Till by Turning, Turning, We Come Round Right

My Greatest Joy

2009-03-03T14:12:00.001-08:00

Forgive me, but I was just watching the video of Alan Jackson singing "Remember When". Dorothy wrote something to Mike a while back that made me think, cry, and express gratitude to the Lord for Ardie. She made a stand and said something to the effect of, "but that is the man that I love." If you give a person a thousand reasons not to love you and not that many to love you, your gratitude must run very deep, as mine does for her. What does this have to do with my greatest joy? Nothing has brought me more joy in this life than to be loved by this great woman unconditionally. I simply do not understand how she did it, but she did. Love, given without condition, is the greatest gift we can give to each other. I feel that same love from my children, in spite of the fact that I have given them far too many reasons not to feel that way about me. It is amazing.

My second greatest joy is when something good happens to other people. I really don't care who, and I don't mean they just won the jackpot on Price is Right. I wrote a young woman with whom I had worked many years ago and had not had any contact with since. At the time, she was finding marriage a very difficult endeavor. She wrote back and talked mostly about her family and how happy she was now in her marriage. The joy I felt lasted several days. There is just nothing better than seeing joy come into other people's lives. I work a horribly mundane job. Most people look at those of us that do my work as some kind of lower form of life. I am just grateful to be able to go to work each day and enjoy the company of the people I work with. When I work at the customer service desk, as I sometimes must, I look closely at every person that walks up to me. I try very diligently to feel the spirit to see if there is anything I can say, in an appropriate way, to make their day a little better. Most of the time nothing comes to mind, but once in a while I am given the right thing to say. A girl came to the desk to cash a check. She was on the phone with someone and having a very bad conversation. She got off and I asked for her ID. She was very belligerent in giving it to me. I looked at the picture, and then at her, and then back at the picture. I looked at her and asked her if the girl in the picture was really her. She said something about, "Who did I think it looked like?" I said it was hard to tell because the girl in the picture was smiling and could she help me out by smiling for me. She looked at me like I was out of my head for a second and then smiled, first just with her mouth, but when I smiled back, the smile came from way down inside. WOW! that sounded like a lot of bragging, and I really, truly, hate that. I'm just saying, nothing brings me more joy than seeing joy come into the lives of others. If I can help in some small, insignificant way, I will try and do it. Pass it on.

PS - Here's the rub. If I really care about bringing joy to others, why don't I remember anybody's birthday, even after Heidi makes me a beautiful birthday calendar. I should work as hard for my family as I do for strangers.

The Miracle of Friday the 13th

2009-02-18T11:18:00.001-08:00

Friday, the 13th, 2009. It is past time for a new post and I have so much I wish to commit to this page, but not yet. Friday I went in to have an agiogram. Probably not spelled right. I was pretty much out of it, but the idea was to find the blockage in my arteries and place a stent to open the blockage so I would have proper flow from my heart again. The blockage was much worse than anticipated and so now I am looking at coronary bypass surgery. I had to cancel my hip replacement surgery because of these problems, so now I have a couple of biggies to deal with. I guess there are many ways of looking at this. I have chosen to look at it as a great blessing. Had this problem not been found, I would have died in the not-to-distant future. It is a kind of miracle, if you will. But here is the greatest miracle. Many years ago, I moved to the Northwest for reasons I will never understand in the midst of a horrible marriage. A while after, my oldest daughter, Heidi, moved to Portland with her husband. A couple of years ago, my youngest daughter's husband, Jake, was accepted at OSHU dental school in Portland and so she lives here for now. With her two sisters living in Portland, Heather, my second oldest duaghter, knew she couldn't stay in Utah and be so far away from her sisters and so many of her nieces and nephews. She is now teaching high school in Portland. A few years after my marriage ended I was moved to the Portland area. So, here we all are, far from our beautiful home in Orem, Utah, in a place none of us ever thought we would live. Friday, Heidi spent the day with me at the hospital and was the only one alert enough to talk to the doctor. Stephanie spent the day taking care of Heidi's four children, as well as her own. Doesn't sound like a big deal. Trust me, Heidi had the easy job. Heather, after finishing school for the day, drove over and picked me up at the hospital, and drove me home. Heidi followed in my car as I was in no condition to drive. She then drove us back to the hospital to pick up Heidi's car. I was then driven to Heidi's house where I spent the night in Abigail's and Emily's bed. Thank you girls. Some would say this is all a nice coincidence and of course it is. But I know, I simply know, that it is no such thing. This day, as well as the days ahead, will demonstrate God's love for me in ways I cannot beging to imagine. I am not alone in Tacoma, Wa, but am surrounded by the greatest love a person could ever hope to experience. Though I am deeply grateful for the blessing my daughters are in my life, I acknowledge God for placing us all together at this when my needs are the greatest. I also need to acknowledge on other person who I have seen influence the lives of my daughters. Thank you Ardie. I love you.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-18T11:37:00.001-08:00

