brother simply asked, "What color?"

Need I Say More?

Well...it HAS been a little rainy...

Check out these familiar faces on www.youtube.com.

Been There, Done That...

This was taken from the "You Know You're From Maine If..." group on http://www.facebook.com/. It's the best one I've seen--I've made additions in red.

You know you're from Maine if:

• You've had arguments over the comparative quality of Fried Dough.
• You're favorite ice cream is grapenut.
• You call four inches of snow "a dusting."
• You don't "shovel" snow, you "dig out."
• You don't understand why there aren't fried clam shacks elsewhere in the county.
• You know what an Irving is and the location of 15 of them.
• "I saw him go." has an "r" sound in it, but "My foot is sore." does not.
• You knew all the flavors at Perry's Nut House.
• Your car is covered in yellow-green dust in May.
• Your favorite smell is clam flats at low tide.
• You can drive the Augusta traffic circle without slowing down.
• You've hung out at a gravel pit.
• You think a mosquito could be a species of bird.
• You once skipped school and went to Bar Harbor, Old Orchard Beach or Reid State Park.
• Even your school cafeteria made good chowder.
• You've almost fallen asleep driving between Houlton and Presque Isle.
• You know how to pronounce Calais.
• You've made a meal out of a Jordan's red dye hot-dog, a bag of Humpty Dumpty potato chips and a can of soda.
• You've gone to a Grange bean supper.
• Baked beans ARE supper.
• In high school, you (or a friend) packed Deering Ice Cream cones.
• At least once in your life, a seagull pooped on your head.
• At least once in your life you've said, "It smells like the mill in here."
• There's a fruit and vegetable stand within 10 minutes of your house.
• You crave Italian sandwiches at least weekly.
• Your house converts to a B&B every July and August for people from away that you happen to know.
• All year long you're tracking sand in the house-from the beach in the summer and the roads and sidewalks in the winter.
• You have to have the sand cleaned out of your brake system every spring.
• You do the majority of your shopping out of Uncle Henry's.
• You've ditched the car on the side of the road somewhere because you thought you saw some good fiddleheads!
• You know a lobster pot is a trap, not a kettle.
• You know not to plant tender crops until the last full moon in May.
• You go to the dump and bring back more than you brought.
• You've watched "Murder she Wrote" and snickered at the stupid fake accents.
• You know how to find the rope swing at the quarry.
• You take the New Hampshire toll personally.
• You always wave when you see a Maine license plate in another state.
• When you're supposed to dress up, you wear flannel with a tie.
• There's too much "stuff" in your 2 "cah" garage to get either of your cars into it.
• You know what a frappe is.
• L.L. Bean's not just a store, it's a way of life.
• "The City" means exclusively Portland.
• "Salt damage" is a viable insurance claim.
• All of the traffic lights blink yellow at 10 o'clock at night.
• It's not a storm - it's a Nor'eastah.
• "Open 24/7" might as well be Greek.
• More stores have "Bienvenue" flags than "Welcome" flags.
• You eat ice cream with flavors like 'Moose Tracks" and "Maine Black Bear".
• You know that a chocolate doughnut is not a white doughnut with chocolate frosting.
• You wouldn't eat beans in tomato sauce or Manhattan clam chowder if you were starving!
• As a child, you played outside in a snow storm without hat, mittens, scarf and with your jacket open because it was just a little cool.
• The area around your back door is referred to as "the dooryard".
• You eat potato chips with flavors such as "clam dip", "ketchup" and "dill pickle".
• You call the basement "downcellah."
• There is only one shopping plaza in town. .
• You use "wicked" as a multipurpose part of speech
• Your pickup has more mud on it then the ground around it for a 15 foot radius.
• More than 1/2 the meat in your freezer is moose.
• You enjoy a hot chocolate more than a margarita.
• If your "luxury vehicle" is a twelve-year-old rustbucket on wheels.
• If your dog eats better than you do, and more often too.
• If you never say what you paid for an item but how much you "give" for it.
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Maine.

