Mormons are unique in many ways. For example, while flying home from Australia, the flight attendant was attempting to explain all the wonderful wines available to me. I said, "You know, I would think that United Airlines would have some of Australia's wonderful non-alcoholic wines available for passengers like me who don't drink". She thought I was joking. I explained that Australia really does make wonderful non-alcoholic wines. She looked a little confused and said with a smile: "You know...you are a really complicated man". It got more complicated for her when we refused tea and coffee.
By the way...a bloke at the temple asked us what airline we were flying on. When I said "United"...he responded..."Really? Don't you realize that United is a nursing home for flight attendants?" He was not far off the mark. One flight attendant told us she had been with United for 42 years.
Mormons are also unique in the number who speak a foreign language...and speak it fluently...because of missionary service in foreign countries. Our son Nate speaks Spanish fluently. That is a useful language, but we know some who speak obscure languages like Hmong or Trukese...spoken only on the Island of Truk.
I remember our eldest son Steve telling us an interesting story, when his Marine Corps Reserve unit was called up for Desert Storm. His company included men from Utah and Nevada. The company commander was required to report any special skills among his men. He reported that of his 150 men 91 spoke a foreign language. Headquarters wrote back saying that he must be mistaken. He was not...they were just Mormon boys who had served missions in foreign countries...and they spoke about 50 different languages between them.
Our son-in-law Shane Falslev, is a foreign language speaker. He served a mission in Taiwan. He speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently. Not only that, he also speaks the native Taiwanese language, which apparently very few foreigners master. Just how fluent Shane is was demonstrated to us during our recent trip to Australia.
There was a mall across the street from the Sydney Temple, where we ate a few meals. I was watching Shane as he approached a Chinese girl at one fast-food place. When he started talking to her in fluent Mandarin, her jaw dropped...she was speechless. She had one of those moments when the brain stops...brain cramp. She looked around helplessly, as if she was trying to attract attention from her co-workers, looked at Shane in disbelief...then started communicating in Mandarin. During the conversation Shane explained that he had lived in Taiwan. She asked if he spoke the native Taiwan language, so he started speaking that language. She was blown away. She started laughing and ran to tell her co-workers. This happened a few times.
The most remarkable experience occurred on our last day. We were at the Featherdale Animal Preserve, which was on the way to the airport. There were a couple of large tour groups...all speaking Mandarin Chinese. Shane opened conversations with a few people...and got the look...that great look of disbelief.
The conversation which was most amazing was one between Shane and a woman with a little girl, who were looking at a Koala bear. Shane was standing behind them just talking away. His accent is apparently so natural that the woman and little girl carried on a conversation with Shane without noticing anything different about his accent. They never turned to look at him...and never noticed that he was a weird white guy speaking perfect Mandarin. It was amazing.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Serendipitous or Spiritual Experiences?
I'm an old architect...employed by Design West. Back in 2000, Design West had a client…Jerroll Winget, who was a friend of Merrill Osmond. Merrill was based in Branson, Missouri. He had been asked by then LDS Church President Kimball, to go to Branson to “make friends for the Church”. He did. He had been performing in Branson with his brothers for ten years.
I was in our Salt Lake City office one day for a conference call with Merrill Osmond. Jerroll was present. The bottom line was that there were some business opportunities in Branson…Merrill asked Jerroll to come to Branson, with an architect. To sweeten the invitation, Merrill said that whoever chose to come would be invited to the Osmond Brothers' dinner show as guests of the Osmonds…and also invited to a couple of special events. One event was the baptism of Merrill’s business manager, Kevin Reno…the other was the very first reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. family, which Merrill was helping to organize. My associate Richard Heindel and I decided to go… and we took our wives.
Some time prior to this event, Merrill had met Kim Smith Davis. It was the habit of the Osmond Brothers to greet fans in the foyer after each show. Kim approached Merrill in this setting. She informed Merrill that she was the great, great grand daughter of Joseph Smith Jr…and she had some questions about the mainstream LDS church…she did not want to join his church, but she wanted to understand some of the history…why some Saints went west to Utah, while others stayed in Nauvoo. Merrill obliged…Kim later joined the LDS Church.