I remember a few years before Ardie, my dad, and my mom died, all of my father's family got together for Thanksgiving dinner at his home in Orem. At the beginning of the dinner he stood, and with great emotion, expressed how grateful he was to have all of his family together at the same time. So first, I would like to express my gratitude to John and Miriam, especially Miriam, and the kids for making this a very special Thanksgiving. As I see my family moving even further apart in the next several years, I wonder if I will ever see them all together again.

Let the eating begin. The fellow next to Hed is Bruno. He is originally from Brazil and his name is quite common there. I like him a lot because he is a camera buff and I can ask him all my stupid questions.

After dinner it was necessary to burn off a few calories so it was out to the garage and the air hockey table. It was a single elimination tournament so if you lost, you were out. Now, maybe it is just me, but I am like, 65 years old. Don't you think my children would have made it single elimination except for me? You know, give the old guy a couple of shots at it. But, oh no. You lose dad. You're out. Wow, the hurt of it all. The in humanity of men towards men. I have long held that competition is of the devil. God wants us all to be winners. I think I have some very substantial proof of my feelings. Please notice the eyes in the next two photos.

Sure, I know what you're saying. "Just red eye." I took these photos to a professional developer and he couldn't even get it out. He said it was something he had never seen before. He just kept looking at the eyes and after a few minutes he started throwing stuff around and screaming. I felt it best to leave.

The competition raged on, without me, I might add. would it have killed anyone to have given me just a few more chances? Here are a couple shots of the final match. Once again, please notice the evil in John's eyes. Now I need to go back about 40 years. I am in a small kitchen in Springville, Utah. There is a 5X8' sheet of plywood being held up by the counter on each side of the kitchen. I stand at one end on the table with ping pong paddle in hand. Ardie is at the other end. I am slamming the ball mercilessly at her time after time. Problem is, she is returning it. Day after day we played. Until today I would have thought her the most competitive person on earth. In the picture above I am wondering the same thing you are. How does she see anything?

AND THE WINNER IS???? ARDIE, oops I mean HEIDI. Always was and I guess, always will be. The girls in this family want it more than the guys. Sorry John. Please notice the great humility with which Heidi accepts her trophy. You can't get any more Ardie than this.

I was grateful to see John take his loss with love and kind feelings towards his sister.

Well, the turkey is eaten, the games played, and now for a little napping and the like. Here is Mirm expressing her gratitude at my taking her picture as she begins her nap. Here she is coming to take a closer look at the camera. By the way, Mirm, I talked to the repairman. He said it will still be a few weeks before the camera is useable again. I will send you the bill along with the bill from the doctor who had to remove it from, well, you know.

AH, TRYPTOPHAN

Here we are at the Beau Thai restaurant. Great food and even better company.

I think what Steph is saying here is: "Daddy, they won't let me watch Rainbow Bright." Does it never end?

The girls had to check out a few of the shops on the Avenues.

We were entertained by wonderful music. Megan and Abigail became very good at their duets.

One of the happiest memories I have is that of going to the kids choral concerts when they were in high school and college. I know it also brought great joy to Ardie. Here the kids, along with Mirm, who also sang in those choirs, sing together. It was simply like dying and going to heaven. When they sang, 'Oh Come, Oh Come, Emanuel", I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Thanks kids. It was the best part of my Thanksgiving.

