What fun...families!

Wow!




Nothing ages a person more than seeing the children they raised as adults. Not only as adults but as responsible adults.




Wow!




Is it self serving in saying we did a great job in raising them? Ok- I was present during the course of those years. I did have some input...but the credit goes to their mother. So when I state that "we" did a great job raising them I am inferring that I was riding the coattails of my wife and stood back- and try not to screw anything up. There were moments when I almost failed in that task...but thank-heavens my bride had the strength to overcome my weaknesses.

This past week Mar and I spent 5 wonderful days with our children. The occasion- there shouldn't have to be occasions to visit your children but I digress (it is a topic to discuss at a future time)- was our youngest daughters graduation from BYU with her Bachelor's in Science in Nursing. It was a wonderful.

Since leaving high school Bri has been very productive. She has gone to college, served a mission for our church, and been to Ecuador for a month to apply her skills. What a busy life. Pictures will follow.

Random thoughts

This morning, in the elevator at our hotel, I had an opportunity to meet a gentleman who was staying at the University Hotel. In our short trip from the 8th floor to the lobby and then from the lobby to the parking garage I was able to glean a nugget from this man.

In the course of 3-5 minutes a lesson was learned.

We entered the elevator at the same time. It was about 6:30 am. It was still dark outside. I was carrying my backpack, my suitcase, my college computer bag and my binder that had my brand new, special tie (another story at another time). He entered the elevator empty handed. Indianapolis is hosting the NCAA Midwest Regional Final and my assumption was that he was here for the occasion. I asked if that may be the occasion of his being at the hotel. His words were kind, perhaps a little wistful. He let me know that he would love to attend the games. He had been a teacher and coached basketball for 25 years. He wasn't there at that time for that reason.



A lesson learned.

This gentleman then told me the reason why he was there. His wife has been through a lot in

their years of marriage. She had struggled and lived through breast cancer, had a heart attack and survived, and also had a stroke and continued on. Now she had a new challenge to battle. She had been diagnosed with a frontal lobe dementia of some type. It was a disease that was causing her frontal lobe to shrink, causing dementia. They were at the University Place Hotel because IU Med School had her in a study. The school was footing the bill for them to stay there. Here was a man who has seen his best friend's health diminish over time and was still, on that early Friday morning, cheerful and willing to share with a complete stranger.

I was amazed at the courage of not only him but also his wife. Some could say that they are grasping at straws- hoping, by being part of the study, that additional time could be squeezed out allowing them to be together- "till death do us part."I saw a man, probably, who had seen his wife go through labor pains in bringing forth children and in doing so standing by, wringing his hands knowing all he could do was give support. Here he was, again, in a similar situation, wishing, perhaps, it was he going through the pain. Hoping to understand, if just a little, what his wife was going through. I didn't see a man desperate- I saw a man with hope, grateful that his best friend was courageous enough to share her condition with the medical community with the hope that by learning from her others may not have to suffer the same as what they were suffering. Here was a man who had hope.

3-5 minutes. A lesson learned. A man who was still a teacher in an elevator in Indianapolis...jsf

The difference of one letter

We live in some exciting times.

For the better part of this week I have been absorbed in thought, pondering the events that have occurred. I have been trying to determine how to phrase the thoughts that are racing through my mind. Harnessing those thoughts and placing them here in a logical, non-confrontational format is my challenge.

The difference is the letter "e". A vowel which stands in position 5 in the English alphabet. It doesn't stand out as some of the other letters- like z or w. It isn't even a "sometimes" like in "...a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y". None threatening just "e".

Vigilant. Dictionary.com defines it as thus: 1) keenly watchful to detect danger; wary or 2) ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.

Over the past month or so our congress has passed a bill that was pushed through congress with little thought as to what was in the final version. It was a bill that was over a 1,000 pages long. No one read through it completely. The people that we elected to be vigilant, those that we hire every two and six years, failed in being vigilant. They did not do there jobs. So what did they do?

One letter- the letter "e".

Vigilante- noun- 1) a member of a vigilance committee or 2) any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime. Adjective- 3) done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures. (Dictionary.com)

Knowing that our representatives are not watching out for our best interest what are they doing? At the beginning of this week the headlines have been blaring about AIG and bonuses that were going to be given or already given. Congress, the media, the White House, everyone was jumping on the bandwagon.

Legal contracts were in place and congress, in their vigilante mentality, were trying in some manner to get that money back.... but they do so with the possibility of violating the constitutions that they swore to uphold. For those of us who may have forgotten what that is just a small reminder. Article 1 Section 9 of the United States Constitution states "No bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." In other words laws can not be passed specifically to attack something that has already occurred. These are contracts that are legal and binding. It is a precedent that should not be set.



A bandwagon that could become extremely large as they create a net that could bring in many others as well...for example....(end of part 1)jsf

Realizing the blessings we have...

