My latest letter to the editor at The Columbian - printed Thursday, Oct 14
During the current political campaigns I have adopted the motto of "The Sounds of Silence." If ads are on TV I mute them. If they're on the radio, I turn it off. Mail goes into the shredder. News items become scanned headlines. Phone calls and surveys get a quick hang-up, and highway signs get the eyes left treatment.
I refuse to be swayed by all the propaganda. I will read the voters pamphlet and perhaps watch one debate, but I have been over-saturated with info, so in my rebellion I am fighting back.
Instead of spending huge sums of money on advertising, I would prefer to vote for someone who donated funds to the homeless, or to an orphanage in Peru, or socks for foster children, or Habitat for Humanity, or a school in Africa, or you get the idea. It's sort of like raising money to be called Mr. Columbia River High School. How about contests to see who does the most good for the most people instead of lining pockets of media corporations?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
A TRUE STORY
I shared this incident from my life at our greater Family Home Evening last night so am retelling it now for at family members who didn't hear it.
I was 14 years old and a new Freshman at Roosevelt High School in Portland. I was invited to a party at the home of three girls who used to attend the same ward as as I did, only they had moved to west Portland. My friend Dolores and her boyfriend brought me to the party. As soon as I got there I could tell something was wrong--the parents were not home. (red flag #1). There were some boys from another school in another room who were drinking something that was't good for them. (red flag #2). Couples began pairing off and they started dancing in a dark room. (red flag #3). There was one other girl who didn't pair off. Standing by the potato chip bowl in the kitchen, I told her I decided to take a bus home and did she want to go with me? She did.
My dad worked at The Journal Newspaper on Saturday nights. Mom was home with my younger sister and brother, and she didn't drive anyway. I didn't even know we had a home teacher. It was getting late and the busses only ran about once every hour.
I had to choose whether to get off one bus and wait for another bus that went near my home or ride around to Lombard Street and walk about eight blocks home alone in the dark. I decided to wait for the other bus. (Caroline had to take a different bus). There were no street lights when I got off the bus.
There was a tavern still open on the northeast corner where the second bus would stop. The northwest corner had a closed grocery store with one light hanging from a cord at the back of the store. The southeast corner had a closed gas station--no lights, and the southwest corner had a drugstore/fountain with a little night light in the back. The doorway was cut across the corner where I decided to wait because it would shelter me a little but I could still see the bus coming. I waited for what I would guess was about half an hour when a car pulled up alongside the curb by the pharmacy and two big guys (I think they were wearing trenchcoats but that might be part of my imagination). They started asking questions about the bus schedule. I edged out of the doorway and stood at the curb waiting for a car to make a left turn. I intended to go into the tavern where there would be other people for some kind of safety. The car stopped right in the middle of the intersection and a young male voice callked out, "Lois, do you need a ride?" I sure needed that ride! If they knew who I was, that was good enough. As I got closer, I saw that it was Dolores' older brother and his neighbor friend.
Maybe the Lord sent them like angels. If I had not been standing at the curb at that very moment, they couldn't have seen me in the darkened doorway. That was my blessing for leaving the party when I did.
I was 14 years old and a new Freshman at Roosevelt High School in Portland. I was invited to a party at the home of three girls who used to attend the same ward as as I did, only they had moved to west Portland. My friend Dolores and her boyfriend brought me to the party. As soon as I got there I could tell something was wrong--the parents were not home. (red flag #1). There were some boys from another school in another room who were drinking something that was't good for them. (red flag #2). Couples began pairing off and they started dancing in a dark room. (red flag #3). There was one other girl who didn't pair off. Standing by the potato chip bowl in the kitchen, I told her I decided to take a bus home and did she want to go with me? She did.
My dad worked at The Journal Newspaper on Saturday nights. Mom was home with my younger sister and brother, and she didn't drive anyway. I didn't even know we had a home teacher. It was getting late and the busses only ran about once every hour.
I had to choose whether to get off one bus and wait for another bus that went near my home or ride around to Lombard Street and walk about eight blocks home alone in the dark. I decided to wait for the other bus. (Caroline had to take a different bus). There were no street lights when I got off the bus.