Well, all great things do come to and end. It was time for a few pics of the grandkids and then off to Utah, with a stop in Boise on the way.

The "BARFMOBILE" heads out for Utah. A great time with great people. Thank you from a very grateful father and grandfather. Thank you John, Mirm, Aaron, Megan, Josh, and Zach. And thank you Heidi and Rick, for making your home, once again, a gathering place. I really love my kids. Thanks to all of you for making this time so special.

DAYS OF WONDER

2008-11-04T22:55:00.001-08:00

During my life there have four events which I consider to be of great historical significance. The first occurred on Sept. 2, 1945 on board the battleship Missouri, in the Pacific. There, General McCarthy signed the treaty ending WWII and the great evils associated with that war.

Being only two-years-old at the time, I had no idea of the significance of that moment. In later life, as I read thousands of pages on the history of that war, I developed a greater appreciation for that great moment in time.

The second significant historical event of my life occurred in November of 1989. It was on that day the Berlin wall came down. In March of 1966 I had the opportunity of passing through the entrance into East Berlin. The distance between Checkpoint Charlie and the entrance into East Berlin is the greatest lesson I have ever had regarding freedom.

There is nothing here at the checkpoint to impede one's movement, but the concrete barriers can be easily seen in this photo which marked the entrance into East Berlin. What cannot be seen here are the two machine gun placements on each side of the barrier and the several rows of similar barriers behind this one.

On the evening of that day my companion and I stood here looking at the Brandenburg gate. It was beautifully lit and the wall was not yet built in front of it. As we stood watching the many guards with there automatic weapons and dogs a West German police officer approached us and asked us if we knew we were standing in East Berlin. The barriers you see here were not present at that time and the wall was well within East Berlin.

It was not that the destruction of the Berlin Wall was so significant on its own merit, what what the destruction of that wall would preface. Within a short time the USSR would crumble and communism would become a thing of the past in the nations of Eastern Europe.

I will preface the last two most significant historical events on my lifetime with an experience I had as a young boy. My father built our family a beautiful little home in Pasadena, California in 1955. It was a stone's throw from Devil's Gate Dam, and the arroyo that lay behind it. A virtual haven of adventure for a young boy. Almost everyone has indirectly heard of this arroyo because it would later become the home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Only a few years after moving to Pasadena my parents came home one evening from a neighborhood meeting. I could see my father was very upset and I was old enough to ask him why. He said they had just come from a meeting of the neighbors in the area and the discussion had been regarding the selling of homes in the neighborhood. He said they were told not to sell their home to someone of Japanese descent as they would turn around and sell to a black person. They wouldn't do it on purpose, mind you, they just didn't have the brains keeping them from doing something so abhorrent. His disgust at what had been said formed my attitude about discrimination for the rest of my life. My father was later to engrain his feelings of non-discrimination more deeply within me by calling a man of Japanese descent to serve as his counselor when he was called as bishop.

My children have chided me for being prejudice many times during my life and it is certainly true that I have found many things about individuals of every race of people I did not particularly care for. That is why the next two events may be a surprise to them.

The first occurred on the evening of June 9, 1978. I walked to the mailbox to retrieve the evening newspaper. It was a beautiful late Spring evening. I took the paper out of the box and opened it to look at the headlines, as I always did. What I read caused me to stop dead in my tracks. In a matter of moments, tears were freely flowing from my eyes as I read the news that all worthy male members of the church would be allowed to hold the priesthood. I had never been completely comfortable belonging to a church which seemed to discriminate against people I had been taught not to discriminate against.

The last, at least to this moment, occurred tonight, November 4, 2008. I sat and watched a young man deliver an acceptance speech as the president-elect of the United States of America. His words were inspiring and uplifting and promised hope for the future. The fact that I disagree with many of his political leanings was unimportant. What was important, and almost impossible to believe was that this young man was black. Not just black, but the son of an immigrant from Kenya. The very people my parent's neighbors had sought to keep out of their neighborhood, had just become the next president of the United States.