Yesterdays announcement of the tragic accident of Natasha Richardson and her current status struck home yesterday...struck home hard. For those who may have not heard Natasha Richardson is an actress who was in the remake of "Parent Trap" with Lindsay Lohan back in the late '90s. She was well known in New York for her stage work and won a Tony for her work in Caberet.

What happened? She was learning how to ski in Canada. During the course of the lesson she had an accident of some type and appeared ok. An hour later she started to complain about not feeling well. Her conditioned worsened, tragically.

Why do I bring this up? Last Novemeber my bride was involved in a serious car accident. She was at a traffic light, completely stopped, when a car slammed into the back of her car. The driver of the other car had been distracted and because of that did not attempt to slow down. It is estimated that the person who hit Marcia was doing 50-60 mph. Since she didn't use her brakes the car behind her then hit her and Marcia's car was hit again.

My bride doesn't remember that night. Fortunately angels watch over her and a dear friend called her as she was driving home. He was able to recognize that something wasn't right and stayed on the phone until she made it home. Marcia doesn't remember much of the next few months...Christmas came and went, children home for the holidays- it was a blur.

Months lost... but not my wife. For that I thank God...

For Natasha Richardson's family...remember her and them in your prayers...jsf

(The announcement of Natasha Richardson's passing away happened after my initial post- may the family realize that it is only a moment- there are opportunities for reunion- http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/ remember them in your prayers...jsf)

It is St. Patrick's Day

It is a celebration of who you are...it is nice to celebrate that with out the worry of others judging who you are might be.

It is the one day where every one has found a bit o' the Irish in them... it is only a day.

Today I have promised myself to be upbeat and remember that it is a joyous day--- so with that I will...jsf

Yes, Virginia, There is a....

In two days our home is going to be full again. My gorgeous bride's Christmas wish will come true as we welcome home our children. It has been a number of years since we have all gathered under one roof. Last year Brig and Bri were both on their missions. The year before that Kasi and Bri were on their missions. The year before that Kas was on her mission. It has been a good 4 or 5 years since we have had our bedrooms filled with our children. Mom and I are both excited.

The house is decorated with three trees. My job is to get the trees up and then...stand back and let the master decorator do her thing. I am in awe as our comfortable home becomes even more so. It truly becomes a winter wonderland.

At this time I feel the need to state my support for the jolly, old elf. You see, in my family, if you don't believe, you don't receive. So, in my ignorant bliss, all my children are coming home with the shared belief that, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." To my great pleasure, though, my wife and our children have incorporated the spirit of the old soul and has made it a part of their lives.

Josh and Brigham share their time and talents each weekend in a nursing home reading to the elderly. Kas has volunteered numerous hours and days to a political organization that she believes in. Brianna is serving in a capacity to help young women in her area grow and mature. She is also spending a month in the spring using her skills as a nurse in Ecuador. Marcia is officially on her second mission for our church. She is being used to help train teachers for parenting and marriage classes that are being offered by our church. It is a task that covers the state of Indiana and Northern Kentucky. (I'm her body guard and chauffeur!!)

Somewhere it is said that "it is better to give then to receive." That is the nature of Santa Claus, that is the Spirit of Christmas, that is the one of the purposes of life itself.

December 25th. A small babe in a manger became THE light on the hill. Lowly shepherds came to witness this miracle. Mighty wise men, from afar, came to pay homage to a young child. Angels sang at his birth. Jesus of Nazareth, King of Kings, Savior of the world...happy birthday.

If you have not found this small babe...ask.

jsf

The Mystiqie of Robin Hood

Emotions are central to who and what we are. Marketers ply there trade in playing on humanities emotions. Toy makers advertise in such a manner that children have to have the latest toy...or they'll "just die!!!" Phone makers are packaging their new phones as MP3 players, as digital cameras, as small computers, and even as phones. Charities are displaying disadvantage children to troll for more money for their organizations. Emotional manipulation is a full time business.

Robin Hood is the classical heart string player. The "rob from the rich and give to the poor" motto is what this thief used as his bow in playing his emotional violin. Please take the time to answer the short poll. I am interested in what people think.

The "Robin Hood" theme was played out in the 80s with a show called the "The A Team." It was a show of renegade military people rescuing the down and trodden from people who weren't quite legitimate. It played on the emotions of the underdog striking at organizations or people who were taking advantage of the down and out.

Fast Forward to 2008. TNT has a new show called "Leverage." With the exception of Timothy Hutton the cast is young. The concept is an "A Team" retread. The cast of characters in both show share some similarities. Each team has a "crazy" person. Each has an African-American. Each has male "eye-candy" and each has an older, wiser leader who runs the operations. It is Robin Hood modernized, again.

I always worry about those who start vocalizing their positions against big companies. I worry about those who say some people earn "too much" money. I worry about an organization that thinks that they should take money from those who have and redistribute to those who have not. I worry about a country where the Tree of Liberty is dying at it's roots. I worry...jsf