From Mom's Note Book #5

Intro by Peter Salmond
This I believe will be very fitting for Christmas, because many people miss loved ones during this time, those from being separated by miles and those that are separated through death. We must realize at all times that our life on earth is what we allow God to make of it. He makes things so that...........

LIFE IS NEVER HOPELESS
(taken from mom's note book)

Life is never hopeless,
When there is someone needing you.
Life is never futile, when there is something you can do,
Or something you can say that will lighten someones burden
Or brighten someones day.

Don't give away to loneliness,
Depression or despair.
Just because you find you have
To face an empty chair,
You need to put someone there.

The world is full of people
There is much for which to live
Someone needs you.
Someone one wants the things
That only you can give.

My thoughts on the Subject
Christmas is a time to make new memories, with family and friends, we need to make memories that will count and linger in the minds of those we leave behind when we are gone. Things that will last forever in the minds of future generations. For me, Peter Salmond, one of the memories I have is Dad Salmond sitting in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Morning and reading to us the true meaning of Christmas from God's word the Bible. Luke Chapter 2, then we could open our gifts.

A Joint Adventure

The Cub Twins

I used to ride a lot with my brothers and my cousins, we did a lot of crazy things together. This time I was not alone. But that did not matter, it was no exception, whenever the Salmond boys were out, they were out to have fun, no matter what they were doing. Well this particular day they were out checking fence and making sure we had no sick cattle at the lease land we used for pasture. When they just happened upon a mother bear and two cubs.

Bears were a pretty big problem to cattlemen those days, so cousin Henry took out his rifle took a bead on the old girl and let her have it. I’m sure he never got her with the first shot, but none the less, when the air cleared she was dead, and her babies were up a tree or two. Two little black bear cubs up a tree without a mother. What were they going to do? Number one, what were the cubs going to do, and number two, what where the boys going to do? They had gone and gotten themselves into a pickle. We may have been a trigger happy bunch, but no one wanted to shoot the baby bear cubs.

Their final decision was to shoot one, and take the other one as a captive, and just see what they could do with a wild black bear cub. Smart, maybe not, but it was a cool idea. So, they roped him, and pulled him down out of the tree, on the end of the rope, and tied all four of his feet together so he couldn't scratch anyone, and throw him onto a saddle in front of one of the guys. Then they all headed for home with cub package. Well, Cubby had a bumpy ride home, and he was about to start a whole new life on the Sampson Ranch. He had a small chain put around his neck at first, and then as he grew, a little bigger chain was put on, just to keep him from breaking loose.

I didn't have to much of a hand in raising him, other than, when my cousins were gone away to the rodeos in the summer I would be asked to do chores, and a part of those chores was, you guessed it, I had to feed the bear. By this time, Cubby was much bigger, and did not like being a captive in the least.

So here was the way I had to feed him. He was tied to a tree on a chain that was about twenty feet long, so his life consisted of about a forty foot radius around the base of that tree. At times his feeding pail would be about ten feet or better inside that radius, and whenever a human came inside that radius, Cubby would attack them. So I had to play a little cat and mouse game with him in order to get him fed and watered every day, whenever I was doing the chores. I would give him just a little bit of food on the side farthest away from the dish, which would keep his attention while I ran around the circle, snuck in up to the dish, pick it up and then run as fast as I could to get out of the way before he finished his snack and wanted to add me to it as well. Once that circus was out of the way, then I could give him his water at leisure as he was busy eating his lunch I had just given him.

Well, now he was getting too big and to hard to handle so what were they to do. He could not be just set free, for he did not have a clue what to do on his own out in the wild, so some hair brain idea had to be thought of. Did I say hair brain, well here is what they decided, put him into an empty truck and nail him into a corner with a piece of plywood, put a load of horses in the rest of the truck and take him to the rodeo and find a new owner for him. But would it work, yeah, someone, given the right deal, would take him off their hands.

So it was, that a group of First Nation guys did just that. They paid a small amount of money for the bear, bought 2 cases of 24 beer and gave the bear all he wanted to drink, got him good and drunk. Then, loaded him into the back seat of their car and took him home. I hope he (the bear) slept all the way home because if not, I would think those guys had their hands full of drunk angry bear.

From Mom's Note Book #4

The Sun Is Always Shining

If we but look, we will always find
That even the darkest day
Holds a little ray of sunshine
To guide us on our way.
We can find it in a friendly smile
Or in just a warm - Hello
We will find it, if we are looking
Almost every place we go
And once we've found the little ways
To let the sunshine through
Will I find there to guide us
In everything we do.

Sent to me from Pat S.

From Mom's Note Book #3

What's a Mother

A mother is someone who knows all of our needs
Our hopes and our dreams and desires
With a genuine interest in all that we do
Someone who guides and inspires.