Shortly thereafter, Kim felt compelled to organize a reunion of the descendants of Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith. It was a sensitive assignment. Most descendants of Joseph had grown up being advised never to mention their heritage…there was embarrassment…there were shattered relationships within the family…and animosity toward mainstream Mormonism. Merrill agreed to help Kim organize a reunion.
Merrill had received his own compelling spiritual prompting. He had a dream in which Joseph Smith appeared to him….told him that his descendants were hurting…he asked Merrill to help “heal my family”. So Kim and Merrill collaborated on a reunion. The reunion was held in the Hughes Family Theater…it was poorly attended, but we thought it was wonderful.
Kim Smith Davis was the MC…the invocation was given by Joseph Fielding Smith (Kim’s father)…Merrill told his story…Gracia Jones, the first member of Joseph’s family to join mainstream Mormonism, spoke of her experiences…and her discovery that there were over 400 descendants of Joseph living in Australia. Merrill and Gracia made pleas to the family to come together in unity and love…and pledged their love and support to that end.
There followed some role playing: Jason Hughes, a descendant of Newel Knight, read from family records about the Knight family and their love for Joseph Smith. Nancy Eppert, dressed as Emma Hale Smith, presented a moving monologue about Emma’s life. The Hughes Brothers re-enacted the scene in Carthage Gaol, while Ryan Hughes sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”…I don’t think that I have ever heard it sung better…or with more feeling. There was poetry and singing…and Kim closed the meeting. It was a very special experience. We were honored to be there.
Gracia’s words hit a chord with us. She said something like “Everyone here today was handpicked by the spirit of this family to be here.” We discussed this later, remarking that even though we were not part of the family, we somehow felt included in Gracia's prophetic pronouncement. What were we even doing there? There was a certain serendipity in our being present to witness this first reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. family.
Kathie and I had the opportunity to meet Kim’s parents, Joseph Fielding and Sue Smith. We learned a lot about Kim. She was, on that very day, literally escaping from her husband, with her two children. It was a very tense, difficult time for the family. The Smiths were long-time members of the Temple Lot Group, the splinter Mormon group which owns/maintains the dedicated temple site in Independence, Missouri. The group had about 2,500 members. The Smiths were lovely people...and so proud of Kim. They were amazed by the transformation in their daughter since joining the LDS Church. “If you had known her before she joined the Church, you would not believe the change in her. That she could stand up there and conduct an event like this, is a miracle in itself.” Sue Smith confided to Kathie that she had had a dream herself, in which she was informed that there were big changes coming into her life. We have wondered about that over the years. We even stopped at the Temple Lot one year, during a visit to Independence, and asked the attendant if he could direct us to Joseph and Sue Smith. He acted as if he had never heard of them.
I had a video camera and actually videoed the Smith Family reunion. Without a tripod it was not easy…and without any real talent at filming it was not very professional. So I did nothing with the video for some time. We showed it to our study group, but that was it. Some time later I asked Scott Harris, who was a high school instructor in video production, if he could edit my video…take out some of the jiggles…insert some titles, etc. He agreed…but he did not do anything. It became almost a joke. Every time I ran into Scott, I would ask if he was ever going to finish editing my video. Years went by.
Scott’s wife Laura is a photographer...she photographs and videos weddings. Kathie met her at a wedding, liked her work and engaged her to photograph our family at our annual reunion in August. Since one can rely on women to get things done, Kathie asked Laura to apply pressure on Scott regarding the Joseph Smith DVDs. Within the month the job was completed. By the first week in September, 2008, we had 25 DVDs to distribute.
Then the problem was how to distribute the DVDs…to whom?…where?. I immediately thought of Gracia Jones who lives in St. George or Hurricane. But I needed her email address…or phone number.
Then I flew off to Sydney with Shane, Andy and Cody who were assigned to lay carpet in the Sydney LDS Temple. It was a pure whim on my part. Because Andy is a commercial pilot I can fly anywhere inexpensively. For those who don't know, I was born in Perth, Australia...joined the LDS Church in 1961. Sydney is where I served a mission in 1964/65...where Kathie and I met...where we have a lot of friends.
We were assigned to the Temple Patron Housing. We were told that there were other people staying there who were making a documentary about Joseph Smith’s descendants in Australia. We met a couple of women that first day. I asked if they were “with the movie group”…they were…so I asked if the movie was based upon Gracia Jones’ research?...yes…did they know her email address?…yes they did. Wow! That was easy. So I emailed Gracia…she emailed back, saying that she would be happy to help. I noticed that she had copied Michael Kennedy. I did not know who he was.
