A couple in my ward returned from their mission in Africa. Sister Curtis mentioned the good Nelson Mandela has done for South Africa and rest of Africa. Although apartheid is still alive; Nelson Mandela has done much for uniting Africa. In Saturday's Salt Lake Tribune, The Associated Press quoted Learoto Moloi, which echoed what Sister Curtis said in church, "For many years now, South Africans have got along with one another largely peacefully without Mr. Mandela having been active in the political sphere. In fact, Mr. Mandela's passing may be cause for many to reflect on the remarkably peaceful and swift racial integration of many parts of society, including schools, suburbs, universities, and workplaces." Moloi also said "Mr. Mandela will be viewed by many as having played a pivotal role in creating such a society." I like the words Bishop Desmond that were quoted earlier in the same article "The sun will rise tomorrow and the next day and the next. It may not appear as bright as yesterday, but life will carry on."
I was a full-time student at the University of Utah when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Some of the students protested South Africa's apartheid by constructing shanties on a piece of lawn between the Union and Orson Spencer Hall that faced the Marriott Library. The intent of the shanties was to leave them there until apartheid ended or Mr. Mandela was released, but the shanties were long gone before Mr. Mandela was released. The students may have also been protesting the support that American companies were investing in the South African government. Even though the mission of the student protest may not have been realized, it is a reminder of the global influence that Nelson Mandela had. I hope that Mr. Mandela's work will continue, not just in Africa, but here on American continents and the world. Racial, ethnic and gender inequality anywhere is unethical. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;" Doctrine and Covenants 18:10
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
November on Facebook
Someone on Facebook must have posted a 30 day challenge in which people would express their gratitude daily. I saw a few doing this and I thought why not. So I posted each day, starting on a Sunday and ended 28 days later on the 30th. This was my list.
November 2, 2013
November 2, 2013
"Gratitude is a sign
of maturity...Where there is appreciation: there is also courtesy and concern
for the rights and property of others."
It's the 1st Tuesday of November, so I am grateful to be able
to vote. (It was a city election)
"We must find time
to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives."
I forgot to thank one vet and that is my dad. He served in
Today I was able to notice the clouds and sun setting as I
walked to the bus. The haze has blocked the view that last 2 days. So grateful
for clear colorful skies.
I'm grateful for music. It has comforted me; has been an
inspiration. It has offered me smiles and opportunities to ponder.
I like the gratitude posts I see on Facebook. It is inspiring
and uplifting. Thanks to whoever started it.
"In ordinary life we
hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is
only with gratitude that life becomes rich."
"You pray in your
distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of
your joy and in your days of abundance."
Woke up, couldn't find my
other shoe until the last moment. Made it to the bus stop in time. Got on the
bus and it tried to die. But after 10 minutes, the driver revived it. While I
sat on the bus with others, I asked myself if it would be a bad day. Then I
remember the cliche "Never judge a day by the morning." The alarm
kept going off on the bus, indicating the bus still had issues as it continued
on the route. Thanks to the freeway portion on the route, I got to campus at 7:30 . I still had time to get breakfast at the Union .
Despite the rough start, my day was okay. So glad I had that cliche to set me
straight. "Never judge a day by the morning." — feeling good.
I like the gratitude posts I see on Facebook. It is inspiring
and uplifting. Thanks to whoever started it.
I am thankful I got home safely tonight. The route I took
home tonight goes past the mouth of Parleys Canyon
And I forgot the blankets that my sisters gave me and the
quilt my mom made me.
Usually on a Sunday morning, I pack lotion in
my scripture bag when I go to church. But because it was Stake Conference, I
took my iPad. It has another set of scriptures, a hymn book and a note app. My
iPad bag had just enough room for my cellphone, keys and a small package of
tissues. Before the meeting started, I had to visit the ladies' room. As I
washed hands, I noticed they seem dry. I realized that by washing again, my
hands would be more dry. I thought I would have to wear my gloves to combat the
comfortableness. But I never got my gloves out of my coat pocket. As the
meeting was ending two hours later, I realized my hands did not feel dry. It
was a small miracle and I realized again that God does hear the desires of our
hearts.
My cousins, David
Jackson, Shiloh
Jackson and Gayle
Jackson were
the inspiration for this. Thanks, guys, you saved my Monday.
"Acknowledging the
good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all
abundance."
Grateful for the times that my brother can be sane, understanding
and whatever else a normal person is like. I never know what to expect when he
calls or when I visit, but glad when he can be kind.
What are you thankful for? Instead of the usual status
question, this is the question that Facebook posed today. I am grateful that my
brothers and I had a pleasant visit with my brother in Idaho Magic Valley
And I am thankful that McDonald's was opened for breakfast
on Thanksgiving. It was such a nice little surprise. So glad for little
surprises.
