tony

Blue Suede Desert Boots

2012-01-26T22:43:00.005-07:00

One of my elementary school friends sent me a video of a couple demonstrating Rock'n'Roll dancing...asking...do you remember when? It brought back lots of wonderful memories.

When I was 16, Rock'n'Roll was all the rage...and I was a dancin' fool. I loved it. It was called "Jitterbug" in the US...but we called it "Jive"...and it was wild. Back in my dancin’ days I wore tight jeans and had a pair of blue suede desert boots. I'm not sure why they were called "desert boots", but I was cool…and I used to go dancin’ every weekend at the Floreat Park Tennis Club…and occasionally at the "Snakepit", which was an open-air dance floor at Scarborough Beach. When Andy and I were last in Perth I showed him a plaque in the sidewalk, which commemorated where the infamous "Snakepit" used to be located.

A couple of weeks back I was in the Sportsman shopping for sox.. There was a display of men’s shoes. Right there in front of me was a pair of blue suede desert boots…exact replicas of my 1956 models.

As I stood there staring, a young salesman came up and said “May I help you sir?” I did not respond. He said again “Sir…may I help you”. I came back to reality and said. “I’m not sure…at this very moment I am in Australia…it’s 1956…and I am dancin’ in my blue suede desert boots.” Of course he gave me that strange look that hip young men give not so hip old men. I tried to explain:

“Do you know how special these shoes are?”…
”No”
”Have you ever heard Elvis Presley sing about his Blue Suede Shoes?”…
”No”
“Well son…you missed out...you’ve got a lot of livin' to do”.

I should have bought those shoes…but on the other hand I don’t have any skinny jeans…and I really don’t like blue suede shoes that much any more. But I did love dancin'...and Jivin'.

The Australian Christmas Tree

2011-12-18T15:29:00.003-07:00

We had a great pre-Christmas Sacrament meeting today. The main speaker was Elder Cherrington. He talked about Christmas in Japan with his family where, because of his lack of understanding about international power incompatabilities, their US bought Christmas lights burned out in minutes. So they celebrated Christmas without Christmas lights. But it was OK. The Spirit of Christmas was with them; they celebrated the Birth of Christ with their family. Lack of lights did not dim their special Christmas.

This past week I was asked to talk about “Christmas in Australia”, to Mrs Theobald’s 2^nd Grade class in Nibley. She wanted the children to learn about different Christmas traditions around the world. I enjoyed reminiscing about Christmases past in Australia. The big difference about Christmas in Australia of course, is that it is summer in Australia right now, and all the children are on their summer break from school. And because it is summer, it is hot, sometimes really hot. I remember having Christmas one year on the Conning farm, in Katanning, WA, when it was 112 degrees. And because it is hot, the beach plays a huge role in Australian Christmases. People have Christmas dinner, then go to the beach. Or they might have a barbie on the beach.

I did a little on-line research and noticed that the OZ culture has changed in the past 46 years. For example, when I was a child “Santa Claus” was pretty much an unknown entity…”Father Christmas” was our main man. He is the same jolly old fellow as we know and love in the USA, but there are still differences. In Australia Santa now uses “boomers” (big kangaroos) to pull his sleigh, and sometimes he doesn’t even use a sleigh…he arrives by boat…on the beach.

There were no traditional live Christmas trees available when I was a child…and no artificial trees, so we got creative. The Knowles family always decorated a banksia tree, which I loved. That was a real Christmas tree to me. One of my fondest memories was a Chrsitmas tree which I made; it was a dead branch which I painted white, then decorated with tinsel and paper decorations . I loved that “tree”.

So as I searched on-line for photos of Christmas in Australia, I found one which really touched my heart. It is wonderful; a little girl, on the beach, admiring her Christmas tree, which is made of dead sticks, decorated with a single ribbon…and a STAR. That simple star tells a powerful story…of Joseph and Mary, Wise-Men from afar, Shepherds in their fields by night, Choirs of Angels…and the baby Jesus, born in a manger…yet King of Kings.

13 Hours in the Seattle Airport

2011-07-24T23:03:00.004-06:00

Last Thursday I flew from Sidney, Vancouver Island, to Seattle, intending to catch the 7:20 AM flight to Salt Lake City. I was travelling Standby. The flight was overbooked. So was every flight thereafter. I made it out on the 8:00 PM flight. I cannot recommend 13 hours in any airport to anyone, however, as I thought about that experience the next day, I realized that it was a very special day...because of the people I met.

The first was a young, black, Muslim woman, wearing a head scarf, whom I discovered later in the day was also travelling standby. I think that she was straight out of Africa, because her English was halting... and I don't think that she had ever encountered an escalator. It was on the the escalator that I first met her. She was frantic and she could not control her bags. I helped her gather her things, but she was on the verge of tears. She had no idea how to find her departure gate. When I told her about the train system she was obviously horrified. So I took her for a train ride and delivered her to her gate. The Seattle Airport is huge, but I ran into this woman again...twice...which I thought was strange. She had missed her first flight and was looking for another gate. She was obviously too timid and stressed to ask for help. Since I was all over the airport waiting at various gates, I was surprised to find her sitting at another gate while that flight was boarding. I asked if she was OK. She was not. It was then that I checked her ticket and discovered that she was on standby. But she was not aware that she needed to check to see if she was on the standby list. The last I saw her she was sitting close to the gate counter under the watchful eye of a helpful agent...but she was clutching her bag tightly and still had that wide-eyed look of desperation.

An old man caught my attention about noon. He must have been in his nineties. He could hardly walk. I did not realize that he was also flying standby until later... and he was alone. He had missed a couple of flights when I next saw him. His name was Antonio Gomez. He was not paying attention to the boarding process. When the gate agent called for Antonio Gomez...he was nowhere to be found. I told the agent that I would find him and bring him back. I did...and the agent was grateful...but not grateful enough to find me a seat.

Then I met Mr. Huang. This was a remarkable experience...like none I have ever had before. We were in the Delta Service line. He was talking on a cell phone in Mandarin. When he closed his conversation, I thought I heard him say "Aloha". So I said..."Excuse me...did you just say Aloha?". He laughed and said "Oh no." I told him that that my son-in-law could speak Mandarin fluently. He asked how that could be possible. I responded that Shane had lived in Taiwan for two years. He said..."Two years is not enough to become fluent"...I said... "He was immersed in the culture." to which he responded "Why?". That of course led to an explanation of the Mormon Missionary Program...and he began asking questions...question after question.

We were in line for about 45 minutes and when my new friend was done, I was surprised that he waited for me. I apologized a couple of times for possibly boring him...but he insisted that I was not. He then asked if we could sit and talk a little more. An hour later we were still talking. We covered Missionaries and the cultural blessings of young men and women living in foreign lands, learning languages and loving the people. We discussed the history of the Church...polygamy...Warren Jeffs. We talked about the organization of the Church... Wards and Stakes... the Welfare Program... International Relief efforts...and FAMILY. He was really interested in everything about the Mormon view of Family. He asked why Mormons had large families...why young people were encouraged to marry young...but he began to answer his own questions eventually. It occurred to me later that we were really discussing "The Fruits of the Gospel". He even suggested that the USA would be a much better place if all lived the Mormon lifestyle. I have had people ask questions before, but never like this man.

I then noticed that I had overlooked the time and had to run. My new friend gave me his card and I gave him my email addresss. He was a PhD chemist and biologist, on his way to a conference in China. (I hesitate to identify him further in this open blog. I checked him out on the internet...he is a very distinguished scholar...wow!) He then did something remarkable. He said that he travelled a lot and suggested that if he came through Utah sometime in the future...maybe we could get together. I told him that my wife and I would be delighted to drive down from Logan to meet him. He said "No...I mean...may I come to Logan and visit you in your home...and meet your family?" I was a little stunned, but agreed. Then, as we parted, he made a classic statement, which tended to explain what was going on between us.

"15 years ago...two Mormon boys knock on my door...I invite them in...we talk...I never forget."

Young men and women who are contemplating missions need to learn from this man's experience. They do not yet understand the power which they will have as missionaries... Power to change lives forever ...or to leave lasting impressions. If young people will be Obedient to the Prophet's call to serve; if they will be Obedient to their Mission Presidents, if they will seek the Spirit of the Lord; if they will Prepare and remain Pure...they will have POWER beyond their comprehension.

Tough Little Tomatoes

2011-07-24T19:34:00.000-06:00

I must confess to having a few hangups...or...compulsions. I do love my vegetable garden and it gives me great pleasure to tend it, watch it develop...and win the battle of the weeds. This year I bought and planted 36 tomato plants. Most are doing well...healthy and strong...producung green tomatoes at present. You might think that 36 tomato plants would be enough to feed the neighborhood...and you would be correct...but I have a certain compulsion.

Every summer a number of tomato seeds from previous years actually germinate and grow. A few always survive the tilling process and apparently get just enough water to thrive. It is really a small miracle. Each little "volunteer" tomato plant competes with whatever is in its space...and almost shouts to the world..."look at me". Of course I have no idea what sort of tomatoes they might produce, or even if they will produce before the winter chill hits them, but somehow I feel great affection for each survivor. So each year I carefully transplant them into locations where they will receive regular TLC. I notice that they always survive the transplanting process...they immediately droop, but they bounce back over night...they are tough...they are survivors. This year there are 22 survivors.

Each of them deserves a chance at life...I can give it to them...so I do. I know...it's a little weird....but there are life lessons to be learned from nature...and tough little "volunteer" tomato plants...like... Never Give Up...and... Always Trust the Master Gardner.

Red Hearts - Random Thoughts

2011-07-03T14:25:00.002-06:00

Each year at our Reunion at Bear Lake, either Kathie or I make a presentation about one or more of our ancestors. It was Kathie's turn this year. She chose to present her G G Grandparents, Jeremiah Robey Jr. and his wife Ruth Tucker...plus her very colorful G Grandfather Nathan Chatmond Springer. In support of Kathie's preparation I made a large Pedigree Chart of Kathie's ancestors. She has a most interesting ancestry, which deserves recognition since Pionner Day is coming up this month:

All 8 of Kathie's G Grandparents crossed the Great Plains to Utah. One was even born on the trek in Iowa. Two were not LDS when they made the trek across the USA. One was a teamster (wagon driver) in a wagon train passing through Utah. He dropped off in Utah, married a Mormon girl and became a Mormon. One was in the US Cavalry and came to Utah with Johnson's Army on a mission to destroy the Mormons. He deserted, married a Mormon girl, became a Mormon and was never found by the US Government. Note that Mormon girls are the common denominator here.

Working with New Family Search I identified which of Kathie's ancestors were the first to join the LDS Church in each family line. Some were of the 4th generation and some the 5th. We identified each of these with a RED HEART to honor their faith, courage and lifetime of commitment.

Since June was the 50th anniversiary of the baptism of my late mother Sylvia and myself into the LDS Church in Australia, this was an opportunity to express appreciation for that life-changing event. I bore my testimony of the Father and the Son, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and the truthfullness of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I told my children and grandchildren that I had learned a lot in my 70 years, but I also told them I had not learned anything with more certainty...than...this Church is TRUE.

President Gordon B Hinckley once presented a wonderful line, which I like to borrow. "Every good thing which has come into my life, including my marriage to my sweetheart, I owe to my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". To that I can only say AMEN!"

So I was pondering all the wonderful people who have influenced me for good along the way...and I was listing in my mind all of the positions which I have had over the past 50 years. Then I had a couple of those sometimes useful Random Thoughts.

1. I thought of "Fidler on the Roof". Tevia asks his wife "Do you love me?" To which she replies with a litany of services which she has provided throughout their married life...and suggests "if this is not love then I don't know what is. But Tevia persists..."But...Do you love me?" She finally relents with... "I guess I love you". That made me think that 50 years of Service to the Lord may be impressive...but the Savior might reasonably say..."That's nice Tony...but do you love me?" Just as Tevia simply needed to hear the words, so we might conclude that it is important to let our Father and His Son know that we love them...verbally.

2. I also thought of Jeffer's comments as a six year old, which I blogged about earlier. We had a disagreement at the dinner table...he worked himself up into an emotional state, threw up and ran to his room. After a cooling-off period I went to Jeff's room and had a chat. He said some remarkable things for a six year old..."How come you are so mean to me?...How come you won't let me be mine own self?" Then he told me that he did not feel loved...which was amazing...since he was the youngest of seven, and adored by his siblings. So we talked about that for a while. I assured Jeff that he was loved very much. During the conversation I suggested that it was certainly important for him to feel loved, but I also asked if he ever thought that his parents might need to feel loved also. His response was a remarkably honest ..."Well I do love you...but it wears off."

Of course that wisdom from a six year old underscores that we are all human...and suggests that we need to contemplate our love for our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ...And we need to express it often...because...unless we are careful...it can wear off.

“Jodhpur Flying Club” – The Rest of the Story

2011-07-01T09:15:00.004-06:00

How weird is this? Last Tuesday, June 27, 2011, I opened my blog, intending to review blogs by family members, and just by chance noticed a new comment to one of my old blogs.

"Dear Tony, May I have your e-mail address? I need to communicate with you for a story for my magazine, India Today. My e-mail is: pariharrohit@gmail.com
Rohit Parihar/India Today/Jaipur.
June 27, 2011 3:54 AM

What is strange is that the blog was only posted last Tuesday...and I found it, quite accidentally, the same day. I immediately thought Rohit must have been one of Jeff's Indian friends from Pittsburgh, but not so; he was an assistant editor of an Indian magazine writing an article about the accidental death of Maharaja Hanwant Singh on January 26, 1952, in Jodhpur...and he was desperately searching for a book titled "History of the Jodhpur Flying Club".

While Andy and I were in Jodhpur last year, we purchased "History of the Johdpur Flying Club". Because Andy was a pilot I thought he might find it interesting reading. It turned out to be a gold mine of information...and I wrote a blog about the book upon our return. It essentially explained how my father, Allan R. Wegener, came to be private pilot to the Jodhpur Royal Family. The accidental death of 28 year old Maharaja Hanwant Singh, broke the heart of Geoff Godwin, who had been the private pilot/instructor to the Jodhpur Royal Family, for 20 years. He taught the young Maharaja to fly. Geoff retuned to England in November 1952. The death of the Maharaja also led to his younger brother Himmat Singhji being installed as the Regent, or interim Maharaja of Johpur. And it was His Highness Himmat Singhji, who hired my father as private pilot to the Royal Family, replacing Geoff Godwin, in April 1953.

So the book was special to Andy and me. It was authored by Peter Vacher and Robert Godwin, grandson of Geoff Godwin. In my blog about the book I noted that Andy and I wanted to make contact with Robert Godwin. Our efforts to find Robert failed.

But to add to the weirdness, it occurred to me tonight that I ought to check my blog to see if there might be other comments which I had missed. I found the following...dated June 25 2011...which was just last Saturday:

"Hi Tony, Nice to see that you picked up on the Jodhpur book. My grandfather was Geoff Godwin. Sounds like our families had a lot in common! Cheers, Robert Godwin."

I was stunned...I don't believe in coincidences, but this is really weird. And I was disappointed. Robert did not leave an email address. So if you are out there Robert...and I know that you are...send me an email mate at tonyw@designwestarchitects.com

Power Naps Don't Fix Stupid

2011-06-14T23:55:00.006-06:00

President Kimball had a special talent. He could take a 30 minute power nap at any time and be completely refreshed. For a busy man that can be a blessing. For a stupid man, it can be...well you decide.

Kathie has always been equally impressed and annoyed that I can fall sleep anywhere, at any time, in an instant. During the years that I was travelling to Salt Lake City regularly on business, I discovered that I had President Kimball's gift. It was great. If I felt drowsy while driving, I could pull off the road into a service station, lay the seat back, check my watch and mentally plan a 30 minute nap. Almost invariably I would wake in 30 minutes and be on my way...no worries.

Recently I was working in the yard, felt tired and told Kathie I was going to take a 30 minute nap in the basement. I checked my watch, lay my head on the cushion and was gone. Then the doorbell rang. Kathie answered it. I looked at my watch and was amazed that I had been asleep for an hour. So I went back to yard work.

Later that evening I said: "I don't understand it...I slept for an hour this afternoon and I feel tired." Kathie laughed out loud. "I wondered what was going on when I heard the lawn mower start up. You are a victim of your own annoying talent. You didn't sleep for an hour. It could not have been more than two minutes. You apparently did your instant sleep trick...then the doorbell rang. You only thought you had been asleep for an hour. When you looked at your watch the hands had hardly moved."

So the lesson is this...if you are stupid like me...Power Naps don't fix Stupid.

More Random Thoughts

2010-12-22T16:53:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Missy for getting me back on line. Ya'll might be sorry.

Where were we...Oh yes...we were talking about underwear...specifically OZ singlets.

I had more ramdom thoughts this morning as I was getting dressed for work. It must be an age thing. It may surprise some of you to learn that Kathie and I have not always seen eye to eye on every detail related to family life. One of the things that husbands only learn through sad experience is that wives can live with irritations for a long time...but the frustration will eventually bubble up...and boil over. And then it often comes as a blind-side hit, as an emphasis to a completely unrelated issue...like it has been reserved for that perfect moment.