A couple of days later we were invited to a special showing of the movie "Emma". The gentleman who introduced the movie to the mainly LDS crowd was Michael Kennedy. Wow! Another surprise. He turned out to be the president of the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. After the movie I asked him for his card, telling him that I would like to send him a DVD, which he might appreciate.
The very next morning I met the woman who had given me Gracia Jones’ email address. She turned out to be the wife of Michael Kennedy. This was getting weird...I could not believe it...we were all living in the same building. I thanked Sister Kennedy for giving me Gracia’s email address and explained that I had received a response from Gracia…and that Gracia had agreed to help me distribute the DVDs of the first Joseph Smith Jr. reunion. I told her that I especially wanted to get DVDs to Kim Smith Davis and her parents. She smiled and said “Come with me”. She led me to the kitchen where a group was gathered for breakfast. She said…”Kim, this gentleman would like to speak with you.” It was Kim Smith. My head was spinning. What was happening?
Kim and I talked. She divorced her husband shortly after the reunion in 2000 and dropped the name Davis. She introduced me to her two children, now teenagers. She is now living in Nauvoo, Illinois. I asked about her parents. Her mother Sue joined the LDS Church...her dream came true... but her father Joseph has not…not yet. Kim was actually embarrassed by the poor turnout at the 2000 reunion…I'm not sure that she was happy to discover that someone had recorded the event. But I suggested that her 2000 reunion was a wonderful “gentle beginning”, from which great things have evolved.
I still cannot believe it. I had goose bumps on goose bumps. I flew to Australia for five days, on a whim, and found the very family which I needed to locate in order to distribute the Joseph Smith Jr. reunion DVDs.
How does one explain this? It certainly cannot be explained in any rational, pragmatic sense. It was definitely serendipitous…more likely spiritual. Time will tell. Kathie even asked “Are you sure that you do not have any Smiths in your Australian family lines?” Since I am a family history nut, I had better check.
After writing this entry, I woke in the middle of the night with the strong impression that I should not equivocate. Rather, I should testify boldly that this entire series of events is clear evidence of the hand of the Lord in our affairs here on earth.
I was in our Salt Lake City office one day for a conference call with Merrill Osmond. Jerroll was present. The bottom line was that there were some business opportunities in Branson…Merrill asked Jerroll to come to Branson, with an architect. To sweeten the invitation, Merrill said that whoever chose to come would be invited to the Osmond Brothers' dinner show as guests of the Osmonds…and also invited to a couple of special events. One event was the baptism of Merrill’s business manager, Kevin Reno…the other was the very first reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. family, which Merrill was helping to organize. My associate Richard Heindel and I decided to go… and we took our wives.
Some time prior to this event, Merrill had met Kim Smith Davis. It was the habit of the Osmond Brothers to greet fans in the foyer after each show. Kim approached Merrill in this setting. She informed Merrill that she was the great, great grand daughter of Joseph Smith Jr…and she had some questions about the mainstream LDS church…she did not want to join his church, but she wanted to understand some of the history…why some Saints went west to Utah, while others stayed in Nauvoo. Merrill obliged…Kim later joined the LDS Church.
Shortly thereafter, Kim felt compelled to organize a reunion of the descendants of Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith. It was a sensitive assignment. Most descendants of Joseph had grown up being advised never to mention their heritage…there was embarrassment…there were shattered relationships within the family…and animosity toward mainstream Mormonism. Merrill agreed to help Kim organize a reunion.
Merrill had received his own compelling spiritual prompting. He had a dream in which Joseph Smith appeared to him….told him that his descendants were hurting…he asked Merrill to help “heal my family”. So Kim and Merrill collaborated on a reunion. The reunion was held in the Hughes Family Theater…it was poorly attended, but we thought it was wonderful.
Kim Smith Davis was the MC…the invocation was given by Joseph Fielding Smith (Kim’s father)…Merrill told his story…Gracia Jones, the first member of Joseph’s family to join mainstream Mormonism, spoke of her experiences…and her discovery that there were over 400 descendants of Joseph living in Australia. Merrill and Gracia made pleas to the family to come together in unity and love…and pledged their love and support to that end.