I am very grateful to have lived to see these moments in time.

Family Outing to Mt. Hood, Part IV

2008-10-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

I think I finally have this about where I want it. And yes, it is all about the pictures.

On the way up the mountain, I stopped at this at this beautiful little lake. Heidi has camped here before but it was very crowded this weekend. Before turning off on the road to our campground I passed this beautiful meadow. I arrived well ahead of everyone and spent a great deal of time looking through several camps for a site large enough to fit Heidi, Rick, Abi, Connor, Em, Holly, Hed, Me, Steph, Jake, Jaxon, and Sage. When Heidi and Steph arrived we finally found one and settled in. Lake Timothy is a beautiful lake further down the Southern flank of Mt. Hood than the lake above. It is a perfect lake for kids to play in. The weather was perfect and the kids got in the water before dinner. Some friends came along and let the kids pet them. The owner assured us they wouldn't hurt anyone. You be the judge. Sure, the one in the foreground looks friendly enough, but look at the dog next to Em. He is looking at Holly like she would be a perfect meal. "Yes I'm going swimming. Do you want to try and stop me?" "I'm sure I saw some cute boys down the road a little ways, let me get this helmet on and we'll ride down and check em' out. "Hi grandpa. What are we doing?" Oh, nothing, just checking out the bike. What we are not doing is getting ready to go and check out the boys down the road." "Look Sage, he has his camera. Just give him a big smile and he will go away and we can take off." Finally, time for dinner. Nothing like cold tortillas to get the stomach rolling. At this point I am heading down the mountain to McDonalds. No, Jake doesn't look like that because he is on drugs. At least, I don't think so. The girls of camp, or least most of them. Sage and Holly took off down the road on the bike for some reason. After dinner, a belated birthday celebration. This just may be the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Simply perfect, and Step's best creation to date. After dinner, a trip back to the lake. I love this shot of Abbie pointing out over the water to the mountain. Back to camp for the ceremonial roasting of the marshmallows. Look at Connor's right arm. In a few short hour he would fall into the fire and his right hand and right arm, up to the elbow, will look like cooked meat. Breakfast. It all tastes soooo good in the out-of-doors. Sage is asking Holly if she wants to go back down and see the boys again. Time to hit the lake for a little boating. Here is Heather going out with the kids. And here is Heather coming back with one of the kids. We sat and watched them maneuver the boat for quite a while. We could see they were trying to get back to where we were, but the harder they paddled, the further away they got. Finally, Connor and Abbie bailed out and walked back and Em rowed while Heather pulled. Good thing they didn't get into deep water. We then took off on a short hike up to the pacific crest trail. You will notice Steph and family are missing. They took off early to head up to Jake's parent's house in Washington to take care of other family business. Here in Oregon, there isn't much color to look at in the fall. Just a lot of green, and then there is the green, and oh, look at that beautiful green, and oh, my goodness, I don't believe I have ever seen that shade of green before. You get the picture. Soooo, when I saw this color, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough.

It was a great camp out. I loved being with my family in the mountains. The best part of this camp out? I got to talk with Evans in Zambia, Africa. He is a huge part of Heather's and Heidi's life. He was very excited about going to boarding school. As I understand it, his only chance to attend anything like a high school. Heather and Heidi have committed to financially help him further his education. The school costs $1,000 a month. This is an impossible amount for most Zambians. These are some of the nicest pictures I have ever taken. My thanks to John, Heidi, Hed, and Mark.