One issue that came out of the blue for me, was Kathie's revelation that she had been irritated for years that I did not turn my underwear right-side-out before throwing them into the dirty clothes hamper. (I thought I was doing well to actually get the underwear off the floor and into the hamper.) Kathie had faithfully washed my underwear, turned them right-side-out, folded them, and put them in the drawer, for years. One day she did not put the underwear away. It was stacked on the bed. I'm not brightest light on the tree (a reference in deference to Christmas)...but I did think that there might be a message lurking there. Was she upset about something? Well...yes...apparently she was, but it had nothing to do with underwear. She just used the underwear as an exclamation point to the fact that, in addition to the more serious issue, I was generally oblivious and unappreciative. She made it a point to explain how irritated it made her that she had to turn my underwear right-side-out.

I was stunned. I have to plead guilty about the oblivious part, but I was stunned mainly because it would not have hurt my feelings in the least to have my underwear delivered wrong-side-out. That was never an expectation. So I suggested that I would be happy as a clam if Kathie would simply deliver the underwear to me wrong-side-out. And I would be perfectly happy to turn the underwear right-side-out each morning as I put it on. Who knew!

Problem solved. Sometimes we hold on to, and even entertain, irritations way too long. But it was a joint learning experience...Kathie's happy...I'm not quite so oblivious...I think about my wrong-side-out underwear every morning while dressing.

It makes me smile.

WHY? Sometimes it's best not to ask.

2010-06-12T09:40:00.004-06:00

Kathie has a 1964 photo of me posted on a cabinet in our kitchen. It has been there for months and this morning I wondered...WHY? It occurred to me that she keeps it there to remind her of what her husband used to look like in his prime...as opposed to what she is now living with.

The photo was taken when I was serving as a Building Missionary, in Sydney. I was wearing a white shirt and a narrow, black "string" tie, in the style of the Beatles. If one looks closely you can see my underwear through the shirt. I was wearing a white "singlet"...which in today's parlance would be called a "wife-beater-shirt".

As I looked at the photo I had one of those strange experiences which are hard to explain. I had worn "singlets" all my life up to that point. I had never asked ...WHY? It was just the culture...everyone did it. I had never given a thought as to the functionality...the usefulness of a singlet. I mean...a T-shirt actually does something useful; it covers the male upper body, absorbs perspiration and helps keep a shirt at least looking fresh. A singlet, on the other hand, is pretty much useless; it does not even cover the underarms and does nothing for underarm perspiration stains. A singlet fails to cover either chest hair, back hair or underarm hair. The only useful function that comes to mind is that the singlet covers useless male nipples. But I suppose it was cool...as opposed to hot, under the Australian sun. And to a lot of Australian men it was probably "cool" in the macho sense.

I recall that Australia hotels would often have to post Rules for Customers such as ..."No Shirt No Shoes No Services"...but often the more practical hoteliers would reduce that to ..."No Singlet No Service"...shoes were optional.

Don't worry about me too much. When you get old, strange things happen. You return to your childhood and start wondering WHY again. You even start questioning underwear. Well...let's not go there Tony.

The Mohawk Immersion Program

2010-04-29T22:20:00.004-06:00

Kathie and I just spent four days with Jeff, Kimi and Trey, plus Shane, Angie and Lydia in Washington DC. We enjoyed each other, visited museums and saw the sights. Knowing that we would be expected to do a lot of walking, Kathie and I engaged in serious preparation...well...we went out walking twice before we left. It was a good try...just too little too late...after three days we were exhausted. On our last full day, I actually declined the walking tour of monuments, in favour of spending a day alone in the American Indian Museum. The exhibits covered North, Central and South American Indian populations. It was a marvelous experience...but even with all that time, I did not get through all the exhibits.

There are many disturbing historical facts related to the clash of European and Indian cultures, but one of the most disturbing has been the systematic efforts of majority European cultures to force assimilation and loss of culture upon minority indigenous peoples. And this is not just an American issue...it has been a world wide problem.

When Kathie and I met in Sydney, we had many Maori friends from New Zealand. One was Richard Stewart. We were surprised to learn that he knew absolutely nothing about his culture, because he had been forbidden to speak his native language or learn his culture by the school system. He actually had to attend BYU Hawaii to learn his culture at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Even worse, Australian aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families in an effort to assimilate them more quickly into white society. The plan was a miserable failure. Likewise many American Indian children suffered similar fates. Kathie and I discovered during a visit to Louisiana, that even Cajun children were forbidden from speaking Cajun French for a period of about 30 years. That also failed...but every such attempt damaged a couple of generations of children.

I was really impressed with the Mohawk Indian exhibit, because it dealt with the loss of culture head on. Mohawk men are well known as high-rise steel workers on the east coast and along with traditional biases against Indian culture by schools, these people faced loss of culture due to dispersal of families across the country. Today the Mohawk Nation has embarked on what they call the Mohawk Immersion Program...which is an educational program for children and adults. Today their children are immersed in Mohawk culture in parallel with their US/Canadian culture, from an early age...and all adults have the opportunity to take classes in their language and culture. I thought it was an inspiring story which had application to our own contemporary cultural problems.

For example, when we look at the ills in our US society, we can see that there has been a serious effort by progressives in this country to eliminate God and prayer from schools. And the Constitution has not been taught in law schools for decades and very few children in the last two generations have been taught the importance of the Constitution or reverence for the founding fathers in schools. I heard Glenn Beck say that we need to start teaching religion, morality, the Constitution and the history of the founding fathers again, if we are ever to reclaim this country from the progressives.

So maybe we can learn something from the Mohawk Indian Nation. We need to encourage local school districts to establish Constitution Immersion Programs and seriously teach the Constitution and the history of the Founding Fathers to young and old alike. We need to build pride in our cultural history across this great country.

"The Jodhpur Flying Club" by Peter Vacher

2010-03-05T20:13:00.002-07:00

Andy and I purchased this book in Jodhpur. It is an amazing documentary of the history of aviation in Jodhpur. It expains why my father was employed as private pilot to the Maharaja of Jodhpur.

In 1931, the then Maharaja, Umaid Singh, the one who built the pink palace, decided to start a flying club in Jodhpur. He hired Geoff Godwin, an Englishman as his flight instructor. Geoff moved out to India, stayed for 20 years and trained 40 members of the royal family and countless others as pilots.

Jodhpur actually played an important role in international aviation. It was a stop-off point in some of the early air-races between Europe and Australia…and during WWII Maharaja Umaid Singh turned his airport over to the RAF and US Air Force. It was from Jodhpur that pilots flew a very risky route “Over the Hump” to supply Allied troops in China and Burma. There were 1,200 men servicing aircraft in Jodhpur during the war. Geoff Godwin played an important role during this period.

After WWII the Jodhpur Flying Club was reactivated, under Geoff Godwin’s management, but it now had dozens of surplus planes to choose from. In 1947 Maharaja Umaid Singh died of appendicitis while out hunting. His son Hanwant Singh became the Maharajah. These were days when some of the royals delighted in “having fun” in aircraft, rather than playing it by the book. Peter Vacher reports that on the day that Hanwant Singh learned that he had won a landslide victory in the national elections, he jumped into his Beechcraft with a friend and took off. Geoff Godwin unsuccessfully tried to dissuade him. The intimation is that Geoff must have thought the Maharaja unfit to fly. Unfortunately the young Maharaja died along with his friend. They were apparently buzzing some animals and hit power cables.

Geoff Godwin was so distraught...and felt so responsible for the death of his young student Maharajah Hanwant Singh, that he left India and returned to England. Hanwant’s next brother, Himmat Singh became the Regent…the acting Maharaja until Hanwant’s three year old son Gaj (the current Maharaja) came of age. Himmat was an accomplished pilot, as were many family members, but their mother, the widow of Umaid Singh, apparently wielded great power, and refused to allow any of her children to fly alone.

Geoff Godwin and my father never met, but they were inextricably connected to the royal family and aviation in Jodhpur. The royal family of Jodhpur needed a private pilot. My father was chosen. He was expected to follow Geoff Godwin’s incredible legacy. That also explains why there were so many aircraft in hangers at the Jodhpur Airport when dad took over. Peter Vacher’s book actually lists 26 aircraft that were left behind when Geoff Godwin left Jodhpur.

The co-author of the book with Peter Vacher was Robert Godwin, grandson of Geoff Godwin. Andy and I will try to make contact with them.

Jodhpur, India

2010-03-01T21:36:00.022-07:00

Andy and I returned from Jodhpur, India, last Thursday...and we are still suffering from jet lag after circumnavigating the earth in eight days. We accomplished my primary objective.

Meeting Rani..."the Rani Sahib of Jodhpur", aged 81, the widow of His Highness Himmat Singhji, Regent of Jodhpur, was such a sweet experience...an honor and a privilege. She was so gracious. She remembered my father Allan Robert Wegener (known to as Pops) with fondness and shared stories with us for two hours.

Rani then connected us with Kishor Singh, aged 80. My father mentioned Kishor many times in his memoirs. This meeting was completely unexpected and particularly poignant...because Kishor obviously loved my father...and said so many times. We talked
for two hours...and plan to keep the
communications open.

And we had dinner with the current Maharaja Gaj Singhji which was a memorable experience.

But our success was facilitated by Ann Newton Holmes, whom I have mentioned previously in this blog. None of this would have happened without Ann. There was no way to adequately thank her. But what was not expected...and really not totally revealed until we got home, was that Ann's husband Fred R. Holmes was possibly the world expert on Hindu architecture. it was not until I got into the book on the Umaid Bhawan Palace, authored by Fred and Ann that I discovered the depth of their knowledge and understanding of Hindu architecture.

Unfortunately Fred passed away last September, leaving Ann to complete arrangements for the publishing of their next book, which is about Chattris...Hindu Funerary Memorials. And it was Ann who led us on tours of the Umaid Bhawan Palace and the Mehrangarh Fort Palace. I really had no idea at the time, that there was no-one in this world better prepared to lead such tours. The same may be said about the Suttee, which my father witnessed, along with Rani and Kishor. No westerner knows more about Suttee, or is more respectful of the act, than Ann Holmes. Again...it was a privilege to have Ann invite us to India at this time and to have her take four days of her valuable time showing us around Johpur and introducing us to special people who knew my father.

Yes there were elements of our travel experience that I would not want to share with Kathie, but in general the trip was fabulous...and mission accomplished. The full report of our Indian Odyssey is available upon request.

My Own Self

2010-02-07T14:24:00.003-07:00

I had been looking for a file containing photographs of my father for a couple of years. I had searched and searched without success. But I found it this morning in the basement store room. It was in a box of photos which belonged to mother and Henry. I was ecstatic.

In the box was a letter which I had written to mother on February 8, 1989. I'm not sure why she saved it, but that was just before she got reconnected with Henry Sipple. There was a section in the letter about Jeff and Andy...both then missing front teeth...and Andy wearing glasses and feeling pretty cool about it too. That was followed by a story which is now part of Wegener family lore ...and since it was recorded shortly after the occurrence, we may assume that it is the most accurate account. I will copy it here for posterity...it is priceless.

Jeff and I had a battle at the dinner table recently...he would not eat his dinner...worked himself up into such a state that he finally threw up. In the heat of battle, he looked at me and said..."How come you are so mean to me? Why do you have to boss me around? Why can't you let me be my own self?

This kid is only six years old!

A little later, while I was talking with him in his bedroom, he explained that ..."Sometimes I feel lonely...like nobody loves me". We talked about this because he is the MOST LOVED kid in the house...his brothers and sisters especially, give him an excess of attention and love. So I said "Sometimes your mom and dad like to know that you love us too." He sniffed and said..."Well I do...but it wears off.

And we have another 12-13 years to live with this bloke. He's a winner!

I think there is a message here. I have long thought that marriage and family life, is Father in Heaven's schoolroom on earth, to help bring us to Him and His Son. And it occurred to me that while children want to be loved, and adults want to be loved, our Father in Heaven might want to be loved also. And no-one deserves our love more than the Father and the Son.

Listening to the Spirit

2009-10-05T21:27:00.003-06:00

I have heard the whisperings of the Spirit. I have felt the comforting hand of the Lord. Not all the time mind you, but often enough that I know that the Love of God is real. I am in the USA because the "Voice of the Lord" said "Go the the United States". The words were not fancy, but they were startling...they were penetrating...and I obeyed. Such experiences have been infrequent, always simple, yet powerful...like... "Be a good son". That got my attention. Ii was more difficult to obey...it was open ended...a lifetime challenge.

When I was a counsellor to Bishop Kent Wallis, I realized that he was a man who expected direct answers to his prayers. I had really never associated with a man like Kent Wallis. We would kneel as a Bishopric to pray about an issue. He would ask his counselors "Did you get an answer?" It was always embarrassing to have to admit that we had neither heard nor felt anything. Bishop Wallis would go to the temple and generally stay until he had an answer. I was not then in his league. I am not today.

Still...age has wrought a change in me that I can feel. Whereas I have always been a deep sleeper, one who could miss the end of the world so-to-speak...I now find myself waking in the early hours of the morning...and often receiving very clear promptings regarding such things as Family History, or work issues, or even my political ambitions. Rather than lie in bed, I get up, sit at the computer and write for a couple of hours, then go back to bed. That is most unusual for me. But I have come to enjoy the promptings...even look forward to them.

I think it was Elder Scott who talked about the promptings of the Spirit in Conference. There were lots of great talks. It was wonderful! But I think I heard a message which was truly new to me. It was that even though the Spirit might prompt us to do something...the lesson is in recognizing the Spirit. It is not important whether or not the prom[tings lead to some dramatic conclusion or solution. Rather it is more important that we simply learn to recognize the promptings...and enjoy them with gratitude.

I recall Nate going through a very difficult time in his youth. He had had a very clear vision of the direction which his life was going to take. It did not happen. He asked for counsel. I do not recall what I said, but I am sure that I did not have a good answer. Today I might be more inclined to smile and say "Enjoy the experience son...know that the Lord is mindful of you. Things may not work out for you the way you dreamed or visualized, but always remember the feeling that you had, when the spirit either whispered or showed you something special."

Elder Scott helped me realize, for example, that just because I felt prompted by the spirit to get up and write something that might be useful in my political campaign, I may or may not be successful in the campaign. And that's OK. Whether I am successful or not does not diminish the warm feeling that our Father in Heaven is mindful of me...and His Spirit is prompting me...and I am becoming used to it...and loving it. Let's face it, unless the Lord has some grand political plan for me, such as helping to save the Constitution of the United States, I'm sure that whether I win or lose an election is of little importance to Him. I think Elder Scott's message was that when it comes to spiritual promptings...it is not so much about the outcome...it is about the journey...and learning to enjoy the trip, feeling that you are truly under the watchful eye of God.

Ann Newton Holmes

2009-09-09T22:18:00.004-06:00

I did receive a response from Ann Newton Holmes regarding the Suttee which my dad witnessed. She was delighted, but currently overwhelmed because her husband is in a hospital fighting for his life. She promised to get back to me when her life normalizes.

Ann apparently travels to India for 2-4 weeks every year. She is a free-lance writer so she probably collects ideas for articles. I was really thrilled to hear that the Maharaja's wife Rani (known as Kuku to my dad) is still alive, still elegant and beautiful, according to Ann.

I need to make a trip to India...just to pay my respects.

The Book Pusher

2009-09-04T21:34:00.004-06:00

Barbara Hales was affectionately known as "The Book Lady", but she preferred to call herself "The Book Pusher". More appropriately, Barbara Hales was the leading advocate for literacy in the valley. She and her husband Lee have sold 500,000 books (at cost) since her retirement from USU. They traveled all over the west buying up books for children. Family members would read the books and report back to her on their content and quality. Barbara would put a sticker on each book to identify its age appropriateness.

Last Sunday Kathie told Barbara about Logan, our nine year old grandson who has a mild form of autism. Logan loves anything related to China, so Kathie asked Barbara if she would keep a look-out for a book related to China.

The very next morning Barbara and Lee were in the parking lot of ShopCo at 9:30 AM. Barbara was walking into the store when she was struck by a truck. She died later that day. A whole community was stunned. TV stations ran the story. The State of Utah had lost a treasure.

Wednesday morning Kathie received a call from Lee Hales. Lee was surrounded by his mourning family, yet remarkably he called to tell Kathie that Barbara had found two books for her...and that their very next stop that fateful morning was to be to Borders, where Barbara had apparently located two more books. Kathie was speechless. She called me to ask if I would stop at the Hales residence to pick up the books. That was a difficult, emotional assignment. The grief was palpable in that home...yet Lee had felt compelled to follow through with Barbara's mission for Kathie.

So what do you think Shelly? I think those books must be something special. And Barbara Hales seemed to be stepping out from behind the veil to complete one last assignment...to bless just one more child...who just happened to be yours.

Love Story...or...Suttee

2009-08-28T16:56:00.003-06:00

The coincidences continue. In my last blog I commented on the 10 year anniversary of my commitment to transcribing my dad's memoirs. I have to teach the Family History class next week and I was wondering what I could possibly discuss.

