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Christmas Morning Sacrament Talk

2011-12-24T14:12:00.001-08:00

I was asked to speak in church for Christmas this year. Here is the text of my talk.

Where and how did the celebration of Christmas get started? The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus' birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice - the return of the sun - and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, and much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still small Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D. after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. (from a devotional address given at BYU on Dec. 5, 1972 by President Howard W. Hunter.)

In 1870 President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law a bill making Christmas a legal US national holiday.

But was the birth of Jesus really on December 25?

Shepards would not have been "tending their flocks" in December in the the H0ly Land.

D&C 20:1 cites April 6 as the the day of Christ's birth corresponding to the day His restored Gospel was reorganized.

But why shouldn't we celebrate Christ with the rest of the world? This was written in Dec. 1919 in the Improvement Era: "Of all holidays there is
none that enters so fully into the human heart, and stirs so many of the higher
sentiments. The holly and mistletoe entwined among the evergreens, the habit of
giving gifts to those we love, the presence of the Christmas tree, the superstition of Santa Claus, all combining to make Christmas the most longed-for, the most universal, and from every standpoint, the most important holiday known to man"

On Jan. 2, 1908 the First Presidency made this statement regarding Christmas.

“Christmas, to the Latter-day Saint, is both reminiscent and prophetic—a reminder of two great and solemn events, which will yet be regarded universally as the mightiest and most wonderful happenings in the history of the human race. These events were [foreordained] to take place upon this planet before it was created. One of them was the coming of the Savior in the meridian
of time, to die for the sins of the world; and the other is the prospective advent of the risen and glorified Redeemer, to reign upon the earth as King of kings” [“What Christmas Suggests to a Latter-day Saint,” Millennial Star, Jan. 2, 1908, 1].

The traditions of Christmas are certainly within the admonition of Paul in the Thirteenth Article of Faith. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

There are many traditions that surround Christmas, but all of them have at there root the celebration of the baby Jesus.

In Luke 2 we read of the shepards in the fields. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest.

In 1741 George Fredrick Handel set this story to music. He completed the 259 page manuscript for the Messiah in just 24 days of composition. At the end of the manuscript he wrote the letters "SDG" - Soli Deo Gloria, "to God alone the glory.

Tradition has it that when King George the III ( the same King George of Revolutionary War Mischief) heard the Hallelujah Chorus of the Messiah he rose and all with him rose to pay respect to the King of Kings. While no actual record of this event exists the tradition lives on today. Our own dear sister Helen Jones always respected this tradition whenever the ward choir sung the Hallelujah Chorus of the Messiah.

Today Handel's Messiah is one of the best know and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

In 1818 Josef Mohr was a young priest serving as parish priest at St. Nikolas church in Oberndorf Germany. ( some say the village was in Austria) Two days before Christmas, the bellows in the church organ were found to be rotted through, possibly eaten by rats.

Needing music that could still be appreciated by the congregation, Mohr wrote a poem. He then asked the church organist and choirmaster, Fanz-Xaver Gruber, if he could set it to music which the two men could sing, accompanied by Mohr on the guitar. Late on Christmas Eve, the men practised and song for the first time, and performed it for Mass. The song the Mohr penned was "Silent Night" and it was first sung on 24 December 1818.

Most of us would probably cite the Christmas hymns as our favorites in the Hymn Book. Contemporary musicians will often have their Christmas Albums including the sacred songs be among their best sellers. In many cases it is their Christmas Songs that have immemorized them decades after their deaths.

In Matthew we read of the Wise Men from the East that came, guided by a new Star to Worship the Christ Child and bring him gifts. (gifts that would be very useful as Joseph and Mary would be guided to flee King Herod from Jerusalem to Egypt.)

This tradition of giving gifts to children goes back many centuries. Long ago ( many believe in the 4th Century) in Myra, which is now modern-day Turkey, there was a bishop named Nicholas. Nicholas loved children and would often give gifts to the poor. Legend has it that he would leave these gifts in the children's shoes while they were sleeping or would throw them down the chimney.

Americans have Santa Claus, the English, Father Christmas, the French Pere Noel, others Grandfather Frost, but they all keep the tradition of blessing children with gifts.

Then there is the remembered Christmas tale by O. Henry about a young husband and wife who lived in abject poverty yet who wanted to give one another a special gift. But they had nothing to give. Then the husband had a ray of inspiration: he would provide his dear wife a beautiful ornamental comb to adorn her magnificent long hair. The wife also received an idea: she would
obtain a lovely chain for her husband’s prized watch, which he valued so highly.

Christmas day came; the treasured gifts were exchanged. Then the surprise ending, so typical of O. Henry’s short stories: the wife had shorn her long hair and sold it to obtain funds to purchase the watch chain, only to discover that her husband had sold his watch so that he might purchase the comb to adorn her beautiful long hair, which now she did not have.

The angles had another message for the Shepards. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace good will toward men." This spirit of peace and good will toward men is reflected in so many ways during the Christmas holidays.

A classic Christmas time film is Frank Capra's adaptation of Philip Van Doren Stern's short story called " The Greatest Gift" The film is "It's a Wonderful Life". It starred James Stewart and Donna Reed. Jimmy Stewart's character, George bailey was given the opportunity to see what the world would be like if he had not been born. Christmas Eve finds George Bailey deeply troubled. Prayers for his will-being from friends and family reach Heaven. Clarence Odbody, Angel Second Class, is assigned to save George and earn his wings.

The film was nominated for five academy awards although it did not win any. It is on the list of the 100 best films ever and for it's 65 year anniversary it was named the "Most Inspirational Film" ever.

"A Christmas Carol" is a novella by English author Charles Dickens. It was first published on 19 December 1843. The story tells of a sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The book was an instant success and has never been out of print. It was from a scene in this book where a transformed Ebenezer Scrooge shouts out Merry Christmas that we have the custom and greeting today. After it's publication there were many accounts of a dramatic increase in charitable giving around the world.

A Christmas Carol has been set to theatrical productions, musicals, and movies. There are over 20 film adaptations of the story. Ebenezer Scrooge has been played by George C. Scott, Tim Curry, Michael Caine along with the muppets, and Donald Duck accompanied by Micky Mouse as Bob Cratchit.

You will recall from Dr. Suess's holiday "horror" story, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" that the devilish Grinch determineed to rob Who-ville of every holiday treat. In a nefarious scheme in which the Grinch dressed as Santa himself, he moved through Who-ville taking every package, tree, ornament and stocking. The Story goes:

He stared down at Who -ville!

The Grinch popped his eyes!

Then he shook!

What he saw was a shocking surprise.

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,

Was singing! Without any presents at all!

He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!

IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

It came without packages, boxes or bags!

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas ...perhaps ....means a little bit more.

One of my favorite Christmas Stories is that of the Christmas Truce during World War I.

The Germans had placed Christmas trees in front of their trenches, lit by candle or lantern like beacons of good will. And then we heard their voices raised in song.
Stille nacht, heilige nacht . . . .
This carol may not yet be familiar to us in Britain, but John knew it and translated: “Silent night, holy night.” I’ve never heard one lovelier—or more meaningful. When the song finished, the men in our trenches applauded. Yes, British soldiers applauding Germans! Then one of our own men started singing, and we all joined in.
The first Nowell, the angel did say . . . .
In truth, we sounded not nearly as good as the Germans, with their fine harmonies. But they responded with enthusiastic applause of their own and then began another.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum . . . .
Then we replied.
O come all ye faithful . . . .
But this time they joined in, singing the same words in Latin.
Adeste fideles . . . .
British and German harmonizing across No Man’s Land! I would have thought nothing could be more amazing—but what came next was more so.
“English, come over!” we heard one of them shout. “You no shoot, we no shoot.”
There in the trenches, we looked at each other in bewilderment. Then one of us shouted jokingly, “You come over here.” To our astonishment, we saw two figures rise from the trench, climb over their barbed wire, and advance unprotected across No Man’s Land. One of them called, “Send officer to talk.”

They met in no-man’s land after leaving their rifles behind. They exchanged gifts of food, buttons and ribbons. They even played a game of soccer.

It is this spirit of Christmas, the spirit of Christ that has the power to change lives and bring
peace to the world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could maintain that spirit of Christmas all year long, even all the time. It is the Christ in Christmas that makes it so. It is his teachings of
charity, and love that make us want to do acts of kindness for each other. To sacrifice for others, to accept the sacrifice of Christ or each of us. We make this so by making and keeping sacred covenants and by striving to keep all the commandments. There have been people
who have managed to do this. Enoch and his people. Nephi and his family. But there was a time that a group of people were so moved by the teachings of Christ that after his brief visit, that they
enjoyed peace and good will for 200 years. The account is found in the Book of Mormon in Fourth Nephi.

2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no
contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with
another.
3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly bgift.
7 And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; yea, insomuch that they did build cities
again where there had been cities burned.
10…..and became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people.
12….but they did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in fasting and prayer , and in meeting together oft both to pray and
to hear the word of the Lord.
13 And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus.
15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of
God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
As we comtemplate this day and celebrate with the Christian World the birth of the baby Jesus, I would like to close with the admonition of the prophet Howard W Hunter.

It is possible for Christ to be born in men’s lives, and when such an experience actually happens, a man is “in Christ”—Christ is “formed” in him. This presupposes that we take Christ into our hearts and make Him the living contemporary of our lives. He is not just a general truth or a fact in
history, but the Savior of men everywhere and at all times. When we strive to be Christlike, He is “formed” in us; if we open the door, He will enter; if we seek His counsel, He will counsel us. For Christ to be “formed” in us, we must have a belief in Him and in His Atonement. Such a belief in Christ and the keeping of His commandments are not restraints upon us. By these, men are set
free. This Prince of Peace waits to give peace of mind, which may make each of us a channel of that peace. The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life as a moving, dynamic, vitalizing force. The real spirit of Christmas lies in the life and mission of the Master. (From a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on
December 5, 1972

More Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T20:29:00.001-08:00

A new (last Christmas) tradition is some bell ringing compliments of Gramie Marla.

Grace could follow along with the music by her self this year. Eden was especially good with the free for all.

We had dinner at our new most favorite restaurant in Scottsdale. Sassi.

Gotta have some slushi punch.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T20:00:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we all got together at Jesse's house in Phoenix. Perfect weather in the 70s.

Papa Jeff, Uncle Jared, Cori, Grace and Grant put together a sweet wooden train set. We haven't had everyone together for a while so we took some family pictures.

The Whitaker/Lindstrom/Bailey women.

The men.

The Lindstroms. Grant, Cori, Grace, Jesse, Eden.

The kids, all grown up.

Fabulous spread.

There's Eden ready for the Thanksgiving feast.

We took a side trip to a great Phoenix Museum. Th Musical Instrument Museum. Here is a Steinway Piano being built.

Grace is playing the electronic piece that makes the R2D2 sounds in Star Wars.

Jared the Drummer

Thea takes in her African side.

It was a great weekend. Sorry to see it end.

General Conference

2011-10-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend I listened / watched all 10 hours of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (At least I was in the room for 10 hours.) I always enjoy conference. While I was on my mission, we had no coverage of conference. We usually didn't even get the magazine with the conference report in it. I remember one time we were trying to find conference on the radio. We picked up a faint signal coming from Brazil in Portuguese. We were so excited to hear conference. We would only hear the first few words of the talk in English before the Portuguese translation took over. Then we would listen in Portuguese to see if we could pick out just a few words.

Conference is an amazing process. It goes for ten hours and there are 25 -30 assigned speakers. No one is given an assigned topic. They are given direction to seek the Spirit of the Lord and determine what they should talk about. So the Lord through his inspiration to his servants weaves together a series of messages of what he would say to the world every six months. As people listen to conference, different people will hear messages that seem tailored just for them. There is something for everyone, young and old, new member and experienced leaders, mothers and missionaries, youth, children and the elderly. There is something for everyone. It reminds me of the scriptures. We are not given a neatly ordered instruction manual. We are given prophetic accounts from different continents and different centuries and millenium. By searching, praying, and pondering we learn the things the Lord would have us learn at a given point in time.

There were a few themes that rang out to me. Next year the course of study in Sunday School is the Book of Mormon. Several speakers got me excited to read the Book of Mormon again. Elder Scott convinced me that I should start memorizing some scriptures. I've thought about taking a 3x5 card with me with a scripture to memorize on it while I drive. There was a recurring theme that the world is opperating under the philosophy of relatism. (Do what ever feels good or right) That does not replace the commandments that the Lord has given. President Monson restated the ten commandments and said they are not the ten suggestions. I also got a feeling that we (I) can do a little more, and be a little more dilligent. ( Maybe a lot more.)

The Lord does not send our updates or memos, but he does communicate to the world through General Conference.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

2011-09-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our second daughter Sara has gotten a job in the LA area and moved into her first apartment sans roommates. Marla and I went down to visit with her and take her shopping for a few household items. While we were there we made a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. I love to visit Presidential Libraries. They are wonderful places to learn about more contemporary US history and in the Case of the Reagan Library, history that we lived through. The Library had exhibits on Reagan's early life, his Hollywood life, his time as Governor of the State of California, and his eight years as President of the United States. He was Governor of California for much of my childhood and school days. He was President during my early adult years as a young married.

They had his airplane "Air Force One" reassembled in the museum as well as his helicopter "Marine One". They had an exact, to scale recreation of the Oval Office.