There was a tavern still open on the northeast corner where the second bus would stop. The northwest corner had a closed grocery store with one light hanging from a cord at the back of the store. The southeast corner had a closed gas station--no lights, and the southwest corner had a drugstore/fountain with a little night light in the back. The doorway was cut across the corner where I decided to wait because it would shelter me a little but I could still see the bus coming. I waited for what I would guess was about half an hour when a car pulled up alongside the curb by the pharmacy and two big guys (I think they were wearing trenchcoats but that might be part of my imagination). They started asking questions about the bus schedule. I edged out of the doorway and stood at the curb waiting for a car to make a left turn. I intended to go into the tavern where there would be other people for some kind of safety. The car stopped right in the middle of the intersection and a young male voice callked out, "Lois, do you need a ride?" I sure needed that ride! If they knew who I was, that was good enough. As I got closer, I saw that it was Dolores' older brother and his neighbor friend.
Maybe the Lord sent them like angels. If I had not been standing at the curb at that very moment, they couldn't have seen me in the darkened doorway. That was my blessing for leaving the party when I did.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Question to Ponder
A commercial on TV promoting vampire movies asked this question -- "What part of Humanity do we lose if we live forever?"
My response is, we will lose the desire to sin, the anguish of pain, and broken relationships, and some the good things we experienced in this life as well. We are mortal to have mortal experiences so we can appreciate the joy we will feel of living after the resurrection. We can take with us our knowledge and family relationships if we have made and kept the covenants that govern them. What thoughts do you have?
My response is, we will lose the desire to sin, the anguish of pain, and broken relationships, and some the good things we experienced in this life as well. We are mortal to have mortal experiences so we can appreciate the joy we will feel of living after the resurrection. We can take with us our knowledge and family relationships if we have made and kept the covenants that govern them. What thoughts do you have?
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Week in Review
May 1st - Our greater family gathered at the Portland Temple for the marriage of granddaughter Whitney to her fiance' David. This was followed by picture taking among the tulips and lunch for 64 people at an Italian Restaurant. I'm challenged at remembering foods with Italian names, but it was a tasty meal served family style. There were two appetizers, five entrees and three desserts. Terry and Linda sat next to us at the table and they didn't want to go back to Milwaukie and then back to Vancouver again, so we invited them to spend the rest of the afternoon at our place. That evening we went to a reception held at the Marshall House on Officer's Row. Everything looked delicious from the chocolate fountain, fresh fruits, beautiful cupcakes with swirled frostings in pink and orange, to the wedding cake--two tiers, chocolate and vanilla. More family to visit with.
May 2 - It was our stake conference and eight out of ten wards were given new boundaries. Our ward lost about 50 people and gained at least 150. We remained in Salmon Creek.
May 3, 4, and 5th - Merle and I packed boxes and some furniture to send to our new place in Arizona. And we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch on Wednesday.
May 6 - Merle and friend, Greg, left for Arizona in Greg's pickup and pulling a covered trailer. They called that night from Stockton, CA. I had an appointment to see my eye surgeon and she was pleased with the results of the cataract surgery. I also saw my regular doctor and he was pleased that my blood sugars were still in good control. I talked to Steve in NC and received a Mother's Day gift in the mail from Karen.
May 7 - I had to go get a fasting blood test before I could eat this morning. It was finally a warm, sunny day! I bought some flowers for my flower box and planted them. Merle and Greg called from Arizona. They went east via I-10, stayed at a motel in Peoria.
May 8 - This was the day I was by myself all day. I wrote a piece for my blogspot and found some more history on my James Stephens Brown family to type into my notes, and watched my favorite TV program, The Wind at my Back. I had one visitor, son Ben, who brought me a beautiful bouquet of pink, white and purple cut flowers for Mother's Day.
May 9 - I went to our newly reorganized ward today. All the benches were filled and we had six to eight rows of chairs filled in the cultural hall. Jayman K. gave a wonderful talk about her mom, and Bryce C. gave a very good talk about missionary work. It was his farewell talk before leaving for his mission to Washington DC. After church I went to Mark & Sherri's and had dinner with the family--Brandon, Nathan and KayCee (who just came back from a national gymnastics meet - got 5th place in floor exercises and 15th in vault). David & Kristan and family came over in the evening and brought me a beautiful flower basket to go in my front flower bed. TJ was ordained a Deacon today (delayed due to conferences etc.) Merle called. They were approaching Las Vegas--left AZ about 2 pm. Mike and family called and gave me the details of Merle's brief trip. He made arrangements to have the two trees watered and fertilized, so we can have good oranges when we get back down there next winter.
May 10 - Now I'm doing catch up with emails and checking out blogspots. My second surgery is scheduled for May 18th. At church yesterday I WAS FULL OF WONDER. I COULD SEE THE NUMBERS FOR THE HYMNS, I COULD SEE THE FEATURES ON THE FACES OF THE SPEAKERS, I could read the hymnbook that the next person was holding, and even the individual knitted stitches on the sweater in the row in front of me. I even drove home from church without wearing any eyeglasses, and read the street signs clearly! It was truly a miracle as I have lived a good part of my life in a fog and faking it if I didn't recognize someone. And it will be even better when both eyes are working together. What a GREAT MOTHER'S DAY!
