Wouldn't it be nice?

Just some random thoughts as this hectic and at times brutal political campaign season comes to an end today.  Wouldn't it be nice if:
1.   Civility were the rule and not the exception.
2.   Campaigns were run strictly on the issues and not on personal attacks and innuendo
3.   Political parties were fined every time an ad was run which shaded the truth
4.   We could elect grown-ups from both parties who understood the value of healthy compromise and collaboration
5.   The minority party was treated as the "loyal opposition" instead of the enemy
6.   Money weren't a factor in any of our political races (yes, I understand that giving money is a form of freedom of speech; it also tends to be a corrupting element as well)
7.   The campaign season didn't start the day after the election
8.   When we elected a politician we also elected their mother to sit beside them and pull their ear when they got mean or stupid

Well, I guess that's it.  Let the 2012 campaign season begin!!

Red Letter Day

Today Melba and I went to the temple for our first quarterly high priest temple day.  Although only a handful of people from our ward attended, it was very special for us because this was the first time Melba has been to the temple in over two years. During that time I always went alone due to her various health challenges which prevented her from enjoying temple worship.  It was truly wonderful to be together as we performed the vicarious service for those unable to do so themselves.  As we sat in the celestial room we quietly pondered the things of eternity and the Lord's great plan of happiness that promises that our marriage union will continue beyond the grave if we endure in our discipleship.  That is a source of great peace to us.

A Typical Month in the Life of a [OCD] Retiree

In the five years since I retired I have found that for me happiness and contentment comes from being fully engaged in life and its many opportunities.  No fishin' hole for me, no sir.  Take a look at my "to do" list for October.

October 2010 Master Task List

Church
--Home teach my 8 families
--Compile and submit high priest home teaching report for Sept '10
--Update the ward MLS data base on home teaching
--Visit the sick and needy
--Coordinate high priest quarterly temple day, 9 Oct
--Hold weekly high priest leadership coordination meeting with my assistants and secretary
--Conduct quarterly stewardship interviews with the 10 home teachers I supervise
--Generate family names to take to the temple
--Participate as assistant temple shift coordinator in weekly coordination meeting via telephone
--Work on personal writings "Why I Believe"
--Hold daily personal devotions and scripture study

Family/Friends
--Work on pictorial tribute to my mother
--Work on "In the event of my death..." to do list for Melba should I suddenly expire
--Work on "Notes to My Grandchildren" writing
--Renew Melba's passport
--Start thinking about Christmas gifts
--Update grand-kids' photos on piano and mantle

Home/yard maintenance
--Mow and edge lawn each week until it shuts down for the winter
--Finish planting our spring bulbs (Shawn the gardener's assignment)
--Cut up pile of branches in trash area
--Finish demossing the roof (Shawn)
--Clean patio brick to remove moss and mold (Shawn)
--Prune front yard bushes (Shawn)

Emergency preparation
--Restock 72 hour kits
--Increase water storage by 10 gallons
--Move long term storage cans back upstairs

Other
--Practice guitar (acoustic, classical or electric) and banjo
--Play video games for relaxation
--Exercise daily--walking, strength training with free weights

Above all else, consider my eternal sweetheart first and foremost, making time for her and attending to her needs


From this list I compile a weekly list and from that a daily list.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

"Plan your life, then live your plan."

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

"I'm feeling fine...thanks for asking...OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!"

Well, the deed is done.  On Wednesday past Dr. Steve Snow (a personal friend from my high council days) did an arthroscopy on my right knee to repair a tear in the meniscus.  Total time from entering the surgical clinic to leaving was three hours.  I was feeling fine the rest of the day and for half of yesterday--really thought that I was one of the few who would have relatively minor post-surgical pain.  Then, yesterday afternoon the surgical anesthesia finally wore off...and WHAM, the pain came with a vengeance.  Not the worst pain I've ever had (my back spasm years ago in Virginia is the all time winner) but pain nonetheless.

So out came the Oxycodone and things settled down although last night I had a hard time getting to sleep even with my Tylenol PM and seemed to wake up every hour or so throughout the night.  Interesting.  Wonder if the pain meds caused that.  Arla or Laura, either one of you have a thought on that?

Our trip to Utah

On Thursday 16 September we took our first out of state trip in over three years.  Up until now, Melba's health concerns had kept us pretty much anchored to home.  With her improvements, we decided to take some "test trips" to gauge how she held up. The first outing was the day trip to the coast in August.  That went well so we booked ourselves on Delta and ventured forth with courage and not a little trepidation and lots of prayer.  Bottom line: we thoroughly enjoyed our five days in Utah and although she tired easily and had to pace herself, Melba did quite well--enough so that we're now considering going to Arizona in November to see Mike and Aaron and their families.

