Eileen

   I don't have as many memories of my younger siblings as I do my older siblings.  I suppose that is because I associated myself more with the older group.  The family was divided into two: the big kids and the little kids. 
   My memories of Eileen as a child are mostly from home movies my parents shot.  I remember Eileen waddling about the back yard at Lakewood Dr. on an Easter Egg hunt.  I remember Eileen looking up the chimney to see if Santa were coming.  Both of these memories come from the home movies. 
   Eileen was always goofy and fun, as some of you have mentioned.  She always saw humor in things.  She memorized lines from movies like The Black Cauldron.  Gurgey was her favorite, and her favorite quote was, "Why am I always being blamed for these things," which she would repeat in Gurgey's voice. 
   Mother bought a record of The Muppets of Brementown, which we played over and over and over.  My younger siblings and I often offer quotes from that production in appropriate situations.  You can probably find the video on You Tube. 
   Radio drama was something else that I would have shared with Eileen and my younger siblings.  I can't remember if it was KLS radio or NPR but one of these would nightly play radio drama of scary stories.  We would gather around the radio and listen.  For most of my later teens we had no television.
   Having no TV meant that each of us younger kids made friends in the neighborhood to whose houses we would go to get our TV fixes.  I'm not sure whose home Eileen would go to.
  When I returned home from my mission Eileen was a young woman, prettier than I had ever remembered.  She soon met, dated, and married John Bingner.  John and I worked together at SILO for a while.  He was a very talented salesman and has made his living in that profession since.  For sometime he managed a clothing store at the University Mall.
   When their oldest daughter was in diapers they used to come to our place so that she and Adam could play together.  I think that your mother and I were living in my grandfather's home in Orem at the time.
   It wasn't long before Eileen and John moved to Oregon, John's home state, and fell off of my radar.  I have never been good at keeping touch with my siblings via phone or letter.
   Eileen's oldest daughter, Crystal Lynn, earned a poor reputation in the church culture, and the bishop told his children not to play with her.  This had the unfortunate effect of widening the gap between Crystal and the church.  This is a sad story that can be told again and again and again.  I sometimes warned you children about certain characters, but rarely told you not to associate with one of them.  I did often remind you to be the leader and not the follower, to the the influencer for good, and not the influencee in bad.  It is a scary stance to take, but I don't regret it.  Be careful to maintain your friendships with your children.  Children are more influenced by their friends than their parents--because parents are so often aloof from their children's lives.  Stay close.  Do fun stuff together.
   For the past few decades my only contact with Eileen has been at family reunions, to which she always wanted to come.  John did not come very often, not because he wasn't welcome, but probably because getting off work in the sales profession is costly and not look on pleasantly by management.  Eileen was close with her sisters.  They often put on crazy skits at reunions.  One of my favorites was called, "The Fat Came Back," a parody of "The Cat Came Back."  My siblings all have struggled with excess weight, so the parody was pertinent--and very funny.  Three of my heavy sisters dancing and singing this song is a wonderful memory.
   Eileen has suffered some terrible health issues and currently is suffering from problems including dementia.  She doesn't respond much when called on the phone, and is taken care of by ward members who take turns.  Eileen's youngest son, Joseph, has spent much of his childhood caring for his mother.
   Daniel Bingner served a mission and is married in the temple.  Caroline Bingner has fallen off of my radar.  I used to see her often on Facebook, but not recently. 
   I love my little sister dearly, though we have not been close.  I expect she will be the first of my siblings to pass away, but you never know about these things.  Stay close to each other.  Use Facebook.  Take lots of pictures and post them often.  Don't let worries about recent social media tampering worry you to the point of withdrawing.  All of you are intelligent enough that the media tampering will not influence you much.  And if you are worried, block political stuff, but don't drop off the map.