When President Reagan took office in January of 1981 I was finishing my degree in Finance at BYU. The National Unemployment Rate was 13%, Inflation was running at 13%. Most mortgage interest rates to buy a house were 14 -15%. A very high percentage of college graduates could not find employment in their field. They were working as waiters or day laborers or anything they could get. It was a scary time to graduate and enter the work force. The general assumption was that we would have those conditions for the unforeseeable future. My professors were predicting 7 -10 % inflation as the new normal condition. They said I would never see a single digit mortgage interest rate in my lifetime and gasoline would be costing $5.00 a gallon in a couple of years and for as far as we could see. Our people were being held hostage in the middle east, with prior rescue efforts ending in a disastrous death of all involved. The Soviet Union seemed to be growing in power and influence and Japan seemed to be buying up everything in America and was destined to be the world's leading economic power. That was our world when Reagan took office. I remember how cruel the media was towards Reagan. He was thought of as not too bright just B list actor. He was accused of falling asleep in cabinet meetings and on the verge of leading America into a Nuclear showdown with the Soviets.

The museum reminded me of many of the things that Reagan did. He was principled. He believed in a smaller Federal Government, lower taxes and less regulation. He was willing to take on the Powerful Government Unions, starting with firing all of the striking air traffic controllers. He was positive, never critical of his opponents. He was optimistic, talking about "a new day in America". He had faith the American people and the free markets. He faced the harsh criticisms of the media with jokes and a sense of humor.

I found a great deal of similarities in the problems of today and problems the country faced 30 years ago. It was inspiring to see how wonderfully things improved thanks to his policies and beliefs. It gave me hope that perhaps we can figure our way out of the current economic policies.

We had a great time with Sara and an inspiring day with President Reagan.

Dingle and the Ring of Kerry, Ireland

2011-08-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

The last two days of our Ireland adventure were spent touring the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. Our first stop traveling to Dingle was a two mile long beach called Inch Strand. It juts out into the Dingle Bay as a long sand bar perpendicular to the shore line. And yes they have a surfing school there. We were there in July and had our coats zipped all the way up.

They call these the beehive houses. They are stone houses built around 500 AD by the Celts. Pretty amazing construction to have survived this long considering the harsh climate there.

The rugged Dingle Peninsula and the Slea Head Islands in the distance, the most Westerly point in Europe.

This is the Gallarus Oratory a Christian Church built 1300 years ago. It is what the call dry rubble masonry. (rocks stacked on top of one another with no mortar. The roof is formed by the gradual rise of the side walls from the base upward. The corners form a perfectly straight edge up to the top.

Dingle township.

Craic (pronounced Crack) means fun in Gallic. So the Craic House means fun house. This was a toy store. The uninformed might mistake it for something more sinister.

Local teenagers hanging out in Dingle. Dingle is an area of Ireland that still speaks Gallic instead of English. The Store keepers will speak English for the tourist.

One of our favorite stops was at a sheep ranch where we had a demonstration of the dogs that heard sheep. They would respond by voice command or a serious of whistles.

Ireland, Cobh, Cork and Blarney

2011-07-31T18:22:00.000-07:00

We left our Waddell and Reed friends and headed by train to the Southwest part of Ireland. You have to appreciate that when we are with the Waddell and Reed Group they have people that take care of EVERYTHING. So striking out on our own in a foreign country was exciting. We arranged a tour through the Irish Rain Tour Company. They had someone in a bright yellow jacket to meet us at every stop along the way.

Our first stop was in Cork. From there we got on a bus and went to Blarney, home of the famous Blarney Castle. There are lots of beautiful castles in Ireland, but Blarney Castle has capitalized on it's legendary "Blarney Stone". Thousands of tourist come in by the bus load to kiss stone that is suspended over the top wall of the castle. Smoochers have to lay on their backs and lean out and down over the wall while someone holds their legs to reach the stone and give it a big wet smooch. Legend has it that a kiss on the stone will grant the smoocher the "gift of eloquence in speech"

We decided to skip the eight flights of stairs through narrow medieval passageways packed with anxious smoochers and we walked over the to Blarney House. We were the only two on a wonderful tour of this fantastic house. The house is still a family residence of the family that owns the castle and grounds. They had tastefully covered over the electronics and plasma TVs with 18th Century privacy screens.

The Blarney Stone is at the top of the wall.

Irish Country side passing by the train.

Next stop was Cobh (Pronounced COVE). This is the launch site of the Titanic on it's fateful journey. This is where millions of Irish left for America. This is also the closest harbor to where the Lusitania was sunk on May 7th 1915 by a German submarine. 1198 of the passengers died and 761 were saved. The survivors were brought to Cobh and there is a mass burial site in the nearby cemetery. In the 1800s the town was renamed Queenstown to honor the Queen of England. Apparently there were no towns in Ireland named after her. Once Ireland gained it's independence the name was changed back to it's Gaelic origins of Cobh.

Mass grave site of Lusitania victims.

Memorial to Lusitania victims.

Annie Moore left for America from Cobh. She became the very first person to pass through Ellis Island in New York Harbor on January 1, 1892.

This is the embarkation station for the Titanic. It is now a museum.

We arrived at our hotel in Killarney, the International Hotel. Built in the mid 1800s. It wasn't the Ritz Carton like the suite we had in Eineskerry , but it was a perfect location for our adventures to come in County Kerry.

Ireland, Dublin

2011-07-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

One of the key historical sites in Dublin is Trinity College. Built in the 1500s and home to some impressive alumni: Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker to name a few that I recognized. It is also home to the Book of Kells. It is a beautifully hand illustrated manuscript of the four gospels dating back to AD 800s. It is considered one of Irelands national treasures. It open for viewing, but we really didn't get a good look at the real thing. Some lady was quite intent on hovering over it and reading the whole thing.
I doubt she read ancient Latin. Also of note is the old library. ( no pictures) It looked something out of a Harry Potter movie with over 200,000 books from 200 to 300 years ago.

We took a little side trip to the coastal town of Howth.

With our friends Tom and Cyndie Miller in Howth.

Of course we had to see the first showing of the new Harry Potter movie. Here we are with our friends the Barbaras outside Cineworld Dublin.

Just outside of Dublin is the Malahide Castle. This was the home of the Talbot Family for over 800 years.

This has got to be the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. Jared take note.

Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail) is another of the Irish sites of great historical significance. It is here where the leaders of the 1916 uprising at the Post Office were imprisioned and most of them shot. It was the simpathy for these leaders that turned the hearts and minds of a greater number of Irishmen to support the move for separation and independence from England.
The inscription above the door reads: "Beware of the risen people that have harried and held, ye that have bullied and bribed".

This is the General Post Office. The Revolution that began the road to Ireland's independence in 1916 began here.

Marla and our friend Cyndie Miller on Grafton Street in Dublin.

City view Dublin.

While in Dublin we visited Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Patrick was an itinerant preacher who came to Ireland in AD 432. He was not the first Christian but is considered most influencial in the spread of Christianity on the Island. Out side the Cathedral is an interesting statue of Benjamin Lee Guinness. ( Of beer brewing fame) Apparently he paid for a new floor in the Catheldral after Oliver Cromwell kept his draft horses in the Cathedral after one of the many squirmishes between the British and the Irish. The Origins of the Cathedral go back to the 12th Century.

This is a view of Christ Church Cathedral. Also dating from the 12th century.

City view of Dublin.

On our way to Dublin we stopped in the coastal town of Dalkey for a "Pub Crawl" There is plenty of drinking going on in a "Pub Crawl" (We became especially fond of Orange and Lemon Club. Non -Alcoholic sodas.) There is also entertainment along the way. In one pub we watched Irish Dancing, in another we learned to play the Tin Whistle and Bodhron (Pronounced Bodron) (Irish drum), and in the final pub we listened to a great traditional music session while every else tasted whiskey.

Coastal view of Dalkey.

Ireland, County Wicklow

2011-07-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

This year's trip for Waddell and Reed was to Ireland. We started our adventure in County Wicklow in a little town called Einneskerry. There is a beautiful English Estate from the 1840s there called Powerscourt. We stayed in the Ritz Carlton next to the Estate. Very nice accommodations. We were in a suite with our own balcony. We had a wonderful view of Sugar Loaf peak the dominant part of the surrounding landscape.

Our first activity was a visit and demonstration from a Falconer. Here is Marla holding a baby barn owl.

I'm holding a Red Tailed Hawk. We have a lot of these birds at home, but I've never been up this close. They are beautiful creatures. The Falconer gave us a demonstration of their hunting abilities.

We had a very nice suite for this leg of our stay. This is the marble bath room. Notice the "in mirror" TV set. Just in case we got too far away from the TV

Here is Marla just outside the Gardens at Powerscourt. There is not a lot to see in the old Estate. There was a fire in the 1970s that gutted the inside. The gardens were incredible.

This is the Japanese Tea garden section of the garden. It's amazing what 160 years can do for the tree population. The watch tower below was modeled after a pepper shaker on the dinner table.

On Sunday evening we had a private dinner at the Kilruddery House. It is still a private residence of the Earl and Lady Smyth. Their family has been in the house for a couple of hundred years. We met the Earl and Lady and had a tour and dinner in their home. There were beautiful gardens here as well.

While in Einneskerry we went to Church. There is branch of the LDS church in Bray. It was about 4 miles away. This was very fortunate for us since there are very few branches of the church outside of Dublin. As we have found in other places of the world, the church is the same everywhere and we easily made friends. They were even on the same Sunday School Lesson as we would have been in Nevada.

We now traveled to Dublin. On the way we stopped for some "Pub Crawling" in the town of Dalkey, a lovely town on the coast. One stop we had Irish Dancing, one stop we learned how to play the tin whistle, and the bodhran (pronounced bowron) (an Irish drum). The last stop was a whiskey tasting stop. ( we drank lemonade) They had a great traditional group playing Irish Music.

Hachet Men

2011-06-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

The President of Waddell and Reed, Tom Butch, loves to fish. He also really likes to hang out with Waddell and Reed folks. He had the vision of getting a bunch of us together to go fishing in Canada. I was thrilled when he asked me if I'd be interested. I get to travel the world with W&R folks. I thought this would be a good chance for Bo to get to know some of the company's top brass. It was also a small reward for 2010 being our best year ever in the 15 years we have worked together. So we were off to become "Hachet Men"

We flew to Winnepeg and stayed the night in the Fairmont Hotel. The next morning (4:15 AM wake up call) we boarded a chartered flight with Nolinor Air to fly to a dirt landing strip at Hatchet Lake. Hachet Lake is located 600 miles South of the Arctic Circle and 680 miles North of Winnepeg

Dirt landing strip at Hatchet Lake.

We walked down a short road to the lake shore where there were 14 boats waiting for our group of 28. We boated over to an Island where the lodge is located. The lodge is the only dwelling on the Island or the 200 square mile lake. It is all made from locally cut spruce logs. There are cabins for the 28 guests of the lodge, the 14 Cree Indian guides and their families, the pilot and the other staff members of the lodge.

Our cabin had four bedrooms, two baths and a little living room. It was very comfortable for us. It is quite obvious that there are no building codes this far north but it was great. To make things more comfortable, the staff came into our cabin at 5:30 AM and started a fire in the wood stove and left a pot of Hot Chocolate for us. I tried to get Bo to serve me my Coco in bed but he wouldn't do it.
The staff in the lodge always dressed in matching uniforms. Breakfast at 7:00AM, dinner at 7:00 PM and always served with white linen table cloths.

These next few pictures were taken of our first fish we caught. We took pictures because we didn't know any better (we were catching minnows compared with what was to come) and we have both been on fishing outings were we catch one right off the bat and then nothing more.

We were catching Northern Pike and Lake Trout. The lake is strictly catch and release using barb-less hooks.

Now that's a fish. Bo caught this 42 inch Northern Pike. 42 inches is a big fish but up here they don't really get excited until the fish measures more than 50 inches.

They lake is catch and release, but we were able to keep enough fish for lunch. Our guides were Cree Indians. Being Indians they are allowed to keep some fish.

They would start looking for "lunchable" size fish around 11:00 am. They have many prearranged sites for a shore lunch. Some times we would get several of us together and sometimes we would have lunch alone with our guide Winston McCleod. Lunch consisted of french fried potatoes, fried onions, creamed corn, baked beans and fried fish.

Our Guide, Winston, was 3/4 Cree and 1/4 Scott. His Grandfather, Malachi McCleod, canoed into the area in 1938 and set up a trapping line and built a small cabin. He was one of the first settlers in the area. Several of his grandsons are fishing guides at the lake.

We also caught a couple of Walleye. We weren't trying to but they jumped on the line anyway.

As if Hatchet Lake was not remote enough, we had the option to fly out to 20 other lakes in the area. Here we are flying out to Hanna Lake.

Our plane was a 1976 Dehavelin (Canadian made) turbo prop plane. Our pilot was a little French speaking guy from Quebec. Most of the flights are only 15 - 30 minutes away.

38 inch Northern Pike.

Now that's a big trout. It measured 36 inches. One of the guys in our group caught a 42 incher. The fun thing was I caught three just like this in about 10 minutes.

After a while we decided to try our hand at catching Norther Pike with medium weight fly rods. At first we lost them. Pike have a mouth full very sharp teeth. We usually had to use steel leaders. It took a while but we got the hang of getting them into the boat.