May 2 - It was our stake conference and eight out of ten wards were given new boundaries. Our ward lost about 50 people and gained at least 150. We remained in Salmon Creek.
May 3, 4, and 5th - Merle and I packed boxes and some furniture to send to our new place in Arizona. And we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch on Wednesday.
May 6 - Merle and friend, Greg, left for Arizona in Greg's pickup and pulling a covered trailer. They called that night from Stockton, CA. I had an appointment to see my eye surgeon and she was pleased with the results of the cataract surgery. I also saw my regular doctor and he was pleased that my blood sugars were still in good control. I talked to Steve in NC and received a Mother's Day gift in the mail from Karen.
May 7 - I had to go get a fasting blood test before I could eat this morning. It was finally a warm, sunny day! I bought some flowers for my flower box and planted them. Merle and Greg called from Arizona. They went east via I-10, stayed at a motel in Peoria.
May 8 - This was the day I was by myself all day. I wrote a piece for my blogspot and found some more history on my James Stephens Brown family to type into my notes, and watched my favorite TV program, The Wind at my Back. I had one visitor, son Ben, who brought me a beautiful bouquet of pink, white and purple cut flowers for Mother's Day.
May 9 - I went to our newly reorganized ward today. All the benches were filled and we had six to eight rows of chairs filled in the cultural hall. Jayman K. gave a wonderful talk about her mom, and Bryce C. gave a very good talk about missionary work. It was his farewell talk before leaving for his mission to Washington DC. After church I went to Mark & Sherri's and had dinner with the family--Brandon, Nathan and KayCee (who just came back from a national gymnastics meet - got 5th place in floor exercises and 15th in vault). David & Kristan and family came over in the evening and brought me a beautiful flower basket to go in my front flower bed. TJ was ordained a Deacon today (delayed due to conferences etc.) Merle called. They were approaching Las Vegas--left AZ about 2 pm. Mike and family called and gave me the details of Merle's brief trip. He made arrangements to have the two trees watered and fertilized, so we can have good oranges when we get back down there next winter.
May 10 - Now I'm doing catch up with emails and checking out blogspots. My second surgery is scheduled for May 18th. At church yesterday I WAS FULL OF WONDER. I COULD SEE THE NUMBERS FOR THE HYMNS, I COULD SEE THE FEATURES ON THE FACES OF THE SPEAKERS, I could read the hymnbook that the next person was holding, and even the individual knitted stitches on the sweater in the row in front of me. I even drove home from church without wearing any eyeglasses, and read the street signs clearly! It was truly a miracle as I have lived a good part of my life in a fog and faking it if I didn't recognize someone. And it will be even better when both eyes are working together. What a GREAT MOTHER'S DAY!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Lord's Tender Mercies
In 2000-2001 Merle and I served an office mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In September we moved into an apartment that the previous missionaries had occupied on the 8th floor of a 16-story apartment building. There were some features that we liked but several we definitely didn't like.
First, was the construction on the street below our balcony for a new subway station. The incessant pounding would start each morning around 6:00 a.m. and go all day until 10 or 11 p.m. Then there was the difficulty in getting our groceries from the underground parking garage and up to the 8th floor, and down the hall to our apartment. It took both of us, and we could only buy as much as we both could carry. One time Merle dropped me off at the front door of the apartment building while he drove around to park the car. I found myself pushing grocery sacks across the lobby floor to the elevator, then trying to keep the elevator door from closing while I pulled in more sacks. When I got to the 8th floor I had to reverse the procedure then push the sacks to our apartment door. We could live with that after changing our method, but we also disliked the fleas that jumped off other tenants' dogs on to the floor of the carpeted elevator, and onto my legs, since I almost always wore skirts while serving as a missionary.
I have "bad knees" and worried about having to climb up or down eight flights of stairs if the power went off. (It did once). The final straw, however, was the cigarette smoke that came up through the bathroom vent into our bathroom. We had to keep the door closed so it didn't permeate the whole apartment.
By November we decided that we needed to move out of that apartment. Since we were serving a mission we needed to spend most of our time during business hours at the mission office. Landlords in Toronto only show apartments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. They will not even pick up their phones on evenings or weekends. We had very limited time for looking at apartments. Landlords also want to see you in person before they will even do a credit check., and almost all apartments are rented on a year's lease. Merle, being incharge of the missionaries' apartments, knew the problems. We started praying about this and asked for the Lord's help.
