Waiting for the Failure

I visited a friend the other day who is forced to spend her days in a chair. She has a couple of controls, one for the chair and the other for the TV. After a life of self sufficiency and generosity, she must be the recipient of care even to eat. Her mind is keen but it is difficult for her to speak. I've found that the most valuable thing that I can do for her is let my mouth run. I store up funny episodes that others tell me and we talk about our lives. I told her that my mother thought I would be unable to have children and she told me that her mother told her that the world in which she would live would make it almost impossible to bring up children. I gave birth to ten children without apparent problems, in spite of having damaged kidneys, and she raised a family of 6 to adulthood and now some of them have grandchildren. I've always felt that history would swerve to bring about some cataclysmic events within my lifetime, but if so, given that I'm closing in on 68, it better happen soon.

I Now Believe that the PTB intended homicide

As I review the actions taken by authorities with regard to my son Richard I have come to the conclusion that they intended to dispose of him. The severity of using three tasers simultaneously, administered when he was in close hold of at least five men, argues that they had no reason to use the devices for subduing him. They were large and armed. He was sleepy and shoeless. He offered no threat other than his dangerous opinions. That the authorities; Provo Police Department, Wasatch Mental Health, and others associated with this action have continued their harassment is despicable. After committing him involuntarily with no request for action other than a phone call from the FBI, which now seems to deny having instigated the activity, the hospital kept him for several days after the 'Mental Health' court decided he offered no threat. Bills for more than $30,000 have been rendered for this action. So now he is expected to pay for a flagrant violation of his civil rights? I have heard of few worse actions by the KGB or Gestapo. This post could get me into trouble, but sometimes you have to stand on a wall and warn people.

Family Togetherness

Early on Thursday morning I returned from a week of family reunion. It was only partial since four of my nine living children couldn't attend for various reasons. Even so, with nine grandchildren, including one who must be counted as an adult since she is married and attending college, and ten other adults, it made enough of a crowd to require planning. My ex-husband recently purchased a large brick house with eight or nine bedrooms, most with an en-suite bathroom and there are two additional half-baths in various levels. Keeping toilet paper stocked was a minor goal. The cousins had a lot of fun at fairly simple pleasures; sliding down an improvised water slide made of 25 feet of polyethylene sheet, visiting the local pool, running around the vast empty rooms of their grandfather's new house, visiting a puppet show in a local park and playing in the playground that has a climbing tower. The adults mostly visited and watched the children. Early in the week before the younger cousins came I took the older cousins to the Smithsonian where we walked from the Castle to the Air and Space Museum to the American Indian Museum and across the Mall to the East Wing of the National Gallery for a quick tour through the small French paintings exhibit. Then we ate lunch in the Cascade cafe where I introduced them to Gelato before we made a quick tour through the east half of the gallery and down the front stairs and on to the Natural History Museum. After a tour through bones and stones and taxidermy and a stop at the museum shop everyone voted to return to the Castle and end the day. My daughter cruised by and carried us home, replete with visual information to be digested.

Internet Togetherness

One of the delights of my week is the Sunday family chat which is sometimes lonely but sometimes full of intersecting comment. It is a time to share various information that may have escaped mention in e-mails and blogs. It is a chance to visit across the miles without worrying about the similarity of voices that makes a conference call between my various daughters difficult to follow. Tonight was one of the better chats, with as many as 6 of us joining in.

The Calm Between

For several months we have been involved in a situation which seems like a scene from a fiction thriller. Court appearances for other than traffic tickets, and that very seldom, are not something any of us have experienced, other than once or twice as a witness for another person, but never,as far as I recall, in a criminal matter.
The question that has caused me the most stress for several weeks was what my middle son would choose to do in response to the continued attention, manifested by a summons to appear in court. He seemed reluctant to appear, but that would only make it easier for the opposition to come and get him with a 'credible' excuse. On the day before the court date he agreed to go and was accompanied by two brothers, two brothers-in-law and a sister. The procedure took time but was ultimately just about setting a pre-trial hearing. At least we have a window of relative peace before the questions start to roil my emotions once again.

Thoughts while reading scriptures

Today our bishop gave a lesson in the combined meeting that had to do with scripture study. He is an advocate of marking scriptures and writing in the margins. I found it interesting that in a talk in sacrament meeting last week the speaker said that he found the scripture he had been given to use as a basis for his talk isolated in the page because it was the only passage that had not been underlined.;)
That is the problem I have with underlining. The scriptures that really touch my heart will likely stay as jewels in my memory. The scriptures are heavy with significance. While it is true that some of the genealogies and laws such as occur in Numbers, seem somewhat dreary to read and lacking in immediate relevance, the genealogy of Christ reminds us that he was born to the lineage of Judah who is something of a scoundrel, Rahab, a harlot in Jericho, and Ruth, a woman of Moab, not to mention David, who while great, was flawed. In fact, of that list, the two women seem to be the most admirable.
I have been reading through the Old Testament, mostly by listening on my MP3 device, but also during times at the temple when I have a few minutes such as while waiting to follow a session or serve at the veil. Richard and I are reading, mostly listening, to the Book of Mormon, which we recently completed and are now once again in 1 Nephi. The 'jewels' keep popping up and give delightful surprise. My most intensive period of scripture reading/study occurred while I was caring for my parents. I would read from three scriptural books daily and make record or comment in my journal. It was fascinating how the topics often 'braided'. The story or lesson learned from one source would augment another.
Our Sunday School lesson today had to do with choosing between good and evil, or in other words, the fruits of doing good. The need to choose between various ideas and actions comes home with real impact due to the interesting events that have come about because of a choice that Richard made last month.
Our teacher told a story of when she was a teenager and went to camp. They were given instructions to follow a string and not let go no matter what happened. She vowed to keep hold of the string, but during the exercise she let herself become convinced that something had happened and she should let go of the string and follow the girls who had convinced her to let go. She ended up blindfolded and alone.