Here is a 38 incher Bo caught on the fly. I know that some of the guys brought fly rods but to my knowledge we were the only ones going for Pike with them.

Our Second fly out was to Donahue Lake. It was a nice calm day. I think we caught the most fish here.

Here was our shore lunch crew on the shore of Lon du lac river that feeds into Donahue Lake.

Here we are with our Cree Indian guide, Winston McCleod.

Here is Mr. Butch and Mr. Hofmiester with their guide.

After four days on the Lake our plane comes in to take us back to Winnipeg. We never really kept track of how many fish we caught. But it had to have been 250 to 300 fish. Men are funny creatures. We are so competitive. There were daily scores of who caught the most fish. Some boats were getting over 100 fish in a day. Fish were measured to the fraction of an inch. Since all we could bring back to the lodge was pictures; strategies were laid out on how to take the picture so as to make the fish look the biggest. We tried to keep score, but we were having so much fun we usually lost track by 10:00 in the morning.

My Friend, My Brother

2011-06-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

My Friend, My Brother

Thirty years ago my family and I moved into a new home in Corona California. We were newly graduated from BYU, working a new job, expecting our second baby, and moved into an unfamiliar neighborhood in an unfamiliar town. One of the first families to welcome us to the area was Conrad and Claudia Cole. They had not lived in the area very long either and they made us feel right at home.

A few months later Conrad was called as the Yong Mens President of our Ward and I was called as the second counselor and Scoutmaster. This was to be the beginning of a wonderful friendship and many years of working together in the church. I was 24 at the time and had no idea of how to be a scoutmaster but we gave it our best. I figured that Scouts should do hiking and camping so we did a lot of that. Conrad would go on most of our outings. I learned later that he hated camping and especially hated hiking. We took a week long backpack trip in the Sierras. That is were I really learned that he hated camping and hiking. He also hated oatmeal which we had for breakfast every day. It was on this trip that I learned an interesting oddity about Conrad. He is 100% Native American Iroquois Indian from the Iroquois Nation in Upstate New York. He may be 100% Indian but from his ankles down to his toes he is pure white.

Even though Conrad was not a fan of hiking and camping, ( I did not learn this until years later) he loved the young men and he loved the Lord and was completly devoted to His service. A few years went by in the Young Mens program and Conrad was called to be the Bishop of our Ward. I was called to be his First Counselor. We worked together in that capacity for five years. The hours were long, but the work was sweet. Our five years in the Bishopric went by quickly. Bishop Cole chided me for not being a better fan of the BYU Cougars and taught me what obedience is really all about. He would push people to be better. He didn’t think that he was pushing hard enough until they would push back. But the people grew. There are many Bishops that later came out of those leadership meetings and Ward Counsels with Bishop Cole; including me, several years later. There are so many times when as Bishop, I would ask myself the question; “What would Bishop Cole do?”

A few more years went by and Conrad was called as the Stake Young Mens President. I was his counselor again in the Stake. Conrad was not one to tell jokes, but he found humor in everything and had an infectious laugh. It seems we laughed all the time; usually at each other. The Cole home was always a center of activity. After all he had the best game room in the neighborhood and the biggest TV with a satellite. (Reserved for BYU games) Conrad was such a loyal fan (having played on BYU’s football team) that I have seen him get in his car and drive out into the desert until he could pick up KSL radio in Salt Lake to hear the game.

Conrad was a good salesman and as he said, he sold “scrubbers and sweepers”. I sold mutual funds and financial advice. We had many long conversations about business and sales. I’m still selling mutual funds, Conrad ended up owning and expanding the business into a national firm. He would always say that running a good business is just applying gospel principals.

As a member of the Iroquois Nation, Conrad was not required to pay income taxes according to a treaty with the US Government. He carried a card in his wallet that said as much. But he always paid his taxes. He did not want to receive anything on the dole. He knew how to work, whether it was as a ranch hand in Eastern Oregon, or a heavy steel worker or just remodeling his house.

Conrad’s love for the Lord and the gospel of Jesus Christ was evident in everything he did. Every conversation would eventually end up in a gospel theme.

We moved to Nevada and the Coles moved to Utah. The friendships from Corona have spanned the years and many from the old Corona days continue to maintain friendships and frequently visit the Coles. (He has an even bigger game room now and the big satellite TV is now an in home theater.)

In the later years of his life, his humor remained even in physical adversity, and his testifying of the Savior grew sweeter. I believe, as he did, that we will meet again, with an even bigger view of the latest BYU game. Until then my friend, my brother.

Jeff L Whitaker
June 15, 2011

The New Office

2011-06-12T19:37:00.001-07:00

I have a number of clients between Northern Nevada and Southern Washington. I decided it was time to pay them a visit. This time, insted of rushing from place to place and meeting to meeting, I decided to take Marla and combine a little business with some camping in our little trailer. I call it my new office. We spent the first night in the Redwoods in Hendy State Park. That night we had dinner with Geoff and Margi Rice. We had Japanese food and Margi gave us a copy of her latest CD.

Hiking on Titanium knees in the Redwoods.

We next stopped in Roseburg at the Rising River RV park. This is our first time in an actual RV Park. We make lots of friends with our little trailer. I can't tell if people like our little airstream or they are taking pity on us because our trailer is so much smaller than every other trailer in the Park. That night we had dinner with Dick and Barbara Jorge. Wednesday morning I had breakfast with Kash Siepert.

We next drove over to the coast and hooked up with our friends the Glasmanns at the Honey Bear RV park in Gold Beach Oregon. We have been friends with the Glasmanns since our Jesse and their Jessica were friends in Kindergarden. They are both 30 years old now.

We took a day trip up the Rogue River on a big Jet Boat. It was powered by three massive engines. Our trip was 104 miles round trip and we were gone for about eight hours.

They Call this the Pinosarous Tree!

The first half the the trip was pleasant boat ride aided by entertaining commentary from our guide. The second half was more white water and rapids along with high speed 360s in the jet boat.

We saw bald eagles, ospreys, deer and harbor seals.

note to self. Maybe time to try a Rogue River fishing trip some time.

The Rogue River trip as well as camping with the Glasmanns definitely deserve a do over. Soon.
It wasn't a bad business trip either.

Dearest Mother

2011-05-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

1942 High School Senior. Bear River High School, Utah

Wedding Day Dec 30, 1946

With Mom and Dad Grover and brothers and sister in Palmer Alaska.

Living large in D.C. Marine Corps Ball

With return missionary son in 1978

Loves her grandchildren

All of them.

Today is Mother's Day so today's post is dedicated to my Mother, Darlene Manitta Grover Whitaker. Sometimes I struggled with my relationship with my mom, but the one thing that I always knew was that she loved me. When I was 15 years old I went on a two week backpack trip into the High Sierras with my two buddies Brad Myler and David Johnson. We had no adult supervision and 105 miles to go where there were no phones or means of contact. My mom was worried sick (literally) about my well being on the trip. While in high school she never attended any of my wrestling matches. It was not that she was not interested, she could stand the thought of me getting hurt. I was probaby the only kid in school that had a hot breakfast every day before the six AM seminary class. She always waited up for me at night. When I was working a summer school construction job she always made me a big lunch to take. There was never any doubt or question in my mind that she loved me and was concerned for my welfare.

Darlene was born the oldest eight children on December 17, 1925. Her dad was a Dairy Farmer. Growing up in a large family on the farm, she had much of the responsibility for her younger brothers and sisters. She was very popular in school and loved to participate in school plays. She was the class Vice President of Bear River High School. On December 30, 1946 she married a Marine Corp Captain James Lowell Whitaker. After a honeymoon to Sun Valley Idaho they moved to Southern California. It was her first time out of the State of Utah. In 1948 her Dad took out one of the last US Homesteads and moved the family and the Dairy herd to Palmer Alaska. It wasn't too long before a the Korean War started and Darlene spent the War years with her family in Alaska. After the War her husband was transfered to work in the Pentagon and they moved to the East Coast. They spent time in Springfield Virginia and Cherry Point North Carolina. It was here on the East Coast where I was born. I was born 12 years after they were married. I think those years on the East Coast were difficult for my mom. Family is the most important thing for her and she was a very long way away from all of them. When I was 3 years old we moved back to Southern California and lived in Santa Ana. My dad had numerous assignments overseas, mostly in Japan. He would be gone for three to six months at a time and it was just my mom and me during those times. My Dad retired from the Marine Corps in 1963 and we had a more normal family routine common to the 1960s and 1970s.

During the 80s and early 90s we lived in Corona while Mom and Dad lived in Orange. So we were able to spend many birthdays and holidays together. Mom's grandkids were her absolute delight. Nothing made her happier than spending time with them. In 1996 they bought a home in Gardnerville so they would have a place to stay on extended visits. in 1998 Mom was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. She had surgery and went through chemotherapy. Dad had been diagnosed with Lukemia ten years earlier, so she was dealing with the final stages of his illnes as well as her own. Dad died in 1999 and she began a new chapter in life as a widow. She moved into the Gardnerville house full time. (I think dad was quite inspired to buy that house when he did. It made for a fairly easy move and transition for her. While in Gardnerville, she attended all the family activities possible and all of the kids performances at the schools. She was active in the church and even dated the Stake Patriarch, Max Jones. I think he must have asked her to marry him a dozen times. He was at least ten years older than her and I think she was afraid of burying another husband. As it turned out he attended her funeral. After six years the cancer came back. She spent the last 12 weeks of her life in our home while under the care of Hospice and Marla. While here she had many visits from her brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. It was a great time. We never had so many visitors here. On a quite February evening 2006 she slipped quietly into the eternities. My mom taught me unconditional love and service. She taught me the importance of family. Happy Mother's Day Mom.

A walk down memory lane and the Graduate.

2011-04-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Thirty six years ago Marla and I were freshmen at BYU. The latest addition to the University that year was the J. Rueben Clark Law School. Little did we know that three and a half decades later we would be attending graduation ceremonies for one of our daughters. We had a great time with family and friends. It brought back many memories for me of our years there and a great sense of gratitude for a wonderful institution that is a blessing for anyone who can spend some time there.

To my knowledge, Sara is the first one of the Whitakers, Grovers, or Baileys to wear one of those hoodie things they give out in Law School.

A little photo shopping to get rid of the couple about to fall in the creek and this is suitable for framing.

Guess who the next college grad in the family will be?

Sisters

Dinner after the graduation ceremonies at the "Chefs Table" in Orem. Roomies and Law School buddies.

Family too.

Convocation ceremonies in the de Jong Concert Hall.

Fun times with the WII at Sara's house.

100th blog and a quick weekend visitor

2011-04-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Marla flew Jesse and Eden in for the weekend. They attended a meet the author and book signing of Annie Barrows. Grandpa and Eden hung out while they went to the book signing. It is so nice to have them closer than the North Pole where they used to live. They are now in Phoenix.

We also had a family night at the Aces ball park. The Aces beat Colorado Springs 15 -2. We even saw a grand slam. The Jacksons were there with there four boys and a couple of friends. Dave and Danelle Crossman were there and Grandpa and Grandma Paterson were there. I think we had 12 kids under the age of 10 there.

Bo and his Triple Decker. Do you think he could finish it?

The Selection

2011-04-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

As part of my responsibilities as a BSA board member and Vice President of Administration, I was on the selection committee for a new Scout Executive of the Nevada Area Council. This week we made the selection. It all started a few weeks ago when we started screening resumes. We didn't feel we had a big enough sample so we had the national office send us some more to review. We had previously met to create a profile of what we needed in the council and the type of person we were looking for. We narrowed it down to four candidates that we wanted to interview in person.

Candidate One had worked for the scouts in Fort Worth Texas for 24 years. The Long Horn Council is very large, much larger than Reno. He had held pretty much every position in the council except the Scout Executives position. Most professional Scouters move around a bit and have different experiences in different areas. It is pretty unusual for an individual to have his whole career in one area.

Candidate Two had been working as the Scout Executive in El Paso for four years. There had been a lot of problems in El Paso. It had been discribed as one of the most difficult areas in the country. He turned things around and got things growing again. It didn't hurt his prospects any that he was a BYU grad and Return missionary.

Candidate Three was currently working in the National Training Center for BSA teaching classes in how to be a professional scouter. He had this position for two years. Prior to this he was the Scout Excutive for eleven years in Casper Wyoming. he is also a return missionary and BYU grad.

We had referrences to call on all of the individuals. All of them checked out very well with the references that were called. They all recieved glowing reviews. They all came into town with their wives and on Thursday night we had a brief reception and then a lengthy dinner. On Friday we divided the 12 members on the selection committee into three groups. Each group interviewed each candidate for 90 minutes. We then all got together and heard a ten minute presentation from each candidate. They were all highy qualified, capable individuals. It was going to be a very hard decision to choose just one. It is interesting to note the thing that really decided the thing was one of the candidates inability to find fault in himself and cite examples of being coached or corrected. It was a case of confidence versus arrogance. The ability to find fault in one's self to seek improvement, to humbly except correction, to find ways to become a better person was the deciding factor.

Time with the kids

2011-04-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

This past week I have spent a fair amount of time with young people. Brent Eddy is one of the Government teachers at Douglas High School. He asked me to come and talk with five of his government classes about personal finance. I spent most of the day on Thursday and Friday morning with his classes. It was fun to be with the kids. They were all Seniors and will be graduating soon. They seemed interested for the most part. Some of them seemed to be very interested. Some didn't seem like they would be interested in anything.