There followed some role playing: Jason Hughes, a descendant of Newel Knight, read from family records about the Knight family and their love for Joseph Smith. Nancy Eppert, dressed as Emma Hale Smith, presented a moving monologue about Emma’s life. The Hughes Brothers re-enacted the scene in Carthage Gaol, while Ryan Hughes sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”…I don’t think that I have ever heard it sung better…or with more feeling. There was poetry and singing…and Kim closed the meeting. It was a very special experience. We were honored to be there.
Gracia’s words hit a chord with us. She said something like “Everyone here today was handpicked by the spirit of this family to be here.” We discussed this later, remarking that even though we were not part of the family, we somehow felt included in Gracia's prophetic pronouncement. What were we even doing there? There was a certain serendipity in our being present to witness this first reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. family.
Kathie and I had the opportunity to meet Kim’s parents, Joseph Fielding and Sue Smith. We learned a lot about Kim. She was, on that very day, literally escaping from her husband, with her two children. It was a very tense, difficult time for the family. The Smiths were long-time members of the Temple Lot Group, the splinter Mormon group which owns/maintains the dedicated temple site in Independence, Missouri. The group had about 2,500 members. The Smiths were lovely people...and so proud of Kim. They were amazed by the transformation in their daughter since joining the LDS Church. “If you had known her before she joined the Church, you would not believe the change in her. That she could stand up there and conduct an event like this, is a miracle in itself.” Sue Smith confided to Kathie that she had had a dream herself, in which she was informed that there were big changes coming into her life. We have wondered about that over the years. We even stopped at the Temple Lot one year, during a visit to Independence, and asked the attendant if he could direct us to Joseph and Sue Smith. He acted as if he had never heard of them.
I had a video camera and actually videoed the Smith Family reunion. Without a tripod it was not easy…and without any real talent at filming it was not very professional. So I did nothing with the video for some time. We showed it to our study group, but that was it. Some time later I asked Scott Harris, who was a high school instructor in video production, if he could edit my video…take out some of the jiggles…insert some titles, etc. He agreed…but he did not do anything. It became almost a joke. Every time I ran into Scott, I would ask if he was ever going to finish editing my video. Years went by.
Scott’s wife Laura is a photographer...she photographs and videos weddings. Kathie met her at a wedding, liked her work and engaged her to photograph our family at our annual reunion in August. Since one can rely on women to get things done, Kathie asked Laura to apply pressure on Scott regarding the Joseph Smith DVDs. Within the month the job was completed. By the first week in September, 2008, we had 25 DVDs to distribute.
Then the problem was how to distribute the DVDs…to whom?…where?. I immediately thought of Gracia Jones who lives in St. George or Hurricane. But I needed her email address…or phone number.
Then I flew off to Sydney with Shane, Andy and Cody who were assigned to lay carpet in the Sydney LDS Temple. It was a pure whim on my part. Because Andy is a commercial pilot I can fly anywhere inexpensively. For those who don't know, I was born in Perth, Australia...joined the LDS Church in 1961. Sydney is where I served a mission in 1964/65...where Kathie and I met...where we have a lot of friends.
We were assigned to the Temple Patron Housing. We were told that there were other people staying there who were making a documentary about Joseph Smith’s descendants in Australia. We met a couple of women that first day. I asked if they were “with the movie group”…they were…so I asked if the movie was based upon Gracia Jones’ research?...yes…did they know her email address?…yes they did. Wow! That was easy. So I emailed Gracia…she emailed back, saying that she would be happy to help. I noticed that she had copied Michael Kennedy. I did not know who he was.
A couple of days later we were invited to a special showing of the movie "Emma". The gentleman who introduced the movie to the mainly LDS crowd was Michael Kennedy. Wow! Another surprise. He turned out to be the president of the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. After the movie I asked him for his card, telling him that I would like to send him a DVD, which he might appreciate.
The very next morning I met the woman who had given me Gracia Jones’ email address. She turned out to be the wife of Michael Kennedy. This was getting weird...I could not believe it...we were all living in the same building. I thanked Sister Kennedy for giving me Gracia’s email address and explained that I had received a response from Gracia…and that Gracia had agreed to help me distribute the DVDs of the first Joseph Smith Jr. reunion. I told her that I especially wanted to get DVDs to Kim Smith Davis and her parents. She smiled and said “Come with me”. She led me to the kitchen where a group was gathered for breakfast. She said…”Kim, this gentleman would like to speak with you.” It was Kim Smith. My head was spinning. What was happening?