This past week, Kathie gave me a copy of the September 2009 issue of "Traveler" and said "You need to read this.". Last night I decided to check it out. On page 164, under the heading of "Putting on the Raj" are images of glamorous models with the backdrop of Jodhpur palaces. Since my dad was the private pilot for Himmat Singhji (Regent of Jodhpur) from 1952 -1954, and since he lived in Jodhpur palaces, I have searched for images of those palaces without success for years. The magazine provided the official names of the palaces and I was able to Google them with great success. It was exciting. I even discovered that each of the palaces have guest quarters where visitors may stay.

So feeling lucky, I also searched the name Himmet Singhji. I have never found a reference to him before. I was amazed to find an article called "A Love Story: Suttee in Contemporary Rajasthan" by Ann Newton Holmes. This woman actually interviewed Himmat Singhji and his wife, in about 1994, about their life in the Umiad Palace. Himmat digressed from the subject and wanted to discuss "the most moving experience of my life".

As I read the article, I realized that it was about the Suttee (a woman's self-immolation on her husband's funeral pyre) which my dad wrote about in his memoirs. I got goose bumps on goose bumps. My father was there. He witnessed the whole event. He was the only "Englishman" to do so. He was close friends with the "Brig" and his wife who committed Suttee; they played Bridge together on a regular basis. My dad agreed that it was an experience that one could never forget.

So then I Googled Ann Newton Holmes and found her email address...sent her an email with a couple of my dad's transcribed tapes. Now I'm waiting for a response. I think I may have something to talk about on September 6.

Turning the Hearts of the Children

2009-08-22T17:19:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday was my turn to teach the LP2 Ward Family History class. I chose to depart from our focus on NewFamilySearch. I decided to talk about our new family "tradition" of involving grandchildren in a Reader's Theater during our Family Reunion, to help them learn about their ancestors.

Kathie has a theory that getting people involved at the level of reading and writing histories is the most effective way to "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers". Once we are hooked we may advance to genealogical research, but it is not required. Since that is what happened to me, I must agree.

On occasion, in our classroom setting, I like to recognize those individuals who actually got me started. Norm Barber is at the top of the list, but he was the type who was persistent to a fault. Austin and Gwen Haws were our Ward Family History Specialists; they were less zealous in their approach and they always deserve special mention.

The story is as follows: The Bishop decided to have a Sacrament Meeting dedicated to Family History and assigned Gwen and Austin to speak. Unfortunately they were involved in a terrible accident over at Bear Lake, by Paris, Idaho, and could not participate. Gwen was badly injured and has never been the same physically. The Bishop assigned Doug Hart to substitute for Austin and Gwen on short notice.

Those who know Doug Hart, know that he is NOT a dynamic speaker, so I'm afraid I was not expecting much. But it is a testimony to me that the Lord can use anyone to touch our hearts during a Sacrament Meeting.

Doug's concluding message was simple. It was "Do Something!...Do something related to Family History...anything...just get started." It was a remarkable meeting. Of course we were all concerned for Gwen and Austin, but I committed right there to get started on the transcription of my father's voice tapes. That was the beginning of my involvement in Family History. And I have not stopped...I'm hooked. The Preface to my Dad's memoirs actually tells this story.

So knowing that Gwen Haws would likely be in attendance at our Family History class, (in her motorized wheelchair), I decided to honor her for her role in getting me (and others) started. After telling the story of her terrible accident and Doug Hart's remarkable presentation in Sacrament Meeting, Gwen said..."Thank you...But do you know what is interesting Tony...That Sacrament Meeting occurred exactly ten years ago today!"

Well...I was speechless...I had no idea...but I do know who is in-charge...and we all love Gwen Haws. So I'm honored to have been able to spotlight her. Gwen has published dozens of family histories for her own family and for others. She is the "Mother of Publishing Histories"...no-one comes close to her accomplishments... and she is still at it...from her wheelchair.

Political Points

2009-07-20T17:59:00.002-06:00

Kathie heard the following timely political truths on Jerry Stewart's radio program:

Right is right...even if everyone is against it.
Wrong is wrong...even if everyone is for it.
There really is no middle road.
The only thing in the middle of the road is either YELLOW or DEAD
Like a yellow stripe...and/or a dead possum.

Politics 101-Plus

2009-07-19T17:39:00.004-06:00

I forgot to post about the fact that I was not selected to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Steve Thompson from the Logan City Council. But Tami Pyfer is not running again, which leaves two, at-large openings on the Council. Last Monday I signed application forms to run for Logan City Council in the November elections. I know...it was a moment of weakness.

While I was in the act of signing the papers with Theresa Harris, the City Recorder, Kathie called shouting exciteldy "Where are you?" I told her exactly where I was and what I was doing. She relaxed somewhat. She had just received a call from Jay Monson who was calling to congratulate Tony on "running for mayor". Randy Watts had told him it was a fact. Kathie's response was ..."He better not be...that would be cause for divorce."

Nine people applied for City Council, so there will be a primary election on September 15 to narrow the field to four. It is actually encouraging that there is so much interest in running for political office throughout Cache Valley.

Steve Stokes is also running for City Council, but the Steve Stokes you know from our Ward called to make sure that I knew it was not him. Actually I met the Steve Stokes who is running, at the City offices...and he is a nice young man about 25 years old. But the name Steve Stokes is a completely unfair advantage. Our "Steve Stokes" is a really high profile, popular, very successful businessperson in Logan and NAME RECOGNITION is everything in politics.

Oh well...bigger signs...and more of 'em.

Shortest Sermon Ever

2009-07-19T17:23:00.004-06:00

Harley Perry reported his mission to Madrid, Spain today. Bart Cardon was assigned to be the concluding speaker. He and his wife Kathy are actually Public Relations missionaries, assigned to Madrid, Spain, but Kathy's health failed and they returned to Logan where they are working out their mission from their home.

Bishop Tom Lee assigned Bart to speak "on the scriptures". As often happens in such meetings, administration of the Sacrament took longer because of the number of visitors in the congregation, and Harley actually had a lot to say...in his strange Spanish influenced accent.

So there was little or no time left for Bart. Never-the-less he left us with a memorable message with the fewest words ever:

"If you want to talk with God...get on your knees and pray.
If you want God to talk to you...stand up and get into the scriptures."

We may remember that longer than if it had been buried in a 10-15 minute talk.

The ELECTRIC LIME Purse

2009-06-29T20:59:00.006-06:00

Kathie purchased a bright lime green leather purse this spring. She has received lots of positive comments from family, friends and even strangers. It really is attractive and she has matched it with ensembles which show the purse off with great effect. During a recent trip to visit Shelly and Rich, in Minnesota, Logan 9, who views the world from within a slightly different paradigm, dubbed the purse..."grandma's ELECTRIC LIME purse". That was so perceptive...so creative. It stuck.

Like many men I have a genuine phobia about carrying women's purses. Kathie says I'm insecure about my masculinity. It must be so, because it almost makes my skin crawl to be caught holding Kathie's purse...anytime...anywhere. I feel like an idiot...look like an idiot. Kathie, on the other hand, absolutely delights in putting me in such situations.

For example...last Sunday...we were at Church...walking out of Sacrament Meeting...headed to the priesthood room where I was to teach a Family History class. Kathie said..."Please hold my purse". Apparently the horrified look on my face gave me away, because she said..."Look...it is only 30 feet to the classroom door...I have to go...I'll be back in a minute...just take it to the classroom for me...please...you can do it."

So the old male brain quickly surveyed the situation and the terrain...it was the ELECTRIC LIME purse...we were the first out of the Chapel...the coast was clear...it looked safe enough...and it was only 30 feet. So I clutched the purse fearlessly to my chest...and obediently moved forward.

I actually made it to the classroom undetected and was just putting the purse on a chair in the front of the room when I heard a sweet feminine voice say "Nice purse Tony". I was busted...and speechless. I looked up just in time to see Joann Karren's smiling face pass the door frame.

I tell you...its a female conspiracy.

Tristan Corrigan

2009-06-05T13:59:00.002-06:00

You know that I don’t believe in coincidences…I believe in God…I believe that He is in-charge of our affairs…at least, whenever He chooses to be in-charge. And the older I get, the more obvious His hand becomes. It is almost humorous.

So here’s the set-up. It is Monday May 31, 2009. Kathie and I are sitting in the Minneapolis Airport, after a visit with Shelly and her family…on our way to Pittsburgh, to visit with Jeff and Kimi. There is a handsome young man sitting next to me. Kathie leans over and says “I think he might be a Marine…he has his Lid (dress hat) with him”. So I strike up a conversation. The young man is not a Marine, but he is Navy…Naval ROTC to be exact…on his way to Germany for a 25 day exchange with the German navy. He is easy to talk with…so we chat. I tell him about our Marine sons…about Dan’s float in the Mediterranean. He had a similar experience as a crewman on a troopship. I tell him about Henry Sipple and his WWII service…his historical timeline which I recently typed up…problems with WWII torpedoes, etc. He asks if he might receive a copy of Henry’s timeline so I ask for his email address.

His name is Tristan Corrigan…now there’s a good old Irish name if ever there was one. He is attending Iowa State University on an ROTC scholarship. tristanc@iastate.edu

This is where Kathie and her incredible intuition come into play. She says…”you would not be from California would you?: Answer “No…I’m from Minnesota” So Kathie explains how she had just published her mother’s diaries from her Park City teen years…how she was enamored with a young man named Francis Corrigan who lived in California. Tristan looks at Kathie and says…”Francis Corrigan was my grandfather…he lived in California”.

This deserved a …YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME…right?

Well…it turned out to be true. Tristan’s father is Michael Francis Corrigan, the son of Francis Corrigan, of California. Francis suffered from heart problems and died a couple of years ago. It all fits. But what are the odds? That’s so weird. And if the Lord is actually pulling these strings…why? Surely it is not just to show us that he can.

Francis was unfortunately divorced from Tristan’s grandmother…and Francis was estranged from the family…Tristan never met him. But he is sure that his parents will want to exchange information and photos with Kathie, so we are going to email documents to Tristan who will send them on to his parents.

I can hardly wait to find out what will happen on our next trip.

Politics 101

2009-05-31T08:15:00.005-06:00

As you know I have been attending 9/12 meetings in Providence. The objective of the group appears to be to get qualified people to run for political office at every level.

The group has been encouraged to read Skousan's "5000 Year Leap". On page 49 he says..."The natural tendency of all people is to encourage others to run for office, but not get involved themselves."

On May 22, 2009, Logan City placed an add in the Herald Journal, calling for applicants to fill the vacancy on the City Council created by the resignation of Steve Thompson.

So on May 27 I submitted my name a candidate to fill that vacancy. The appointment would only be till January 31, 2009. That means that there will be an election this fall to fill that seat and another seat which will be vacated by Tami Pyfer.

The City Council will meet on June 5 to make their decision. I know each of the council members except Lorraine Swenson. Apparently she thinks that whoever is appointed should not be permitted to run in the next election, because the experience gained in filling the interim seat would be an unfair advantage. Other council members think that the council has no business telling anyone what they may or may not do politically. I think I would agree with the majority position.

I sent an email to each of the council members. Jay Monson, Herm Olsen and Tammy Pyfer responded positively, but I have not had responses from Lorraine or Steve Thompson. Steve would support me to the other council members. He is a democrat, but interestingly to me he is extremely conservative...possibly the most conservative on the City Council. He and Tami supported our neighborhood on the power plant issue. None of the other council members were serving at that time.

We will let you know if Popa T is a politician soon. Of course it would be hard to be disappointed were I not selected.

9/12: May 13, 2009

2009-05-13T21:29:00.009-06:00

Wow! I attended another 9/12 meeting tonight. It was awesome. There are lots of things going on which should encourage even the most depressed conservative.

Independent Caucus: This is an independent movement to take our government back from the "Big Money" special interests. This group intends to send every Congressman/woman a Pink Slip...and a Tea Bag from thousands of people in their districts nation wide. And they intend to film the reaction at each Congressional office when the bag is delivered.

We watched a video presentation about why it is so hard to unseat an incumbent Congressional politician. Why do 94% of incumbents get re-elected when they have only a 10% approval rating? "Big Money" from lobbyists makes it almost impossible to fund a challenger adequately .

Montana: Two days ago, the Governor of Montana signed into law a bill which says that firearms, ammunition or associated equipment, manufactured in Montana are NOT under the control of the federal government. It is a state's rights issue and it will go to the Supreme Court. This is a big deal.

Patrick Henry Caucus: Carl Wimmer, a member of the Utah Legislature started the Patrick Henry Caucus in Utah. He was on Glenn Beck last week talking about the landmark Montana legislation. Utah is working on a similar, but more broad state's rights bill. Texas is moving forward with similar legislation. We watched this portion of the Glenn Beck program. It was inspiring. Utah intends to take back all state's rights bestowed by the Constitution.

Larry Bodily explained how the federal government usurped state's rights back in the 1930s. They did it over the issue of interstate commerce. Apparently a farmer, who owned a bakery, was growing his own wheat, making bread products and selling them all within his state...no interstate commerce. The federal government had no control over him or his products under the then current Constitutional law. They used him as a test case. They came up with the screwball argument, that because he was NOT engaging in interstate commerce he was actually affecting interstate commerce negatively... therefore he could be regulated and taxed. The supreme court upheld that action...following which anything and everything could be defined as falling under the definition of interstate commerce...controlled and taxed by the federal government.

Glenn Beck was beside himself when one of his guests, who was a retired judge, said that this would the biggest supreme court case since Roe vs Wade...and the current conservative court would reverse a 70 year old law. Glenn begged the supreme court members to "eat your vegies...stay healthy...don't any of you dare die on us". The whole audience applauded after that short video clip.

There is a Tea Party at the Utah State Capitol next Wednesday at noon to celebrate the formation of the Patrick Henry Caucus to take our States' Rights back. Think I may go. This is getting exciting!

9/12 Meeting

2009-05-07T20:56:00.002-06:00

We here we go! I attended a 9/12 meeting in Providence last night. Last week was their first meeting, so everyone was still new to the concept of coming together in unity and love to effect political change. Larry Bodily seemed to be the ad hoc leader of the group. He was cool and calm. One young bloke stood up, distributed an organizational chart and announced that we needed to get organized, with heads over counties, cities and precincts. One woman asked "Why?" and she got a lecture on how organization was ncessary if we wanted to accomplish anything. One eloquent old bloke said "It would be better to talk without being organized, than to be organized before we talk". Even that did not deter the young fella. A few others complained, but he pressed on..."we must get organized now." Finally I said, "Excuse me...but you are not listening...people are telling you that we don't want to get organized until we understand what it is we want to accomplish by being organized." He pressed on...people threatened to leave...he shut up. So it was not a smooth beginning.

Larry Bodily reported that someone in SLC has actually taken it upon himself to get 9/12 groups organized across the USA and in Utah. Apparently there are dozens of groups meeting, but without any coordination. He also said something that got my attention. 9/12 representatives were meeting last night in SLC with conservative political parties...Republican, Constitutional and Libertarian, to try to forge some unified effort to replace current elected Congressional politicians with politicians who will live by 9/12 values. It is a strongly held "throw the bums out" mentality.

The reality at present is if a really well qualified candidate is put forward by the Constitutional party he/she will not get elected in Utah. So it is my opinion that unless people like me who feel that the Republican party left us behind want to eat crow and work within the Republican party, nothing will change. Larry promised to report on that meeting next week. We are meeting weekly.

Future meetings will include a little education. It was suggested that we each purchase Skousens "5000 Year Leap" and read it. There are also classes on the Constitution that we can attend.

The meeting became anecdotal...which was pleasant if not really productive. There was some dark talk about how threatening the government could really get...and about Glen Beck predicting that he would be silenced. I had not heard that. One fellow asked if we new why Glen Beck chose to call his effort 9/12. I had no idea. It was becasue 9/12 was the day after 9/11. On 9/12 the USA was humbled but united. He wants all who are like minded politically today to come together with that same awesome feeling of unity....which is real power.

I like to think of 9/12 as the day that evil hid its ugly head...there was not a word from the America haters...yet within six weeks evil emerged in the form of Michael Moore. It was the hate America croud which convinced me give up 36 years as a legal alien...permanent resident alien...to become a US citizen...to stand shoulder to shoulder with my American brothers and sisters in the fight against evil...which is now even more seriously threatening to destroy this great country.

So last night was ...one small step.

Palm Springs Air Museum

2009-05-02T11:23:00.003-06:00

Missy and Andy joined us at Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, in Palm Desert, for a few days. Andy and I left the ladies at the Resort yesterday and went to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Kathie and I had been there on a previous visit. We left the girls home, because I knew that they would be bored, but I was pretty sure that Andy would love it. He did! He wished that his friend Wallace, from Australia, could have been there. In fact, he said that the museum was a "must see" stop for Wallace one day.

The museum is privately owned and self supporting. They had a sponsor who died a couple of years ago. Half of the planes are owned by his estate, but on permanent display at the museum. There are six paid employees and about 350 volunteers...who talk to visitors, restore planes and fly planes. Most of the planes are operational; they used to fly one every Saturday. Recently they have only flown one monthly due to the high cost of insurance.