Family Camp Out to Mt. Hood, Part II

2008-10-30T11:19:00.001-07:00

Whatever I said before, plus pictures. On the way up the mountain, I stopped at this beautiful little lake. Heidi has camped here before but it was very crowded this weekend. Before turning off on the road to our campground I passed this beautiful meadow. I arrived well ahead of everyone and spent a great deal of time looking through several camps for a site large enough to fit Heidi, Rick, Abi, Connor, Em, Holly, Hed, Me, Steph, Jake, Jaxon, and Sage. When Heidi and Steph arrived we finally found one and settled in. Lake Timothy is a beautiful lake further down the Southern flank of Mt. Hood than the lake above. It is a perfect lake for kids to play in. The weather was perfect and the kids got in the water before dinner. Some friends came along and let the kids pet them. The owner assured us they wouldn't hurt anyone. You be the judge. Sure, the one in the foreground looks friendly enough, but look at the dog next to Em. He is looking at Holly like she would be a perfect meal. "Yes I'm going swimming. Do you want to try and stop me?" "I'm sure I saw some cute boys down the road a little ways, let me get this helmet on and we'll ride down and check em' out. "Hi grandpa. What are we doing?" Oh, nothing, just checking out the bike. What we are not doing is getting ready to go and check out the boys down the road." "Look Sage, he has his camera. Just give him a big smile and he will go away and we can take off." Finally, time for dinner. Nothing like cold tortillas to get the stomach rolling. At this point I am heading down the mountain to McDonalds. No, Jake doesn't look like that because he is on drugs. At least, I don't think so. The girls of camp, or least most of them. After dinner, a belated birthday celebration. This just may be the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Simply perfect, and Step's best creation to date. After dinner, a trip back to the lake. I love this shot of Abbie pointing out over the water to the mountain. Back to camp for the ceremonial roasting of the marshmallows. Look at Connor's right arm. In a few short hour he would fall into the fire and his right hand and right arm, up to the elbow, will look like cooked meat. Breakfast. It all tastes soooo good in the out-of-doors. Time to hit the lake for a little boating. Here is Heather going out with the kids. And here is Heather coming back with one of the kids. We sat and watched them maneuver the boat for quite a while. We could see they were trying to get back to where we were, but the harder they paddled, the further away they got. Finally, Connor and Abbie bailed out and walked back and Em rowed while Heather pulled. Good thing they didn't get into deep water. We then took off on a short hike up to the pacific crest trail. You will notice Steph and family are missing. They took off early to head up to Jake's parent's house in Washington to take care of other family business. Here in Oregon, there isn't much color to look at in the fall. Just a lot of green, and then there is the green, and oh, look at that beautiful green, and oh, my goodness, I don't believe I have ever seen that shade of green before. You get the picture. Soooo, when I saw this color, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough. It was a great camp out. I loved being with my family in the mountains. These are some of the nicest pictures I have ever taken. My thanks to John, Heidi, Hed, and Mark.

The death of a dear friend.

2008-10-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Gordon Irvin Smart
Gordon Irvin Smart 1951 ~ 2008 Gordon Irvin Smart, 57, passed away suddenly October 24, 2008 of a heart attack. He was wonderful, talented, gentle, generous and well loved by many.Gordon was born August 30, 1951 in Murray, Utah to Irvin Henry and Carol Elaine Jackson Smart. He grew up on a farm in Sandy, Utah with his many siblings and cousins. Gordon was a very talented artist, an avid fly fisherman and had a great sense of humor. His actions showed he dearly loved and served his family and everyone who knew him felt he was one of their closest friends. He loved Jesus Christ and had a strong testimony of the gospel. He held many positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints such as serving twice as bishop, primary teacher, several positions in the Young Men's Organization, high councilor and loved serving wherever he was asked. He graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts degree and then taught at BYU for 17 years. He owned DesignStream, a graphic design company which just celebrated their 10-year anniversary. Gordon married Rosemary Price in April 1975 in the Mesa, Arizona temple. They have five wonderful children together. Gordon was preceded in death by his mother Elaine and his brother Stan. He is survived by his wife Rosemary, his children Laura (Ben) Reschke, Aaron, Brooke (Phil) Sadler, Adrienne, and Colton, one grandson Stockton Reed Reschke, his father Irvin Smart, his brothers and sisters, Blaine (Sally) Smart, Carol Paulis, Steve (Julie) Smart, Gary (Kim) Smart, Leann (Bill) Nebeker, his sister-in-law Sheryl and many aunts, uncles and cousins. A viewing will be held Tues., October 28th, 2008 at Larkin Sunset Gardens Mortuary, 1950 E. 10600 S from 6-8 pm. Funeral services will be held Wed., October 29, 2008 at 12 noon at the Sandy Lone Peak Stake Center, 11570 S. Wasatch Blvd. (viewing from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.)