Kim and I talked. She divorced her husband shortly after the reunion in 2000 and dropped the name Davis. She introduced me to her two children, now teenagers. She is now living in Nauvoo, Illinois. I asked about her parents. Her mother Sue joined the LDS Church...her dream came true... but her father Joseph has not…not yet. Kim was actually embarrassed by the poor turnout at the 2000 reunion…I'm not sure that she was happy to discover that someone had recorded the event. But I suggested that her 2000 reunion was a wonderful “gentle beginning”, from which great things have evolved.
I still cannot believe it. I had goose bumps on goose bumps. I flew to Australia for five days, on a whim, and found the very family which I needed to locate in order to distribute the Joseph Smith Jr. reunion DVDs.
How does one explain this? It certainly cannot be explained in any rational, pragmatic sense. It was definitely serendipitous…more likely spiritual. Time will tell. Kathie even asked “Are you sure that you do not have any Smiths in your Australian family lines?” Since I am a family history nut, I had better check.
After writing this entry, I woke in the middle of the night with the strong impression that I should not equivocate. Rather, I should testify boldly that this entire series of events is clear evidence of the hand of the Lord in our affairs here on earth.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Five Days Down Unda
Shane Falslev, our son-in-law, (husband of Angie) has a carpet laying business in Cache Valley. He must be good, because for the past eleven years he has been invited to lay carpet in LDS temples around the world. He was recently asked to take a crew to the Sydney Temple. Our son Andy volunteered to go with him. Andy is a commercial pilot with Sky West, but he has worked for Shane before and chose to take a week off. One of the great perks about being a commercial pilot is that Andy can fly just about anywhere in the world for free…or close to it. The really best perk is that Andy’s parents get to fly free also. So I invited myself. What a deal!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008: Andy planned out our day…stand-by to Los Angeles…so we took an 11:00 AM flight to ensure that we could make the 10:30 PM flight to Sydney. No problem. Andy gave me his first class ticket and sat in the back of the bus. What a son! We arrived in Los Angeles with 10 hours to spare. Big problem. We could not check-in for the Sydney flight for six hours. The real problem was that Shane had asked us to take two of his tool boxes, because we were travelling light, but allowed to check two bags each. Because we were flying stand-by to Sydney we did not check our bags straight through. That was a mistake; we were stuck with heavy tool boxes, could not get boarding passes, therefore, we could not get past the ticketing gates. So we rented a car.
Jill Smith, our travel agent, (and Kathie) lined up a car for us, from some off-line rental company…$47 for the day. There are probably pros and cons going that way, but personal attention is a real pro. The one person in the trailer office was very friendly…she gave us a Chrysler Sebring convertible. We went to the beach…ate Argentinean empanadas from a street vendor…snoozed in a park…it was a tough day. As with Kathie in Pittsburgh, I had my own “welcome to the big city” experience when I went to the public rest room at the park…but we won’t talk about that.
The flight to Australia was tough. First class seats allowed us to sleep in comfort most of the way. I’m starting to really appreciate Andy…he’s the man! We lost Thursday somewhere.
Friday, September 26, 2008: We learned something at the Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney. As dual US/Australian citizens, we were advised to enter and depart Australia on our Australian passports…and re-enter the US on our US passports. There was no hassle…just friendly advice.
We rented a car. Jill Smith did it again. $152 for the week. The gal behind the Hertz counter was again very friendly. She asked where we were staying in Sydney. We did not know, so we gave her my step-mother Margo Wegener’s address. Then the gal asked…”Are you going to the temple?” “What? How did you know that?” She apparently noticed Andy’s CTR ring…and she was Maori. Mormons and Maoris are everywhere! She gave us a hot Toyota four door sports car…real zippy.
Problems arose with the vehicle immediately. The steering wheel was on the wrong side. On that first day I attempted to enter the car from the wrong side four (4) times…actually made it into the seat twice. It is always a shock to discover that the steering wheel is gone. Andy noted that it is also disturbing to look at the car next to you on the freeway and discover that there is no-one in the (US) driver’s seat. It was disturbing. The next day I only tried to get in on the wrong side once. Quick learner.