The museum has two separate indoor sections: 1. WWII in the Pacific. 2. WWII in Europe. Outdoors they have static displays of modern jets, and a few other planes yet to be restored in a yard. While we were there, about 30 privately owned WWII T-34 trainers arrived. That plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza without the V tail. They were a club making a weekend visit to the museum.

Most of the museum exhibits were immaculate...and they were all beautiful...not the least of which were the P-51, Spitfire and bent-wing Corsair. We even crawled through a B-47 "Flying Fortress" and marvelled at the primitive conditions which flight crews endured. 12000+ of these planes were built. 4,000+ were lost. 47,000 young men were lost in bombing raids over Europe. My dad once told me that 35% of the Australian pilots trained for WWII were killed in action. It was apparently about the same percentage for all Allied pilots and flight crews.

Andy and I agreed that the best part of the museum experience was the volunteers. They were WWII Air Force/Navy/Marine Corps veterans...mainly pilots. They are a dying breed, so it was a privilege to talk with them. We got to spend private time with about five of them. They were extremely knowledgeable, and they all had something special in common...they were all really humble men...with great pride in their country...and a profound respect for their comrades who did not come home. It was obvious that they had a message to leave with people.

The first volunteer we met was not a pilot. He proudly showed us his belt buckle, which had sea serpents around a submarine. He was in the Submarine Service. That gave me goose-bumps. I asked if he served in the Pacific. Turned out that he served his entire duty in the Pacific, out of a submarine base located in Fremantle, Western Australia. He did not know Commander Henry Sipple...because he was an "ordinary seaman" and did not associate with the "brass". But he said he loved Fremantle and Perth; everyone treated him and has fellow seamen wonderfully.

It was a great experience, but it will not be long before the best part of that experience will all be gone.

You Have Got to Be Kidding!

2009-04-26T23:04:00.005-06:00

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

2009-04-19T13:33:00.004-06:00

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

2009-04-17T20:34:00.005-06:00

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

2009-04-04T20:28:00.009-06:00

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.

DESIDERATA (Things to be desired) by Max Ehrmann

2009-03-23T15:06:00.007-06:00

Design West is working on a proposed School for the Arts. The client (Ruthanne Christensen) would like the poem DESIDERATA mounted on a high wall in the main entry. I did a google search and found a great deal of interesting controversy regarding the origin of the poem. But Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana (1872-1945) was the author. He obtained a federal copyright in 1927. It is beautiful language... Ehrmann's "humble gift... a bit of chaste prose." It is wonderful advice for young and old alike... especially in these uncertain times.
__________________________________________________________

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Retrieved from "http://wikilivres.info/wiki/Desiderata"
Check also "The Confused History of Desiderata" at http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm

A Far Country by Allen Powell

2009-03-10T17:30:00.002-06:00

Missy and Andy gave me this book. I finished reading it during airline travel and airport waiting on our trip to Pittsburgh. It is "a short history of the Northern Territory" in Australia. It was a great read, but being a history book...a little more info than one needs.

The NT has been Federal Government property since 1911. The city of Darwin was settled by intrepid pioneers primarily due to fear that some foreign power would claim it. The state of South Australia claimed it first, then gradually tried to get out of the deal. The Federal Government's attempts to govern are a classic collection of mistakes.

Private enterprise in the form of huge foreign companies, which had the capital to outlast unpredictable weather, was encouraged. One English company called Vesty's bought up cattle stations and built a huge meat packing plant in Darwin. They created markets for NT beef in Indonesia...and then they were gone. Why? They would never say and no-one has ever been able to access their records. But the historians speculate that the company simply could not trust government. The federal governments changed every four years...agreements were made...agreements were broken. That unpredictability on top of an unpredictable climate caused Vesty's and other major investors to up and leave.

One classic episode in the history of the NT was the government take-over of Darwin Hotels (pubs). Who would believe it? Who would stand for it? But the government quickly lost money and returned the pubs to private ownership. There is a lesson here. Anyone who can't make money on a pub, among some of the greatest beer drinkers in the world...in a place like Darwin that would drive anyone to drink...is obviously incapable of running anything efficiently.

Why would clear thinking people trust government to run anything efficiently? But the same people who can't run a pub in Australia efficiently, are attempting to run health care, airlines, aboriginal affairs...you name it.

And in the USA people chose a President and a Congress who are hell-bent to give us government run National Health Care...and government run banks. Heaven help us!

The SON is shining; He can use you.

2009-02-22T12:37:00.002-07:00

My sister Beryl (Lady B) sent me a presentation with lots of beautiful photos, and a more beautiful message...especially for those who may feel either inadequate or overwhelmed. I will forward it on to family members, but I thought it might be interesting to look at it this way also:

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Jeremy and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan Woman was divorced...more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer
and
Lazarus was dead

And Jesus helped them all. Not only that...
He used them all.
No more excuses! God can use you to your full potential.

The presentation also included the following ten (10) thoughts:

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts
2. There is no key to happiness...the door is always open
3. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted
4. Do the math...count your blessings
5. Faith is the ability not to panic
6. If you worry, you didn't pray
If you pray, don't worry
7. As a child of God, prayers are like calling home every day
8. The most important things in your home are the people
9. When we get tangled up in our problems...
God wants us to be still, so He can untangle the knot.
10. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry

AUSTRALIAN FIRES

2009-02-17T12:07:00.003-07:00

The following is a Letter to the Editor of the Herald Journal, which was published Sunday, February 15, 2009.

HJ asks “Is global warming contributing to Australia fires?” Feb 11, 2009.

I have been emailing friends and relatives throughout Australia regarding recent events. Obviously the fires have been of great concern to the nation as a whole. I did notice a few blogs blaming global warming…some blaming government…one even blaming the USA. But I asked my friends to comment on the HJ’s question…”Is global warming contributing to Australia’s fires?” The immediate response was “No way mate!” One friend noted…”it is truly pathetic for global warming activists to attempt to gain capital from a national disaster”.

The facts are these: It is hot in Australia every summer. When it is really hot, natural flammable oils in eucalyptus trees vaporize. Under that condition, the possibility of spontaneous combustion (and a firestorm) in eucalyptus forests is real…and terrifying. No-one knows how the recent fires started, but the HJ article correctly notes that “tens of thousands of such blazes erupt across Australia every fire season”. So Australians live with the threat of bush fires. And it is an historic fact, that since 1860, there have been much larger fires in Australia, in terms of area burned. Global warming did not contribute to recent Australian fires, any more than it contributed to even larger fires, recorded over the past 150 years.

The recent loss of human life is tragic and unprecedented. The loss of animal life is sad but typical. And to those who would lament the loss of a thousand square miles of forest land…no worries…the eucalyptus forest will survive and even thrive. It is an historic fact that the original native inhabitants deliberately cleansed Australia’s forests with fire in the spirit of sustainability.

And since the issue is global warming, just yesterday a journalist friend in Melbourne reported that ABC conducted an on-line poll asking Australians…“Is Global Warming a Myth?” Of course, ABC was expecting a specific result, but after it had received 15,000 responses, 90% of which were “YES!”, ABC shut down the poll, then pulled it from its web site. As my journalist friend reported with professional concern…”it just disappeared”. And ABC bills itself as “Australia’s most trusted news source”.

Most Australians are amazed, thrilled and proud of how the nation is “coming together” in the wake of the natural disaster. So to HJ and other global warming activists, please don’t embarrass yourselves, by asking questions which my OZ friends regard as “truly pathetic”. There are more constructive questions to be asked.

Global Warming - Poll From DownUnda

2009-02-10T14:13:00.003-07:00

My journalist friend in Melbourne sent me an incredible article by one of his journalist friends who survived the current bush fires. The details were incredible...he lost his home, all the family pets, but he saved his family. The central point of his article was that life is precious and family is everything. There were dozens of responses to this wonderful article which were genuine expressions of love and support. Unfortunately some chose to make a point of blaming global warming for the wildfires...some blamed the government...incredibly one blamed the US for not coming to the aid of Victoria in its urgent need.

When I commented on this to Tony, he sent me the following:

"Glad you liked the piece. Agree about those pathetically wanting to make global warming capital out of it, notwithstanding that the northern hemisphere is freezing and Queensland is deep under floods. And there have been plenty of worse bushfires in Victoria way back to 1860, in terms of area burnt, etc.

There was an amusing poll on the ABC online, "Is global warming a myth?" The result from 15,000 responses was 90% yes, which was so embarrassing to the ABC that they took the poll off their site...it just disappeared."

Endure Well

2009-01-25T21:55:00.002-07:00

A recent Priesthood lesson in our Ward, brought clarity to my understanding of what it means to “endure to the end”.

The lesson was given by Mel Larson. It was the first Sunday of 2009. Fundamentally, he asked what we could “do” to improve our temporal and spiritual lives in 2009. The discussion was vigorous. There was discussion about our need to pray…to read the scriptures…and to be found doing good…through all our days.

But Bart Cardon, who can always be counted on to clarify an issue, reminded us that “all will die” and ”the end” for each of us can come at any time. “Enduring to the end” has the same meaning for someone who dies at age 20 or 50 or 90. “Enduring to the end” simply means…maintaining our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ… to the end.

In Moroni Chapter 8, Moroni recorded an epistle which his father wrote to him. The words are beautiful. They are the heartfelt last words of a father to his son. Verse 3 is a poignant introduction.

“I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end.”

There is a lot packed into that verse. It is also my prayer that each of our children and grandchildren, in your own way, in your own time, will come to understand the importance of gaining a sincere testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ…and work at maintaining that testimony…to the end. Endure well!

Dancing Girls

2008-12-30T10:52:00.002-07:00

We attended the Aggie basketball game at the Spectrum last night. Our son Dan and our 6 year old grandson Asher were with us. The half-time entertainment was provided by the "High Steppers", a dance group from Bear River High School. During the performance Asher leaned over to Dan and said:

"Dad...those girls make me nervous."

"Austraila" - The Movie

2008-12-26T16:29:00.004-07:00

I asked two friends in Australia, what they thought of the movie. They were not overly impressed. Incredibly...both of them reported that their fathers were in Darwin during the first Japanese air-raid.

My friend in Adelaide offered superficial criticism:

"The movie wasn't about Australia...only about the Northern Territory."

"Look...I've seen lots of cowboy movies made in the USA, but I've never seen a cowboy actually shown brushing his teeth. I can't imagine what in the world the Australian director of this movie was thinking when he had Hugh Jackman, "The Drover", brush his teeth...was it to tell the world that OZ cowboys practice oral hygiene and have sweet smelling breath?"

He also said..."Then there was the camp-site bathing scene, where Jackman gives himself an upper body lathering, then pours a bucket of water over himself, failing miserably to rinse himself, but succeding only in wetting his pants...in which he presumably slept...if he was a cowboy. Who actually showers with his pants on? If they wanted to show what a stud Jackman really is they should have done the job right."

My friend the reporter in Melbourne had a more political point:

"Forgot to warn you that film Australia was a crock historically re this stolen generations/super racist theme. Someone finally found two Northern Territory aborigines who wanted compo for having been stolen. There was a court case. The judge eventually found:
a. there was NO policy in the Northern Territory to steal kids for racist reasons (as distinct from rescuing them from life-threatening squalor) and
b. one of the two 'stolen' kids as a baby had been left on an ant-heap by the mother (no kidding).
At highest level, the ex-governor of South Australia, Lowidja ODonohue, (aborigine) claimed to be a member of this 'stolen generation' and eventually admitted that her white father had taken her to a mission boarding school for an education (which obviously worked for her). And would you believe, there are MORE ab kids being removed from their parents by the govt now (for welfare reasons) than there were during the so-called 'stolen generation' period."

"Australia" - Bombing of Darwin

2008-12-19T11:14:00.005-07:00

We went to the movie "Australia" Monday night. One of the key scenes was the WWII Japanese bombing of Darwin, the largest town in the north of Australia. I was asked if the portrayal was historically accurate. It looked overly dramatized to me, so I looked it up on the web. I was shocked!

The attack portrayed in the movie, occurred on 19 Feb 1942. I was just one year old at the time, but growing up in Australia, I certainly learned that the Japanese had attacked Australia at Darwin. It was historically important, since it was the first time that a foriegn power had invaded Australian shores, since it's settlement in 1788. What I did not know was that the Australian government had censored reports of the severity of the Darwin event(s) in order to prevent panic, or morale problems, among the Australian populace in the southern states.

For example...there were two separate attacks on Darwin on 19 Feb 1942. Between that date and 12 Nov 1943, the Japanese conducted 64 separate raids on Darwin. Who knew? I had no idea.

On 19 Feb 1942, 188 Japanese planes were launched against Darwin. There were 27 allied ships in the harbor...8 were sunk, the rest were badly damaged. It was the largest Japanese air attack since Pearl Harbor. The first two raids killed 243 Australians and allies...400 were wounded. 10 Australian fighter pilots managed to get airborne to mount a defense, but only one survived the first attack.

Local sources estimate that between 900 and 1,100 people were killed and many more injured during the 64 Japanese attacks. The Japanese reportedly lost 131 aircraft during these engagements.

What I did know about the history of Japanese attacks on Australia, was that Japanese midget submarines shelled Sydney Harbour during WWII, but that was more symbolic than militarily effective. What I did not know was that there were serious Japanese attacks much further south than I had ever imagined.

Two weeks after the first attacks on Darwin, the west coast town of Broome was bombed. That was Australia's second worst air-raid. Again...who knew? That attack killed 70 people and wounded another 40. Other Australian towns hit by the Japanese were Townsville (3 times), Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Port Hedland, Exmouth Gulf, Millingimbi and Horn Island.

So the movie was historically accurate.

I do recall my uncles (mother's brothers) telling war stories one time. One of them was stationed up north near Exmouth Gulf. He said that he and a companion saw two Japanese sailors on a beach one night. It was well known that the Japanese were conducting reconaissance from submarines along the coast. They watched them for a while, then shot them. They said that they never reported the incident, because such events created more trouble than they were worth for enlisted personnel. The military tried to cover them up.

Snow Shovel

2008-12-15T17:12:00.002-07:00

We had the first big snow storm of the season last Saturday. Bought a new snow shovel today. The sales lady noted that I had bought myself a top of the line shovel. I had to correct her..."Oh, it's not for me...it's for my wife...nothing but the best for the little woman."

I'm a real man!

What is sad about that story, is that it is true. Think I'll buy her a vacuum for Christmas.

8 Things Tag

2008-12-10T22:14:00.006-07:00

I've been tagged by Angela

8 Shows I Watch

1. O'Reilly Factor
2. Hannity (and that other bloke)
3. History Channel
4. Animal Planet
5. Old movies
6. CSI
7. Mentalist
8. 24

8 Restaurants I Love

1. Market Street Grill
2. Hamilton's
3. Ruth's Chris
4. Fredrico's
5. El Sol...on a Monday
7. El Sol...on a Wednesday
8. El Sol...anytime

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Woke up on the Coral Princess in Fort Lauderdale, at the end of a 10 day cruise through the Panama Canal. It was tough duty...your Mom made me do it.
2. Hugged and kissed goodbye four lovely senior black ladies from New York, who were delightful dinner companions....Ann, Adele, Audrey and Delores. Those four have seen the world. I asked Ann how many cruises they had been on together. She just said "Two a year...at least."
3. Said goodbye to Allen and Lisa Smith, from Kentucky...our other dinner companions. Wanted to hug and kiss Lisa, but thought better of it. Lisa was a tall, drop-dead gorgeous blond who claimed to have been a teacher for 21 years. When I saw her in a bikini by the pool I knew she was lying to us. Her body was only 20 years old. Kathie And I were amazed to see her luggage...one small carry-on size bag. Kathie said that she did not need a large suitcase because bikinis do not take much room. Following a more up-close and personal encounter with Lisa by the pool one day, I reported to Kathie that Lisa was showing her age...I actually saw a few wrinkles and dimples. I'm real smooth...I know what women want to hear.
4. We were to fly stand-by to Atlanta, but we were on the bottom of the wait list. (Your pilot brother has no seniority you know) Everyone but Kathie and I boarded, then our names were called and we made it. It was really close.
5. Same story in Atlanta...only our chances looked even worse. At the last minute the gal at the gate said "They are closing the doors...if you run you can make it". She did not even give us a seat assignment. As we ran she yelled..."take any open seat you can find...there are two on row three in first class". So we flew home first class. I tell you Ang...that little brother of yours is OK...seniority or no seniority...he's a keeper.
6. We talked with a missionary in Atlanta who was flying home to Salt Lake on medical leave...by himself. He was seriously spooked about being alone...even more spooked because he had a girlfriend at home. He was a tall handsome kid...had been a boxing instructor at the U...should be able to punch his way out of a clinch. Hope he gets his back fixed.
7. We were picked up by Park'N'Jet at the Salt Lake Airport. When we got to the parking lot, the driver asked each passenger which area they parked in. Then he wanted a description of each car. The first person said "Grey Cadillac Crossover", the next said "Black Lexus". It got annoying, because we were in your Momma's old van. When it was my turn I said "Silver Cloud Rolls Royce". That got the attention of the remaining passengers. The driver said "We don't got one of those". I said "Neither do I...see if you can find an old grey van with an Aggie plate." He said "Got it!"
8. Weighed myself before I went to bed...it was not pretty. But it was worth it.

