I wasn't there

Where was I?  --Oh, I was back in Ephraim shoveling
turkey manuer (or lifeguarding as the case may have
been) so that I could afford to go on a mission.

Several important questions remain outstanding with
regard to my absence on this trip:
Did mom and dad really plan to pay for my mission and
just didn't have enough room in the car?  Could the
family have saved the money spent gambling and in
lavish hotels around the country to pay for my
mission?   Are my questions just another example of
middle-child syndrom run amuk?
-Or were mom and dad just trying to give me the
lattitude/solitude/courage to finally kiss a girl
before I left for college to aswage their own
discomfort with my status?

Still, I would like to have driven through that tree
with the tunnel in it...

Dan