From the Atlantic to the Pacific and thoughts on the new Provo Temple

I arrived home from a trip to Florida on Saturday, September 30 and the following Friday I got a call from one of my daughters who wanted me to travel to California with her. The catch was, we would leave by train that night. I quickly made arrangements and completed a couple of obligations and joined her at her home that evening. The train was delayed but we reached California the next day. In Florida I had stayed in St. Augustine and Orlando, the former including several trips that took me to the shores of the Atlantic. In California I stayed in Santa Cruz, and lovely little resort and college community at the north end of Monterey Bay. We visited the rugged shoreline and on Tuesday we spent most of the day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have traveled from coast to coast s number of times, specifically when we lived in Oxnard and Port Hueneme California and were moving to and from the Washington D.C. area, but as far as I recall, I never traveled from one coast to the other so quickly.
I have six lovely daughters and I am fortunate that three of them live close enough for me to visit with a simple car ride. Three of my daughters live on either coast. I have visited with all of them in the past three weeks.

Last Saturday, October 1, the Prophet announced that the burnt out shell of the Provo Tabernacle would be converted into a temple. This is a wonderful idea. Although the tabernacle had served the community as a center for many various meetings ranging from musical performances to a Catholic Christmas Mass, but particularly for Stake Conferences for local stakes, the current Provo Temple is under pressure, particularly the baptismal font. The tabernacle building is larger than that of the Nauvoo Temple and it originally had a baptismal font in the basement, as did the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
When President Hinckley was interviewed after the renovation of the Vernal Tabernacle into a temple he said the Church would never undertake such a project again. Yet several subsequent temples have been built in previously existing buildings. The Provo Tabernacle provides a special case. Although gutted by the fire, the brick walls and most of the four stairwell towers seem to have remained intact. Some of the original stained glass windows survived the fire. The situation provides for the construction of an entire structure inside the walls which could not only provide for significant changes in the interior space from what was originally in place, but also allow for upgrades to the structural stability of the structure in case of earthquake.
The entire quarter block north of the temple was preserved as a park, which could easily be restored after adding space similar to what was added to the Salt Lake Temple as an arrangement of recommend area, waiting rooms, dressing rooms, administrative spaces, etc. It was the addition of these areas under a park like area that restored the Salt Lake Temple to its status as the largest LDS temple in the world. The Church has acquired most of the block to the south of the tabernacle. This could be used to build an underground parking garage. Although the transit situation is favorable, with several bus lines running past the property, there is a dearth of convenient parking space. I doubt that there will be a cafeteria area in the temple since there are many good restaurants and cafes in the neighborhood. The architectural sketch of the proposed temple shows a restoration of the central tower. This hints at a central placement of the celestial room. The building is long, promoting the idea that it would be arranged with four ordinance rooms, two at either end of the temple. In any case it will be interesting to see what the architects do with the space. In any event, the addition of an additional baptismal font in the Provo area is greatly to be desired.

Strange Things

I wear soft contact lenses. Every night I take them out and put them in again the next morning. Every twenty days I throw the old contact lenses away and get out a fresh pair. I keep the boxes of unopened contact lens in my safe which is hard to access. A few days ago I woke up and prepared to put in my contact lenses. I had no trouble with the right eye, but when I tried to put the lens in my left eye instead of having a sudden improvement in my eyesight, things remained dim. I tried again and again with the same results. Then I noticed that I felt that there was something in my eye after I removed the contact lens yet again. I found another contact lens. When I removed it, my eyesight cleared dramatically, indicating that yet another contact lens remained. Somehow I had two contact lenses in my eye! I have a hard time explaining how this could have happened. Do I walk in my sleep with such acuity that I could get into my safe and remove a box of contact lenses and put them in my eye? If so, how dumb is it that I didn't put them in separate eyes?