Kathie will appreciate that I turned on the windshield wipers numerous times…instead of the turn signal. Some idiot reversed the locations. I’m a slow learner on that one…never quite got over it.
I asked Andy to drive at the airport, but he declined, suggesting that he would do better as a navigator. Sure! He was immediately lost… I took a wrong turn…missed a freeway entry…we stopped to regroup. After that we were a pretty good team. We even found Margo’s home in North Strathfield without any problem…and we arrived at the temple just minutes before Shane and Cody pulled in. They were met at the airport by a Church employee.
Margo is still Margo…now 84…and pretty sharp…except that she repeats herself frequently…but at 84 that’s her prerogative. She was pleased to meet Andy, whom she thought was “bloody handsome”. She said…”too bad I’m not a lot younger”. We left Margo with a three ring binder with our latest family photos.
Our accommodations were at a motel which was purchased by the Church for patron housing. Since the temple was closed for repairs there were no patrons, but there were other guests. One group was from Florida…LDS musicians who were performing somewhere. The other group was with a movie company…working on a movie about the descendants of Joseph Smith in Australia. I asked if the movie was based upon Gracia Jones’ research…it is. They gave me Gracia’s e-mail address, so we could contact her about our video of the First Reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. Family. Gracia responded saying that she would help me distribute the CDs upon my return.
The boys, Shane, Andy and Shane’s nephew Cody Creech, went right to work. It is hard work. They were jet-lagged and exhausted at the end of the day. Back at the housing the boys were entertained by laughing kookaburras and warbling magpies.
We were told that there are big changes coming to the temple complex. The temple is actually being downsized to a mini temple. The maintenance personnel have been trimmed from four to one, as of Jan 31…when a new Presidency will take over. And all 40 positions at the Area Church Offices will be transferred to New Zealand.
Saturday, September 27, 2008: The guys worked all day while I worked on Family history…in the temple. It can’t get much better than that. Talked with Alan Murrin…met the Temple Recorder…John Parton…grandson of the Stake Patriarch, when Kathie and I were in Sydney in 1964/65.
Sunday, September 28, 2008: We attended Church at the Greenwich Ward, where Kathie and I first met; it was a special experience, marred only by one speaker who was a BYU co-ed who used BYU football hysteria as a metaphor in her talk…made Andy quite uncomfortable. I was glad that Kathie was not present. The highlight was meeting Babe Enoka (Williams) who was leading the music. Babe abd I used to sing together in a quartet...Babe, Rakapa Parata, Les Young and I. Met Howard Jeffree again. He offered to take me touring tomorrow.
I actually tripped on the steps going into the Greenwich Ward. Told Andy that this is where I “fell” for his mother too.
Following Church we drove out to Manly Beach, where Andy was the only one to brave the cold water…the body surfing was great. We had planned to drive across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, but the traffic was so heavy that we gave up the idea. Driving in Sydney is much like driving in Pittsburgh…tunnels and all…just much bigger.
Monday, September 29, 2008: Today is the 43rd anniversary of my departure from Australia. Where has the time gone? And how interesting is it that I am back in Sydney, from whence I departed. I’m sitting here looking at the gum trees (eucalyptus), watching the birds, which this morning include parrots and pink and grey galahs…and listening to all the sounds. I love this place.
The boys went off to work and Howard Jeffries picked me up at 8:00 AM. I knew Howard in Sydney back in 1964/65. He was at the dinner which Alan Murrin hosted for us last year. He became an architect and spent the last half of his career working for the Church. He is now retired. He recently moved and now attends the Greenwich Ward. We drove the “loop” road, which took us out into the country. I enjoyed the beautiful OZ trees. We visited Max Maine, who was the architect in charge of the Australian Building Program in 1964/65. Max is now in his eighties, living with his daughter. He gave me a copy of his personal history. Howard bought me a copy of an Australian classic "A Fortunate Life" by A. B. Facey...saying that it was a must-read for a bloke from Perth.
Howard helped us get tickets for a special showing of “Emma” at the Fox Theatres in Sydney. The “National Tribute Band”…the musicians staying at the Patron Housing…gave a concert ahead of the movie. They tied their music to the early Mormon experience. The movie was marvelous…certainly helped our understanding of and appreciation for Emma Hale Smith. I met Michael Kennedy, who is President of the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society...asked for his card so that I could send him one of my Joseph SMith Reunion DVDs.