8 Things I look Forward To.

1. The next cruise.
2. Christmas
3. Retirement
4. Did I say retirement?
5. OK...retirement.
6. Following your Mother around the house. (her worst nightmare)
7. Buying roses for your Mother.
8. Loving your Mother, our children and grandchildren...forever.

8 Wishes

1. I'm with you Ang...I wish Obama was not the President-Elect
2. I wish either Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney was the President elect.
3. I wish "Californians Against Hate"...were against hate...ie not so hateful.
4. I wish San Francisco would slide into the Pacific.
5. I wish I didn't hate.
6. But I wish I had a hand gun...Nate is taking care of that for me (and your Mom)
7. I wish I could travel and do family history for the rest of my life....and shoot straight.
8. Did I say that I wish I was retired?

8 People I Tag

1. Kathie
2. Andy
3. Jeff
4. Shelly Babe
5. Nicole
6. Missy
7. Kimi
8. Shane

Big Bang

2008-11-23T17:26:00.003-07:00

On Friday, November 21, while heading to work, I was involved in an auto collision. I was headed downtown past Utah State University, on cruise-control, at 40 mph, when a woman came off the USU campus, at the old library location and nailed me...or T-Boned me. She was attempting to cross the the highway to head east. A witness told the police that I did not have a chance. She reported that the driver did not stop at the stop sign...just accelerated out across the four lane highway and hit me broadside. The driver admitted that she did not look in my direction. Why not? Who knows, but you would think that she would have been extra careful, since she had a four month old baby with her. Remarkably, neither of them was hurt. But she was given a citation. Apparently that campus exit has been the site of many accidents and at least one death. USU ought to make it a right turn only exit.

When Jeff Miller, the auto-repair man, called to report on the condition of my Charger R/T...he said "You were hit really hard Tony...the impact even wrinkled the roof." The front right quadrant and right door were destroyed. He thought it was probably repairable.

I did not see the accident unfold. Most people say that such accidents happen in slow-motion...but I did not see anything until the BANG. After that I don't recall much. I was wearing my seat belt and the air bag deployed, so when I came around the car was full of smoke and two women were at my door asking if I was OK. I was not sure. I could not breathe and there was blood dripping off my fingers. Nate later suggested that the air-bag gasses probably contributed to my breathing problem. The blood looked worse than it was. The skin had been peeled back on the back of my hands...still don't know how.

I was trying to get out of the car when the police arrived...it was more difficult than I expected...things weren't responding normally. The police asked me to stay in the car until the paramedics arrived. I could hear conversation about my age and my difficulty breathing. I was telling them that I thought I was OK. They convinced me that it would be best under the circumstances if I was transported to the emergency room for observation. It was probably a good move, but it was a most uncomfortable ride. I was on a board with a neck brace, and I swear the ambulance had no shocks...and one paramedic was trying to stick an IV in my arm...which is never easy at the best of times. I was impressed that he did it.

Prior to that another police officer had talked with me. It was James Gale, a pilot and friend of Andy's. Kathie and I had been to James' home with Andy and Missy a few weeks before. He drove a six cylinder police version of the Charger. Mine was an R/T with a HEMI engine. So like boys with their toys, I said to James..."My Charger will go faster than your Charger James." He thought that was pretty funny. But last Friday, after determining that I was OK, or that I thought I was OK, James poked his head in the car and said "My Charger will go faster than your Charger Tony." Now that's funny.

The best part about the emergency room experience was the warm blanket. For some reason I was chilled. Kathie arrived, Steve and Dan came...and I was wheeled off to the x-ray room by a young tech who knew Steve. They took all sorts of chest images and at one point this young lady said "You know...you have really long lungs"...I responded..."You know... I have never had a girl tell me that before." She laughed and said...."I'm glad to see that you still have a sense of humor...It is obvious where your son gets his from."

Steve asked how I was feeling. It was hard to describe. I felt like I had had the stuffing knocked out of me. I just hurt all over. Steve suggested that it might be like the day after a really hard workout. That was appropriate. The doctor suggested it would only get worse, before it got better. He prescribed some pain pills. He was right.

Then George Knapp showed up. George is a friend from California, whom I met in Sydney in 1965. He and his wife Bonnie dropped in on us last year. George called last week to say that he would be in Logan on the following Friday and we had planned to get together. So When George arrived at the office, our receptionist Beth, informed him that I was in the Emergency Room. George stayed with us until I was released and then followed us home where we had a good chat...mainly about his experiences campaigning for Prop 8 in California.

Then I slept...and slept some more.

JACOB

2008-11-23T16:47:00.002-07:00

Our grandson Jacob Nathan Wegener, son of Becky and Nate, spent a few days with us while his parents, two brothers, Jordan and Grayson, and grandparents Ray and Rita Minkler, went on a Disney Cruise.

Becky brought him to us on November 12. She stayed over that night and the next day to help Jacob make the adjustment. He did well...better than Becky we guessed. He obviously wanted his Momma that first day and there were a few tears as he looked for her. But Jacob adjusted...and Grandma Kathie and Poppa Tony adjusted. We actually had a great time together...but it really was a two (old) person assignment...we were a pretty good tag team.

Jacob is a delight. He has long blond hair and big blue eyes. He is an absolute clone of his Dad at the same age. We have the baby pictures to prove it. And he was into everything...he dumped Wheaties onto the floor twice...and Kathie's grits onto the floor one day. He did not like walking on grits barefoot very much. But you play...you pay. Much of the house was off limits, but he did not go exploring...he had to have one of us in sight most of the time.

What a sleeper!...in eleven nights he only woke one time. And what a drooler...his shirts were constantly wet with drool. We concluded that Jacob drooled enough that he really did not need to pee. But he did of course and we were retrained to diaper duty.

Jacob started walking while he was with us. I know...we are inspirational grandparents. But he wanted Poppa Tony to go walking, holding his hand of course. He would tug on a finger until I moved. He would not walk alone on cue. He would be holding on to someone or something one minute and then take off by himself. Five steps was his record. We would clap. He would stop and clap also, but that usually resulted in a flop to the bot, since his balance was not coordinated with handclapping.

As fun as those days were, we were really glad to see Becky again late on Saturday, November 22. Unfortunately Jacob was not. He would not give Becky the time of day. So parents, there is an emotional price to pay for leaving your children with others. You pay when you leave...your heart breaks...you pay when you return...your heart breaks again, when you are ignored, even rejected. We just had to smile...been there...done that.

Twilight: The Movie

2008-11-23T15:25:00.002-07:00

Angie's blog is worth reading. It is instructive. I have lived with the twilight series since Kathie started reading them earlier this year. I succumbed to reading the first two...but strange as it may seem to women...I lost interest.

I recently overheard a conversation, between two women, at the Bear River Mental Health Department. (the location is possibly significant). They were discussing Twilight and the upcoming movie. They were passionate about it of course. I thought I would get into the spirit of the conversation and asked..."So ladies...are you Edward fans, or Jacob fans?" They responded in unison as if it was a really dumb male question..."Edward fans...of course!". I had to respond defensively... "Well...my wife is a Jacob fan".

The younger of the two women asked somewhat accusingly, "Have you read any of the Twilight series?" I had to admit that I had read two. She warmed up slightly and said "You know...I think that if men would read these books, they would understand women better." I thought to myself..."You have to be kidding!"

This is how I see it: Bella, a 16 year old, self described ordinary girl, meets Edward, a pasty white, ice cold, high school student, whom she thinks is the most handsome man in the world. He is actually 70 + years old...he's a vampire...he never sleeps, moves faster than a speeding bullet, and only eats and breaths to keep up appearances. He has no worries, his family (vampires all) have an unlimited source of income, and fast cars...and they have an unlimited source of bears, cougars, etc., in the Washington wilderness, which they hunt for blood.

Edward's only problem in life, is that he can't stand close proximity to Bella...why...because she smells really good...and he really wants to suck her blood...and kill all her classmates. Bella, of course does not know this, but when she finally discovers the dreadful truth, she is deeply moved...totally unconcerned...and completely smitten. Love triumphs over blood-sucking. And she has another friend who is a handsome 6'4" Indian who is a werewolf, whose life is ruined forever, because he loves Bella. It is a true love triangle...Bella, a vampire and a werewolf.

OK...I get it...what was I thinking?...NOW I understand women!

Weird Weather - 2008

2008-11-10T20:33:00.013-07:00

2008 has been an unusual weather year, in Utah, yet we have seen little or no press concering this unusual pattern. But I'm a old gardener...I notice this stuff. I've grown a garden every year for about 40 years. I've seen it all...but this year was definitely different. Spring was the first sign that something was different. My peonies have always bloomed before Memorial Day. Peonies were once the flower of choice, with which to decorate graves. This year they did not bloom in time...they were at least two weeks late...maybe more. It was strange. It was different.

Did anyone else notice? Well, someone did. There was a brief reference on the news about this being a late spring...actually, the latest Spring on record, in Utah. I thought that was a big deal. Where was the press? The reality of this unique weather pattern was also made obvious in our apple orchard. We traditionally harvest at least 200 bushels. This year we picked three bushels..that's right...three. That is the lowest output ever. Some apple trees take a rest every few years, and sometimes a late frost damages blossoms...but this was different. It was weird.

Then I began to hear complaints from other gardeners about their tomato plants...they were not thriving. I had about 80 tomato plants, of all varieties...they seemed to be OK. Slowly it dawned on me that the larger varieties were not ripening. Each year I look forward to giving away literally buckets of tomatoes to neighbors. This year we did not give away a single tomato. To compound the problem, there was an early frost and I lost the entire crop. I tilled in a ton of green tomatoes. No big deal, but where's the press? Where is Global Warming when we need it? Bring it on!

Then there was early snow in Utah this Fall. How early? It was interesting to learn that the earliest recorded snowfall in Utah occurred in September, 1965...the month that I arrived in Utah from Australia. 2008 challenged that record. The Salt Lake Ski Areas had their earliest opening in years. Good for them, but where's the press...the same press which has predicted the demise of the Utah ski industry, due to Global Warming? This is a weird weather year. It certainly calls into question the concept of Global Warming.

People have been religiously preaching the dire effects of Global Warming since before 1980. If their wild predictions had come true, I think we would have noticed a few cities being underwater. You would think they might give old gardeners a little credit for a few intelligent observations. Like...since 1965...there has been no significant climate change in Utah...cycles maybe...but no evidence of gradual warming. This year may be different, but it is not warmer....Spring was not earlier...Fall was not later. It was pretty close to 1965 conditions. We hear repeated warnings from experts, that even 1 degree C increase in global temperature will have devastating global consequences... the poles will melt...oceans will rise...polar bears will drown...growing seasons will change. Of course, old gardeners might suggest that longer growing seasons might actually bless a lot of people?

The evidence is clear, that the climate has not changed here in Logan, Utah in 40 years. And I was in Australia last year, where weather data has been manipulated to "prove" that the average temperature has risen alarmingly by 1.5 degree C, in the past 100 years. Yet I was born there 68 years ago...and need I point out the obvious?..nothing has changed...not the rainfall...not the spring wild-flowers...not the ocean level...not the weather pattern. So who is fooling whom? When will the press begin to acknowledge the obvious truth? We've all been had! We continue to be had by enviromentalists and politicians, who apparently grow neither apples nor tomatoes.

Postscript: "Great Salt Lake shrinking looks to be at an end."
12 November 2008: Herald Journal

Why is the shrinking coming to an end? If Global Warming is an indisputable fact, surely the Great Salt Lake should have shrunk to its lowest level in modern history. The press blames "warm summer temperatures" for the shrinking and "cooler fall temperatures" for the correction. Brilliant observations!

"All summer and into the fall, warm temperatures kept evaporation humming, drawing down the lake to near near-record lows and exposing more shore than normal...the current lake level is 4,194 feet...the lake hasn't been this low since the 1970s. Some speculate it might slip past the record low of 4,191.35 set in 1963. But cooler temperatures this fall are finally bringing the shrinking to a stop...the lake has a reputation for having cyclical fluctuations, rising and falling at the whims of temperature, rainfall and other factors."

No kidding! But where is the indisputable evidence of Global Warming? Apparently the Utah climate in the 1960s, was almost the same as it was in 2008... late spring...early snows...low lake level. One does not need to be a Rocket Scientist to know that Global Warming is a myth! One only needs to be an old gardener.

2008-11-02T18:19:00.003-07:00

Be Still, My Soul

The words to one of my all-time favorite hymns, were written by Katharina von Schlegel in 1697 and translated by Jane Borthwick who lived 1813-1897. I offer them here for your comfort during troubled times:

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my sould: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Always remember...the Lord is on your side.

"Be still, and know that I am God" D&C 101:16

What Language Barrier?

2008-10-04T22:11:00.004-06:00

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.

Serendipitous or Spiritual Experiences?

2008-10-03T18:53:00.008-06:00

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.

Five Days Down Unda

2008-10-02T21:38:00.004-06:00

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!

The Great Plan of Salvation

2008-09-22T21:44:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Dan Bachman, one of the truly great gospel teachers in my experience, taught a Sunday School lesson, out of "Teachings of the Presidents" (Lesson 17), which was particularly memorable for two reasons:

1. It was his last lesson. Dan has a new assignment as counsellor to the president of the Logan Temple.
2. The lesson took me back to 1961 when I met two missionaries of the LDS Church in Australia...and they taught me about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and the great Plan of Salvation.

As Dan talked my mind went back to that special experience. Was it the story of Joseph Smith and his first vision which captured my attention? Was it the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? Was it the presentation of the Plan of Salvation? I had to conclude that for me, it was without doubt the Plan of Salvation...which in reality encompasses the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Religious discussions with my student friends, while interesting, were never compelling. There were always too many questions...and never an answer to the age old question...who will be saved in the end? What about little children? What about those who never heard of Christ in this life? Most of my friends were Catholics, and while I admired them for their commitment to God and family, it was obvious that I was a lost soul from their perspective.

So following Dan's lesson I asked Paul Norton, who served as a Mission President in Chicago, what was his experience and that of his missionaries, in that regard. He answered quickly..."It was the Plan of Salvation which was that special spiritual experience which led people to baptism". He added "I interviewed a lot of people before their baptism. It was amazing to consistently hear people say..."when the missionaries taught me the Plan of Salvation, it was as if I had heard it all before...it rang true...I wanted it to be true...I hoped it was true...for the first time in my life, everything made sense"."

In short form, the Plan of Salvation (of Redemption, and of Exaltation), as revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, is as follows:

We are all children of God.
He is literally our Father in Heaven.
Our individual intelligences have always existed.
The Father created us as spiritual beings...intelligences clothed with spirit bodies.
Jesus Christ was the first born in the Spirit.
There were many noble and great spirits.
Lucifer was among them.
God the Father instituted a Plan for the advancement of His spirit children.
The plan was presented to us in a great council of all spirits.
The Plan involved us coming to an earth, obtaining a physical body, being tested, dying, resurrecting and returning to our Father as immortal beings.
Jesus was the creator of this earth.
We were to be given moral agency...freedom to choose good over evil.
It was obvious that all would sin...and fall short of the perfection necessary to return to our Father.
The Father's plan required that one would need to go to earth to atone for the sins of the world. Jesus volunteered to implement the Father's Plan...the Atonement...and the Resurrection.
Even so, it was apparent that some would be lost, because we were to have choice.
Lucifer presented a plan which would guarantee that all would be saved...if the glory could be his.
Lucifer's plan was attractive to many...it involved giving up our agency, but it was safe.
Our Father rejected Lucifer's plan and accepted Jesus' eternal offering.
There was war in heaven.
Lucifer...and one third of the host of heaven were cast down to earth.
Their punishment was to never have a physical body.
Their commitment was to tempt and torment man...to thwart the Father's Plan.
The Father ensured that His children received guidance through Prophets...and angels.
Jesus , being one with the Father (Elohim), was the Jehovah of the Old Testament
Jesus was born of Mary in the meridian of time.
He was the literal Son of God
He was the only begotten (of God) in the flesh
Jesus grew into manhood without sin...the only such man to ever live on earth.
At age 30 he commenced his ministry.
He did only the will of his Father.
He testified of his Father...that his Father sent him
In his great intercessionary prayer he said: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
He implemented the eternal Atoning sacrifice.
He took upon himself the sins of the world through unspeakable pain and suffering.
He suffered himself to be slain upon the cross.
He took up his body on the third day.
As a resurrected being he showed himself first to Mary saying: "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto my Father, but go unto my brethren and tell them that I go unto my Father, and your Father, unto my God and your God."
He then showed himself to his Apostles and then to thousands.
He ascended to his Father...and stands by his side to this day.
Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection.
Because of Jesus, ALL will be resurrected...the just and the unjust.
Jesus promised to send the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is the messenger of the Father and the Son...the Comforter.

The apostle Paul greeted the Saints of his day as follows: "Grace be with you, and peace, from God our Father and his Son Jesus Christ." That marvellous salutation incorporates the core of the Father's Plan. "Grace" in this context refers to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. ALL will be resurrected through Christ...but only those who accept Jesus as the Christ, who exercise faith in him, who are willing to humble themselves before him and repent of their sins, and be baptized, will be made perfect through the Atonement...and return to the presence of the Father. It is through Christ that we are saved...after all we can do. Salvation in this context refers to returning to the presence of our Father and the Son. Jesus intends to take the truly humble by the hand, and through his Grace, present them to his Father ...pure, and holy, even perfect.