The Benchmark Photo

In case anyone has noticed the beautiful fall photo to the left (Mal)....yes it is the footbridge in Somesville, MDI. Sigh.

INTRIGUE!

The 5 most intriguing things--things that I wonder about and seem to puzzle me a bit right now (given in no particular order):

1. The Twilight series by Stephenie Myers. Maybe I'm behind the times, but I only heard of this book recently and frankly I wasn't much interested--vampires and stuff that I was into at 13. Then I learned that it had wrested the #1 spot on the YA bestseller list from Harry Potter 7. Hmmmm....and with nowhere near the hype....they're on their way to a mailbox near me right now.
2. Facebook. What a phenomenon this thing has become. When Mal got me to sign up for it several months ago, it was just a college cyber-hangout. Now each time I log in I half expect to see a friend request from my mother!
3. Casinos on Saipan--is this good or bad? I honestly don't know (which is intriguing to me all in itself considering what a die-hard Mormon conservative I am). I've only got a few more weeks to figure this one out.
4. The Old Testament--it's this year's Church Education System course of study. This book always intrigues me and I guess it always will. It challenges my views of right and wrong and how much of what I understand along those lines are God-given and how much are societal norms (i.e., my own perceptions). It forces me to think "outside the box." (Of course, I tend to live in a pretty small box.)
5. Bloggers--they're ALIVE! It's weird to think of this medium as being as powerful as it is seeming to become. It's kind of morphing from journal to soapbox to...well, I'm not sure what, but it's certainly become more than an online "log".

Book Club

I have joined a book club that a friend of mine has just started. Our first meeting was a couple of weeks ago and there were only five of us there, which I actually think is a good group. If there are too many there begin to be groups within the group.

I really need to do this...I need the motivation not just to expand my reading, but I think that the discussions will help me put what I read more firmly in my mind (i.e., "Wait...have I read it? No. Wait. Maybe I did. Wait. What's it about? Oh no. I haven't read it. Oh? Maybe I did read it...yes. I definitely did. Wait. I don't remember that...maybe I'm thinking of some other book...). You get the picture.

I also need to expand my acquaintances here on island. I'm a great one to know [enough to call them friends] only the people I go to church with. That's it. I don't work outside of my home and most of the people I know from my kids' school are also people who go to my church, soooo...well, it's good for me. It's easy for me to let my life involve only my own family and to be perfectly honest I have such an interesting and compassionate friend in my husband I rarely feel like I have a need for other close friends as confidantes or companions. I've kind of overlooked the idea that as well as having friends it's important to be a friend...the ladies in the book club are very nice, intelligent women and I really look forward to hearing their insights and opinions.

Here are some of the books discussed at our first meeting where we basically came with titles we wanted to suggest:

Much Ado About Nothing (we're starting with this since it's so easily available--we have to allow adequate time for shipping any books that we may have to order.)
Les Miserable
My Name is Asher Lev
Promise
Chosen
Devita's Heart
3 Swans (I loved this book when I read it several years ago.)
Man's Search for Meaning-Frankel
Agony and Ectasy- Stone (One of the few books I've actually read twice, but about 25+ years ago!)
Salt- Mark Kavanski
Fire in the Bones
The Shelter of Each Other

Eden's Big Day

After a week of rainy weather, we finally had a break and the day was beautiful and sunny. Since it's a holiday weekend we were a little concerned that the beach might be crowded, but we only saw a couple of fishermen--it was quiet and beautiful.
Eden and I did the program last night and it was then that she asked if Sam could baptize her instead of Dad. Sam's response: "I'd love to baptize you Eden. It would be an honor." He's such a nice guy.
Eden was excited and a little self-concious which is normal I think. She had asked Jake to give a talk about baptism and he directed it right to her. He reminded her of something that Mal had said in a birthday note. She said that since she was the last one of the kids to be baptized that she was key to us having our whole family together forever. After the ordinance, Ezra read Matt. 5:14-16, then Dad confirmed her and as acting B.P. welcomed her to the Church and the branch. After the service, the Brown's gave her a plumeria lei and then the family went out for brunch.