Saturday I had about six young men and their dads at the hanger of Hutt aviation to work on the Aviation merit badge. This was an assignment after the merit badge clinic a couple of weeks ago. I let everybody climb around in the Musketeer and showed them how a pre-flight inspection goes. Then we drove around the airport and learned about how things work at a municipal airport.

All told I probably spoke with 90 to 100 young people this week.

2011-03-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

This week we had Jesse and Cori and the grand kids visit us. We always love it when they come. Grant and Grace know how to score points big time by asking if they can stay longer than one week as soon as they walk in the door.

We did lots of fun things. One purpose of the trip was to do as much skiing as possible. The Sierras have obliged by having one of the biggest snow falls on record, much of it coming in this week. Big snow falls are also accompanied by cold and very high winds which made conditions a little brutal , especially for the little kids.

This picture is taken at the top of Heavenly Valley's Dipper Chair. It is around 9500 feet elevation. Notice the information hut is burried in about 20 feet of snow.

Since it was too cold and windy on some days to take the little kids we filled the time in with some other activities. Like Bowling. It took a little work to convince Grant that he could not drop kick the bowling balls.
.

We spent some time playing with Toby in the snow.

On Friday we got a break in the weather and Grace and Grant were able to get up on their skis thanks to the "Magic Carpet"

This next picture is Grant standing by him self crying, saying but I don't want to stop. The mountain was closing down for the day.

The Event

2011-03-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

For the last three months we have been working on an event for our Waddell and Reed Clients in Northern Nevada. My inspiration for "The Event" is Warren Buffet's "Annual Meeting" for his company Berkshire Hathaway. He has many of the companies his company is invested in come to Omaha and they have a convention show like meeting. (Sees Candy, Net Jets, Gieco Insurance, and many others) The highlight of the meeting is Warren's report on the company.

So we asked to have Zack Shafran fly out for our meeting. Zach is the head of global research for the invesmtment division of the company and the manager of the $4 Billion in assets in our Science and Technology funds. We arranged for Tim Ripp of Associates of Clifton Pak to come from Albany New York. He is our expert on long term care and medicare. We also got Andy Rex our Nationwide Financial wholesaler to come over from the bay area. Bill King also came in from Kansas City.

The company was kind enough to fly Zach out on the company plane so as to minimize his time away from his investment management responsibilities. We had a lot of work to do to make sure that all of our materials and presentations would meet with legal, compliance and marketing department's approvals.

For the first 90 minutes we had food and drink at the Carson Valley Inn, had some mini workshops with our special guests and showed a video of some of our new materials from the Ivy Funds. You can see the videos at www.ivyfunds.com/theworldcovered. Then at 7:30 we had Zach come on. I introduced Bill King and he in turn said some nice things about me and introduced Zach.

We had about 190 people in attendance and the event seemed to be a success. It was a lot of work to put on by me , Bo and Janelle. I think I have a new friend and ally in Zach Shafran. He is a big Boy Scout supporter as well as a big time ski enthusiast. I'm sure it's not as big a deal as Warren Buffet's meeting but he has been doing his for a while and this was our first go at it.

Scout Sunday at the Nevada State Capital

2011-02-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

Nevada State Capital

Scout Choir: Joel Gilbert, Marlan Jonsgsma, Lee Jonsgsma, Matt Stockton, Adam Gilbert, Andy Vardus-Doane.

Statue of Sarah Winnemucca in State Capital Building

Today was Scout Sunday and Marla and I attended the inter-faith service for the Pinenut District of the Nevada Area Council. I thought it would be good to have someone from the Board of Directors in attendance plus they asked me to play the piano for the Boy's Choir.

There were about 70 in attendance. I'm told that was a lot more than last year. I'm disappointed that none of our Ward's boys or leaders were there. The Capital is a fabulous old building with some great history about it. The service was good. We had talks from the Catholics, Methodists, and Mormons, patriotic hymns and the boys chorus was great.

I have a new job on the BSA board. I'm the Vice President of Administration. That puts me on the executive committee, so there will be a few more meetings to go to. I still don't understand the board stuff. It is mostly oversight. I'm used to putting on the programs not monitoring them. Our current task on the board is to choose a new Scout Executive for the Council. That is pretty important and the Scouts have a very well laid out process for doing it. We met on Friday and laid out what our strengths and weaknesses are as a Council and outlined what we think we need in a Scout Executive. Then the word goes out that Nevada is looking. Applications come into the National Office and they select 6 - 8 applications that we as a board review and select 3-4 to interview. Then we fly them out with their spouses

Post Thanksgiving Flight

2010-11-27T15:00:00.001-08:00

So in between snow storms we had a nice day to take the Musketeer up. It had been a couple of months since I last flew, (it's not like riding a bike) so Don and I went up and practiced some landings and steep turns, then I took Thea and Will up for an areal tour of Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe over the wing of the Musketeer

Cascade Lake, Emerald Bay and Tahoe shoreline

Upper and Lower Echo Lakes, starting to ice over

Eye Candy, Lake Tahoe in winter splendor.

First Snows, Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Winter came early this year to the Carson Valley. Near record cold temperatures (-1 degree F) on Wednesday and two days where it never got above freezing during the day.

We had Thea home for Thanksgiving. She brought a friend boy home (Will). Jared and Erin stayed in LA, Sara is studying for Law School in Provo and Jesse and family had their turn with Cori's family. Since Marla is still recovering from knee surgery, I cooked the Turkey, (Dutch Oven) Stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie. (Home grown and home processed garden pumpkin with ginger snap crust.) Grandma Bettie did the veggies and Thea did the rolls. We had a nice dinner. All the kids called in so the day was complete.

Proposed WFIC land purchas in Genoa

2010-11-12T19:47:00.001-08:00

The Whitaker Family Investment Co. LLC made an offer today on 3.5 acres in Genoa in the Eagle Ridge Developement. The prices are down 65% from where they were about 3 years ago. I offered $150,000 for the lot. Seems like a great buy. I plan to keep in the the investment Company as a long term hold. It is on a paved road off of Jacks Valley Road just North of Genoa. It already has water, electricity, natural gas and sewer run to the lot. There is a seasonal stream running across the south end of the property.

This is the view of the lot from the road. It has about 10 mature pine trees. ( Probably 75 to 100 years old) There are another 10 trees that are young maybe 5 -6 years old.

This is the view from about the middle of the lot looking south. A nice small grove on pines on level ground in a grassy area.

This is the view from the back corner of the lot looking East.

Any Whitaker kids that are interested in weighing in on the purchase can post a comment. I'll keep the post up for a week or so and then delete it.

DAD

Redding Handbell Festivale

2010-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

There are some things that Marla really loves. Her little houses, collecting playing card decks, Dr. Pepper, hamburgers, puppies and playing hand bells with the United Methodist Hand Bell Choir. We drove to Redding to attend the Redding Hand Bell Festival. They formed a big group of about 70 ringers and practiced several numbers for a public concert latter in the afternoon. There were several groups that performed solo numbers.

Eigthy four counts into Scott Joplins "Train Collision Rag" Marla blows the whistle. Big time performance pressure.

One of the solo performances. This lady played 38 bells at once on what is called a bell tree.

I even got in on the action. During their rehearsal I played the high g g sharp and A. I owned those bells. Of course they told me I would be happy to watch the performance for the public with the public. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

The naming of Eden

2010-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

The poet T.S. Eliot wrote a book of poems entited "The naming of Cats" It went on to become a smash hit for over twenty years on Broadway when put to music by Andrew Lloyd Weber. It starts out as follows:

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

This past week-end we went to Phoenix for the blessing and naming of Jesse and Cori's new baby girl Eden. Eden Yvette Lindstrom to be precise. Two sets of proud grandparents were there, as were six uncles and aunts, 2 cousins, 2 siblings, 2 parents and one great grandma ( or super grandma as Grant and Grace like to say) Why such a fuss for a 4 week old baby that won't remember the event or anything that was said. It is because we will remember and it is a big deal to get a name. Eden, for the Garden of Eden, a place created by God and was perfectly beutiful. A place for our first parents. Yvette is a combination of Grandma Sandy's middle name Yvone and Grandma Marla's middle name Vanette, thus Yvette. Finally ,Lindstrom the the father's family name, after his father and his before him.. If the baby was born into a Hispanic culture she might also have her Mother's last name, Whitaker, somewhere in the name. This name came from the children of two familys coming together and starting a family of their own. The Lindstroms are from Sweeden but there are also the Rockwoods and Mckibbins from England and Ireland on grandma Sandy's side. The Whitakers come from England, but there's also the Grovers, from England and the Gardners from Scottland. There also the Baileys, Bills ad Woods on Grandma Marla's side. The collective experiences and genics of all of these great families go into the forming of the physical body for Eden. They also make up a great part of the family traditions as these two familie come to together in the forming of Jesse' and Cori's family.

So a name is a big deal. In the old testament Jacob wrestled with the Angle of the Lord and had his name changed to Israel. Elizabeth was told that her baby was to be named John and Mary was told the the babe was to be named Jesus. Eden comes from great families to be sure, but it goes back even further than that. She is a direct decendant of Ephram and Joseph ( the one with the multi-coloured coat) That makes her a direct decendent of Abraham and Issac. No matter what her heritage may be, she is lastly a chld of God and an heir through the Priesthood of her father to every thing the Father hath. So the name and the blessing is a big deal. One certainly worth gathering the family together from all parts.

A New Stake Presidency

2010-09-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is unique in its belief that the church is directed by modern revelation, that the will of the Lord is made known to man through the Holy Ghost to Priesthood leaders in how and who is to direct the church. We were able to witness such an event in the calling of the new Stake President for the Carson City Nevada Stake last Sunday. It is also interesting to note and to experience how the Spirit of the Lord moves amongst the local leaders at the time. We knew about the conference and that President Brewer would be released several weeks before the conference. The week of the conference we had a lot of stuff going on. Our youngest Daughter Thea was set to go back to school in San Francisco and Marla and I wanted to go with her and help her move into her new dorm. Our oldest daughter Jesse was due to have a baby (C section) on Monday following the conference. Marla was planning on being with her and helping for a couple of weeks. It would have been very easy to have been out of town at the time of the conference. Marla was in charge of all the music for the conference and I sort of didn't want to miss the event and even though I did not have any impressions that I would be the one called as the new Stake President I had the impression that I should be there. On Monday I got a haircut. We took Thea on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday I went to the Temple and on Sunday afternoon Marla flew to Phoenix. Elder Bruce D Porter of the First Quorum of the Seventy presided at the conference. In his conference talk he discribed the process of selecting a new Stake President. He and another general authority arrived on Friday night. On Saturday morning they began interviewing all of the stake leaders. They started with the the existing Stake Presidency, Bishops, and the High Council. Each member being interviewed completed a questionnaire where they described there own background, profession, family, health, temple recommend status, and a brief summary of church service experience. The questionnaire also asked if they had ever been divorced. On the questionnaire they were told to be prepared to name 2-3 men that they thought would be qualified to be the next Stake President. (The questionnaire also stated that it was inappropriate to name themselves.)

I had been thinking a lot about the process all week. I thought that with my experience as a former Bishop and other church leadership positions, that I might be on a few lists of contenders for the new Stake Presidency. I have always wanted to be worthy and able to do any task asked of me by the Church. The Stake Presidency is a really big job and it last for nine or ten years. So it wasn't really anything I was wishing for. While pondering all of this in the Celestial Room of the Reno Temple on Friday night I had the distinct impression that I would not be called as the Stake President but that in the Lord's eyes I was worthy and able to have been called. This was both a relief and a sweet blessing, the kind that comes while serving in the temple. Joseph Smith taught in the Lectures on Faith that one must know if " the course of life which they pursue is according to the will of God, in order that they may be enabled to exercise faith in him unto life and salvation." I had received for the moment that reassurance. Feelings of the spirit are hard to explain. They are spiritual and our experience and language revolves around the physical. But they are no less undeniable. Joseph Smith explained it as pure intelligence flowing into our minds from a source not of our own. I have felt this before as a Bishop in considering individuals for callings and I have felt it lately as a Sunday School teacher in trying to find ways to bring the Old Testament to life for the Gospel Doctrine class. I have experienced other sacred answers to questions while in the temple.

I went home that night with a feeling of peace and contentment. On Saturday morning Marla and I went to the stake choir practice and on return home I checked the answering machine (something I rarely do) and I had a call from Brother Croxall the Stake Executive Secretary asking if I could come in for an interview with Elder Porter of the Seventy. My heart skipped a beat but then I figured that they were still in the interviewing process otherwise they would have asked for Marla to come as well. I was very grateful that I had the presence of mind to shower and shave in the morning that Saturday instead of in the afternoon after all my Saturday chores like I usually do. I learned later that after interviewing all the Bishops and High Council the Brethren still did not have any impressions as to who the new Stake President should be so they asked for more brethren to interview. ( The B list) I also learned that I was the last one to be interviewed. In my interview, they asked me about my experience as a Bishop and wanted to be quite precise as to how long ago it had been since I was called as a Bishop. They found it curious that I would have served in two bishoprics since being released. I tried to briefly explain our situation in the Spanish Branch. They asked about my children and marriage. I chose to spend more time talking about my marriage to Marla because that is a very bright spot in my life. They asked me about who I thought would be a good choice and I named David Hawes , Doug Peterson and Eric Sturges. I noticed that they had a sheet of paper with many names on it and they put a check mark next to the names as I called them out. They thanked me and home I went.

