Email received Nov 23, 2009

Well, I'm sure I have oodles to write, I just can't think of any of it right now. How about families? I have had a handful of people ask if I'm related to so-and-so Cloward. I always yes, even if I've never heard the name before, but one person actually said 'I'm related to Clowards a few generations back' and started rambling off names (do you know how we connect to the Burrs? The name sounded familiar) we finally made the connection when I asked if they knew Thomas P. cuz that's the only name I can remember all the way back then. And one among the younger set (actually the first person I met in Fallon, besides my comp) said 'I had an institute teacher named Cloward.' That sparked my interest and I asked where and what his first name was, to which she replied: 'Cedar City, I just remember he was really sick'. (Editor's note: Our Uncle Bob taught institute in Cedar City. He died of ALS a few years ago.) So that's the first person who actually knows someone I know. On the flip side 75% of this town is related to each other. There are four or five families that have married each other and of course all live nearby one another so they have to get crafty when making the ward boundaries to divvy them all up, and even then it's tough. We have half a dozen Whitakers in either ward, you need a family tree rather than a ward list to figure out all the Sorensens (especially as this last generation seems to have been all sons, so you can't tell who's brothers and who's cousins - they all look related), and when your ward council has three Schank brothers you get a lot of references to 'Mom' and they refer to everyone by the old-fashioned Brother Bill/Sister Sue, it's the only way to know who everyone's talking about!

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat...I can't believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday! It doesn't seem real yet, even if it is actually cold - maybe that's it, I've forgotten to associate cold with the holidays. But Christmas decorations are starting to peek out, so that should help, though it's driving my companion crazy. She goes home Dec. 16 just in time to spend Christmas with her family, so any reminder of Christmas makes her a little trunky and she's trying so hard (and doing quite well) to stay focused. We've developed a system we hope will help: she can only refer to days of the week, I handle all the specific dates, and she doesn't look at the calender. So far, so good...until she got her Exit Interview Paperwork more commonly referred to as 'trunky papers' which just happen to be due on her birthday (Dec 4) so she can't conveniently forget about them. But we're still working hard and trying to stay busy. Let me know how your holidays are going - pictures from Halloween, more video evidence of Santa desecration (ah, fond memories) and what not. (Editor's note: I'm sorry, this would just take too long to explain here. Good times.) I guess I'll talk to you in a month or so and see you in 14!

-Hermana Cloward (did I tell you - when we asked our ZL for new planners (we get new ones every transfer) the only ones they had right then were in Spanish, it's a good thing I've been out long enough to know what everything says!)