Chickens

I knew about chickens; that they are, like most birds, pretty productive of manure and they don't mind where they leave it. So why did I jump in and volunteer to adopt four hens when one of my daughters had too many? I'm still figuring that out. It hasn't been difficult to manage. I quickly made plans for a 'chicken tractor' thanks to comments from another daughter on our family chat. Within three days of the chickens coming home to roost I made them a tidy little home on wheels that I can roll around the yard so that the distribution of fertilizer is equalized. We've gathered about 7 eggs, and observed with regret when one egg was destroyed by the chickens. Chickens are fun to watch, at least as much fun as fish, and when clean and dry they are rather handsome.
So I guess that in the long run I would have to say that although chickens can hardly be considered pets, because of the manure factor, they are handsome, fun to watch and now and then you get a very fresh egg.

Why I Dislike and Distrust Boarding Schools

The pharoahs of Egypt decided that marrying siblings had advantages. Although nature abhors incest, shown by animal behaviors that avoid close kin interbreeding, it has certain economic advantages. For centuries the middle class of Egypt followed the example set by their leaders and incest was the norm.
The noblemen of China believed small feet were a sign of beauty, not unlike the preference for Cinderella's tiny tootsies in the fairy tale, but they conceived the idea of folding back the toes in little girls with normal feet to achieve the ultimate in tiny feet. Thus an entire culture tortured and crippled its little girls for centuries in the pursuit of a spurious idea of beauty.
A French king wanted to witness the birth of his mistress's baby and his will was granted by having her lie down for the birth instead of squatting as is normal. Thus modern women mostly suffer through birth lying down unless they are fortunate enough to have a midwife preside at the birth instead of an OB.
There are many other examples of how stupid elite behavior is adopted by the society at large. The idea of sending children away from home to go to boarding school is one example. In medieval Europe the various counts and barons began to exchange hostages. Sons were sent to the castle of the liege lord or rival where they were trained as pages, then squires, essentially unpaid servants. When hostages were no longer the political advantage they had been earlier, the habit of sending the kids away for schooling remained the favored option among the elites.
Thus the idea of boarding school became entrenched in western society. It is not found in other cultures where it is properly perceived that children are better off to be at home until they reach the age of maturity that no longer requires parental supervision.
A good example of this is the scriptural account of Jesus who lingered at the temple. He was old enough and wise enough to counsel with the elders, but he still obeyed his mother when she discovered he was not with the family on the return trip home and returned to fetch him.
Boarding schools dilute the influence of the family and strengthen the influence of peers.
The British, in particular, continue the idea that it is a favored few who can afford to send their children away from home for schooling except for holiday periods. Such icons as Harry Potter and the children in the Narnia books promulgate the practice.
Sending children with 'special needs' away to institutions where they can receive 'better care' has been favorably received at various times. Thus children with Down's Syndrome were seldom seen in public for many years. States and municipalities created institutions where paid attendants 'trained' the children. Lately the idea of warehousing these children has been seen as cruel and wasteful. They are kept at home and provided with training and teaching through their schooling.
It may be perceived that to send a child to an institution where they are taught and cared for, instead of making provisions to care for them at home, provides a better opportunity for them to be surrounded by their peers, but there is a far greater risk that they will be abused and neglected by those employed to care for them.
What parent, except under exigencies of poverty or incarceration, would agree to have their children sent to an orphanage or work house, yet the practice of institutionalizing children with assorted handicaps or talents, except for rare visits to family, continues to be seen as a desirable behavior by many.

Stewardship

As my life has changed my stewardships have changed, but some remain essentially the same. I no longer have an active stewardship of my children since all have grown to adulthood. I am in a complementary situation where I can give them compliments and sometimes advice, and they can do the same to me. My relationship to my grandchildren is a less formal stewardship, unless one of their parents makes a request for something more formal as needed. The stewardship of various callings changes as the callings change.
I have a stewardship over my health and a responsibility to maintain my possessions so they won't be wasted. I have a stewardship over my talents so that I may give something of value to the world I live in.

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.