Quick summary of our Utah activities:

--On our way from the Salt Lake City airport to our family at Orem we dropped by to visit with our friends, Jack and Gerry Lewis, in Alpine.  We always enjoy these sweet people who, although several years our senior, always feel like kindred spirits

--We bunked at Melba's brother and sister-in-law's (Larry and Antoinette Morgan) home in Orem.  They are so generous to give us the entire basement area all to ourselves complete with TV, bed, pool table, air hockey, and bathroom

--Friday evening Melba's brother, John and his wife, Sharon, drove down from Bountiful and all six of us enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden

--Saturday evening we dined (again at Olive Garden) with several friends I grew up with in Visalia viz. Linda (Tomlinson) Ramsey, Susan (Russell) and Gerry Cranford, Kay (Santos) and Eldon Tanner, John Reynolds, Mary (Welch) and Eldon Knight, and Naomia Bell.  It was a delight and loads of fun to be with these dear friends and get caught up on their lives

--Made the obligatory runs to Deseret Book and the LDS Distribution Center; strange as it might seem we actually purchased very little this time.  In years past, we needed an extra suitcase just to bring back all the books, DVDs, and CDs we purchased.

--The only downside was when we picked our car up at Master Park in Seattle it had a screw in the tire so we spent an hour and a half at Les Schwab getting it fixed.  On the upside, they didn't charge us anything.

In sum, a successful trip...now on to Arizona!

"Seek ye out of the best books" (D&C 88:118)

A couple of years ago I realized that some of the novels I was reading wouldn't pass muster as a movie i.e. I was tolerating language and other inappropriate behaviors in the books I read that I would have walked out of had it been a film.  It was then that I decided to upgrade the quality of books I was willing to read.  Consequently, I put several of my favorite authors on the "do not contact" list among them Clancy, Lincoln and Childs, Flynn, and Grafton, just to mention a few. 

After purging my bookshelves of these and other offending authors, I was at a loss as to what to read.  So, remembering the counsel of the Lord in D&C 88:118 I sought divine guidance in discovering authors that would entertain but not contaminate me. It took some effort and false starts but here are some writers that I have come to enjoy:

--Alexander McCall Smith:  wrote several series including the highly acclaimed "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency"

--Jan Karon:  well known for her delightful Mitford series which tell of the fortunes/misfortunes of Father Timothy Kavanaugh, an Episcopal priest, and his quirky parishioners

--Louis La Amour: best western writer ever

--Chris Stewart: one of the best LDS fiction writers in today's market, wrote the Great and Terrible series of six books dealing with the last days--riveting!

--Joel C. Rosenberg: penned a four book series, also on the last days from a Christian (non-LDS) point of view beginning with "The Last Jihad". 

Hopefully these and other authors will continue to publish so that I and others can continue to "seek...out of the best books"

Memorial Service

This morning we attended the memorial service for 15 year old Haley Nicole Moss, daughter of a soldier friend of ours.  Since birth Haley had suffered from congenital heart disease and over her life had had 8 procedures, 3 open heart surgeries and over 30 treatments for an accelerated heart beat.  The LDS chapel in Lakewood was filled with family, friends, students and soldiers.

My feelings and thoughts:
--So impressed with this young lady--she loved the Lord and had a firm testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ
--One brother gave the opening prayer; her other brother spoke, sharing funny anecdotes that helped us through our tears
--Her father Dave, who had been part of the family home evening group we held each week in our home the two years we were in Korea, also spoke.  He talked of Haley's love of school, family and church, illustrating each with several touching and often humorous examples.  How he could get through that without totally breaking down, I'll never know.
--The ward Young Women sang Haley's favorite church song "I love to See the Temple"--that really cranked up the water-works as did a later song by a mother and daughter who sang "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer"
--What impressed me the most, however, was the sweet, tender spirit that accompanied the entire service.  As sad as this was, it was in no way tragic.  Just the opposite.  Her family feels that Haley's life was actually extended through what they consider several miraculous incidents.  Plus, they have strong testimonies of the enduring nature of the family unit--that families really can be forever.  This gives them much comfort and solace during this difficult time.

I'm glad we went--I came away having been blessed, reassured and uplifted by the Spirit.