Crater Lake

2008-08-27T16:46:00.001-07:00

Crater Lake. First, because of comments to follow, it might be of interest to define the word crater. A circular depression around the vent of a volcano. Craters form the summit of most volcanoes. They occur where lava overflows and hardens or where the walls collapse as the magma sinks down the vent after an eruption. Fairly easy to understand. You have a mountain, a volcano, and then a crater. So off we go on our adventure to Crater Lake. Me, Heather, Steph, Jaxon, and Sager. Here, Sager is saying, "I'll have another drink of your coke, Aunt Heather." Our first stop, after driving some 3 hours South of Portland, was at the Subway in the lovely town of

Chemult, Or. I know, you have heard of it. It is beautiful country on the Eastern flank of the Cascades. From Chemult it is another 40 minutes to Crater Lake. Here is our first view of the Lake. You might ask, is it really that blue? All I can say is my camera did not do it justice. On the drive down one of the girls asked a very interesting question about how the lake was formed. I love it when my children show interest in scientific information. The question was, "Dad, so how did the lake get formed in the first place? Did a crater fall from the sky and make it?" My joy at my children showing interest in earth science suddenly turned to despair. Please note the above definition of crater to understand why. So, after more than four hours of driving, did I mention we had Sage and Jaxon along for the ride, we finally arrived. We were excited to dip our feet in the cool waters and let the kids work out some frustration splashing about in the pristine blue of Crater Lake. Oops! You say Crater Lake is several hundred to more than a thousand feet below the rim and that the only access to the Lake itself is a rather steep trail of some length. HELLO! There should be a sign when you leave Portland, "If you are thinking about driving South to Crater Lake, don't even think about camping by the lake, or even getting to it, as far as that goes." There were only a few people there to begin with and we could have weeded most of them out had they known this bit of information.

So, there is the Lake, and this is as close as we ever get to it. Not to be discouraged, we set off for our camp site a few miles from the Lake. Yes, it was the closest camp site to the Lake. Don't think I can't hear you laughing. The first order of business was the setting up of the tents. I got mine up by myself rather quickly and then settled in for the fun.

Here the girls are working on their tenth configuration of poles to put their tent up. It was all very amusing since they are both supposed to be super campers and I am a few days away from my 65th birthday.

Here they are shoving in their king size air mattress. It is wider than the tent and about two foot thick. Once again, think amusing. But in the end it all worked our just perfect.

"All's well, that ends well" I believe that was one of William's. We decided not to waste the afternoon and set off at once on our first hike. It was a two mile loop down, alone Annie's creek, and then back up again. Super, super, beautiful.

Here we are as we arrive at the creek after a steep hike down from our camp site. The kids played in the water here. At the top of the hill was a sign stating the trail was closed at the creek because of a wash out. When we came to the fence just East of here, we realized we would have to miss almost all of the hike. Be some miracle, the nylon fencing moved out of the way just long enough for us to pass and then put itself back together again. We took it as a sign that we were meant to pass through and on to the rest of the trail. Truly a miracle. We were glad we did.

In the middle picture you can see the girls with their loads on their backs, going up the trail. It was simply beautiful, and these pictures don't even begin to capture the beauty. We were alone during the entire walk along the bottom next to the creek. We got back to camp just in time to start a fire and settle into the camping ritual of camp fires, dinner, and s'mores.

Everybody pulled a chair up around the fire and it was time for the roasting of the marshmallows. How good was it? Just take a look.

Simply perfect!

After a good night's sleep, it was up early, clear the camp, and off to our next hike and more spectacular views of the lake. Here the girls are putting away their tent. Heather is becoming angry because Steph won't hold the tent bag open wide enough for her to put the tent in.

If Jaxon looks a little perplexed here, he is. He is thinking, "How did I get mixed up with these loonies?" The girls got very tired packing the kids on their backs yesterday so a new method of transport was devised. It may look a little cruel, but if it works, it works.