"Grace" in another important context, is an enabling power...power to help each of us deal with the trials of this life, through our faith in Christ. Thus Paul's salutation is a sweet blessing of Power and Peace...in this life...and Salvation in the world to come.

And what about that big question? What about all those who never heard of Jesus in this life? What about the Saviors admonition that we can only enter the Kingdom of heaven through baptism? The grand answer is that ALL will have equal opportunity to learn of Christ and the Father's Plan. All will have the opportunity to exercise their agency. All will have opportunity to repent and be baptized...if not in this life, then in the life to come. "All who will come, may come, and partake of the waters of life freely. But all who will not come, the same are not compelled to come..."

Still...ALL will be resurrected...unto varying degrees of Glory...the highest being...in the presence of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Those who would not be comfortable in their presence will dwell in a kingdom in which they are comfortable. Jesus said: "In my Father's house are many mansions...if it were not so, I would have told you".

Little children are automatic heirs of Salvation...and do not need baptism.
Those born without the capacity to comprehend, are heirs of salvation without baptism.
Those who would have accepted Christ had they been taught of Christ in this life are heirs of Salvation...but require baptism.

Mormons have taken on the immense challenge of identifying their ancestors and baptizing them vicariously "for the dead" in temples which are now scattered throughout the world. I am just one of an army doing this work. It will continue to be my passion until I can no longer do it. Mormons will continue to expand this grand work until the Lord himself comes to accept their offering in righteousness.

It was this grand Plan of Salvation, which captured my attention in 1961. I thought then...it would be wonderful if it is true...I began to hope that it was true...today I can testify that it is true.

The Real Culprits in This Meltdown

2008-09-17T13:57:00.003-06:00

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted Monday, September 15, 2008 4:20 PM PT

Big Government: Barack Obama and Democrats blame the historic financial turmoil on the market. But if it's dysfunctional, Democrats during the Clinton years are a prime reason for it.

Read More: Business & Regulation. Obama in a statement yesterday blamed the shocking new round of subprime-related bankruptcies on the free-market system, and specifically the "trickle-down" economics of the Bush administration, which he tried to gig opponent John McCain for wanting to extend. But it was the Clinton administration, obsessed with multiculturalism, that dictated where mortgage lenders could lend, and originally helped create the market for the high-risk subprime loans now infecting like a retrovirus the balance sheets of many of Wall Street's most revered institutions.

Tough new regulations forced lenders into high-risk areas where they had no choice but to lower lending standards to make the loans that sound business practices had previously guarded against making. It was either that or face stiff government penalties. The untold story in this whole national crisis is that President Clinton put on steroids the Community Redevelopment Act, a well-intended Carter-era law designed to encourage minority homeownership. And in so doing, he helped create the market for the risky subprime loans that he and Democrats now decry as not only greedy but "predatory."

Yes, the market was fueled by greed and overleveraging in the secondary market for subprimes, vis-a-vis mortgaged-backed securities traded on Wall Street. But the seed was planted in the '90s by Clinton and his social engineers. They were the political catalyst behind this slow-motion financial train wreck. And it was the Clinton administration that mismanaged the quasi-governmental agencies that over the decades have come to manage the real estate market in America.

As soon as Clinton crony Franklin Delano Raines took the helm in 1999 at Fannie Mae, for example, he used it as his personal piggy bank, looting it for a total of almost $100 million in compensation by the time he left in early 2005 under an ethical cloud. Other Clinton cronies, including Janet Reno aide Jamie Gorelick, padded their pockets to the tune of another $75 million. Raines was accused of overstating earnings and shifting losses so he and other senior executives could earn big bonuses. In the end, Fannie had to pay a record $400 million civil fine for SEC and other violations, while also agreeing as part of a settlement to make changes in its accounting procedures and ways of managing risk.

But it was too little, too late. Raines had reportedly steered Fannie Mae business to subprime giant Countrywide Financial, which was saved from bankruptcy by Bank of America. At the same time, the Clinton administration was pushing Fannie and her brother Freddie Mac to buy more mortgages from low-income households. The Clinton-era corruption, combined with unprecedented catering to affordable-housing lobbyists, resulted in today's nationalization of both Fannie and Freddie, a move that is expected to cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

And the worst is far from over. By the time it is, we'll all be paying for Clinton's social experiment, one that Obama hopes to trump with a whole new round of meddling in the housing and jobs markets. In fact, the social experiment Obama has planned could dwarf both the Great Society and New Deal in size and scope.

There's a political root cause to this mess that we ignore at our peril. If we blame the wrong culprits, we'll learn the wrong lessons. And taxpayers will be on the hook for even larger bailouts down the road. But the government-can-do-no-wrong crowd just doesn't get it. They won't acknowledge the law of unintended consequences from well-meaning, if misguided, acts.

Obama and Democrats on the Hill think even more regulation and more interference in the market will solve the problem their policies helped cause. For now, unarmed by the historic record, conventional wisdom is buying into their blame-business-first rhetoric and bigger-government solutions. While government arguably has a role in helping low-income folks buy a home, Clinton went overboard by strong-arming lenders with tougher and tougher regulations, which only led to lenders taking on hundreds of billions in subprime bilge.Market failure? Hardly. Once again, this crisis has government's fingerprints all over it.

Cattle Duffers (Rustlers)

2008-09-08T22:29:00.004-06:00

Missy's father, Scott Winslow, gave us a great book..."Outback Heroes: Australia's Greatest Bush Stories", by Evan McHugh. It includes a story about Harry Redford, whose claim to fame is that he was Australia's most famous "duffer" (cattle rustler). In 1870, he stole 1,000 head of cattle in Queensland, and with two associates drove them south to Adelaide, a distance of 1,500 K, through previously unexplored territory. It was an epic journey. He was eventually arrested in New South Wales and tried in Queensland, two and a half years after the event. The jury acquitted him, even though the prosecution produced clear evidence of his guilt. The judge was furious. Apparently this was not an uncommon outcome in early Australia, founded as it was by a convict class.

The author explains that Redford had stolen the cattle from land owned by absentee landlords in England. They owned fifteen (15) stations (ranches) and thousands of cattle in Queensland. In fact, when police informed the station managers that 1,ooo of their cattle had ended up in Adelaide as steaks, they scoffed in disbelief. They had so many cattle that 1,000 had not been missed in over a year. So public sentiment was not always on the side of landowners, especially the absentee type. One judge, in a duffing case, complained when the jury returned the following verdict..."Not guilty, but he needs to return the cattle". The judge was enraged by the jury's impertinance and sent them back to continue deliberations. The jury returned with a revised verdict..."Not guilty...and he can keep the bloody cattle." Ah...that's the Australia that I love. It's a great read.

Pole Beans

2008-09-06T16:03:00.005-06:00

I've said before that I love my vegetable garden. We have always planted pole beans. They stand over 7 feet tall. They look great. In recent years, we have cut production down to one 50 foot row of beans. That is still way too much, because picking beans is a real pain. Kathie bottles them on occasion, but one batch produces more than we can eat in a year. Every year at this time I wonder why we plant beans. If they are not picked every two days they get "big and gross" as Kathie says, and I throw half of them away. We do share the harvest with neighbors, but I think I grow beans just to keep me humble. There is a metaphor for life in the effort. Only those who have picked pole beans will understand.

I've never seen anyone pick a row of beans perfectly. The little suckers hide. No matter how careful one is, someone else can come along behind you and find a whole bunch more. I just can't believe that I can be so thorough, then look back down the row and see beans hanging in plain sight. What's with that? I spend an hour picking, and in that time it looks like they need to be picked again. Kathie has often walked along the row behind me picking beans, making smart remarks about my harvesting abilities. It's a frustrating job. It's annoying. I understand why our children so disliked picking beans. Well...our children (with the exception of Andy) hated the garden, or any yard work, for that matter. The fact that I always expected the job to be done perfectly probably did not help. And to top it all off, it seems like we fight a running battle with bugs which cut the leaves in the spring and eat beans throughout the summer. Left without treatment, the bugs will kill the entire crop before the end of summer. Even if we dust regularly, the bugs will leave some beans disfigured so that more must be discarded.

But that speaks to the human condition. No matter how hard any of us try, we will not get through the summer of our lives...perfect. We will all make mistakes...no-one is perfect. Before the final harvest, we will all have faced personal battles...our own weaknesses...or the trials of life...or both. There was only one who ever lived who was perfect. Fortunately our Father in Heaven does not expect us to be perfect. He wants us to give it a good try, but he knew long before we came to this earth that we would fall short of perfection. So He came up with a magnificent Plan for our Salvation. His Son volunteered to implement the key part of the Plan. The Atonement wrought by Jesus the Christ satisfies the demands of justice. Based only upon the condition of our humble acceptance of Him as our Savior, and sincere repentance, He intends to take each of us by the hand, at some future day, and present us to His Father, pure and holy, and blameless...even perfect. Whereas, none of us can harvest beans perfectly, the Savior did not fail in His assignment...and none will be discarded.

So maybe I will continue to grow pole beans. They may remind us to be humble...more accepting of the human condition...more willing to love each other...more willing to love the Master Gardener, who loves us more than any of us can imagine.

The Real Political Problem

2008-09-03T14:18:00.012-06:00

Last Sunday, a young couple, who were new to our Ward, spoke in Church. As part of that tradition, they were asked to tell the Ward members a little about themselves. The wife explained that she was a city girl...her husband was from a cattle ranch in Montana. She said that when he took her home to the ranch, she was absolutely stunned...she had no idea that people still lived like that...his family were cowboys...ranchers. There lies the problem; it is just a shadow of the larger problem which plagues politics in the USA today.

I was once part of the problem myself. When I arrived in Utah, from Australia in 1965, I must admit that I was surprised to see real indians...and cowboys...men and boys in cowboy boots and big cowboy hats. From my perspective it was as if they were "dressing up" or "playing a part"...it was hard to take them seriously..."you mean you dress like that every day?". Well, yes they do, as I discovered. Out in Wyoming there is only one significant difference between a cowboy from the 19th century and a cowboy from the 21st century...one rode a horse and carried a rifle in a scabbard...the other drives a pick-up truck, with a rifle hung in the back window. Other than that, nothing much has changed...they think pretty much alike. Freedom and values like fierce independence and self-reliance still rule.

When our son Nate served an LDS mission in New Your City...speaking Spanish...he actually found New Yorkers who had never heard of Utah. Some even asked what country Utah was in. Some had such limited education and sense of place, that they actually thought New York City WAS the United States...that New York City was the beginning and end of it. There's obviously a serious problem there. But for many eastern Americans the United States still ends at the Misssissippi. And it is still a fact, in every day language, that Chicago is located in the "mid-west"...the West is everything beyond the Mississippi...and it is still largely unknown to the liberal elite who refer to the Great Plains states as "fly-over" states.

Even more difficult to believe, there are people in the big cities who have no idea where meat comes from...or where milk comes from. Many have no idea that there are millions of good people in the "fly-over" states producing the food that ends up in the stores which they frequent in the big cities. Here in Logan, we have had foriegn students from Utah State University stop by, to ask if they could pick apples in our orchard. They had never seen an apple on a tree. That is surprising to anyone who lives at the supply end of society... closer to nature. In a previous blog I noted that I grow a vegetable garden. Many do in small towns. I was once told "you can trust a man who grows a vegetable garden." That must be because being close to the dirt produces a certain primal appreciation of nature; a connection with the natural cycles of life...which is reality.

But it's not the less educated who pose the greater problem. In my previous blog about Presidential Politics, I said that Barack Obama lives in different USA than I. I believe it. THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Obama is an educated man, an attorney even. However, I would bet that even he grew up with a limited view of the USA. He has lived and worked most of his life in Chicago. I would bet that until his recent exposure to national politics, if he could tell you where Montana was located, or Utah, or Idaho...he would have had absolutely no idea what made a small town westerner tick. He would not be able to relate to the experience of growing up in a small town where everyone knew everyone, where generations farmed the same plot of ground, where one friend's dad was the mayor, another's was the preacher...where people trusted each other and helped each other...where no-one depended on government for anything... where no-one locked a door to anything...where patriotism was the unquestioned norm...where people celebrated the 4th of July together...and proudly pledged allegiance to the flag ...even died for it...and families prayed together. Barack Obama would not be able relate to their life-style and values, just as we cannot relate to the values of a man who can sit in a church for twenty years, while his minister preaches hatred and vitriole like "God Damn America!"

So when John McCain announced Governor Sarah Palin, of Alaska, as his running mate...one segment of the country said "YES! YES! YES!" because they could immediately relate to her...she was part of their USA...another segment said "WHAT?...Where in the hell is Alaska?" and "What does she know about anything? She's from a small town...she was educated at the University of Idaho for Pete' sake? Where is Idaho anyway? How could Idaho or Alaska produce a person of substance who knows anything about anything?"

And that is just from the left-wing US media elite. Some, so-called news people, claimed that they even laughed in their newsrooms, at the announcement of Sarah Palin. Eastern liberal sophisticates, are annoyed that McCain would select anyone whom they had not approved...someone other than their social equals...Palin didn't go to the right schools, she shoots guns for heavens sake, she knows how to gut and dress an elk...worst of all...she has five children...one born with special needs...and she did not have an abortion. To them, the selection of Palin is an affront to their view of the USA...and their values.

I think they are all about to get an education about what really makes America great. Some of us can hardly wait to hear Sarah Palin tonight...and to hear her debate Joe Biden in the future. As a Mormon I find it interesting that I still don't know what religion Sarah Palin is, or if she has any religion at all. It does not matter to me. What matters is that she and her husband have their heads screwed on. They are our kind of people. They live in our USA. What was really impressive, was Sarah Palin's response to media questions about her daughter. "How did you and your husband deal with the discovery that your 17 year old daughter was pregnant." "We handled it as any other American family would...with love."

Presidential Politics

2008-08-30T11:52:00.009-06:00

My friends and family in Australia are watching the political process in the USA with great interest. Having been raised in Australia, I suspect that most Australians would find it interesting, even romantic, that a black man in the USA could rise to the top of his political party...and possibly become President. And it is romantic; it is also historic.

The problem for me, and social conservatives like me, is that Barack Obama does not live in, or believe in, the same USA that I live in, believe in and love. I don't want to change it. Barack Obama can say with a straight face..."The USA is the greatest country in the world...help me change it." The trouble is that he does NOT believe that the USA is a great country...and he wants to change it dramatically. The USA that Barack Obama wants us to live in would destroy all that we hold dear, especially if we end up with Democtrats controlling the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court.

Obama has zero executive experience. He has never run a business or managed anything. And we should turn management of the USA over to him? Obama has served only 140 days in the US Senate. Prior to that he claims to have been a "Community Organizer"...which is a nice way of saying "a rabble rouser". He took time to obtain a law degree, but he has spent his entire career reminding people how bad their lives really are...how government should be helping them more...and how bad the USA really is...all in support of his own political ambition and power. He has THE most radical, left-wing voting record in Congress...he is way left of John Kerry and Ted Kennedy. I liked John F. Kennedy, but Obama would not be able to support the Democratic Party of JFK who said "Ask not what your country can do for you...rather, ask what you can do for your country". Obama has already reversed that premise...he wants to create a growing class who will vote for anyone who will support the premise that government should take care of them..can take care of them...all through the redistribution of wealth. New Orleans, for example, is a sad microcosm of that world of dependency, created by the liberal Democtratic party. They shamelssly blamed the negative effects of Katrina on President Bush...not on a sick, dependent society, devoid of individual initiative.

The USA that I live in and appreciate, is an ensign of freedom, liberty and opportunity to all nations. People from many nations are still lining up to get in legally... except for Mexicans ...but they will risk even death in the desert to get in illegally. The founding fathers had a sense that Providence was directing them. They united the individual states as "One nation...under God". They were men of principle. They believed in individual liberty...freedom to pursue personal happiness through their own initiative....and freedom of religion. They drafted a Constitution and a Bill of Rights which govern our Democtratic Republic and guarantee our rights.

The Mormon perspective is even more conservative that that of the Republican party. Mormons and liberal Democrats are hardly on the same political planet. The differences in our perspectives can be explained in one example: Conservatives want freedom OF religion...the left-wing liberals want freedom FROM religion. The Constitution guarantees the former...it does not guarantee the latter. Freedom FROM religion, taken to the extreme, would eliminate freedom OF religion...but that is the objective for many liberal social progressives. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. So-called social progressives see the Constitution as an outdated, outmoded, archaic document, which is out-of-touch with the reality in which they live...out-of-touch with their USA.

The Mormon perspective is based upon scripture, which declares that this nation is, in fact, the work of God...that God raised up and inspired men of principle and goodwill, such as the incredible John Adams (and his equally incredible wife Abigail), to create a nation where men and women would be free to participate in government...free from the tyranny of government. In particular, it was to be a nation in which a young man like Joseph Smith could declare the heavens open, that God had again spoken to man on the earth, as he had in ages past, without being burned at the stake for heresy. That he was murdered at age 39 by otherwise Christian men is only a sad commentary on the fragility of Constitutional guarantees to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Mormons and their conservative friends, are dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution. While to some it may appear to be the work of men...to us it is the work of God...it is not a document which may be changed to reflect the social decay of the times.