First we learned about another apartment that met our price range, and we weren't required to sign a year's lease (since we wouldn't be there that long.) It was located on a corner of the second floor (fewer neighbors making noise, foreign cooking smells or smoking next door). No pets were allowed in the building (no fleas in the elevator). Although there was traffic noise, it was not close to the subway line so no pounding. We got underground parking again--a must during winter. That was our needs, but the Lord also provided tender mercies for some of our wants that we didn't have to have, in the form of a pine tree outside our balcony, which reminded us of the fir trees at home, and carpeting throughput the whole apartment. Almost every apartment I had visited in Toronto had wood parquet flooring--but I loved carpeting and that was in this apartment. And, there was a cute little black squirrel in the yard we could watch from our balcony. It almost made up for the homesickness I experienced!
We had a few kinds of tests in the form of harassment from a new landlord, for the last two or three months of our mission, but it was worth it!
NOW we come to January 2010. We had visited Mesa, Arizona and St. George, Utah in the previous two years. We wanted to move to a warmer climate during the winters so we were evaluating those places. When one of my sons moved his family west of Phoenix we went down for a visit in March 2009. In January 2010 we went back again. This time we came during what must have been the biggest monsoon of the century. There was flooding everywhere. Our purpose was to buy a home. We had a real estate salesman show us several possibilities, but it just didn't feel right. One problem was paying for expenses to keep up two properties. It turned out to be a fact-finding mission. We decided that Merle should go back about the end of March, when the part timers would be leaving. By then we had decided that we needed a double-wide manufactured home in a gated community for security purposes. We had also learned what kind of areas would flood and to avoid them.
Before our January trip we had applied for a home equity line of credit at a big bank we did business with, for $100,000. For various reasons such as a salesman who was home sick for a week, and red tape at the office doing the approvals, plus the terrible times the banks were having getting loans approved because of the economy, our paperwork got delayed and it was almost time for Merle to fly back to Arizona. So, we went to our credit union, applied for an home equity line of credit for $50,000 and were approved in two days.
When Merle got to Arizona he looked on Craigslist and found one that met most of our wants and needs including our price. He found a great place in the second one he looked at. It had 1900 square feet, including four bedrooms and two bathrooms, family room, kitchen, dining room and laundry. It had only two steps for me to climb up.
Here come the tender mercies: It had rock landscaping--Merle hates yard work. It had two sheds so he can do his furniture refinishing, and both a shade tree and an orange tree! It was in his price range and he bought it for $50,000. Even the park rental fee was affordable. When he came back home we started pulling in our assets and got them up to $45,000 without depleting everything. We only needed to put $5,000 on the loan, which kept our monthly payments affordable. We sold a stock and a mutual fund and it was the best time during the spring that we could have picked. Our goal is to have the $5,000 paid off in a year and be debt free. Then, Merle found a friend from up here who offered to drive his truck and enclosed trailer down to Arizona with a load of our things, and come back with a load of things for his son who was moving to Washington. Merle bought the gas, helped drive, and saved a lot on moving expenses.
I see this move as something positive. Although my son may only live there for another year or two, we will enjoy them while they are still there, but won't be so close that we won't spend time developing other friends. Besides, with four bedrooms we expect we'll have other family and friends come for visits. Our health will improve in a warmer climate too. I like to think of it as going on a mini-mission each winter. We may do work for humanitarian needs, or family history, or something else, but I do not expect to feel as homesick this time. It will be a new adventure for us. And, as long as Merle can go white-water rafting in the summers, we will have a home in the Northwest too, but we plan to sell the one we presently have because it is too big and we need to downsize. By the way, we are looking for a reliable, dependable, neat, house-sitter such as a student, for the winter months.
Some of our happiest memories are in Toronto, and we will now add Arizona.
First, was the construction on the street below our balcony for a new subway station. The incessant pounding would start each morning around 6:00 a.m. and go all day until 10 or 11 p.m. Then there was the difficulty in getting our groceries from the underground parking garage and up to the 8th floor, and down the hall to our apartment. It took both of us, and we could only buy as much as we both could carry. One time Merle dropped me off at the front door of the apartment building while he drove around to park the car. I found myself pushing grocery sacks across the lobby floor to the elevator, then trying to keep the elevator door from closing while I pulled in more sacks. When I got to the 8th floor I had to reverse the procedure then push the sacks to our apartment door. We could live with that after changing our method, but we also disliked the fleas that jumped off other tenants' dogs on to the floor of the carpeted elevator, and onto my legs, since I almost always wore skirts while serving as a missionary.