On Sunday in conference Elder Porter described what happened next. He and the other general authority confirred on the many names they had, they knelt in prayer, the spoke some more but with no answers. He stated what I stated in my interview with him that there were probably many men in our Stake that were able and qualified. Elder Porter said he wanted to take a walk and think, he no more than got out the door of the Stake Center and down the walk a little ways and that pure intelligence came pouring in and he knew who the new Stake President should be. They called David Hawes as President, Doug Peterson and First Counselor and Mark Wolz as Second Counselor.

It was a marvelous experience to witness and play a small part on the sidelines and feel the workings of the spirit in my life at the same time. It is wonderful to be able to witness the process of modern revelation from God on our little local level. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get to Phoenix and see that new grand daughter.

Calling Down Eagles

2010-08-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

hile in Alaska we took to calling down the eagles. We'd catch Rock Cod which will float when their dead. We found a nesting pair of eagles and would try to imitate their call. When they would fly out we toss out the Cod and wait for them to swoop down and snatch it up. At one time we had three of them flying around us. The pictures do not do the experience justice.

One more for the Bucket List

2010-08-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Jared and Sara at the Seaplane Dock in Ketchikan

Sara's first fish

Jared and Sara and their catch

First day's results
.

30 foot diameter cedar tree. The biggest in the state

Fishing Wolvereen Creek off of Lake Macdonald

Jared landing his first fish on the fly a big Pink Salmon on Lake Macdonald

Jeff lands a big Pink

Our fly in on Lake Macdonald

Sara landing a Halibut

We didn't catch this one, but he came in on our boat. 200 pound Halibut

Our Halibut Charter and Skipper Shane

Day's catch on the Charter

Jared and Sara on the trail to Roosevelt Lagoon off of Naha Bay

Video of Jared and Sara landing a big Coho Salmon.

One of my dreams has been to fly into a remote lodge in Alaska and go fishing. Last week Jared and Sara and I got to cross that one off my list. Now I can't wait to go back. We flew into Ketchikan Alaska, the Southern most town in the state. From there we boarded a deHaveland Beaver float plane and flew to Grant Island and the Silver King Lodge. The Lodge will accomodate 28 guests. There are small cabins with bedrooms and bathrooms. The Lodge has a big dining room and a couple of sitting rooms. We were there with Doug Russell, Rod Miller and Craig Cassidy. This is a self guided operation. That means they give us a 14 foot skiff with an outboard motor a pole, tackle box, and a map. They tell you to go have a good time and bring the boat back by 7:00. We learned how to catch the fish and by the end of the week we were pretty proficient at it. The food in the lodge was really good and the people were super nice. I ran into three of my clients there; the Louds, Grandpa, Dad and Grandson. We took a couple of extra excursions. For one we flew over to Macdonald Lake and went fly fishing for Salmon. The only footprints on the beach where the float plane dropped us off were bears and eagles. (really big Brown Bears) We didn't see any of either. Catching Salmon on light tackle fly rods is a blast. After a while Sara and Jared got pretty good at casting and landed a few nice Salmon. These were catch and release. It rained off and on all day but we were dressed for it and it was no problem. We were wading in waist deep water anyway. We also took a charter out into the deep water to catch Halibut and more Salmon. That was a great trip we were in fish pretty much the whole time. Two guys on our boat caught a 200 pound Halibut. They tag teamed the fight and it took them about 40 minutes to bring it in. That was pretty exciting to watch.

100 Year Nevada Jamboree

2010-08-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Scuba

Dressing for Scuba

Mountain Man Rendezvous

Civil War Reinactments

Mud Volleybal

Cargo Net toss

Soccer anyone?

Service Project

This week I went with the Scouts to the 100 year Jamboree in Fallon. None of our Scout leaders could go so they asked me to go. ( Truck and Cook Stove does it every time.) We had 7 boys and 4 adults. I coordinated the cooking, trying to get the boys to do as much as possible. It was a great event. The Nevada Area Unit Commissioner Leif Midel from Reno coordinated everything and did a great job. I can't think of anything that was missing. There were lots of activities for the boys. Just a few a pictured above. Our boys didn't even come close to doing everything that was available for them to do. I got to see lots of Wood Badge friends wandering around the fairgrounds. It was hot. Close to 100 and we were camping with no shade. Curtis Campbell was nice enough to go buy a pop up shade cover so we could get out of the sun in our campground. He also rented a room at the nearby Motel Six so the adults had a place go shower. The boys spent a great deal of time in the water. They participated in the mud volleyball tournament. They placed 4th out of 32 teams. They were very pleased with themselves. So was I.

July Pleasures

2010-08-01T20:38:00.001-07:00

Son in Law Cori Lindstrom, grandson Grant, and Grant's Cousin Sidney. Hike to Grovers Hot Springs and waterfall.

Thea, me, Gracie, Toby and Pepper. Grovers hike.

Britney Thompson (daredevil) cliff jumping on outing to Angora Lakes.

Jeff and Bo go to Chicago for Waddell and Reed Circle of Champions meeting. Side trip to Natural History Museum.

T-Rex exhibit. Most intact dinosaur in the world.

Chicago night scene from Lake Michigan.

Partners

Jeff and Thea take kayak outing to Lake Tahoe. Hidden beach south of Sand Harbor. Had it all to ourselves.

Very busy July. Started with the Lindstroms and Osborns ( Cori's Family) coming to Lake Tahoe. We let them stay at our condo at Lake Tahoe. (One way to get to see our grandchildren. Oh we got to see Jesse too.) We took a hike to the waterfall by Grover's Hot Springs. ( See Jesse's blog for more pics. http://mydelovelies.blogspot.com) We also went with for a picnic hike to Angora Lakes. We packed in the Kayaks and several of the more adventurous in the group jumped the cliffs. We also took in an Aces baseball game.

Bo and I went to Chicago for the annual Waddell and Reed Circle of Champions meeting. Lots of business meetings, good food, (Chicago style hot dogs really are something special.) We took a few fun excursions. A trip to the Field Museum, (natural history), a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan (compliments of Nationwide Insurance) and a Segway tour of downtown Chicago.

Yesterday Thea and I went kayaking on Lake Tahoe. Found our own little private beach. This on a day with a bazillion people on the lake.

Mssing Dad

2010-06-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

How I remember him best. Cheerful

Anniversary picture with Mom

1978 in Machu Pichu Peru. Mom and Dad came down to South America to pick me up from my Mission

Dressing up for a costume party in his Dress Blues

Dad built a shopping center in Orange. Made him a small fortune and a photo 0pp with Miss Orange. 1978

Dad coached me in little league. Dad on the right. I'm the first kid on the left, back row.

For many years we made an annual guys trip to Strawberry Lake in Utah.

Me and Dad in Springfield Virginia 1957 or 58

In 1948 Dad bought a Piper Super Cruiser and he and mom flew from Cherry Point NC to Anchorage Alaska. Mom didn't like the trip so much so for the trip home they sold the plane and bought commercial airline tickets.

Dad was in the Marine Corps first fighter jet squadron 1950s

Dad and his twin sister Louise. 1926 age four

Dad and Louise age six 1928

This picture was taken in WWII somewhere in the Pacific Theator He flew Corsairs.

Wedding reception picture Dec 30, 1946, East Garland UT

Wedding reception in Los Angeles in his Dad's and Aunt Maime's home 1947

Living the high life in Washington DC. Dad worked in the Pentagon.

Father's Day always makes me miss my Dad, so today's blog is dedicated to him.

Dad grew up in a small farming community in Southern Utah called Kanosh. His parents divorced when he was six and he split his time with his mom in Kanosh and his dad in Salt Lake. His Dad had a milk route that he helped on. In High School he played in the band and was on the wrestling team. In College he went on to be the State Champ in his category. He also played in a dance band and played the bass fiddle and tuba. When WWII broke out he was working as a carpenter in Delta Utah building concentration camps for the Japanese. He originally enlisted in the Navy but ended up in the Marines as an aviator. He flew dive bombing missions in various battles in the South Pacific. He had an occasion to fly with Charles Lindburgh once and Pappi Boington on another occasion.

After WWII he married my mom, Darlene Grover. He stayed in the Marine Corp and served in the Korean War. He was in the Marine Corps first jet squadron and also flew in the Marine Corps first demonstration team. (Precursor to the Blue Angles). After Korea he collapsed a lung in a high G turn in a jet and was reassigned to fly transports. He flew between Los Angeles and Okinawa Japan. My mom and I spent one of his tours with him in Okinawa. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1963 and started working in the commercial real estate business with Mr. Harry Martin. In 1978 he started his own real estate business and developed some property in Orange and Riverside. I didn't see him much for the first six years of my life.
Once my Dad retired from the Marine Corps he was very involved in my life. We did little league baseball together. We took fishing trips. We did Indian Guides with the YMCA together. While in the Indian Guides we made an authentic Tee Pee and I giant kite. The kite was so big, it took 4 grown men to fly it. He was my Webaloes leader in scouts. He played the piano (most Whitakers do) and he supervised my piano lessons. Most of our family vacations were to visit relatives in Utah. But we'd sneak away just the two of us and go fishing. We built a shed together. I learned how to pound nails but was never very good at the carpenter thing. Then we built a screened in patio. Then we enclosed the patio. I never did get good at the carpenter thing. We experimented with a Hydroponic Gardening System ( growing plants in water). It never did work, but we sure worked hard at it.

He served in three bishoprics. I remember the bishop sayings once while dad was the executive secretary. "If Jim Whitaker says it will be done, you can count on that". He served as a counselor to Bishop Howard Barlow and Bishop Don Eggers. He had a great sense of humor. There was one time when one of the sisters was up in arms because one of the young women had wore a mini skirt to church. Rather than letting the situation escalate, dad said "oh good, lets all go look." Everyone laughed and the situation was defused. He served on the Stake High Counsel for two Stake Presidents and the The Physical Facilities Representative for the church for 11 years. That is probably some kind of church record in that calling.

He never really did retire. He always had some project or another going on. He liked to build things. Dad was always very supportive to me in anything I wanted to try. I always enjoyed being able to talk to him as I was starting my business. I wish he was still around to talk to.

Happy Father's Day

magic flight

2010-06-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

In transporting us from Butchart Gardens to Whistler, the company chartered three float planes to make the trip. Marla even made the flight with no panicking or screaming. ( I don't think she looked out the window. The pilot asked if anyone wanted to sit up front to balance the weight. I didn't even wait to see if anyone else wanted to, I jumped at the opportunity. It is probably best that the other passengers could not hear our conversation. He said he hadn't flown to Whistler in years so we got the map out and figured it out. He had me look up the radio frequencies. ( He was probably just humoring me.)

Butchart Gardens

2010-06-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the trip for me was our trip to Butchart Gardens. Originally it was a gravel pit run by the Butchart Family. Over the years Mrs. Butchart converted the pit into one of the most beautiful gardens in the world. We were there for the early summer bloom of flowers. The gardens are a big tourist attraction and still run by the Butchart Family (grandchildren) along with 50 full time gardeners. Enjoy the pics.

Victoria British Columbia

2010-06-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Victoria

a little windy

Believe it or not, this is miniature diorama from the Miniature World Mueseum.

Mr. Hoffmeister had a big King Salmon on until a 300 pound seal came up and ate it. All that was left to real in was a head.

Fishing in the Straights of Juan de Fuca. Limit in Halibut and a couple of King Salmon.

Mr Hofmiester brings in a nice Halibut

Gourmet dinner at the Fairmont Empress Victoria. The chefs are making chocolate ice cream with liquid nitrogen.

British Columbia's Parlament building at night.

Victoria's Fairmont Empress

This year's Chairman's Cabinet meeting was in Victoria British Columbia. We stayed at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. It was built in 1908 and has plenty of beautiful Victorian British Charm. I went fishing with Jeff Feurstein and Brad Hofmeister. We caught a lot of fish and were never more than 20 minutes away from the hotel. We ate lots of wonderful food. We visited the Royal Museum of British Colombia which is on par with the Smithsonian. We had a fun time at the Miniature World Museum. Check out the next post for our trip to Butchart Gardens.

Trip to Dallas

2010-05-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Legends of History Aviation Museum at Love Field

Ellie, Natalie, Keith and Aiden Jeffery Fenstermacher
NOTE Aiden's middle name

Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster

Now that I'm serving on the Nevada Area Council Board for the BSA, I was asked to attend this year's Annual BSA Meeting in Dallas. Marla and I flew there on Thursday. Friday we attended a "Duty to God" Breakfast where Dr. William H. Willimon spoke of the United Methodist Church. David L Beck the LDS church General Young Men's President conducted. Dr. Willimon told a great story about how as a scoutmaster a young scout came up to him on a campout and was in tears because someone had taken his pocket knife that was given to him by his grandfather. They were staying in a cabin and Dr. Willimon lectured the boys about how a scout needs to be honest and trustworthy. He turned the lights out and said that whoever had taken something could return it to the middle of the room and that would be the end of it. Sure enough, after a few seconds he heard a plop in the middle of the room, only to be followed by plop, plop, plop, plop. When he turned on the lights, there was the pocket knife to be sure, but there were a couple of other knives, a Playboy, and some brass knuckles. Afterwards he was talking with the SPL and telling him he could not believe he had such boys in the troop. How could they possibly call themselves scouts. To this the SPL replied, "Why the hell do you think we are in scouts? If we could make ourselves better by ourselves we wouldn't need scouting." A great story and a great lesson. After the breakfast I attended the general business session and a couple of classes. One on BSA insurance ( I fell asleep) and one class on the 2011 World Jamboree in Sweden. How I would love to be a Scoutmaster for that. (Don't think that will happen.) That night we went to a very nice dinner with the other members there from our Council. At a reception prior to dinner we met Steve Holcomb, the Captain of the 2010 Gold Medal Olympic bobsled team. I talked to him for a little while. He let me hold his medal. (Very Heavy!)