The heart of a mother is full of compassion
Is generous, kind and forgiving
The smile of a mother is loving and tender
And it adds so much gladness to living.

A mother is someone with infinite patience
Who soothes all of our troubles away
Someone with limitless faith in her children
And a love for them day after day

A mother can make a home out of a house
By being just thoughtful and sweet
By her warm understanding and gentleness, too
That, makes life more rich and complete.

A mother is full of true wisdom and strength
Of loveliness, insight and grace
She's someone whose love we will cherish forever
Yes, -- -- no one can take mother's place.

From Mom's Notebook #2

Help Me As A Mother

- Lord help me to love and to support my children's father.
- Help me not only to hear the words of my child but also his feelings.
- Help me never compare my child with another.
- Help me to allow my child to express the reason for his actions.
- Help me in all that I do to be a good example to my child.
- Help me to guide him in his relationships and to be loving and excepting of his friends.
- Help me to be thankful for the way that you have designed my child.
- Help me to strengthen my child's self image through praise.
- Help me to take pride in meeting my child's physical needs.
- Help me to guide my child in resolving the conflicts he will face in youth.
- Help me to be consistent and fair in my discipline.
- Help me to allow my child the freedom to be what you want him to be.
- Help me in my business to hear my child's needs.
- Help me to be supportive of my child's interests and activities.
- Help me never to expect more of my child then his abilities will allow.
- Help me each day to remember my child in prayer.
- Help me to instruct my child in your ways and to encourage him to see you as a loving Heavenly Father.
AMEN

1 Corinthians 13 taken from Mom's Note Book

Love Changes Things

The weather might be cold and rough
The times be hard, conditions tough
Most of us feel, we've had enough
Love changes things

Are we at odd with spouse or boss
The children cranky, baby cross
Sleep does not come, we roll and we toss
Love changes things

Are there effects from battle scars
Inflation, turmoil, riots, wars
Some things hurt, or bans and bars
Love changes things

Love conquers pains, the woes and ills
It helps in work and climbing hills
Love leads to peace, to joy and thrills
Love changes things

3rd Bear Story

Up A Tree and No Where To Go

When I was very young , I started into the life of a cowboy. One of the things I really enjoyed was riding the range. Kind of like the fly, I was at home on the range. I know my kids would say, “Dad that’s so corny.”

Anyhow, I loved riding out, and checking fence, and checking the cattle, watching for sick ones or lame ones. Sometimes, from time to time, I would find a cow that had just dropped a new calf, and I would have the privilege of working with this small newborn calf. This always was a treat, the idea of new life always gave me a thrill. Today, I rejoice when I hear that someone is born new into the family of God, and have that exuberant new zest for live, as they start their new life in Christ.

The other things, I enjoyed about this, was riding alone in nature. The wind blowing softly through the trees, the birds singing their song, somewhere out there in the midst of the forest. It was so peaceful and quiet. It seemed at times, and many times it was, just me and God, out there enjoying His creation. That was a time when I felt very close to my God.

I, also, was a bit mischievous and I liked to have fun. One day, I was riding along in a patch of new land, the trees had been cleared away, and the new grass was trying to take ahold before the cows came and eat it off too short, or pulled it out by the roots. There was brush piles in long rows, and at times you would come upon a hole in the ground, where the roots of a tree had been at one time, before it had been uprooted during the clearing process.

Well, it was in one of these holes, that I spotted my fun for the day. It was a young bear, about two years old or so. He was down in one of those holes, getting a drink of water, left from a recent rain fall. His head was down and his tail up. It was then, I realized, he did not hear me coming, that he never had a clue that anything, or anybody, was anywhere near him. So I thought that I would give him a scare of his life.

So, I brought my horse into a full gallop, and came upon this bear at a very fast pace. As I approached his drinking spot, I let out a blood curdling scream. Well, I had never seen a bear move so fast before in my life. He was off, he went from 0 to 50 miles an hour, in about two seconds flat. Making a break for safety, he headed straight for the nearest stand of trees. Then, aimed at the biggest tree, he made this gigantic lunge, landing on the tree at about six feet in the air. Then he proceeded up the tree with another five or six big jumps. Then, he turned and looked down at me as much to say, "Ha, ha, you didn’t catch me." But boy, was it close.

I laughed so hard, I could hardly stay in my saddle. He looked so funny hanging up in that tree. He was so scared, and little old me, had scared this ferocious black bear. Or, so I thought, at that time in my life. It was fun for me. And at the time, all I cared about was, that I was in control of the situation, and that I was having fun.

Yes, I was in control, and I was on the ground. He, on the other hand, was up a tree, with no where to go. But, I do realize now, that God was the one that had control, I was just a part of the big picture.