I have "bad knees" and worried about having to climb up or down eight flights of stairs if the power went off. (It did once). The final straw, however, was the cigarette smoke that came up through the bathroom vent into our bathroom. We had to keep the door closed so it didn't permeate the whole apartment.
By November we decided that we needed to move out of that apartment. Since we were serving a mission we needed to spend most of our time during business hours at the mission office. Landlords in Toronto only show apartments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. They will not even pick up their phones on evenings or weekends. We had very limited time for looking at apartments. Landlords also want to see you in person before they will even do a credit check., and almost all apartments are rented on a year's lease. Merle, being incharge of the missionaries' apartments, knew the problems. We started praying about this and asked for the Lord's help.
First we learned about another apartment that met our price range, and we weren't required to sign a year's lease (since we wouldn't be there that long.) It was located on a corner of the second floor (fewer neighbors making noise, foreign cooking smells or smoking next door). No pets were allowed in the building (no fleas in the elevator). Although there was traffic noise, it was not close to the subway line so no pounding. We got underground parking again--a must during winter. That was our needs, but the Lord also provided tender mercies for some of our wants that we didn't have to have, in the form of a pine tree outside our balcony, which reminded us of the fir trees at home, and carpeting throughput the whole apartment. Almost every apartment I had visited in Toronto had wood parquet flooring--but I loved carpeting and that was in this apartment. And, there was a cute little black squirrel in the yard we could watch from our balcony. It almost made up for the homesickness I experienced!
We had a few kinds of tests in the form of harassment from a new landlord, for the last two or three months of our mission, but it was worth it!
NOW we come to January 2010. We had visited Mesa, Arizona and St. George, Utah in the previous two years. We wanted to move to a warmer climate during the winters so we were evaluating those places. When one of my sons moved his family west of Phoenix we went down for a visit in March 2009. In January 2010 we went back again. This time we came during what must have been the biggest monsoon of the century. There was flooding everywhere. Our purpose was to buy a home. We had a real estate salesman show us several possibilities, but it just didn't feel right. One problem was paying for expenses to keep up two properties. It turned out to be a fact-finding mission. We decided that Merle should go back about the end of March, when the part timers would be leaving. By then we had decided that we needed a double-wide manufactured home in a gated community for security purposes. We had also learned what kind of areas would flood and to avoid them.
Before our January trip we had applied for a home equity line of credit at a big bank we did business with, for $100,000. For various reasons such as a salesman who was home sick for a week, and red tape at the office doing the approvals, plus the terrible times the banks were having getting loans approved because of the economy, our paperwork got delayed and it was almost time for Merle to fly back to Arizona. So, we went to our credit union, applied for an home equity line of credit for $50,000 and were approved in two days.
When Merle got to Arizona he looked on Craigslist and found one that met most of our wants and needs including our price. He found a great place in the second one he looked at. It had 1900 square feet, including four bedrooms and two bathrooms, family room, kitchen, dining room and laundry. It had only two steps for me to climb up.
Here come the tender mercies: It had rock landscaping--Merle hates yard work. It had two sheds so he can do his furniture refinishing, and both a shade tree and an orange tree! It was in his price range and he bought it for $50,000. Even the park rental fee was affordable. When he came back home we started pulling in our assets and got them up to $45,000 without depleting everything. We only needed to put $5,000 on the loan, which kept our monthly payments affordable. We sold a stock and a mutual fund and it was the best time during the spring that we could have picked. Our goal is to have the $5,000 paid off in a year and be debt free. Then, Merle found a friend from up here who offered to drive his truck and enclosed trailer down to Arizona with a load of our things, and come back with a load of things for his son who was moving to Washington. Merle bought the gas, helped drive, and saved a lot on moving expenses.
I see this move as something positive. Although my son may only live there for another year or two, we will enjoy them while they are still there, but won't be so close that we won't spend time developing other friends. Besides, with four bedrooms we expect we'll have other family and friends come for visits. Our health will improve in a warmer climate too. I like to think of it as going on a mini-mission each winter. We may do work for humanitarian needs, or family history, or something else, but I do not expect to feel as homesick this time. It will be a new adventure for us. And, as long as Merle can go white-water rafting in the summers, we will have a home in the Northwest too, but we plan to sell the one we presently have because it is too big and we need to downsize. By the way, we are looking for a reliable, dependable, neat, house-sitter such as a student, for the winter months.
Some of our happiest memories are in Toronto, and we will now add Arizona.
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