HISTORY

A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.

From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.

In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.

Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.

Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.

We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.

As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

CONTRABAND

OK everyone, regarding our recent junket to Vegas, here's what you've all been secretly waiting for -- the illicitly taken photos (on my cell phone) of Donny and Marie.
After Mom dragged me kicking and screaming into the concert, I actually had a good time after all - taking pictures, contrary to theater rules - NO PHOTOS! - and they mean it.

This of course, is the lovely Marie - moves pretty good for a 50 year old woman with what, 5, 6 kids? And, she doesn't sweat as much as Donny. Due to my clandestine capabilities, I got this primo piece without being detected - note the low focal angle.

Next, the questionable figure of a man in the beam of light? No, it's not an angel as some of you might think, and as Michelle Wilde thought. It's Donny playing the piano and singing "Crazy Horses". Shortly before this, he actually hugged Michelle (wish I had caught that one.) She was in Heaven. I had to take this piece at a higher, compromised angle. Larry Kemp was supposed to have my back, but he must have been sleeping because the female bouncer blindsided me with a strong tap on the shoulder and a firm reminder of "the rule." She mercilessly berated me in front of the audience, but then let me stay, and keep my phone. Knowing they were onto me, I stayed low profile, phone in pocket from then on -- but too late, I had already gotten this hot item of Donny. By the way, copyright honor system applies here. If you black market these photos, I get a piece of the action.

Our camera was not terribly prolific on this trip, but we did manage to get a few other photos.
This is some fake gondola at the Venetian Hotel on The Strip. These boatmen sing and move their paddle around like they're doing something, but each boat is actually pulled by a tether that goes into a track at the bottom of the fake river.

And, last, but certainly not least, this is the lovely Debby contemplating shopping inside the mall of the opulent Venetian Hotel. I'm sure she considered getting me one of the Rolex watches from one shop, but the price tag (a mere $17,000) scared her away. We're pretty good window shoppers in places like that. Sorry about the blur.
That evening, walking back to our off-Strip Marriott, we happened onto a CSI unit (the real one) investigating a hit and run/attempted murder of a bike cop right there on The Strip. Mangled his bike, but he was OK. He fired 6 or 7 shots at the perps, but they got away. I was disappointed that none of the people from the TV show were there.
Overall, a good time was had by all.
THE END

7 comments:

Leslie said...

Marie's dress looks a little short to me...maybe just the angle? The pics are great, dad. You rebel, you! Glad you guys had a good time!

The White-hair pair said...

Our neighbor was at the Donny and Marie show last week and Donny tripped running along the tables (not quite getting the visual)and landed almost in her face. She stopped him by holding up her hand and catching his rear end. That would be a photo!!

abbynormal said...

Sneaky, sneaky Dad!

Once I was riding on the same airplane as Marie. The lady sitting by me said so. She actually made me go with her up to first class to ask for her autograph. Long story. That whole flight is a long story, actually.

Jason and Dana said...

what is a junket?
Jason

David and Debby said...

Junket: A trip where you do junk.

David Chipman said...

Abby - that's a bit of a tease... when do we get the real story. You can't just throw that one out there like that! I want to hear the rest of the long story! (but please make it the man version, cuz I have a low attention span.) grin.

abbynormal said...

That IS the man version! :)