Friday was the American Experience Breakfast and Ralph de la Vega ( current CEO of ATT Mobil ) spoke. He is of Cuba descent and came to the USA when he was 10 years old. After the communist took over Cuba. His family was planning to come to the US togeth, however there paperwork got messed up and at the airport they were told the five words that completely changed Ralph's world. "Only the boy can go". They decided to send the boy ahead thinking they would follow in a few days. It took them three years to immigrate to the USA. In the mean time Ralph lived with friends and relatives. His story was very inspiring.

Friday Night was the Silver Buffalo Awards. We saw Rex Tillerson the CEO of ATT, and the CEO of Exxon. We also saw President Thomas S Monson, the YM and Primary Presidencies at a special LDS reception. For the first time in my life I got to shake the hand of the Prophet.

Saturday Marla and I had a play day in Dallas. We went to the Air Museum at Love Field, and the Dallas Museum of Art. I bought some Luchesse cowboy boots. We had dinner with one of my first scouts 28 years ago, Keith Fenstermacher. He saw Marla's facebook page that we were in Dallas ( he lives by Plano a half hour away) and he contacted Marla through facebook and we arranged to meet. It was good to see he is continuing the Scouting tradition. He is getting ready to take a group of scouts to Philmont this summer.

After dinner we went to see a Broadway play. I had arranged to get ticket to Avenue Q. It thought it would be like Sesame Street because of the puppets. Boy was I wrong. It was an R rated version of the muppets doing La Bohem. I can not recommend it.

All in all a great trip. Met lots of great people. Got to see the BSA on the national scale. Had fun with Marla.

Jared and Erin in Los Angeles

2010-05-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

I had a week of work in Southern California and was was able to spend some time with Jared and Erin. They live in Los Angeles near the Hancock Park area ( very exclusive) but where they live it is Korea Town. Jared told me it is the third most densely populated area in the country. I believe it. Every available space has someone living in it. Their house was neat and clean and nicely decorated. (Erin to be sure) Since Jared is studying Horticulture at Pearce College there were plants everywhere. They even have a yard, it is immaculately trimmed with lots of flowers in boom and lots of trees. They are all trimmed so as to not take up much space and are around the edges but they have a lot of citrus and an avocado tree. Jared is busy with school, doing some landscaping work and learning how to surf. Erin works for an Artist and is working to promote his work. They seem to enjoy the big city life and the many different people. It was good to see them. I hadn't seen them since December.

My Favorite Gal

2010-05-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

With Jesse in Michigan, Christmas 2008

Trying out a segway in Vienna

Overcoming fear of hieghts on the Vienna ferris wheel

Mingling with the locals in Prague

With Sister Cyndie at childhood home

Favorite place in the world. San Antonio and the Alamo

We Jeff on the Mississippi, Navou Illinois

Easter 2010 with the grandkids, Grace and Grant

Feb. 2010 ski week in Tahoe Condo, Grace and Grant

Thanksgiving 2009 with mom, Sara and Thea

All gussied up for Genoa Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival 2010

Today is Mother's Day and I've been meaning to do this since her birthday. (this is third attempt due to computer issues) Today's blog is dedicated to my favorite gal , Marla.

Here are the things that make her happiest:
Time with grandchild, nothing puts a smile on her face more than this; anything Texas, and especially San Antonio; her 1967 restored Ford Mustang, teaching Seminar, even if just as a substitute, puppies, dogs, (but not the Horses, she threatens them with the glue factory); favorite food : hamburgers; favorite treat: a Dr. Pepper; favorite date: dinner and a movie; favorite place (besides Texas); London; favorite movies: British; favorite TV shows: Victorian English Period Pieces, usually on BBC America. She thinks she really should have been born in Victorian England, but only as Royalty. She loves sewing cloths for the grandkids, that is of course after she completed 90 pieces of clothing for the Douglas High School Madrigals costumes, worked on a few prom dresses and temple dresses for some of her Young Women from when she was YW President (5 years) or sewing up cloths for the missionaries or sisters in the Spanish Branch. She loves church service. Usually she will spend hours and hours on any calling she has, even the ones she doesn't like. Broadway and old musicals are another favorite. She is a big fan of the Aces AAA baseball team in Reno. She is also quite fond of our new 16 foot little Airstream travel trailer ( much to the kids disgust, she calls it the Sugar Shack) We have many places yet to see in it.

Here are things she does not like.
Bad knees due to arthritis, cooking except for the fact that we have to eat, running out of Dr. Pepper, ( she keeps a secret stash in the sewing room ), yard work, however she has become rather proficient in canning and storing the garden produce. While she is devoted to serving in her callings, she is not fond of hours to time on the phone it takes to organize church choirs in her calling as Stake Music Director. (She'd rather teach early morning seminary), doesn't like too cold or too hot. (She says she suffers from a perennially cold nose. I'm sure there are many things I do that tic her off, but the main ones I hear about are falling asleep on the sofa with the TV on and trying to sneak wearing the same shirt two days in a row. (She may not like to cook, but I always have a supply of clean, pressed shirts.) I've never heard her complain about any of the kids. Worry but never complain. She's the one they go to when they need to talk.

We've been best friends for 34 years, married for 30, through good times and bad, traveled the world together, worked in the church apart and together, (I was YM President for a while while she was YW President) and now we are able to do some things together. ( We were ticket takers at the Cowboy Poetry Festival and we are going to the Boy Scout National 100 anniversary in Dallas together.) She's a fine companion, a supportive wife, a good mother, an excellent grandmother, a faithful and devoted member of the church and my favorite gal.

Happy Mother's Day

Easter in Illinois

2010-05-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely week over Easter with Jesse and her family. The best account of the Easter activities is on Jesse's site. http://mydelovelies.blogspot.com/ But here are a few pics of the activities. Swim lessons, lots of ball playing and bike riding, great cooking, general conference, easter egg coloring and hunting, lots of book reading, and a trip to the Science museum in Rockport.

One more Transfer

2010-05-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have seen one more of our sisters transfered. Sister Kamisa Knuteson had been with us since September, quite a long time for one transfer. She was our first sister missionary to arrive here so it will seem a little strange not to have her around. She was a good hard working missionary. She came from a small town in Montana. We wish her the best.

Transfers

2010-03-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

For the last six months we have had the sister missionaries living in our home. They are a delight to have. It is like having daughters at home again. We have had Sister Camisa Knutson from Montana here for six months and Sister Molly Wornock from Wisconsin for the last three months. Sister Warnock is being transferred from here to Reno. We will miss her. She is a good missionary.

The Call

2010-03-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Rochelle Frogget was my very first interview as a Bishop. She was getting baptized and was eight years old. Marla had her in activity days as an eleven year old, then five years as a young women's president and her Senior year as a seminary teacher. She currently is working for us for a few months in my office. She worked for the office for two years prior to going to college. Here she is receiving her mission call to the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Very Cool!

What a great missionary she will be.

A Week Off

2010-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up on some bloging. The third week of February Jesse and Cori and kids came out to spend a week with us. Sara also came out from Provo for a few days. We spent 4 nights up at our Condo at Tahoe. We skied, we played games, we slept in, we ate mongolian barbeque and Hawaiian Fusion, we flew the Musketeer on a very bumpy sky (performing a maximum crosswind landing flawlessly), we drove Papa Jeff's new tractor, we read lots of books to the kids, fed the horses, played with Pepper and Toby to the point of doggy exhaustion and watched lots of Olympics. The Olympic viewing did tend to increase the downhill speed on the ski slopes.

We had a wonderful time and hated to say good bye.

Varsity Shoot Out

2010-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago Don Dixon and I started an activity in the Nevada Area Council for the Boy Scouts. A Varsity Shoot out for older scouts. We did the last one about five years ago and figured we'd pass the baton for others to carry on. So that was the last shoot out. We decided this year to resurrect the event. We started planning it, finding a location, recruiting a staff, and getting the word out.

The event was this past weekend. We had about 100 people in attendance. We had tomahawk and knife throwing, black powder rifles, 22s, and trap shooting with 12 gauge shot guns. We also had water balloon catapults. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. (We discovered too late that boys were going through the line 3-4 times and we ran out of food and had to go buy more. We went through about 3000 rounds of ammunition. For a little diversion we had the Navy helicopter rescue team fly in from Fallon and do a demonstration. We also had the K9 unit from Douglas County come and make a demonstration. Everyone seemed pretty happy with the event. We'll see how long it takes to forget how much work it was to put on and decide to do it again.

A bit of Hispanic Irony

2010-01-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

A bit of Hispanic irony. In the Hispanic culture there is a great admiration for Jesus Christ. (Jesucristo) They love Jesus so much that they frequently name there male children Jesus. This would not be disrespectful since the name of the Savior in Spanish is Jesucristo. One member of our Spanish Branch is Jesus Rodriguez. Another member of our branch is Cesar (Ceasar) Valedez. They both spoke in sacrament meeting today. I'm sure the irony was lost to the members of the Branch. But the gringo in me thought it very interesting in the eternal perspective of things to have a Sacrament Meeting where the two main speakers were Jesus and Ceasar

Ten years and still growng

2010-01-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago I introduced my business partner Donovan Jackson to the church and the missionaries. I was there when he was baptized. I ordained him an Elder. I was there when he went through the Temple in Oakland I was there when he was sealed to Heather Paterson in the Reno Temple and High Priest. I ordained him a High Priest and was there when he was ordained a Bishop. On Saturday he baptized his son Cody. It is very satisfying to see a life changed and lives blessed by his accepting the gospel and joining the Church. I can't wait to see what the next ten years bring.

Ok I'm in the Spirit now.

2009-12-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

December is always such a busy time. I do not find it easy to get "into the spirit of Christmas" I've seen all the TV specials dozens of times, even the new ones are just like the old ones. Shopping gives me a headache. I never really know what to give as gifts. There aren't any gifts that I really want that I can have. The things that do it for me are music and family. Jesse, Cori and the grand kids are doing the in law turn this year, so we won't see them for Christmas. I went to San Francisco on Friday and brought Thea home from college and Sara got in from BYU late Friday night. As for music, last Saturday we had our church Christmas party , a breakfast this year with a performance by the Tintabulations a bell choir that plays with the Reno Philharmonic. They were great. 12 members some playing as many as four bells at a time. Then last Sunday night I sang with the Methodists choir in a Handel's Messiah sing along. What incredible music and to think he wrote it in about two weeks. Then last Tuesday the Douglas High School Madrigals came to the office and sang to us at the office. (Probably had something to do with the fact that Marla just made all new costumes for them this year. 90 separate pieces of clothing.) I paid for the material so I got the concert. Doesn't seem fair. Today the church choir sang the annual Christmas program followed by the annual rendition of silent night complete with all of Helen Jone's string students playing violins and cellos. The shopping is done. The decorations are up. Sara and Thea are cooking up a Storm. Jared and girlfriend Erin will be hear for Christmas and I'm in the Spirit.

Grandma Bettie Goes Hard Rocker

2009-11-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

We have a family tradition of seeing a movie on Thanksgiving. This year we saw The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. It is the true story of Michael Lewis, who became one of the highest paid defensive ends in NFL history. He was a poor boy from the projects and got taken in by a wealthly white family in Memphis. He tested in the lowest 5% in all categories except being protective in which he tested in the top 2%. He was a gentle giant but figured out defense in football. A very good movie and a touching story. A great Thanksgiving flick.

Last night at Grandma Bettie's suggestion we went to Reno through a binding snow storm to see the Trans-Siberian-Orchestra. (eat your heart out Glasmanns) It is kind of a Black Sabath version of Manhiem Steamrollers doing Christmas Songs. We had tickets on the fourth row. We could see the swet on the guitarists upper lips, feel the heat from the pyro-technics, and tell when the violinists were faking it. Great light show, very loud music, lots of talent and energy and on occasion very lovely. Did I mention it was loud. At times I thought that maybe it was a little too loud and crazy for Grandma Bettie, but everytime I looked over to see how she was doing she had a smile on her face. ( She did pass out ear plugs to everyone around her.) Afterwards she said she loved it and it was a once in a life time experience.

A little perspective

2009-10-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it is the economic difficulties of the times or the fact that Marla has been sick in bed all week but I decided to commit the time to watch two classic films about hardship and oppression: Richard Llewellyn's "How Green Was My Valley and John Steinbeck's "Grapes Of Wrath". It was my first time with either story,due to my Southern California Public Education. I suspect the books would be better but the pictures and images were very moving. Llewellyn's story is set in a Welsh coal mining town. Grapes of Wrath is a story of a Oklahoma share cropper's family fate in the depression and dust bowel. Both stories were about hard times, corruption, and oppressoin. Recommended viewing for anyone thinking they have it bad in America today. Hopefully we will never see times like that again in this country but unfortunately that is how things are in other parts of the world. Count your blessings everyone.