A little last-minute instruction... "Is this deep enough?" We had to check for high tide, otherwise they would've had to walk half way out to the reef.
Congratulations from Jake...
and from the pre-8-year-old set.
Happiness is...
Family.

It's Great to Be 8!

The Baptism of
Eden Conner
Saturday, 1 September 2007, 9:00 A.M.
PauPau Beach, Saipan, CNMI


Presiding…………………………………Brother Casey C. Conner
Chorister………………………………………..Sister Wendy Rider


Opening Song: “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel” #252

Opening Prayer…………………………………….Kaitlyn Conner

Talk about Baptism………………………………….Jacob Conner

Baptism Ordinance………………………..Samuel Almon Conner

Scripture………………………………………………..Ezra Conner

Confirmation……………………………………..Casey C. Conner

Closing Song: “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam”

Closing Prayer…………………………………….MariLou Conner

Beautiful Saipan: Or "The View from the Deck"

We see the northeastern cliffs as well as beautiful and interesting cloud formations, rainbows,

and sunrise over the Pacific.

If you look closely at this photo, you can see an image above the sun--I don't know if that is a reflection on my lens or some type of atmospheric phenomenon like a sun dog or pillar? (I thought those had to be in cold places.)

Pioneer Day - Island Style

We had a Pioneer Day Celebration on July 21 at the Smith's.

We started out with a tug-of-war (that's a plastic tablecloth with water in the little depression--oh well).



Next was the stick-pulling competition. Jake won against Arthur-- Tori and Madison--

and these four brutes!

His loss came against--




Limson--as did Roland's.

Learning the Virginia Reel...
rounded out the activities. Then it was time for the food!

but others just kept on dancing...

It's Heeeerrrre!

And because my beloved daughter has been so sick (but is now feeling much better), I gulped only once when I paid the full retail on-island price. So she gets saved from the boredom of having to stay inside watching videos and playing Speed with Mom (but it was for jelly belly jelly beans so that was fun!). And she gets to read it first, but with one condition: no telling ANYTHING! She agreed it would be hard, but was quick to agree in order to find out what happens to Harry.... It's not really any big sacrifice for the rest of us--she'll probably be through with it in about 24 hours.

Bye-bye Tikla!

I'm a little slow getting this up, but I wanted to post this picture that Shauna took after church a few weeks ago--the Sunday after the Prance. The black and white is the photoshopped version that Tikla did. She's off to the "Y" and we're [ALL] really going to miss her! (I'm having trouble with the color photo--tune in later.)

Prance Pics

I said a while ago that I would put up photos of the guys with their dates on the night of the Prance (prom/dance). This was back in May. Enjoy!

Kaitlyn has...

books and
movies and
Sprite and
doctor's appointments and

pneumonia.

The Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem

From http://www.usaflag.org/

"The pledge of allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention, facing the flag, and saluting.When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music. "

Last week in church our closing hymn was "The Star-Spangled Banner." As I began to play the intro I realized the chorister was not going to signal the congregation to rise (she's only 16), and our congregation is of mixed nationality, but I thought for sure that the Americans would stand out of respect for their country. Just before reaching the chorus when I realized that for whatever reason--probably self-consciousness--that was not going to happen, I stopped playing. I told the Branch Presidency that I couldn't play it if the Americans in the congregation would not stand--it was just too disrespectful. They stood. Everyone else did also.

No wonder the Lord refers to us as "sheep"--we are such followers. It's easier to follow than to think. There wasn't one American willing to take the initiative and stand, so none of them did. Once one group of people were asked to stand, everyone stood. I'm not railing on my brothers and sisters--I definitely include myself in this also--but it seems like we are scared of so many things. Ezra Taft Benson once gave a talk on pride and said that it was the root of all sin, but I think fear may be the root of pride. Maybe that's why the Lord so often commanded, "Fear not." Maybe that's why he's so merciful to us--because he knows that many of our mistakes, sins, actions are influenced by fear.

