You Have Got to Be Kidding!

Here we are in Palm Springs. Well...we are actually in Palm Desert. We flew into Ontario and drove to Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, in Palm Desert...which is next to Palm Springs. We settled in...went to dinner...then did a little shopping at Albertsons. Even though we pretty much plan to eat out every meal...one would not want to get hungry between meals.

Shopping is one of those activities which I simply endure. Kathie seems to enjoy every minute and she enjoys talking to people...complete strangers. She can strike up a comfortable converstation over the simplest detail. That is one of those very special attributes which she inherited from her mother Floris.

So Kathie was looking at cottage cheese, carefully evaluating every detail trying to find the right sized curd at the right price. She did not immediately notice the Albertsons worker standing behind her who appeared to be patiently waiting for Kathie to move so that she could stock shelves. Kathie turned and began an easy conversation about "cottage cheese"...and the high price of stuff in Palm Desert. I walked away to find more essential stuff, such as diet Coke, thinking that the Alberstons worker was probably more anxious to get on with her job than listening to an out-going, out-of-town customer.

Pretty soon I heard Kathie call my name, so I obediently wandered back. Kathie said "You'll never guess who this is...but this is Pete Coleman's daughter...Susan...we're related". All I could do was stare stupidly and say..."You have got to be kidding!" Seriously...what were the odds?

For those in the family who do not know your genealogy that well...Pete Coleman, was the son of Guy Coleman, who was the brother of Lethe, Henry and Dale Coleman. Their mother Emily was Jeremiah Robey Springer's sister. Jeremiah is Kathie's grandpa. That makes Susan the same generation as our children.

Among Kathie's most special childhood memories is walking to the Midway store owned by Guy Coleman, holding hands with her grandpa Jerry...and listening to the old boys solving the problems of Midway... and the world. And she remembers seeing Pete Coleman's baby in a stroller in the store. According to Susan that baby had to be her, because she was the only surviving child in her family. One sibling was still born, the other died shortly after birth. Susan was raised in Midway and knows all the people Kathie remembers fondly.

I felt an immediate bond. It was strange...we had found a long lost cousin and it felt as if we ought to take her home with us. But she did not want to go...she seemed quite comfortable staying in Palm Desert...strange how that works.

So there is a lesson here. Always talk to strangers...you may be related. But still..."you have got to be kidding!"

I always used to tease Kathie that "You are related to everyone in Utah". That was because she would meet people and after a few minutes find a family connection...and I was directly related to no-one in Utah. But now she has extended her range of seemingly serendipitous encounters with relatives, to California.

Federal Climate Bill in Congress

Herald Journal: Page A2, April 19, 2009.

Read this incredible language from one of this nation's brilliant, non-partisan journalists:

"The fallout from global warming, while subtle right now, could eventually be more dire".

Now read it again. That ought to make even Kathie and her Self-Sufficient-Sisters tremble. Maybe you should read it again.

I don't know where this journalist went to school, but I think "subtle" means...hardly noticable. And the words "could" and "eventually" are linked in an incipid threat that global warming "could be"..."more dire" than "hardly noticable". What would something "more dire" than "hardly noticable" actually look like? And when should we expect "more dire"?... well... "eventually".

Let's put this in perspective. After more than thirty years of preaching environmental doom and gloom like "acid rain destroying lakes and forests, polluted rivers being on fire and smog choking people in some cities", global warming activists admit today that "the fallout from global warming is only subtle right now".

But apparently that most unscientific position "has Democrats pushing legistlation that rivals in scope the nations land-mark anti-pollution laws."

And..."If Congress balks, the Obama administration has signalled its willingness to use decades old clean air laws to impose tough new regulations for motor vehicles and many industrial plants to limit their release of climate-changing pollution." (and put a lot more people out of work)

"The EPA said that rising sea levels, increased flooding and more intense heatwaves and storms that come with climate change are a threat to public health and safety."

Having stated that pollution is causing climate change, the EPA "predicted that warming will worsen other pollution problems such as smog"...."our health and our planet are in danger."

So are you paying attention folks?

Global warming is now climate change...and ...
Pollution causes climate change...and
Global warming causes pollution.

It's hard to argue with that circumlocution.

TEA PARTY

On April 15, 2009, Andy and I attended the Tea Party held in front of the Old Logan Courthouse. It was organized by a USU student who first heard about planned Tea Parties from a friend in the east. He and some friends had agreed to carpool to Salt Lake on April 15...but he decided to post a note on his web to see if there was interest in organizing a Tea Party in Logan. He was overwhelmed with responses.

So...200-300 brave souls met at 4:00 PM...in the snow. It was wet and cold but the spirit of the event kept us warm. There were lots of speakers, including Scott Bradley the Constitution scholar, but the highlight was a bunch of school girls, and one boy, reciting the Declaration of Independence. It was not possible to get an accurate count because people were arriving even as we were leaving at 5:30 PM.

The Tea Party was orderly and interesting...but it was an eerie experience. One could not help but wonder if we were feeling the same feelings as the first groups of protestors felt in Boston. We conservatives are not protestors...it makes us uncomfortable. Were we being foolish? Might we be forced to take a stand at some point? Would it do any good? But it actually felt good...like it was time...time to join with like-minded people who are angered that the Constitution is being trampled upon, that the federal government is usurping powers granted only to the states, and that our country and our future is being stolen from us. And for me it was an opportunity to begin the process of letting the Republican Party know that they have lost me...or rather, they left me behind...and if they want me back they will have to earn the privilege by returning to the positions and principals which good men before me have defended with their lives.

So...from a purely historical perspective...we were there! Let's see where we go from here.

Oh yes! Marshall Thompson, the liberal "veteran" (journalist) was there too...with a flag tucked under his arm. Of course he was the focus of the Herald Journal coverage...such as it was.

DISTRACTIONS

Well...how rude!...Andy and I attended the Priesthood Session of General Conference tonight...and I'm offended! Well...I'm trying to act as if I'm offended, even though one of the speakers said that true believers in the Restored Gospel should NOT be offended by anything.

But President Uchtdorf said something that made me think anyway.

He gave one of his great aviation stories, about a flight crew who were so distracted by an indicator light which did not come on when it was supposed to during a landing approach, that they forgot the main mission...which was to land the plane safely...and they crashed into the Florida swamps killing all aboard...over 100 people.

He was making a good point: It was good for the flight crew to be concerned about an indicator light...but not good in the big picture to become so discracted that the plane went down. He said likewise, it is a good thing for a Priesthood holder...a father or grandfather... to be involved in FAMILY HISTORY, BLOGGING or GARDENING...but not if he becomes distracted and loses sight of his primary mission... which is to provide for and bless his family.

It was interesting that President Uchtdorf chose to highlight those three otherwise positive activities...as potential distractions. Who do we know who is involved in all three? When President Uchtdorf made that statement, Andy just turned...looked at me... and smiled his best "Oh-my-gosh" smile.

Of course Kathie was really sympathetic when I gave her my report of the Priesthood Session. She knows how to sooth her man's damaged ego. She offered a thoughtful observation about President Uchtdorf..."He probably looked really good while he was offending you though." That's true....but I think I'll read DESIDERATA again.