A little visit to Illinois

2009-10-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

This past week I had Waddell and Reed meetings in Kansas City. Marla flew to Chicago on Wednesday and I came up after my meetings on Friday. We are staying with Jesse and Cori in their house in Freeport Illinois. Today we took a field trip to Galena. It is three miles from the Mississippi River on a tributary on the Galena River. At one time it was a very rich community with it's wealth coming from lead mining and river boats on the Mississippi. (Interesting how things change.) It was also the home of Ulyssis S Grant. After walking around down town and a delicious Italian meal we stopped in at the Apple River Fort. This fort dates back to the 1830s. Abraham Lincoln was stationed here as a 23 year old member of the Militia. We always enjoy seeing the country and hanging out with the grand kids. Their parents are OK too.

Yup the garden is done for the year.

2009-10-04T16:53:00.001-07:00

Actually there are still potatoes, carrots, and beets in the ground and gallons of apples still in the trees. Last night we had an unexpected snow storm. Six the eight inches of heavy wet snow. This was lake effect snow from Lake Tahoe, a rarity for us. The lake effect snow usually goes to the north to Carson City or Washoe Valley. Carson didn't even get any rain in this storm. October 4 is pretty early for snow in the valley. Of course our power went out and of course the back up generator didn't work. Goes right along with the broken freezer and washing machine this week.

Fall Harvest Project

2009-10-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

We have so many apples this year that I proposed to President Ogles of the Spanish Eagle Valley Branch of the Church that we have project to have the members make their own apple sause. (Pure de manzana) We would supply the apples and the goods to make apple sause and apple juice. They would pick the apples and work with Marla to make the goods. We had a good turn out and a good time was had by all. The idea of "food storage" is somewhat lost on the latinos. Marla and I were prepared to go into high production having each family take away 10 -12 quarts of apple sauce and a gallon of juice. They arrived late and after about an hour Marla told me they were done. (10 quarts done) I told them they had to keep going. At 10:30 we had to start cooking lunch. One of the Trujillos friends came and was a profesional entertainer in Colombia. He found my guitar and started playing and singing. So we had to listen to him and he was really good and then a little dancing and then it was time for lunch with more singing and entertaining. In the end we put up 31 quarts of apple sauce that they took with them and about 8 gallons of juice. (we drank one gallon) It was a successful activity. I think all had a good time. (Apples are not a big part of the hispanic diet.) So I still have about 100 gallons of apples on the trees.

The Hunt

2009-09-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

This past week I went with Don and Bret Dixon on a Deer hunt. In the Ruby Mountains. I have always wanted to explore the Rudys and I enjoy Don and Bret's company. So it was an outing. We left Sunday afternoon and drove as far as Winnemucca ( That's where the gas almost ran out so we stopped so as to not make purchases on the Sabbath) We camped in a truck stop in the Airstream. Monday we made it to our camp in the Rubys. We spent the next Three days looking for deer. The deer tags that Don and Bret drew were for Black Powder. We needed to be within a range of around 100 yards to be effective with the cap lock rifles we were carrying and we needed a buck. We saw about 40 deer over the course of the week. We usually saw them 2 or 3 at a time. If we were close enough to shoot them they were does. If we found a buck ( and we only saw about 5 ) they were too far away. So we didn't kill bambi. ( I actually was not that excited about shooting a deer. I was more interested in the chase.) We saw lots of country in the Rubys. We hunted the ridge tops, and aspen groves, the valley's and meadows. We found beaver dams and saw the mess beavers can make of the forest. We saw some antelope and golden eagles. At one point Bret had a mountain lion stocking him. His saw the lion and we saw his tracks circling around behind him. We suspected the lion scared the deer away so we left also.

We cooked up some good dutch oven meals. Chicken and Rice, Corned beef and Cabbage, Rib Eye steak and dutch oven potatoes.

Hunting is an interesting experience. There are two approaches and we tried them both. One way is to have one person walk through a thicket of aspen or pine nuts and try to flush out the deer. The other two hunters wait on the outside of the thicket to shoot the deer as they come out. The other way is to hide in a area where deer will pass through and shoot them as the pass by. We would split up to do this to increase our odds and success. This would entail waiting for hours by one's self and trying to be still and quite. In this setting it is amazing what can to seen and heard. It was so quiet that just breathing seemed to be a major racket. In this quite I could hear the cows in the valley miles below us. I could hear trucks on the road miles away. I would usually hear the deer's hoof steps before I would see them. In all of my time in the mountains I don't think I have ever spent hours just listening and watching.

Hunting won't be first on my list of things to do with free time. ( and it takes a lot of time) But, I enjoyed the company and exploring the mountains and living in the wild ( in an airstream) for a few days.

Sheriff Bob

2009-09-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well Deputy Sheriff that is. Our friend Bob Hines was just sworn in a Douglas County's newest Deputy Sheriff. The Hines family moved to the Valley a couple of years after we did. Their two boys Andrew and Tyler were friends with Jared and their daughter Allison is good friends with Thea. We have been in each others homes often through different activities in the Church. Bob has led an interesting career. He was 28 years with the phone company, many of them as a manager. He left Verizon and went to work for a motorcycle sales organization, when that didn't work out he sold Cadillacs and Buicks. In fact he helped me get a great deal on our Caddi. He was a great sales man. He always made sure the care was clean any where I went. In fact it was a little embarashing if I even got a spot on it because he would come over and clean it. When the economy went bad and the car business dried up he sold time shares up at Lake Tahoe. Everything he has done he has tackled with great enthusiasm. It has been a real example to me. After 30 years of work he has decided to go in a whole new career in law enforcement. Bob asked us to give him a charator reference and write a letter of recomendation. He is embracing this new direction with the same enthusiasm as always. Good luck and best success to Sheriff Bob.

The nest is now empty

2009-08-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took Thea to college. She is attending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. It is an interesting school in that the campus is downtown San Francisco. The University owns about 30 buildings downtown. They have their own bus system that connects the properties. Thea's dorm is the old Commodore Hotel. It was built in 1928 to house merchant marines in between sea trips. The University has converted it into a dorm. Thea's room is on the sixth floor. Her room mate is Ashy Johnson a Fashion Design major from Fresno. They both are the youngest and last to leave home in their families. Fortunately we were able to move her in on Friday because the elevator broke on Saturday. The AAU seems very business like and things were well organized for all the new students arriving. AAU has about 8,000 full time enrollment.

Work hard and good success to Thea!

La Boda

2009-08-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jesus Lopez and Cristal Mendoza from the Eagle Valley Spanish Branch got married. Jesus is a convert of five years and he brought Cristal to church and introduced her to the gospel. She was baptized last February. It is a great example of how the branch has blessed the lives of the Hispanics in the area. Next February they will be able to go to the Reno Temple and be sealed. President Ogles performed the ceremony to be followed by a six hour ( short by branch standards) reception with great food and dancing. We could potentially three families sealed in the temple next year.

An Eagle and an Antelope

2009-08-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

When I was Young Mens' President about two years ago, I had two young men that I wanted to see get their Eagle Scout award. Blaine Frogget got his Eagle two weeks ago. I was not able to attend because of a work commitment. Then last tuesday Scott Maxwell received his Eagle. He asked me to present his award. That would be eagle number 21 and 22 in my scouting career. Both Scott and Blaine gave me their Eagle mentor pin. It is my third. ( Adam Campbell was the first). No one in the Ward seemed to know what to do to get Eagle papers submitted so I offered to help Blaine and Scott with theirs. Blaine works in my office so I gave him the added incentive of no paycheck until his papers were in. He went about eight weeks with no pay but it worked. Even though I was released two years ago, I feel my work is now done in the Ward YM program. Scott Maxwell's Dad was one of the participants on the 2007 Wood Badge course. (Antelope patrol) He received his beads that night as well. It was a special night for the Maxwell family and I was very happy to be a part of it.

Dan and Bertha Bowman

2009-08-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

Fifteen years ago when we moved to Gardnerville, one of the first families we met was the Bowmans. I was assigned to be Dan and Bertha's home teacher. They both love to talk. Our home teaching visits would usually end with Dan saying, "you sure don't talk very much" and then Bertha would say "you never gave the poor boy a chance to open his mouth." This wa after about two hours. As it turned out we lived on the same block in Springfield Virginia. I was three years old at the time and Dan and my dad both worked at the Pentagone in Washington DC. They were not members of the church at the time and I'm not sure if my parents knew them but casually.

When I was called as Bishop of the CVII Ward, I had a very strong impression to call Dan as the executive secretary. I fought the feeling thinking we would never get anything done with Dan talking so much. I called him anyway and he was the best executive secretary I have every seen. He was remarkably quite during our meetings and only chimed in when asked for his input on something. He had dogged determination in lining up my appointments. One time he called me at work and said "Bishop I've been calling this person all day and they don't answer" This was around 10 in the morning and he was calling for a youth interview. I suggested he wait until they got home from school. Dan served in that capacity for five years and was my only executive secretary.

He and Bertha are both 88 years old now and they are moving to Monterey to an assisted living center close to their son Danny. We will miss them dearly. It feels like a chapter ending. I hate chapter ending. Best success to you Dan and Bertha!

Fruits of the Harvest

2009-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

So we plant a garden and an orchard. We dig, water, weed, prune, spray for weeds, spray for bugs, scare off the birds and finally get something worth eating. Today was canning day. Marla, her mom and me ( I was mostly the go pick and clean guy) put up 20 quarts of peaches and 20 pints of jams and jellys. (peach jam, plum jelly, and plum/apple jelly)

It's amazing how much work goes into getting a bottle of peaches. We could buy a number ten can at the store for $2.39, but there is something gratifying in going from dirt to finished product. There is a good lesson for life in the Law of the Harvest. One has to work before enjoying the fruits.

Across Nevada and back

2009-08-09T18:37:00.001-07:00

As the newly appointed Nevada Area Wood Badge Coordinator, and not sure exactly what my new job entails; I thought I would drive out to Ely and Camp Success to see how this year's Eastern Wood Badge Course was going and maybe help them break down the camp. This would entail driving across the state on Highway 50, something I have always wanted to experience. Highway 50 is described as the loneliest highway in America. This name has actually acted as a tourist draw and many people want to drive the road. Just past Fallon (home of many Whitaker relatives) is a real honest to goodness sand dune mountain, aptly named Sand Mountain. The dunes rise 600 feet off the valley floor and are built by constant winds off the Carson Sink where the Carson River disappears into the desert floor in one of the driest parts of the driest states. Of course it was raining when I drove through. Past Sand Mountain is the Middle Gate Pony express station. The old station is in ruins but there is a bar and sometimes a gas station. Just past the station is the famous (for these parts) hanging shoe tree. This is giant cottonwood tree, probably the only one for 50 miles. It has hundreds and hundreds of shoes hanging from it's branches. I don't know why, perhaps the proximity to the bar has something to do with it. The miles roll by and several 6000 and 7000+ foot passes go by and we ( me and Pepper) go through Austin and the town of Eureka. Austin has about 300 people has a higher elevation than Lake Tahoe and is part ghost town and part Landers County Seat. Eureka is an hour down the road and has about 1000 people. We are in high country now. The country is very scenic.

After 340 miles we arrive in Ely. Ely has 4,000 people and a few smaller towns in the surrounding area. It supports three wards of the LDS church and is about 25% LDS. It is closer to Salt Lake than to Vegas or Reno. Certainly the biggest town since leaving Fallon and 259 miles. From Ely we headed up into the Schnell Range of Mountains reaching almost 12,000. The Scout camp was at about 8,000 feet. We passed through typical high desert chaperal, then aspens, then pine and fir forests. The vegetation was very lush at the camp. The grass in some places was four feet tall.

The Wood Badge course appeared to be a great success. The Council had 65 participants and 43 staffers at the two courses this year. That is probably a record. At the closing assembly I introduced Liz Finley as the Course Director for 2010. Then is was repeat the drive in reverse. We got home about 10:30 PM. I was very tired but enjoyed the chance to see the state almost from the west to east borders. I saw a band of wild horses, poney express ruins, along with pioneer ruins, ghost towns that were once thriving mining towns with populations bigger than today's Gardnerville or Minden. We passed through valleys completely unpopulated for a hundred miles and some of the last open range in the country. Lots of time to think, sing to Pepper, ( so to stay awake) and listen to numerous recorded blogs and a new Clive Custler book.

nauvoo pictures

2009-08-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, all of Jeff's readers. This is his girl- Jesse. He asked me to send him some pictures from our recent adventure in Nauvoo and the quickest way for me to cyberspace them was to hijack his blog. Enjoy!

At the Lands and Records Office

Pioneer Passtimes

In the Seventies Hall

Joseph Smith's clerical office in the Red Brick Store

The Mansion House

Lucy Mack Smith Homestead

The Nauvoo House

Lucy Mack Smith homestead, from behind

The Temple from Parley Street

Statue at the end of Parley Street

Room where RS was organized

Pioneer Memorial at the end of Parley Street

Sunset on the Mississippi

Demonstrations at the Family Living Center

Parley Street looking out onto the Mississippi River

Parley Street

Before and Now

2009-07-18T16:28:00.001-07:00

For the first time in 25 years I have not have boy scout summer camps , 50 miler, Wood Badge, NYLT, youth conference or other things taking up my Saturdays for the summer. So we have a pretty good garden this year. Marla and I are eating most of our dinners from the garden. So far we've picked lots of different kinds of lettuce, peas, beans, squash, ( I'm convinced that squash could end world hunger.) Onions, potatoes, (Yukon, and Russets). Still to come are tomatoes (please), mellons, corn and peppers. Notice that Thea is working in the garden. (Upper left hand corner.)