"Got no checkbooks,
got no banks. Still I'd like to express my thanks - I've got the sun in the
mornin' and the moon at night."
"You could ask
yourself, 'How did God Bless me today?' If you do that long enough and with
faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes you will
have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know
were a touch of God’s hand in life.”
Friday, November 29, 2013
A Picture Can Create a Memory or Two
I was looking out the window one day when I saw what I thought was a funeral taking place in the corral. All the sheep and another cow in standing in line in one row. In front of them was a dead cow with his feet facing those who were paying their respects. Maybe those animals had seen my siblings and me perform funerals for our cats and dogs who passed on. And then, I wondered now if I really saw what I did. It has been a few decades since this happen and I never bothered to write it down, but I think I remembered telling one of my siblings. But whether it really happened; I do get a smile when I think about it. Farm animals have funerals?
Friday, November 22, 2013
50 Years
50 years ago, John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas ,
Texas
Although, it’s been 50 years, I still find that John F.
Kennedy has an impact on me. Maybe it is because I share a birthday with him.
But then I share a birthday with Bob Hope and that impact isn't there. Most of
my family (extended and immediate) is hard core Republican. So why do I check
out most of the stories about Jack Kennedy and sometimes his family? I think
that maybe as a child I was touched by the tragedy. And maybe his sudden death had an impact on me.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Kodak Moment with The Pie
On Friday of this week, the office called in an order to The
Pie Pizzeria, more commonly known as The Pie.
When our delivery arrived, someone commented how big the box was. We
ordered the giant size combo pizza. The comment reminded of my last year at
Blue Cross.
The division I worked in at that time was training our
replacements who were from Portland , Oregon Salt Lake University
of Utah
And so when I saw the giant box from The Pie, I had to take
a picture. It was a Kodak moment I didn’t want to pass up.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
The Joys of Sisterhood (or the joke’s on me)
My oldest sister, Mary took German while she was in high
school, which was one of the three foreign languages taught at Minico. Once after she told me to say “Ich bin
krank”, I asked her what it meant. She said it meant that my sister was sick.
So being the smarty pants I thought I was; I taunted my younger with the phrase
“Ich bin krank.” Laura, being the
youngest of us all, took a lot a grief from us. When I got to high school, I
decided to follow Mary’s example and take German. Ja! (Spanish, not German.)
Within the first month, I discovered that I had been telling Laura that estuve
enfermo. Mary!
Translations from Google
Ich bin krank = I am sick (German to English)
Ja! = Yes! (German to English)
Ja! = Ha! (Spanish to English)
Estuve enfermo = I was sick (Spanish to English)Saturday, November 2, 2013
What I learned on Criminal Minds This Past Week
Most Wednesday nights will find me in front of the TV,
watching Criminal Minds. Since it was Halloween, it involved a crazed witch
hunter. But Criminal Minds also focused on a lesser known holiday – Day of
the Dead. Penelope Garcia, a computer geek, who usually stays back in Washington
while the BAU (Behavorial Analysis Unit)team goes out into the field,
has the team over for a Day of Dead celebration. All the team members have lost a
loved one and one by one, the team puts a picture of a loved one on an altar that
Garcia had.
On Friday, I was passing through the the University of Utah Union building and I noticed a display of dressed up skeletons on a table; probably Catrinas.
That tweaked my interest even more. I had heard of Day of the Dead before, but
until Criminal Minds portrayed the event, I paid little attention to it. So I
looked up Day of the Dead on Wikipedia, a online encyclopedia. I learned that
the holiday has roots in Mexico
and it also celebrated in other cultures.
When Jay called from Idaho this weekend ,
I asked him if he had stopped to the cemetery. Since he hadn’t, I told him a
bit about Day of the Dead. The Magic Valley Idaho has a noticeable Mexican
culture, so I figured that cemeteries in the valley would be visited this
weekend. When he got to the cemetery, he called and told me that there were
some decorations up. He did mention pumpkins on some of the graves. I don’t
think all the decorations were for the Day of the Dead.
Although the holiday is over, I thought of who I would have honored on this Day of the Dead. My thoughts turned to my family, just like Garcia did in
Criminal Minds. I thought of my parents, but I settled on my cousin, Edward
Jackson. He died while I was still in junior high (middle school). I had lost
other relatives, but he was first relative that I knew who died. When his
family lived in Idaho , our
families would visit each other often. Often we would pair up with the cousin
who was closest to our age. Lou Jane and I would play with each other and Mary
and Emmalee would do the same. Although Edward was the oldest, he would hang
out with John, who was Emmalee’s age; while Mike, the oldest child in our
family would hang out with Bryant, who was just younger than Mary. Edward and
Mike attended Ricks College Southern
Colorado . I still miss Edward forty plus years later. If I were to
visit his grave this year in Manassa , Colorado
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Lighting Up The Night
Last weekend, I flew to Seattle
to walk “Light The Night” with my sisters and my nieces. I had done a similar
walk years ago in Sugarhouse Park Sugarhouse
Park Colorado ,
but I never walked any in any of the event. I didn’t even bother to register.
When Mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma last year, I looked up
the site again. But with stress of losing her, I forgot until after she died. I
was at a local fast food restaurant when I saw a flyer for “Light The Night” in
Sugarhouse Park
As autumn approached, I realized my goal of doing the walk.
But I wasn'tSalt
Lake Colorado ,
before deciding on the Seattle
area. I knew I could count on my sisters to support me. So I registered and made
reservations with Southwest, who has weekend getaway fares. My sister, Laura
formed TeamBoice and soon my sister, Mary signed up. Then Tracina and her
family joined in the fund raising efforts.sure if I wanted to do the walk in.
The day of the event was rainy, but then what can you expect
of Seattle . Bill, Laura’s husband,
drove us there. He checked out the free food while we picked up our t-shirts and
lighted balloons. Bill highly recommended the clam chowder, which was very
good. Mary got sick, so I picked up her t-shirt and balloon. I thought one of
her granddaughters could carry the balloon. Eventually, Tracina and her
daughters got to the park. I gave the Bella and MoMo each a balloon, one for
each of their grandmas. (Their dad’s mom also has Lymphoma.) It was then that
Tracina told us the walk had been canceled. It wasn't the rain, but the wind.
We looked over and a large group of walkers were heading out on the trail. Even
though the event was canceled, no one discouraged anyone from walking around Green
Lake
Before Tracina and her daughters boarded the bus (back to
their car), I gave her my balloons (They gave away balloons free after the walk
was canceled.) to give her daughter, Vanessa. She had to work and she is quite
close to her grandmas. Laura, Bill and I left to see Isaac and his family before
we headed home.
Although the walk was canceled, I was glad I flew to Seattle
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Division
About five years ago, I was wandering thru the Campus Store
(more commonly known as the Bookstore) at the University
of Utah Utah
were evenly represented. I bought it and a matching tumbler. I kept the flag,
but I gave the tumbler to my friends, who are also a divided family. Grandma
Pugh, who had Alzheimer’s, didn’t like the BYU side of the tumbler like her
grandson, Jason did, a staunch BYU fan.
As it got closer to Thanksgiving, I hung up the flag in the
unit we live in. Jay, a dyed in the wool BYU fan, didn’t want it on the front
door, so I hung in the entry way. I can’t remember who won that year, but if it
was 2009, it was BYU. That year, Jay bought me soup and that was more painful
than comforting. In our household of two, the loser got the soup or some other
comfort food.
After the game, the flag came down and was packed away in
the closet until the next year. I am not sure if it came out in 2011, the first
year the rivalry moved to September, thanks to BYU going independent and Utah
moving to the PAC12. It didn’t come out in 2012 because of our Mom’s illness. I
didn’t get into the rivalry like I usually did. My cousin, Coach Jackson did
give me some grief on Facebook like he usually does. I was glad for that
distraction, even though I wasn’t into it that much. The day before the game, I
flew out to Seattle , to be with my
Mom once more. But Mom died before I boarded the plane. I had packed my “Utah ”
clothing, so I was wearing red on game day. Laura had to use Kohl’s coupon, so
during the game I was shopping. But my friend in Ogden
kept me posted on the score.
Two weeks before the game this year, Coach tagged me in one
of his post. Apparently he posted a BYU football photo in my honor. I was back.
It wasn’t until I posted a photo I took years ago, that I realized I was
enjoying the rivalry again. It felt good. I managed to tag family members on my
photo. All were tagged on the top half, except for Steven, my almost twin
brother. He attended BYU and Utah ,
so I did my best to get him in that middle part where it was white. But his
name showed up on Utah side with
me.
When Coach said something about BYU being on top, I knew I
had to get out the camera again. After a few shots, I finally got one that I
could post. BYU and Utah were
pretty much even in the landscape shot. It was easier getting Steven’s name
right smack in the white middle. Of course, Coach noticed and asked why. I gave
him some lame excuse, because I wasn’t ready to confess. I added a few more BYU
relatives on both of parent’s side of the family. I even posted Jason near the “Y”
and two of his sibling in the white middle. Jason’s sister has flip-flopped
quite a bit and Jared has been a fan of both teams. And besides, I knew I
needed to be the lone Utah fan in
the red part of the flag. It was sometime this summer that I realized I am the
only one in my family – paternal and maternal – that is not a confirmed BYU
fan. I’ve been bleeding red since my return to the Salt
Lake Valley University
of Utah
Even though, the Utah-BYU rivalry is on hiatus for two
years, the house is still divided. After all, the two teams will suit up for
basketball and other sports. The division will be less intense.
To be continued . . . in 2016.
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