John McCain, who will soon be the nominee of the Republican Party, is not paticularly our man either. But he is much preferred over Obama. McCain is a self-proclaimed maverick...he is a middle-of-the roader. He satisfies neither liberals nor conservatives. To date I have not contibuted a dollar to his campain. The platform of the Republican Party proves that the Party has left conservatives like me behind. I was almost at the point of deciding not to vote in the November election. My thinking was that if enough conservatives refused to vote for McCain, he would surely lose...the country would go-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket so-to-speak...the Republican Party would need to regroup and rethink its core principles. I thought that the one thing that might reverse my position was if McCain chose Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts as his running mate.

But then McCain announced his choice for Vice President and stunned us all. He chose Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, who is possibly the most socially conservative candidate he could have found. It was thrilling. I was aware of her accomplishments through an interview which she had with TV commentator Glenn Beck, about a month back. The liberal press, of course, never had cause to follow a social conservative like Governor Palin, who even challenged the ethics of her own Republican Party in Alaska. And she's a mother of 5...mother of a young army volunteer, who will be in Iraq in ten days...she's pro-life...she even gave birth knowingly to a child with Downs Syndrome. To me...she's an angel. Well...she fits my definition of an earth angel, which includes any woman who loves and nurtures a child with special needs.

In the weeks to come the liberal press, will tear Governor Palin apart. They have moved from any semblance of independent journalistic coverage, to openly campaigning for Obama. Sarah Palin will be viewed as a threat. The liberal press is already promoting the premise that if the US citizenry does not select Obama as its President, it will be because he is black. That is so sad. It is not true. Most Americans would vote for a black candidate, if he/she was the right candidate. Democrats, of course, made an historic choice; they selected a black man over a woman as their presidential candidate. Obama had the opportunity to make a woman his running mate. Instead he chose an old white male, whose left wing, radical views are second only to Obama's. On the other hand, McCain, the maverick, chose a woman as his running mate. Maybe we should suggest that a vote for McCain would be an historic vote for women in US politics, while a vote for Obama would be a vote against women.

If the race should come down to women vs blacks in US politics, maybe we should point out that Governor Palin is demonstrably 100% woman, while Senator Obama is only 50% black.

Kirtland, Ohio

2008-08-24T20:15:00.005-06:00

August 23, 2008: We drove north from Pittsburgh to Kirtland, Ohio, close to Lake Erie. Kirtland was home to early Latter Day Saints from 1831 to 1838. In 2003 the LDS Church developed, restored and rebuilt some of the historical sites in and around Kirtland. They have done a great job with the restoration...but they have not done a great job publicizing their efforts. Nauvoo, Illinois gets lots of attention, but Kirtland is wonderful; it deserves more publicity. There is a great visitor center...lots of full time missionaries, especially young sister missionaries, to guide visitors through the sites.

I think we forget what happened in Kirtland...and I was not in touch with the context of the place. Less than a year after organizing the Church in New York state in 1830, Joseph Smith announced that the Lord had instructed him that the Saints should move to Kirtland. Kirtland was pretty much on the frontier in those days. Sidney Rigdon was a popular Cambellite (Baptist) minister in Kirtland. He had been preaching about the need for revelation from God and a restoration of the primitive church. When four LDS missionaries arrived in Kirtland, Sidney recognized one as his friend Parley P Pratt. He invited them to preach to his congregation. Sidney and almost his entire congregation were converted and baptized. Newell K. Whitney and his wife were among those new members. Shortly thereafter Joseph and Emma Smith arrived. 1,500 new Saints moved into Kirtland, severely straining the capacity of the community. Newell K. Whitney was one of the stallwarts who helped the new Church survive and thrive in Kirtland. We visited his store. It was built in 1826 and still stands today...now well restored.

Our son Jeff thought that the Whitney store was the highlight of the Kirtland experience. There was a special spirit about the place. Joseph and Emma had lived above the store for at least a year. Much of what we regard as revelation contained in the Doctrine & Covenants was received in that building. What we know as the School of the Prophets was held in one small room in that building. It was there that Joseph instructed his brethren in Church organization and their Priesthood responsibilities. In that room they studied the scriptures, learned Hebrew, Greek and other languages...studied the sciences, etc. I recalled from Joseph's personal writings a note which said simply..."Met with the brethren...taught them about the universe." That was astounding to me at the time. And this was a young unschooled farm boy. I'm convinced that Joseph was taught and instructed from on high.

We also visited the Kirtland Temple, which was the site of many significant Pentecostal type spiritual experiences for the early Saints. It was completed with much faith and great sacrifice, in 1836, when Joseph Smith was 30 years old. How remarkable is that? The Temple is an incredible structure, still in use today by the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The majority of the Saints had gathered to Missouri by 1838. Most of the 2,000 Saints in Kirtland joined the 15,000 in Missouri that year. Martin Harris, who was a witness to the Book of Mormon, was one who chose to stay behind. Many years later he moved out to Utah. He is buried in Clarkston, just north of our home in Logan.

While talking with the sister missionaries, Kathie asked if by chance they knew a Sister Redd. Surprisingly they did. Myrna Redd is a good friend from our Ward in Logan. Her late husband Frank was our Bishop... I was his counselor. After Frank's passing Myrna volunteered to serve another mission. We were not sure which mission she was in...it was just a good guess on Kathie's part. (OK...I stand corrected...Kathie has a great memory) We attempted to call Myrna, but could not get past the mission office answering machine. It was actually their day off.

Monday, August 25, 2008: Kathie connected with Myrna this morning and had a long chat. Myrna confirmed the special spirit which exists in the Whitney store. Apparently new missionaries are taken to Kirtland by the Mission President. Each is allowed to spend some private time in the upper room which was the School of the Prophets. There they are encouraged to pray and dedicate their mission to the Lord. Myrna also said that at the end of their missions, missionaries are invited to return to that room in private to report their missionary experience to the Lord. So it is still considered a very special spiritual place. Jeff was very perceptive.

Impressions of Driving Across the USA

2008-08-23T18:55:00.011-06:00

On August 17, the Wegener Family Reunion ended at Bear Lake. At 2:00 PM, that same day, Kathie and I commenced our cross-country trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Jeff and Kimi, who are off to dental school for four years. They drove a Budget rental truck...we drove their car. That night we made it to Cheyenne, Wyoming, the next to Des Moines, Iowa, the next to Youngstown, Ohio...and next morning to Pittsburgh. The first item of business was to close on their home...then unload the truck. 5 dental students, all members of the local LDS Ward, came to help. The Church in action is most impressive.

Wyoming: Wyoming is also impressive...it's big...it's wide open...it's mean. Between 1846 and 1860 about six thousands Latter Day Saints died on the trek between Nauvoo and Utah. Wyoming took the largest toll...especially during winter. People still die in Wyoming during winter crossings, even on modern highways. Wyoming weather must be respected...even feared. We have driven across Wyoming a number of times, but after this crossing, I commented to Kathie..."I'm sorry...if I had been a Mormon pioneer, and had they told me about Wyoming...I would not have gone." It is just as well that only a handful of men in the advance party of 1846/47 knew about Wyoming...and they obviously were not telling. Our admiration for those marvellous, faithful Saints has only increased.

Wind Mills: We saw hundreds (maybe thousands) of windmills in Wyoming and across the Great Plains. They were the huge kind...they must cost a fortune to purchase and install. We even saw windmill blades loaded on semis rolling down the highway to their destined spot on the landscape. The sight of endless rows of windmills was so impressive that it might make a skeptic like me believe that T. Boone Pickens and Barack Hussein Obama may be on to something that will save the planet. Well...maybe not. We did not see a single windmill turning during the entire trip. I guess the wind has to be blowing. So there were millions of dollars sitting on the plains doing nothing...not generating even a single watt. By contrast, I thought of the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) down by Delta, Utah. Miners are employed 24/7 digging coal which, while it may be a finite resource, will never run out before science actually comes up with another reliable source of energy. The coal trains are running 24/7, transporting coal to power plants like IPP. The power plants are producing power 24/7. The whole industry employs thousands of people. Power is made available to consumers nationwide 24/7. No-one has to depend on either the wind blowing or the sun shining. That is far more impressive to me than huge windmills standing idle on the Great Plains. On the bright side, if the windmills are not turning, there would be no chance that they would be killing birds. That would actually make some people feel all warm and fuzzy, even as they sit in the dark.

Mid-Western Farms: One impression driving across the Great Plain states, was the beauty of the farms. Utah/Idaho farms, by comparison, are messy...visually unattractive. Utah/Idaho farmers have saved every piece of farm equipment and every automobile that they have ever owned. One day they are going to need something out there in the mess, I guess. In contrast, the mid-western farmers appear to take great pride in the appearance of their homesteads and groupings of farm buildings. They may have developed without much planning, but their traditional white color against surrounding green trees, fronted by acre after acre of corn fields, presented us with post-card type beauty mile after mile. We were impressed by the industry and pride of the mid-country farmers.

Truckers: Truckers are an interesting breed. They live on the highways. They own the highways. During some legs of the trip, trucks outnumbered cars 10:1. Even so, these interesting blokes, tolerate long lines at the diesel pumps, where they pay $4:50/gal...and they tolerate the rest of us who are not professional drivers. Jeff's rental truck was huge and he was obviously a novice truck driver...he had a hard time holding the truck in his lane a number of times...really scared us a few times. The truckers, on the other hand, have to know that rental trucks are being driven by novices. They gave Jeff a wide berth. Not once did we see an aggressive move by a trucker...not even a honk. Truckers deserve our respect. Who would want that job?

Budget Rental Truck: The highlight of the entire trip, from Jeff's perspective, was getting rid of the rental truck. It was not all that bad to drive on the highway...we stayed in touch with walkie-talkies...the truck did not go much over 65 at any time...but it was a pain driving in the city. It did not help that Jeff took a wrong turn into Pittsburgh. The streets were narrow...one time we did not think that he would even make it between the cars parked on each side of the road. It was more than close...from our perspective following behind, it was breathtaking. Then it was impossible to turn corners without running the rear wheels over curbs. Jeff only hit one telephone pole...it was a glancing blow, which did not damage the truck. Kathie and I held our breath at one point when Jeff had to back up to make a turn. He actually backed between two parking meters ...there was no skill involved...he had no idea that they were there. The next trial was finding a service station in Pittsburgh which had diesel fuel. We drove from station to station without luck. At one point Jeff held up a line of traffic, jockeying the truck out onto the road while Kimi guided him around a parked car. The owner of the car just stood there daring Jeff to hit it. He missed...and Kimi had to run down the road to catch Jeff...who was mightily stressed. When we finally found a service station with diesel, it was on the opposite side of a median...of course...and it was dark. When Jeff found an opening he cut through and we followed...trouble was there was nowhere to go. We thought we were turning into a street, but no...Jeff was stuck jockeying the truck back and forth...holding up traffic again. Pittsburgh drivers were not as kind, courteous and understanding as the highway truckers.

Welcome to Pittsburgh: The highlight of that evening was Kathie's attempt to go to the ladies room at the service station. This was an introduction to life in the big city. The restroom was a uni-sex type outside the station. The door was locked and a women's voice said pleasantly ..."Just a minute." Kathie waited...and waited. There was a car parked close by, with a driver in it. Kathie asked if he was waiting for someone. He said yes. Kathie continued to wait. Kimi joined her. I was watching all this unfold from a distance. I was thinking that Kathie was not going to want to go into that bathroom for a while. Finally a man ducked out of the restroom. As he went by he said "She will be out in a minute." Kimi says that she would have loved to have had a photo of Kathie at that point...her jaw had dropped...her mouth was open. Then a women walked out casually smoking a cigarette. The guys drove away...the woman got into another car...she went her way. Kathie was incredulous...she looked at Kimi and said..."They were in there having a quicky." Welcome to life in the big city. We live a sheltered life in Logan, Utah, by comparison.

Pittsburgh: The city reminds me of Sydney; the downtown area is full of interesting highrise buildings on a waterfront, the suburbs are all hills and valleys, with buildings constructed on the most unlikely sites. Of course, that makes it visually attractive, but an absolute nightmare to drive through. Coming from the west, as we do, where Brigham Young's colonizers laid out about 500 cities on a grid pattern, Pittsburgh is a nightmare of narrow roads with twists and turns. It has all of the big city freeways...even tunnels...all of which apparently exceeded their capacity about ten years ago. The areas huge steel mills closed down years ago and those sites have been redeveloped into major shopping/dining destinations...all very well done. The city is a melting pot of ethnic groups. Jeff and Kimi's neighbors came to introduce themselves. We noticed that they were proud to flaunt their ethnicity..."We're Polish"...or..."I'm Tony, your Italian neighbor." We think Jeff and Kimi are going to enjoy Pittsburgh.

The Locked Door: Would you believe it? We had not been in Jeff and Kimi's new home a day before someone forgot the key. Well...we all walked out, and as Kathie shut the front door she said... "I hope someone has a key". It was good thinking, but a tad late. We looked for an open window...borrowed a couple of ladders to check out second floor windows. It became a neighborhood project. Then we discovered that the kitchen window was unlocked. But there was a problem. It was a single-hung type...it only opened a few inches. Jeff borrowed a screw driver from a neighbor and succeeded in gaining a few more inches. Jeff tried but did not fit. Kathie made some comment about the size of his head. It was one of those situations where all eyes flashed from body to body...then all settled on Kimi. Still it was questionable. Kimi is...shall we say...well endowed...but who knew...she managed to squeeze her top half through. Jeff and I then took a leg each and pushed. Jeff was pressing down Kimi's rear end and she made it. It was interesting watching her rotate the body in the kitchen sink, but it was a painful experience which left her legs bruised. Kathie took photos and people would ask "Kimi...how did you do that?" Jeff and I decided to embellish the story, along the lines of the old BYU coed joke. We told those who asked... "It was easy...we just threw a twinkie through the window and greased her hips." I know...that's terrible.

XX111 SUMMER OLYMPICS

2008-08-17T08:11:00.004-06:00

Michael Phelps: Winning 8 gold medals in a single Olympics, 7 in world record time, was an incredible achievement. His hero should be Jason Lezak, who anchored two relays, once overtaking the world record holder from France and then holding off the new world record holder from Australia. But give Phelps his due, he won one gold medal by .01 seconds in what was possibly the most unlikely outcome of the Olympics...not even his mother thought he had won that race. Touch pads and overhead cameras could not lie...Phelps won the race.

Our many years of attending swimming meets taught us that reaching for the wall at the end of a race would be preferable to taking one last short stroke. So Phelps took a short stroke, slammed his hands on the wall and won by .01 seconds. He has probably rewritten the coaching books.

Kobe Bryant: I've never paid too much attention to Kobe Bryant the person...Kobe Bryant the basketball player overwhelmed the man. But during this Olympics, Kobe, the Dream Team member, showed another side.

Bryant is a super star, and he was the darling of the Chinese basketball fans...they called him "little lightning", or something similar. It was interesting to me that Kobe did not conduct himself like a spoiled super star; he conducted himself like one of the boys who was just glad to be at the Beijing Olympics...just glad to be part of the team. I was impressed that he speaks Spanish fluently...at least he was interviewed by the Spanish press and he was answering their questions in Spanish. What was most impressive was the way he handled his interview with NBC's roving reporter Chris Collinsworth....who asked "What does it mean to you to be part of the Dream Team?" Kobe made the typical reponse, but ended with..."It is an honor and privilege to play for the USA, which is the greatest country in the world." The reporter looked smug and said..."Don't you think that is a sort of outdated expression?" Kobe just looked at him and responded .."Not to me it isn't". So, thank you Kobe...you are a Patriot...Collinsworth was a Pinhead.

Angels

2008-08-09T13:30:00.006-06:00

Grayson Wegener, son of Nate and Becky, came into this world prematurely, in 2000. That, coupled with oxygen deprivation at birth, resulted in his cerebral palsy. He is essentially quadraplegic, in that he does not have full use of his arms or legs and cannot move independently. He talks and is very bright, but he is fully dependent upon his parents and his big brother Jordan; they are angels in his life.

Grayson was one of our three grandchildren who were baptized on August 1, 2008. It is safe to say that no-one was ever more excited about being baptized than Gray. He was thrilled. He talked about that coming event for a long time. He was ready when the big day came. He was so excited when the moment arrived, that he was giggling when he went under the water... giggling when he came up out of the water... probably giggling under the water. He obviously felt safe in his daddy's strong arms.

Grayson's baby brother Jacob also had a hard time getting into this world safely. Becky again tried to deliver early. She was life-flighted from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City and spent three months on full bed rest at the University Medical Center...followed by another month to ensure that Jacob, who was born a month early, was safe. He is now a really healthy boy. Some of his uncles even call him "Tank".