Philadelphia and $150,000,000

2009-07-05T19:29:00.001-07:00

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This year's Waddell and Reed Circle of Champeons meeting was held in Philadelphia. Bo, Ted and I went to attend. We had business meetings in the morning and had some free time to see the sights in the afternoon. We went to Independence Hall and walked the same halls as Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and all the other founding fathers. The building and rooms were interesting but no more impressive than 100 other old buildings. What was awe inspiring was being in the place were the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. We also saw the Liberty Bell and went to the National Constitution center. We went to the Philidelphia Museum of Art ( of Rocky fame). One evening we were free so we looked up Jake Peterson who is at the University of Pennsylvania on a football scholarship. We took him to an all you can eat Italian dinner and we all ate too much. Then Jake gave us a tour of the University and of course the football stadium. Someone had the ridiculous idea of climbing to the top of the stadium. Of course we did it, full stomachs and all. The view was great from the top.

While at the conference I was recognized as having achieved $150,000,000 in career investment sales. I was the only one to reach that level this year and I think the third in the company's 70 year history. I was surprised that I was given a standing ovation for the achievement. It took 30 years and a fantastic team.

Thea's Graduation

2009-06-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

The last of the kids to graduate high school. Unless a grandchild ends up at Douglas High School, we will have little need to spend much time there any more. I didn't get a seat, couldn't really see, or hear, but I did get a couple of photos.

Isle of Capri

2009-06-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Probably my favorite spot on the trip was the Isle of Capri. It is in the Naples Harbor and about a 20 minute high speed boat ride from Sorrento. It was home to the Roman Emperor Tiberius and Octavious two thousand years ago and was home to the Greeks before them. We took a ski lift to the top of the Island where the views were incredible. I made an investment in Walnut coffee table inlaid with several other color woods in a beutiful pattern. I hope it becomes a family hierloom.

Porto Fino gateway to Genoa

2009-06-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

As modern and cosmepolitan as Monte Carlo is Porto Fino is small and midevil. A beutiful little Italian Costal Village.

Monte Carlo

2009-06-09T20:11:00.001-07:00

Home to the Grand Prix, they actually run the race down all the main streets of the city. Monte Carlo is the prime city of the Principality of Monaco. Monaco is a country that is 1 1/2 square miles. (one half the size of New Yorks Central Park). It's thirty two thousand inhabitants either must have a six generation Montequesan bloodline or have passed a stringent financial statement review and background check. They have 10,000 security cameras and 500 police so there is virtually no crime. You're caught on camera before you can get away with anything. There is very expensive real estate. A small 900 square foot apartment can set you back one million dollars. It is home to the Casino Royale of James Bond fame. A very fun pass time is to sit out side the Casino Royale and watch the parade of Masaratis, Aston Martins, Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royces parade by. There are some pretty nice yaghts as well

Livorno, Florence, Pisa

2009-06-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

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Livorno was our first stop on the ship. It is mostly an industrial port city that was largely destroyed in WWII. There is little historical value left, but it is a short bus trip from Florence and Pisa. Florence is a Mid-evil city. It is home to the Statue of David by Michael Angelo, possibly the most perfect sculpture ever done, (500 years ago) There are also several remarkable sculptures throughout the city. Pisa is very old , (700 years old) and yes the tower really does lean.

Rome 2009

2009-06-08T20:36:00.001-07:00

This year's Waddell and Reed incentive trip was an Italian Riviera Cruse starting in Rome. I'll make several posts of our various stops and finish with some over all reflections. We took the trip with my secretary Janelle Wilcks and her husband Todd. Sara and Thea came with us as well. We toured for three days in Rome before joining up with the Waddell and Reed group on the Azamara Quest.

On arriving to Italy we checked into our rooms and set off to see the Pantheaon built over a thousand years ago by the Romans. The Dome is still standing and we could go inside. The dome is 142 feet high and exactly 142 feet accross. The next day we hooked up with our tour guide Claudio and went to see the Vactican. We toured the Vatican museum, saw the Sisteen chapel painted by Michael Angelo and we saw St. Peters Basillica, probably the biggest and grandest church ever built. Then it was on the the ancient Roman Collosium, and the Roman Forum. Imagine a modern stadium that could seat 50,000 all covered in Marble. The Popes took all the marble for their churches hundreds of years ago and some of the walls of the Collosium have colapsed but it is still a very impressive sight. We also saw the Burgese Galleries but no pictures were allowed inside.

Silver Springs Fly In

2009-05-16T22:06:00.001-07:00

Normally the Silver Springs Airport is a pretty deserted strip in Northern Nevada, but for one week end a year it turns into a pretty busy little place. Don and I flew there for the annual fly in. They have military fly overs, hot air balloons, music and food and lots of planes coming and going. To intice pilots to bring their planes, they serve a free pancake breakfast for pilots. Don and I were the second to arrive after an ultra light. They had ramp marshalls just like in the big airport to help park all the planes and a local air controler. We were welcomed by four children who directed us to the registration area, after climbing around in the Musketeer for a while.

We finished our pancakes, watched a few planes fly over and land and then a twenty minute flight back to Minden. It was a great way to start the Saturday.

Time in Illinois and South Carolina

2009-05-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

I needed to be in South Carolina for our President's Council meeting. The meeting is on Dafuskey Island and is impossible to get to in one day from Reno. So I decided to stop over for a few days in Illinois and see Jesse and Cori and the kids for a few days. It was great. Gracie and I made projects from her coloring book, Grant and played catch with any round object that could be found. We took a day trip to Galena IL. There we saw President Grant's house. We went to Debate Square in Freeport, where Lincoln and Douglas had their famous debates on slavery. (You can see Grant and Grace trying their hands at oratory.)

Jesse took me to Chicago and then on to South Carolina. President's Council meetings consisted of meetings in the morning, golf or fishing in the afternoon and then the five hour dinners. Pictured is Waddell and Reed President Tom Butch and the Red Fish he was quite proud of.

Easter Sunday.

2009-04-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

A busy Easter. Started at 7:30 this morning setting up for my sunday school class. Then 8:30 administered a blessing to the Rivera baby Ricardo. He is having open heart surgury tomorrow in Las Vegas. My hometeaching companion Jorge Morrocho was recently ordained an Elder and performed his first blessing. 9:00AM choir practice for another one of Helen Jones' miracle performances. (A miracle performance is one where we never get right until we actually perform it in sacrament meeting.) 10:00 AM Sacrament Meeting. The choir sang twice and yes the nailed the song. Well we nailed the second song, screwed up the first one; the easy one. We sang "The Heavens are Telling "by Mendelson; one of my favorites but a very difficult tenor line. Right after the song, I was assigned to be the closing speaker. (Talk listed below)(Judy Keele was the first one.) While I was catching my breath from the song I was desperately trying to reduce my 20 minute talk down to 10. After Sacrament Meeting I taught the Gospel doctrine lesson on Joseph Smith. Then I fell asleep in the lesson for priesthood. We had Roy and Jonathan Rivera over to Mom Bailey's for lunch. They'll be staying with their aunt while their parents are in Vegas with Recardo but we'll be keeping an eye on them. Then home for a well deserved two hour nap.

The Resurrected Christ
I hold in my hand what is commonly know as a tuber. It is part of the root of an Iris flower. It was dug up out of our garden over a year ago and has sat in a bucket for most of the past year. It has been frozen several times and by all appearances is quite dead. Yet this tuber and its cousin the tulip and onion if planted in good soil and given an amount of light, heat and moisture will burst from the ground and grow into a beautiful flower. I do not understand the science of it. Perhaps Sister Gardner who is a biology teacher could explain it. To me it is a miracle. It is the dead coming back to life. I do not understand it and can not explain it. I have seen it happen every spring as the flowers and tree blossoms burst forth. I think it is significant that this is the time of year that the resurrection of Christ took place. This miracle of life renewed gives us hope that through the resurrection of Christ we too can have the miracle of life work in us and be resurrected as well.
Alma gives us a description of the process.
Alma 40: 23 The asoul shall be brestored to the cbody, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a dhair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and eperfect frame.

We can retrace the events of that first Easter Morn.

Those women who had been so devoted to Jesus were going to the sepulcher on the third day after his death. The Jewish Sabbath had ended and they were probably intent on a more thorough wrapping and embalming of the body. Matthew describes the scene.

Matthew 28: 1 aIn the end of the bsabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for athe bangel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 aHis bcountenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 aAnd the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is arisen, as he said. Come, see the place where the bLord lay.

The women went and informed the apostles and John and Peter ran to the sepulcher. The women followed. On verifying the Jesus was gone the women and apostles left the scene. Mary Magdalene lingered at the sepulcher. She was soon to become the first mortal to view a resurrected being.

John 20:
11 ¶ But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two aangels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and asaw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, aMaster.
17 Jesus saith unto her, aTouch me not; for I am not yet bascended to my cFather: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my dFather, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Later that morning the resurrected Lord appeared to the other women. Then in the evening of that Easter day Jesus appeared to the assembled apostles.

19 ¶ Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were aassembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and bstood in the midst, and saith unto them, cPeace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his ahands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they bsaw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my aFather hath bsent me, even so csend I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
.

The Apostle Thomas was not present at that time. He was having difficulty believing all of the events that had transpired.

24 ¶ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the aprint of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 ¶ And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and athrust it into my side: and be not bfaithless, but cbelieving.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast aseen me, thou hast believed: bblessed are they that have not seen, and yet have cbelieved.
30 ¶ And many other asigns truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not bwritten in this book:
31 But these are awritten, that ye might bbelieve that Jesus is the cChrist, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have dlife through his ename.

The resurrected Jesus did not stay on a permament basis with the disciples but he made at least 11 documented appearances over a 40 day period. He ate and drank with them, helped them fish and prepared a meal, he taught them by the Galilee and in the mountain. On one occasion he appeared to over 500 disciples at once. One of those was the new replacement to the quorum of the 12, the Apostle Paul. He shared this with the Corinthians.

I Corinthians 15: 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ adied for our bsins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he arose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was aseen of bCephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was aseen of babove five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was aseen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

During his time as a resurrected being , the Savior organized the church with the leadership plan we still use today, he set up the church in various regions as communities or as we call them today, Wards. Bishops would be called, and the order of the Aaronic and Melchizedek were established. The apostles were tutored in the Celestial Law of Economics and the blueprint for a Zion Society or what we call the Law of Consecration was established. Instructions on Temples and Temple ordinances were given. Finally the Apostles were instructed about the apostasy and the restoration. Much of the instruction the apostles received is not recorded directly but we can draw a conclusion based on the work of the Apostles after the ascension of Jesus.

In the first chapter of Acts of The Apostles we read of his ascension.

Acts 1: 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was ataken bup; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into aheaven? this same Jesus, which is btaken up from you into heaven, shall so ccome in like dmanner as ye have seen him go into heaven

If we had more time we could review the visit of the resurrected Lord to the Nephites, his “Other Sheep” in the Americas. It is a beautiful account and deserves serious study, but we have the witness that He appeared to around 2500 individuals.

Today we have the witness of 12 modern apostles, special witnesses to the resurrected Lord. On January 1, 2000 they published a document entitled “The Living Christ”. In part it reads:
He rose from the grave to “become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10).
Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: “His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
“I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:3–4).
Of Him the Prophet also declared: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24).
We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earth—“built upon the foundation of … apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).
We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every

knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.
In 1985 I felt the witness of the spirit as to the reality of these modern day apostles as special witnesses of the Savior when Bruce R McConkie bore his testimony in April Conference, just three days before his death.
Bruce R McConkie: And finally, before an empty tomb, we will come to know that Christ our Lord has burst the bands of death and stands forever triumphant over the grave.
Thus, Creation is father to the Fall; and by the Fall came mortality and death; and by Christ came immortality and eternal life.
If there had been no fall of Adam, by which cometh death, there could have been no atonement of Christ, by which cometh life.
And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.
I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.
But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Woodbadger takes the plunge

2009-04-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday our friend Dave Lorman in Elko was baptized a member of the church. I first met Dave in 1999 when he and I were on Staff together for a Wood Badge course at Fuller Lake. He has been on nine Wood Badge Staffs, most of the same ones that I have been on. His wife Reta has been on staff as well including a Course Director in 2006. She is an active member of the church. I guess a lot of good people rubbed off on Dave until he decided to take the plunge and be a member as well.

His son Travis baptized him. It took three times. ( Dave is a big guy.) We had about 10 there from different Wood Badge staffs. It was a long day to drive to Elko and back in one day but I think it was worth it.

It begins

2009-04-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Time to start work on the 2009 garden. I always have plans for a bigger and better gardern every year. This year is no different. (At least I'm getting better at making straight rows with the roto tiller. Today I planted yellow onions, Gold Dust Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potatoes and Mary Washington Asparagus. The strawberries and starting to come back.

Jared pruned up all the trees in the orchard and they look really good. Here are a few pics of the progress.