Airports are Not Equal

I am currently 'enjoying' cold wet weather in Virginia. My daughter purchased the tickets on Jet Blue for my flight east. She asked me if I preferred changing planes in California at 9 PM or New York at 3 AM. I chose changing planes when I was nominally conscious, but I didn't know about Long Beach airport when I made the choice. Fortunately she warned me that I would have to wander around, leave the entrance terminal and come back through security. It was like a third-world experience. Long Beach airport consists of many small buildings and I went through at least four of them to reach the departure gate, with open air between. The airport is clean and well maintained but definitely dinky. You have to get in and out of the airplanes via stairs or ramps and walk a block or so to reach the arrival terminal. Going through security again I forgot to take my laptop out of the bag--senior moment. By contrast, when I reached Dulles Airport the arrival terminal is in the middle of the field, accessed by the usual closed connector tubes. You take a specialized bus from the field terminal to the main terminal which looks pretty much like a space port. You never see the outside until you go out to meet your 'ground transportation'.
In a few days I will be in Florida where I expect to risk getting a sun burn. 8)

Strangely scarless

I had expected to look like a pirate with a big scar down the left side of my nose. Instead, there is a discoloration and a little bit of roughness, but no 'zipper'. My nose doesn't look that different from before.

Divot

The bump is gone and in its place is a divot. The PA who removed it said there seems to be more in there and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to see the results of the biopsy and determine what more will be done. At least I can wear a badaid that isn't pushed out of place by the thing on my nose.
My 'upside down' tomatoes seem to be growing fairly well and I'm going to plant a 'container' garden today. This decision is based on the aggressive growth of grapevines that make it a chore of great proportions to clear my garden plot. I inherited some nice rhubarb plants from the previous owner, as well as apple, apricot and plum trees and the aforesaid grapes which are pale green and seedless with a pleasant flavor when they fruit instead of taking over the entire yard.
I hope some progess can be made on the green house.

Funny/Scary Bump on Nose

I have a bump on my nose that is likely a basal cell carcinoma. It has grown from the size of a sesame seed to the size of a navy bean in four weeks. I have a doctor appointment for Wednesday and hope the solution to the problem will not drain my bank account. One of my sons asked why I was wearing a small bandaid on my nose and I told him I was hiding a suspected tumor. He was somewhat amused to see a truism in real life, 'don't use a bandaid on a tumor' or some such thing.

Being There

About a week and a half ago I flew to California to be with an internet friend of only a few months when she was baptized. I knew it was the right thing to do, even though it cost a fair amount of money to purchase tickets for the flight and rent a car. Although I stayed with a daughter who lives about a hundred miles from where the baptism was held, I felt it would be an imposition to borrow a car or expect my daughter or her husband to pick me up from the airport and deliver me there afterward when I was spending only a few daylight hours with them in addition to having a place to sleep for two nights.
Although 'reason stared', the Spirit confirmed that I was doing the right thing. For several reasons I believe that I was needed and was called to make the trip and give my support and guidance at a critical moment. I often ask to be guided in my actions, and this time I truly believe I was. My friend's new ward gives every indication of providing her with the support a new convert needs.

Time is a River

I read a book called 'Organizing From the Inside Out' and realized that while I have organized my space and my belongings fairly well, I have failed to organize my time, which leads to disorganization of the other areas.
I have have known for some time that I had a problem with my use of time. I set up schedules and create systems, but I blatantly disregard them. Time is wasted in stupid ways and I lose control of my life.
I am currently away from home for several weeks and this strikes me as an ideal time to analyze my various stewardships and create a means to manage then by wise use of time.
I have resisted is getting up at the same hour every day no matter what day of the week. Six AM works for me. At the other end of the day I need to go to bed at 10:30 and take a nap or two at regular times during the day to let my mind rest. I long ago learned that a nap, even when I don't sleep, can refresh me and help me get a fresh perspective on the tasks and challenges I face.
Time is fluid, but it cannot be saved or stored up. It can only be used or wasted.

Enthusiasm

It is so easy for me go get caught up in enthusiasm about various subjects. It is less easy to get enthusiastic about things that are actually virtuous, healthy or productive.

Footing It

It's been two weeks since I gave up my car. I haven't changed my eating habits, but I've lost three pounds. The weather has been a little chilly, but walking warms you up. I only had a bit of rain on Thursday night and it was quickly over.