Gathering as a family was great

It?s only a week since we got together as a family in Las Vegas, and I believe getting everyone together is one of the best things a family can do.

We had 100 percent attendance by all of the relatives on the Unruh side of the clan. Nancy?s mom is the one who decided we should do this. It was a terrific idea.

As usual, the weather was on the cold side, but that didn?t take anything away from the gathering.

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You may not know this but if you misplace your local grocery insert from Vogts or Dales, it is available on the Free Press website by clicking through their respective button ads on the Web.

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Social networking is the big buzz these days, so we watched ?The Social Network? movie over the weekend, which was somewhat in the limelight at the Oscar Awards show.

Social networking a good way to keep up with friends and family, although I don?t know how important it is to know what everyone is doing at every minute of the day.

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It was on Facebook that I learned about one of the funniest short videos I have ever seen.

It is a 9-1-1 call that had me howling?obviously a made up one, but hilarious nonetheless.

Here is a link to it if you are interested: http://www.youtube .com/watch?v=6Q5urQrh2Co

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We rented a van and checked out Hoover Dam. We wanted to go to the west rim of the Grand Canyon, too, but it was closed because of the weather.

The dam is very impressive and an important cog in the economy of the Southwest. It is an architectural and engineering feat like I haven?t seen.

It is something the federal government has done that actually pays for itself by supplying hydro-power to more than 1.3 million homes in Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico.

When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, my uncles always said Hoover wasn?t worth a dam, but I now know that isn?t true. He had remarkable vision to see what this could do for millions of Americans and the economy way back in 1931.

If you ever have the chance to see it I would highly recommend doing so.

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I just read where my early baseball hero, Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers, died at age 84.

Many people probably haven?t even heard of him, but he was a star in the ?50s, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees?all center fielders and great hitters.

Every kid?s dream was to grow up and play professional ball, and he is the one I wanted to be like.

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In case you are wondering, I did not wager one thin dime while I was in Vegas. There is no need to gamble when one runs a business these days.

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A highlight of the Vegas experience was the Cirq du Soleil performance of ?The Beatles LOVE? at the Mirage. Until I had seen one of these performances I had no idea what it could be and is really like.

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We are coming into my favorite time of the year, which is basketball madness for both high school and college.

There are always many surprises, which is what makes these weeks all the more fun and exciting.

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