During those four months Becky's parents Ray and Rita Minkler were Grayson's earth angels. They shared those duties with us part of the time. It was a privilege to have Grayson in our home for one week intervals. He is a delightful child and Kathie and I enjoyed getting to know him better. One thing that we found interesting about Grayson was that he was always happy to go to bed. It was always humbling to kneel by his bed as he said his prayers. He always started out with "Father in Heaven... I thank you for my many blessings...". That never failed to elicit a tear. He never went to sleep immediately; he would just lie there and...talk. One night we stood by his bedroom door and listen as he talked...and talked. We had to admit to each other that Grayson was not just talking...he was talking TO someone...he was having a conversation with someone. He was answering someone's questions...there were pauses...he would laugh out loud...then talk excitedly. One night we asked Gray if he had a friend. He just smiled and said "Yes". We hesitated to ask him who the friend was; it seemed somehow sacred. Maybe he had a ministering angel.

When we told Nate about this experience...he said "We asked Gray who he was talking to one day." His response was "You know dad". Nate said "No we don't Gray...why don't you tell us." Grayson said "It's the lady with the red hair." That left Nate and Becky speechless. It stunned us also.

The only lady with red hair in our family was Kathie's mother Floris, who passed away in 2000, just before Grayson was born. That made a lot of sense to us. Floris was a woman with a wonderful sense of humor...she was a real stand-up comic... so that would explain why he would be laughing so much during some of his "conversations".

We have quite a few friends who have children with special needs. It is humbling to acknowledge the real earth angels in the lives of those children. It is especially comforting to know that our Savior, who especially loves little children, also provides additional help for the earth angels, in the form of real angels from the other side of the veil. It is beautiful to think that Floris spends time with our Grayson...helping to make his life just a little brighter. We understand that Grayson is also talking with Grandpa Ellis, who is Becky's grandfather. So, it is possible that they knew each other before Gray was born and that they are permitted to be his angels in his life.

What Kathie and I find somewhat unnerving is to realize that Grayson, and others like him, are living a different reality to that which we accept as reality. While we believe in the reality of the resurrection and life after death, our reality does not permit us to see beyond some veil that is drawn tightly across our vision. We are taught that there is a grand purpose to the veil; it forces us to live by faith during our earthly experience. Grayson on the other hand, who is unable to enjoy our reality to the fullest, is permitted to see beyond the veil, and to communicate with those who love him on the other side. It is really a beautiful thing.

The Bike Ride

2008-08-05T18:56:00.005-06:00

When my sister Beryl sent me the story of The Tea Cup, which was posted on July 27, 2008, I promised to find and send her a similar beautiful metaphor about Life and the Love of God. Our daughter-in-law Missy found me a version on the Internet. I also found a version, but each version had been modified to suit a particular viewpoint. So I have taken the liberty to reword it here and there.

The Bike Ride
Author unknown

When I first met Jesus, life became rather like a bike ride. It was a tandem bike; I rode in the front and steered...Jesus rode in the rear and helped pedal.

I always knew He was there, but sometimes I got distracted by the journey and forgot. On ocassion, when the trip became difficult, Jesus would lean forward and gently place His hand on my shoulder and remind me ..."I'm still here." I grew to love and expect His gentle touch...those little reminders of his presence. Sometimes, when a hill loomed in front of me, I could actually feel Him helping to pedal all the way to the top. I learned to expect His help. One time, when things became really difficult I felt comfortable turning and asking..."What should I do now?". He smiled and respond quietly ..."just pedal".

I don't remember just when it happened, but one day Jesus suggested that we change places. Life hasn't been the same since.

I felt comfortable when I was in control. I generally knew the way; I always took the safe and predictable routes. I was always looking for the short-cuts. It was generally boring. But when Jesus got on the front seat, He knew delightful "long-cuts" up mountain roads and down again at breakneck speed. It was all I could do to hold on. I didn't want to question His judgement, but once I could not help myself. "Don't You think we should slow down just a little? I'm scared." He turned...smiled...touched my hand and said... "You're OK...just pedal."

At first I didn't trust Jesus to be in control of my life. I thought He would wreck it. Sometimes I got worried and anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He would laugh and say "It's a surprise". Sometimes I could not resist asking, "Are we there yet?"...He would smile and say... "Not yet".

Gradually I learned to trust. I'm learning not to worry. I'm even learning not to want to get back in control. I 'm learning to relax...to enjoy the ride...and the view...the cool breeze on my face...and the delightful company of my constant companion...Jesus.

I still get tired sometimes, because it isn't easy; it really is a long, hard ride. But Jesus is always there with me...He always smiles and says..."Just pedal".

Wegener Family Reunion Continues

2008-08-03T13:17:00.005-06:00

Richard Johnston finally caught a stand-by flight out of Minneapolis. Quincey Rose Wegener was not so fortunate. Quincey was on stand-by using a friend's buddy-pass, out of Houston, but after two days she had to give up...her luggage made it to Salt Lake City. That was a big disappointment for Tara and Paige. But, with Quincey's blessing, the planned baptisms went off as scheduled, at the Logan Utah East Stake Center.

August 1, 2008
Three Wegener grandchildren were baptized...and one baby was blessed. It was a great day.

Logan Thomas Johnston, of Lino Lakes, Minnesota, son of Richard and Shelly, was baptized by his father.
Tara Rose Wegener, of Houston, Texas, daughter of Steve and Quincey, was baptized by her grandfather Tony
Grayson Nathan Wegener, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, son of Nathan and Becky, was baptized by his father.
Skye Isabella Wegener, daughter of Dan and Kayce, was blessed by her grandfather Tony.

The baptismal service was attended by lots of extended family members. Bishop Tom Lee presided. The whole crew then gathered at the Logan East Stake Bowery for a wonderful meal...and lots of youthful activities, which were exhausting just to watch. One little guy got tackled hard by 5 year old Asher. By the time he found his mother, blood was dripping from his nose and lip...and he was crying, of course. Asher exhibited his dual personality...on the one hand he patted the little guy tenderly on the shoulder and said: I'm so sorry...it was an accident". That was follwed by "You just need to shake it off".

August 2, 2008
The family gathered at the Wegener home for family photos in the back yard...on the rocks...with the snakes. Kathie tried hard to keep snakes out of the conversation as the photographer organized the mob. The truth is we have pulled eleven snakes out of the rock garden this summer. They are harmless water snakes, but the mere possibility of their presence was potentially distracting to certain people...especially during a photo shoot. All survived the ordeal like good sports. (We practice "catch and release" with snakes as well as rockchucks...unless they die accidentally...of course.)

Master Gardeners

2008-07-30T21:19:00.004-06:00

I grow a vegetable garden every year. I love my garden. Master gardeners such as Seth Blood of Centerville and Bob Davis of Logan, now long gone, have inspired me over the years. This year my garden is as close as I have come to their high standard. I'm proud of my garden... downright boastful even.

But I do have enemies. Each year a family of cottontail rabbits live in the tangle of rosebushes which separate us from the Williams family to the south. Each year our cat Bandit proudly presents us with gifts on the doorstep, such as the bottom half of a baby bunny. Bandit single-handedly controls the bunny population for us. The rabbits generally content themselves with grazing on our lawn, and only occasionally have I noticed any nibling in the garden...and then never enough to get this old gardener exercised.

This year it was different. I planted my peas early. They were doing great when I noticed that a couple of plants had been nibbled at the end of the row. The nibbling turned into a feast and each morning more plants were destroyed. I started saying nasty things about those cute little bunnies. I even had a frank discussion with Bandit...offering huge incentives if she would take care of the critters. She didn't listen...the damage continued. It was as if some huge cut-worm had started at one end of the row of peas and was working its way down the row. When one third of the pea plants were gone, along with my cucumber plants, I got mad. Then I noticed that the critters had started on my last row of new corn shoots. I was furious. You don't mess with a proud master gardener. This was war.

One morning, as I was leaving for work, some movement in the garden caught my eye. There was this strange looking animal in my garden calmly devouring pea plants. It looked like a squirrel, yet it was too big for a squirrel. In fact it was as big as a cat... yet it did not have a cat's face...it did not appear to have ears. And it was brown with a grey face.

So I called our son Dan...the taxidermist...he's a wild animal expert. Let me put it this way...Dan's five year old son Asher, knows more about wild things than I do. As I started to described the critter, Dan just laughed..."You've got rockchucks dad". I really did not know much about rockchucks, so I looked them up on the web. That threw me into a panic... rockchucks, aka woodchucks are of the marmot family...they can get huge...like 40 lbs... they can decimate a garden...and they are hard to get rid of. We discussed strategies. We did not want to set a steel leg trap...we valued Bandit, the killer cat, too much. Dan suggested that we try his cage trap.

So I set up the trap and baited it with watermelon. There was nothing there the next morning, but when I came home from work, we had ourselves a rockchuck. It did not look too impressive. It did not look like it could eat a whole garden. It was, in fact, just a baby...and it was dead. In less than a day it had died of exposure. I gave it a suitable burial for such a bold adversary. The next morning I saw the big one again. It ran under my wood pile. I noticed that there were a couple of entrances to what WikiPedia said would be a series of connected tunnels. So with malice in my heart, I took my 1.5" irrigation pipe, poked it down one hole and turned on the irrigation water full force...and let her run...and run. I repeated the process in the second hole. That took care of the problem...no more rockchucks...or so I thought.

The Carlsons are our neighbors to the west. One day Jay called me and asked how the battle with the rockchucks was progressing. He reported seeing a big rockchuck run under his deck. Then he reported seeing a big rockchuck sunning itself on the roof of his neighbor's shed. I did not fess up to driving my rockchucks out of their home under my woodpile...onto his property...but I did loan him the trap. He had no success and after a few days returned the trap.

So I reset the trap but did not bait it. A couple of hours later I noticed that the lid had dropped...we had ourselves a big rockchuck. Dan had allowed me to use his trap on condition that I destroy any rockchuck which his trap caught. He had offered some creative ways to do the deed also. The problem was that Jay's grandchildren were out in his yard when I yelled..."Hey Jay...we got ourselves a rockchuck". Any malice aforethought regarding the demise of the rockchuck had to be tempered by sensitivity to the feelings of little children who asked... "Grandpa...what's the man going to do to it?" Grandpa Jay suggested that they take a drive up Green canyon and let the critter go. To me that was about as smart as letting Al Qaida terrorists go after capturing them red handed....they were bound to turn up again...and this is war. The more liberal viewpoint won the day. The grandchildren were pleased to report that Mr. Rockcuck ran off and lived happily ever after.

Since that day we have neither seen a rockchuck nor witnessed any damage to the garden.

I have often thought that there are wonderful lessons to be learned about life, in a garden. One can sense the reality of a Master Gardener in the universe...the pleasures of creation...and actually live some of the parables of the Master. I have also been told..."One can trust a man who grows a vegetable garden". Those are generous sentiments...but the fact is that this old gardner has developed a mean streak...I have malice in my heart towards some of our Father's cute creations. I am one gardener who cannot be trusted. I'm sure that our Father had a purpose when He created rockchucks...but I would still have to ask..."What were you thinking?" If it was just to test and torment vegetable gardeners...I would have to humbly submit...while whispering under my breath..."OK...but it's still war!"

Wegener Family Reunion Begins

2008-07-30T19:51:00.003-06:00

No 1 daughter Shelly Johnston and her three children, Dusty 12, Megan 9 and Logan 8, were scheduled to leave Minneapolis for Salt Lake City at 1:00 PM yesterday. Due to the generosity of brother Andy, who is a Sky West pilot, they were flying stand-by using his buddy-passes. So 1:00 PM came and Shelly called to say that Dusty and Megan made the flight, but Shelly and Logan did not. They were then on stand-by for the 4:00 PM flight. They could not get on that flight either and went home to Lino Lakes. Logan was understandably..."not happy".

Kathie and I arrived at the Salt Lake City Airport in good time to meet Dusty and Meggie. Kathie was the designated person to meet the kids at the gate, so she was given a pass to get through security. When she got to the designated gate on the B concourse she was informed that she was at the wrong gate. She was directed to the E concourse at the opposite end of the airport. Airport workers were either completely unhelpful or falling over themselves to help her. Finally she was told that she had been at the correct gate to start with and that the plane had been redirected to the B concourse. She was exhausted when she made it back...and there were the grandkids. They had travelled in first class and were held back while the plane was emptied and only then allowed to deplane. They did not wait more than five minutes before Grandma Kathie found them. By then Kathie was totally pooped and panicked.

We drove into Salt Lake City, had dinner at Macaroni Grill...and got a parking ticket...it was 102 F. Do you see where this report is headed? On the drive down to the airport we passed a turned over semi which was blocking the freeway coming out of North Salt Lake City. The semi had been carrying a 110 ft long, 200,000 lb tank. The back half of the tank had been anchored to a set of wheels which apparently jack-knifed and tuned the truck over. Traffic was backed up for miles along all routes going north out of Salt Lake City.

On our way to dinner the radio reports were that two of the six lanes were then open, but traffic was still not moving. After dinner the radio reports were that another lane would soon be open, so we gave it a try, thinking that the back road (300 West) would be our best bet since some of the on-ramps were still closed. In ten minutes we had moved one car length...it was still 102 F. We debated our options. The one that sounded the best was the Park City route to the east and back to Ogden through Echo Junction. We figured that would only add forty minutes to the trip. So we backed into the parking lot of a fast food place and found a way out...drove south, then west...completely opposite to our destination...found the freeway and headed to Ogden via Park City. It was much more pleasant being on the move, than sitting wondering when and if we would ever get past North Salt Lake City. Fortunately we missed the semi which burned in Sardine Canyon and closed that road for an hour.

Apart from that...it was a great day...did I mention that it was 102 F in the shade?...that's hot for us...but who's complaining.

Shelly and Logan made the early flight from Minneapolis this morning and Kathie drove down to Salt Lake City again to retrieve them. We are now gearing up for lotsa fun and family frolick in August. Friday we will have a baptism for Tara Rose from Texas, Logan from Minnesota and Grayson from Idaho. We will also bless baby Skye from Logan. Then we will have dinner at the Logan Utah East Stake Bowery. The next day will be the big family photo shoot. Next week will be the reunion at Bear Lake. Immediately following the family reunion we will join Jeff and Kimi for their move to Pittsburgh and dental school.

The World is Great...BUT...the Sky May Fall

2008-07-28T22:59:00.004-06:00

Most people are appalled by the negativity of the press. It is as if reporters are looking only for the negative...actively promoting a false reality that our lives must really stink. These are the people who fundamentally hate the USA and everything for which it stands. Kathie and I laugh when the press has to report something positive...because it's so painful for them...they just can't do it, without adding a "BUT"....as in..."New report suggests the world is great...BUT...the sky may fall". I decided some time back that I ought to start recording the BUTS...but...I did not have a good forum. This blog affords us the opportunity...so I will start with today's news and keep adding. We take The Herald Journal and USA Today so we will identify headlines by date, page and either HJ or USA. If you should run across a good example, share it (with source information) and we will add it to the list.

Logan life expectancy No. 8 in US...but...city misses spot on AARP's healthy towns list. HJ: 28 July, 2008, page A3.

Study: Teen suicide rate down slightly, still high. CNN Sept 2, 2008. Submitted by Missy. This is "good news about bad news"...or...as Missy says...the glass half-full or half-empty scenario.

The Master Potter

2008-07-27T10:42:00.002-06:00

2008 has not been a good year for my sister Beryl..."Lady B" to me. She was diagnosed with cancer, went through surgery, which was followed by chemo-therapy which ravaged her body. Her family and friends gave her wonderful support...people prayed for her...and since Lady B lives in Australia and I live in the USA, prayer was our only resource. It was a tough time for Beryl. I'm sure that only those who have walked that walk can understand.

The distance issue was an immediate frustration for me, because had I been there, I would have asked Lady B if I could give her a priesthood blessing. So I emailed two of my good LDS friends Scott Winslow and Joe Grinceri in Perth, who accepted the request to give her a priesthood blessing. They had never met Beryl but they laid their hands on her head and gave her a blessing...a blessing of good health and peace of mind as she started her ordeal. Beryl appreciated it...I appreciated it.

So the latest word from Lady B's physician is that she is "cancer free". Isn't that wonderful? What is equally wonderful is that Beryl and I have opened a dialogue about spiritual things. We have never really discussed our common beliefs about God, but she opened that door with sweet expressions of gratitude for her medical team and the faith and prayers of family and friends in her behalf.

In a recent email she sent a copy of a story titled "The Tea Cup". It is a story about the master Potter...a parable about the love of God. I'd like to share it.

The Tea Cup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and the shop they visited had a beautiful teacup.

They said to the shop assistant, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it over to them, the teacup spoke suddenly."You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me, rolled me, patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Let me alone' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said,"and suddenly I was spun around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.'

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better', I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'

Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and I couldn't believe it was me. 'It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you would have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any colour in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.

Moral: God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter and we are His clay. He will mould us so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfil His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Let this story remind you that God has a perfect plan for your life. He may need to place some obstacles in your life to strengthen your character, so that you may be strong in the days of greater adversity. Don't get discouraged when you feel like the heat of the struggle is going to burn you. God knows exactly when to pull you out and deliver you from that problem and when He does you will be much wiser and stronger than you were before. God knows your inner strength and ability to be strong even in the midst of a problem.

~Author Unknown~