The trail to the highest point in the park is five miles round trip and gains 1100 feet in elevation. The plan was to have Jaxon pack Sage up the mountain. I figured that would make it about even with me. Look how happy he is, who could deny him? First we stopped at the phantom ship overlook. Notice the beauty of the reflection in the water.

The phantom ship can been seen in the upper center of the photo. What struck me as beautiful about this was how you could see reflections within reflections. The phantom ship is actually the rim of a cone of a volcano that precedes the volcano which formed Crater Lake. When the magma collapsed in on itself to form the lake, it exposed this earlier rim. Amazing.

On to Mt. Scott. When I looked up and saw the fire lookout that was our destination, I knew I would not be making it. WOW! are you kidding me?

That's it, right in the middle at the top. The girls strapped the kids to their backs and off they went. I followed at a much more sane rate. I loved the hike. Many people passed by, both up and down. I just kept trudging along. I made it almost two miles up. The girls made the top. I saw many beautiful sites during the hike.

I will never cease to be amazed by the beauty of the tiny in nature. I will, till the day I die, "Always Wonder".

We were blessed with a profusion of Monarch butterflies. They migrate here from Mexico, and there were thousands of them everywhere. This one had been sitting still waiting for me to snap a picture and then, at the last moment, began to fly off. Cool picture.

By the time I got back down I still felt pretty good. Little did I know, I wouldn't be able to walk for the next few days. Here are the girls, triumphantly descending from the peak.

We had one last stop to make before beginning our drive home. A lunch stop at another lake overlook. Is the lake that blue? Yes, and much more so.

This was a great trip and, as with most trips I undertake, there was definitely a best part about it. There were many really good parts, and I loved it all, but only one best. I made a new friend.

Thanks Sage, and thank you Heather, Steph, and Jaxon. It was great.

That Didn't Last Long!

2008-08-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

I find I have to be in just the right mood to blog, and for whatever reason, that mood has not descended on me for some time now. I promise a Crater Lake blog in the next few days.

Are You Kidding Me?

2008-07-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

Sometimes my blogs will make no sense to anyone but me, but that is OK. I just need to get a few things out of my system. Last night I watched a TV program on elephants in Zambia. Here they are crossing the Zambezi River. So this guy is making this study. He is wondering if human contact is causing some of the elephants to become rogue. In a few places in Zambia, natives are losing members of their families to rogue elephant attacks. So here is how he conducts the study. He goes around finding elephants and then gets close enough to pi#@ them off. Says things like, "See how it's ears are flaring? That's a sign that he is thinking about attacking me." He goes through a long list of things the poor elephant does to demonstrate how ticked off the elephant is at him conducting his stupid study. Now, here is what I am wondering. HOW STUPID CAN A PERSON BE? You can't go around intentionally making elephants mad and then wonder if human contact is turning them into rogue human killers. He probably turned a few of those he ticked off into rogues during his study. Once more, proof that we did not evolve from monkeys. You will never find a monkey stupid enough to do something like this. Never.

2008-07-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

PALEONTOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY
July 22, 2008
Tuesday night I had the opportunity of going with Stephanie on an anthropological expedition and with Jaxon on a paleontological expedition. Here's the weird thing about this whole night. A couple of weeks ago I bought tickets to the Emmylou Harris concert at the Portland Zoo. Little did I realize at the time how the night would evolve (catch that word, Mark) into something quiet different. When I bought my ticket Stephanie said she would like to go to the concert with me. I was grateful for the company. I faithfully arrived at the zoo at four in the afternoon with the other faithful. At five they allowed us into the zoo where we stood in line again until five before entering the concert area. Here begins the anthropological part of the evening. Stephanie simply could not get over the makeup of the group waiting to go into the concert. Her first comment to me was, "Wow!, this is really your group, dad." Not meaning we were all pretty cool for wanting to see the Diva of Nashville, but that we were all freaking old. While we were standing there Steph noticed we were right across from the entrance of the dinosaur exhibit. "Why don't you take Jaxon through the dinosaur exhibit dad?" Enter paleontology. Now I am pretty excited about this opportunity. I am not much of a grandkid's grandpa so I needed to spend some special one-on-one time with one of my grand kids. Steph did mention that Jackson was a little afraid of the final part of the exhibit. I figured I could easily handle any concerns Jaxon might have so off we went. It cost $4 to get in. I will never get how people can charge you a price to get into something and then charge you again to see what you paid for in the first place to get in to see. We meandered down the trail to the first dinosaur. This little critter looks harmless enough, doesn't he? Notice the look of fear in Jaxon's eyes. Notice the long extension above the dinosaurs head. This extension was used to make trumpeting sounds to alert others of danger.

