Mark My Words: Juney June

On Monday, the State of Utah was off for Juneteenth, so it was nice to have the day off. The state holiday is the third Monday of June, but the federal holiday is June 19. When I worked for the Church History Department, they observed the state day, so I assumed BYU did as well. But this week I learned they have the federal day off. It doesn't matter that much, since I'm not actually a BYU employee.

Since I've been busy so many Saturdays, it was nice to have a free Monday. I went up North Canyon, which of course is my preferred spot when I have the day off. It's such a well-shaded trail. After I got to Rudy's Flat, I decided to go down via the new trail, which I learned that day is called the Mahogany Ridge Trail, because there are mahogany trees there. I have gone all the way up it but not down, which is a different experience. That trail is not very shady at all, and the summer is only going to get hotter, so I knew that if I didn't go down it then, I would have to wait until the fall. It was lovely, though it was annoying not to have more shade. I stepped off the trail to let some cyclists pass, and one of them said to me, "You're way out here! Good for you!" I was probably four miles away from the trailhead at that point. The entire run was a little over nine miles.

Namesake mahogany trees

I just love sego lilies!

Snake tracks

For my BYU job this week, I've been looking at transcripts of old articles and updating their footnotes to align with modern citation conventions. That can be frustrating, especially when the authors were sloppy with their citations, and I have to track down information. But Reggie often likes to sit on my lap while I work, which is a morale boost—but it makes me less efficient, especially when he puts his paws on my hand and I have to type one-handed.

I was also frustrated doing some Utah Historical Quarterly work this week, because there was one author who introduced a number of mistakes into an article we edited, and he did it without Track Changes. And he used the word "pollution" when he evidently meant to say "population."

On Thursday evening, PBS Utah hosted a special Juneteenth event, and since the forecast was in the 100s, I thought it was a good night to do something indoors. And I haven't done much for Juneteenth. They had mini sweet potato pies. Of course I'm into holiday-themed desserts, but I don't know what's culturally appropriate for a white guy like me to have on Juneteenth, so I'm glad they provided them. And there were some people there that I know, so I got to talk with them.

Then they had a panel of five Black people talking about Juneteenth and various issues. One is a physician (who hosted the Juneteenth 5k I did last year), and he is worried that if the CDC no longer recommends vaccines, then insurance companies will no longer cover them. (I am so sad for children who will be contracting measles and anyone who legitimately can't be vaccinated, but it is very difficult for me to feel bad for antivax parents.) And there was a woman there who said she knew her great-great-grandmother, who had been enslaved. The first entry in the great-great-grandmother's family Bible was from 1872, when it was illegal for her to read and write. It blows my mind that there are people alive today who knew people who were enslaved!

On Saturday, my ward/stake participated in My Hometown day of service. It was going to be my only free Saturday of the month (due to conferences and No Kings Day), but I volunteered to help out with this as well. My group was assigned to put together a vinyl fence, something I know nothing about. So I was only minimally helpful. Oh well, it's OK if I'm not good at things. Thankfully, it was cool enough that I was still able to go on an evening North Canyon run. I actually prefer evening lighting better, but the timing is less convenient in the evening for a longer run.

It's been a while since I've included my AI dream images (my dreams have been less interesting, and I've gotten a little bored of the concept), so here are some from the last month-ish.