Doug and Robin Hann were at the movie. It was good to see them again. I would like to spend more time with them.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008: The boys had hoped to be done by today, but the job took most of the day to complete. I had promised Margo that I would bring the crew over to meet her so we did that before dinner. When I told Joe Cicli (main temple engineer) that I was taking the crew to meet my step-mother…he looked at me carefully and said …”How OLD is she?” That cracked up the crew.
Wednesday, November 1, 2008: We had some spare time this morning so we went to the Featherdale Animal Preserve, on the way to the airport. The flight home was fast…and first class. We had a 100 + mph tailwind and arrived an hour early…in 13.25 hours. We slept for 7 hours straight…watched a couple of movies and read…and ate lobster. We arrived in Los Angeles 4.5 hours before we left Sydney…now that’s fast.
So we had a fast, furious and fun few days in Sydney. It was great!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008: Andy planned out our day…stand-by to Los Angeles…so we took an 11:00 AM flight to ensure that we could make the 10:30 PM flight to Sydney. No problem. Andy gave me his first class ticket and sat in the back of the bus. What a son! We arrived in Los Angeles with 10 hours to spare. Big problem. We could not check-in for the Sydney flight for six hours. The real problem was that Shane had asked us to take two of his tool boxes, because we were travelling light, but allowed to check two bags each. Because we were flying stand-by to Sydney we did not check our bags straight through. That was a mistake; we were stuck with heavy tool boxes, could not get boarding passes, therefore, we could not get past the ticketing gates. So we rented a car.
Jill Smith, our travel agent, (and Kathie) lined up a car for us, from some off-line rental company…$47 for the day. There are probably pros and cons going that way, but personal attention is a real pro. The one person in the trailer office was very friendly…she gave us a Chrysler Sebring convertible. We went to the beach…ate Argentinean empanadas from a street vendor…snoozed in a park…it was a tough day. As with Kathie in Pittsburgh, I had my own “welcome to the big city” experience when I went to the public rest room at the park…but we won’t talk about that.
The flight to Australia was tough. First class seats allowed us to sleep in comfort most of the way. I’m starting to really appreciate Andy…he’s the man! We lost Thursday somewhere.
Friday, September 26, 2008: We learned something at the Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney. As dual US/Australian citizens, we were advised to enter and depart Australia on our Australian passports…and re-enter the US on our US passports. There was no hassle…just friendly advice.
We rented a car. Jill Smith did it again. $152 for the week. The gal behind the Hertz counter was again very friendly. She asked where we were staying in Sydney. We did not know, so we gave her my step-mother Margo Wegener’s address. Then the gal asked…”Are you going to the temple?” “What? How did you know that?” She apparently noticed Andy’s CTR ring…and she was Maori. Mormons and Maoris are everywhere! She gave us a hot Toyota four door sports car…real zippy.
Problems arose with the vehicle immediately. The steering wheel was on the wrong side. On that first day I attempted to enter the car from the wrong side four (4) times…actually made it into the seat twice. It is always a shock to discover that the steering wheel is gone. Andy noted that it is also disturbing to look at the car next to you on the freeway and discover that there is no-one in the (US) driver’s seat. It was disturbing. The next day I only tried to get in on the wrong side once. Quick learner.
Kathie will appreciate that I turned on the windshield wipers numerous times…instead of the turn signal. Some idiot reversed the locations. I’m a slow learner on that one…never quite got over it.
I asked Andy to drive at the airport, but he declined, suggesting that he would do better as a navigator. Sure! He was immediately lost… I took a wrong turn…missed a freeway entry…we stopped to regroup. After that we were a pretty good team. We even found Margo’s home in North Strathfield without any problem…and we arrived at the temple just minutes before Shane and Cody pulled in. They were met at the airport by a Church employee.
Margo is still Margo…now 84…and pretty sharp…except that she repeats herself frequently…but at 84 that’s her prerogative. She was pleased to meet Andy, whom she thought was “bloody handsome”. She said…”too bad I’m not a lot younger”. We left Margo with a three ring binder with our latest family photos.