They have faithfully reproduced the sound here at the Portland zoo and it sounds something like the locking and loading of a space age bazooka. Hence, the fear in Jaxon's eyes. It took a long time and a lot of persuasion to talk him into standing this close to the creature. Shortly after this picture and before stepping another foot on the trail, Jaxon had a sudden urge to go the the bathroom I asked a girl further up the trail where the rest rooms were and when Jaxon found out they were in the direction of the monster at the end of the path, our adventure was over. He was out of there. I took him back to Steph and she talked me into going through the exhibit. I had paid, so why not. The girl who said she would remember me at the entrance was, of course, no longer there, so after a rather long discussion I was allowed back in. What was at the end of the trail that Jaxon did not want to see. Yep, it was a bit scary. It is hard to get the perspective from the picture but when you walk up to this T-Rex, it is about 20 feet tall.

Upon exiting the exhibit I was greeted with this scene.

From this distance, Emmylou was as beautiful as I ever could have imagined. Later evaluation from twenty feet out would not bear this first impression out, however.
I went back to the line and sent Steph down to see Emmylou warm up. She wandered back about five when we were let into the concert area awaiting the seven pm starting time. The kids were great and Jake called saying he would be by to pick the kids up from the zoo. I doubted they would appreciate Emmylou as much as me.
Here is Sage draining the last droplets of water from her cup.
Steph kept making comments about how she had never seen so many old people at one time, or , wow, dad, you really fit in with these people. I started to look around the grounds to see if there was a corner I could send her to, but there were to many rounded edges.
The concert began and I was able to walk right down within a few feet of Emmylou. I shouldn't have done that. If she looked the right way, she was as beautiful as ever. Any other way she looked like Joan Rivers. Why do women think that stretching old skin over old bones could ever make them look better? It is very sad.
All in all it was a great night. I got much more than I bargained for. I am very grateful to Steph for her willingness to go and see someone she had never even heard of before. I am very blessed to have such a kind, caring, and loving daughter, and the best of friends. Thank you Stephanie. Make no mistake about it, I feel that way about all of my daughters. They are all so very special, each in their own unique way.

What this is all about

2008-07-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what I am going to do with this blog. It all seems a bit silly, and yet, very significant, to me. I cannot go further without paying tribute to the person who means more to me than any other who has ever lived. Ardie has been gone for over fifteen years now and I have lived two lives since her passing. It is impossible to express how much she meant to me when she was alive and how much I still miss her. If I ever find the faith to keep turning till all things turn out right it will be because of my love for her and the love my children show to me. I suppose I could recommend to any wife out there, if you want to be remembered as perfect, you need only die. Whatever problems Ardie and I had, other than the ones I caused, are long forgotten. I remember her only as the most incredible wife a man could ever hope to have. She seemed to care so very much for me and was so patient and loving with me. I am grateful for the passing of time. Last year I took a rather incredible hike up the upper Lewis River here in Washington. It was a beautiful, clear, fall day and during the six miles I hiked that day I saw one other person. I was passing above the river and looking down I could see how deep and clear and still the water was. I thought to myself how wonderful it would be if Ardie could be with me, and instead of feeling pain at her absence, I smiled. I have had only a few incidents where I felt her near since her death, but I see her hand in the lives of her children often. I am so grateful for her and wish to express my love in this, my first statement, to whomever may read it.