I found out later that last Sunday was Canada Day, and I told the Canadians that told me that if I had the music for "O Canada" I would have played it. They said that if I had, they would have stood.

Seminary Class 2006-07

Thanks for the great photo President Benson!

Off to Managaha

We're going camping tonight on Managaha, a small island in the lagoon. It's only used for recreational activities--no houses, cars, etc. It's fun and the kids really love it. It's not unusual to be the only overnighters on the island and the last boat leaves at 4 P.M. so we're alone until the first boat comes out a 9 the next morning. Tonight the students and chaperones from our school will be there along with participants in a summer program with Beautify CNMI!, so it won't be quite as quiet as it normally is! With a full moon like we'll have tonight you don't even need a flashlight. The kids often like to sleep on the big beach with all the crabs scurrying around. It's nice--well, actually it's wonderful...

Be Earth Tankards

I must say that this has been an exceptionally good year for birthday cards, so I thought I would share a few.

*****

From The Browns:

Deers Is Turk Honor,

Have Bees Birds Yay!!

Goo Lock Quit Oat Estimate Thee Shear!

Dangs Foe Yo Rex Ample Ann Hot Spit Al Hit Tea.

Wheel Of View Fair Ream Hutch.

Rub Dub Rounds

*****

From Ed and Susan:

It has been my honor to:

meet you,

greet you,

treat you,

Lo these many months.

I wish you:

Cheers!!

No Fears!!

All Clears!!

To all those near and dear.

Age gracefully!

I'm tryin' Susan, I'm tryin'.

*****

From Dorothy (our Korean home-stay student):

(on the front is a cut out of a hunky guy in swim shorts (!))

(Inside, pop-up kids holding "happy birthday" and her text:)

I love your delicious American foods.

Could you remember my Korean name?

I hope you will try many more Korean foods!

And I hope you can cook many Korean foods.

I always appreciate your kindness!!

Do you think she's trying to tell me something?

*****

Here's my favorite. It's from Ez, who, as you can see, got his numbers a little mixed up. The original spelling has been retained:

Dear Mom,

I wish you hav a happy birthday!

Wow, 29 seems prity old, but still, it's your birthday!!

Love: Ezra

I love you too Ez.

Then The Little Red Hen Said...

It's mango season again and the tree at the Church is doing more than it's fair share despite the fact that it was cut way, waaaayy back. Too much. I was there yesterday and picked up a bunch of the best ones--not too bruised from falling to the ground--but the fruit flies found them this morning. Mango smoothies for breakfast! Yay!

Here are my helpers at peeling and slicing and...ah...well...grinding....and...um...eating.... If you're interested in the mango smoothie recipe, check out Cookin' Up a Storm. Yummy!

Gloating

I'm so haaaappy!!!

Ever since we've been in this house I have hated the diningroom chairs. The house was furnished when we took it and here we were, a family of 10, with glass tables and black upholstered chairs. Yuck.

They are horrible! They're loose and the supports have come undone. We've repaired them numerous times, but they are bent on being unmanageable. I've determined for some time now that I was going to get new chairs as soon as I could find some. Well, here on Saipan that's the kicker--finding something I like.

Anyway--Friday I went into a little shop here to buy placemats. They specialize in furniture imported mostly from Indonesia, so it's always fun to look around. While I was looking I came across these chairs that they've had in there for a while. They're mahogany chairs with caned seats and a pineapple carved into the back. I've always liked them, but I didn't want to spend the $160 each to buy them for my diningroom. Well, that day they were on sale for $50!!! And they had six! New diningroom chairs and a bargain to brag about to boot--which we all know makes them that much prettier! :)

LDS Prance

The LDS teens here organized a prom and it was quite a success--they had about 50 kids there (both LDS and non-LDS). I've heard from several people that they might try doing another one next year.