Our accommodations were at a motel which was purchased by the Church for patron housing. Since the temple was closed for repairs there were no patrons, but there were other guests. One group was from Florida…LDS musicians who were performing somewhere. The other group was with a movie company…working on a movie about the descendants of Joseph Smith in Australia. I asked if the movie was based upon Gracia Jones’ research…it is. They gave me Gracia’s e-mail address, so we could contact her about our video of the First Reunion of the Joseph Smith Jr. Family. Gracia responded saying that she would help me distribute the CDs upon my return.
The boys, Shane, Andy and Shane’s nephew Cody Creech, went right to work. It is hard work. They were jet-lagged and exhausted at the end of the day. Back at the housing the boys were entertained by laughing kookaburras and warbling magpies.
We were told that there are big changes coming to the temple complex. The temple is actually being downsized to a mini temple. The maintenance personnel have been trimmed from four to one, as of Jan 31…when a new Presidency will take over. And all 40 positions at the Area Church Offices will be transferred to New Zealand.
Saturday, September 27, 2008: The guys worked all day while I worked on Family history…in the temple. It can’t get much better than that. Talked with Alan Murrin…met the Temple Recorder…John Parton…grandson of the Stake Patriarch, when Kathie and I were in Sydney in 1964/65.
Sunday, September 28, 2008: We attended Church at the Greenwich Ward, where Kathie and I first met; it was a special experience, marred only by one speaker who was a BYU co-ed who used BYU football hysteria as a metaphor in her talk…made Andy quite uncomfortable. I was glad that Kathie was not present. The highlight was meeting Babe Enoka (Williams) who was leading the music. Babe abd I used to sing together in a quartet...Babe, Rakapa Parata, Les Young and I. Met Howard Jeffree again. He offered to take me touring tomorrow.
I actually tripped on the steps going into the Greenwich Ward. Told Andy that this is where I “fell” for his mother too.
Following Church we drove out to Manly Beach, where Andy was the only one to brave the cold water…the body surfing was great. We had planned to drive across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, but the traffic was so heavy that we gave up the idea. Driving in Sydney is much like driving in Pittsburgh…tunnels and all…just much bigger.
Monday, September 29, 2008: Today is the 43rd anniversary of my departure from Australia. Where has the time gone? And how interesting is it that I am back in Sydney, from whence I departed. I’m sitting here looking at the gum trees (eucalyptus), watching the birds, which this morning include parrots and pink and grey galahs…and listening to all the sounds. I love this place.
The boys went off to work and Howard Jeffries picked me up at 8:00 AM. I knew Howard in Sydney back in 1964/65. He was at the dinner which Alan Murrin hosted for us last year. He became an architect and spent the last half of his career working for the Church. He is now retired. He recently moved and now attends the Greenwich Ward. We drove the “loop” road, which took us out into the country. I enjoyed the beautiful OZ trees. We visited Max Maine, who was the architect in charge of the Australian Building Program in 1964/65. Max is now in his eighties, living with his daughter. He gave me a copy of his personal history. Howard bought me a copy of an Australian classic "A Fortunate Life" by A. B. Facey...saying that it was a must-read for a bloke from Perth.
Howard helped us get tickets for a special showing of “Emma” at the Fox Theatres in Sydney. The “National Tribute Band”…the musicians staying at the Patron Housing…gave a concert ahead of the movie. They tied their music to the early Mormon experience. The movie was marvelous…certainly helped our understanding of and appreciation for Emma Hale Smith. I met Michael Kennedy, who is President of the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society...asked for his card so that I could send him one of my Joseph SMith Reunion DVDs.
Doug and Robin Hann were at the movie. It was good to see them again. I would like to spend more time with them.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008: The boys had hoped to be done by today, but the job took most of the day to complete. I had promised Margo that I would bring the crew over to meet her so we did that before dinner. When I told Joe Cicli (main temple engineer) that I was taking the crew to meet my step-mother…he looked at me carefully and said …”How OLD is she?” That cracked up the crew.
Wednesday, November 1, 2008: We had some spare time this morning so we went to the Featherdale Animal Preserve, on the way to the airport. The flight home was fast…and first class. We had a 100 + mph tailwind and arrived an hour early…in 13.25 hours. We slept for 7 hours straight…watched a couple of movies and read…and ate lobster. We arrived in Los Angeles 4.5 hours before we left Sydney…now that’s fast.
So we had a fast, furious and fun few days in Sydney. It was great!
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