Hope you enjoy these "ready to go" pictures. Feel free to share your own captions.

Jake Depicts Man's Struggle to Grow Up

As he is so fond of reminding me...

"Sam's the Man--Oh Yeah."

The looks on their faces are soooo typical of their personalities! Jake has a "great idea" while Sam listens--skeptically. It makes me chuckle just to look at this.

Here on the island men rarely wear a suit coat even at church, so this was a completely new experience for them. It took some doing to sharpen these two up enough for the event (j/k), but I think they turned out pretty well. They both had dates for the evening. There were photo mementos, so I'll post them when we get them.

Million Year Echo

A new name and some new sounds. Levi's band is set to showcase this year at the Florida Music Festival (www.floridamusicfestival.com) this weekend in Orlando. They're hoping for big things this year and we're with them all the way! You can check out and even download Million Year Echo's six song cd at www.purevolume.com/millionyearecho. They also have photos on there. Be sure to listen to Head Up and So This Is Love....

After looking at the picture above for a few moments, I had to put this photo on to remind myself that there is a real person under the publicity facade--I know, I know--"Oh Mom!"

Is It Spring Yet?

I was about to change my benchmark photo to spring when I realized that I wasn't sure if it was spring yet. Coming from Maine, I know that the "official" first day of spring as it is on the calendar means nothing. Growing up, we were looking for the first robin or the yellow-green shoots of crocuses pushing up through the last of the snow. I don't know how everyone else tells, but let me know when it's spring!

The Funny Papers

I haven't been writing much here lately, but I wanted to take a minute to share this. A local ophthalmologist writes occasionally for one of the island newspapers and I always enjoy his articles. This one nails a situation that many of us find ourselves in here. Too funny. It's copyrighted, so you'll have to use the link--it's worth a few minutes. It's entitled, "The relationship between moral health and a blind wife".

I'm Baaaack!

Hokay. My daughter and fellow-blogger has been getting on me about not posting, so I'm making amends.

I was off-island from the end of January until the first Sunday of March. I went home to say good-bye to my father, who died on February 1. I feel so blessed to have been able to be there for those few days with him before he left us and also for the time I was able to spend with my mother.

On the last weekend of February, I went out west to visit Mal. That was fun, but man! Talk about opposition in all things! Going from a month with my mother in her senior citizens housing to a coed apartment in a college town! Whew!

One thing (among many) that I really enjoyed while out west was visiting with two of the missionaries that had served on Saipan. That was great! It was so fun to meet all of Mal's friends and put faces with the names I've heard so much about. It's a good group.

Before I went out, she called and asked me to bring a Scrabble game (honestly now, is "meh" really a word?), Maine maple syrup, and a jar of marshmallow fluff. (If you haven't already, check out this entry on how to make a fluffernutter that she's put on her blog--I took the photos:))

The Winner!

Well, Ez has had quite a year in cubscouts. Last year about this time he won the grand prize in their annual Father/Son cake decorating competition, and now this--the top dog of them all--the Pinewood Derby. His car (the creation of which was heavily assisted by Dad and Levi) was named "T-Bone". It wasn't all that pretty, but it was fast!




This was his reaction to the final race.




Second and Third were his two closest friends. (This shows 1st, 3rd, 2nd.)

I'm so glad everyone was home for the big event--we had a blast!

New Year's Eve 2006

As I've said, New Year's Eve is a party at our house. The photos here are actually of both our party and one that we attended at some friends' before the 9:30 start of the one here. Mal and Lisa danced at both and our friends had the pig and other island food where ours was hors d'oeuvres (or whatever people wanted to bring). Mal caught the cool pictures of firworks lighting up the night. I don't think I've ever seen such a big fireworks display from the houses we can see from here as there was this year! Ours also included the hillbilly band, complete with the washtub bass that Casey and Levi made.