Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Yesterday we ditched The Kids (who each had a "cousins' camp out" with their respective genders at Gma's and Aunt Lori's places) and WE had a HOT date on the golf course --and I mean hot, it must have been 95 degrees (with more humidity than I am comfortable with at course)! Genius Golfer, certainly, is always ready to play any round and 9 holes is like a warm up to him. Well, it has been probably 3 years since I played an honest to goodness 9 hole round with him--or anyone else for that matter. The real clincher in this deal for me was GG promised me lunch at the clubhouse and a Diet Coke refill before we played.

We get there just before noon and head into the clubhouse grill. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries, and the requisite Diet Coke. I hadn't had breakfast, so the burger tasted great! Fries are simply a delivery method for fry sauce, as Dear Friend Micheale says, and this fry sauce wasn't up to snuff. GG ordered some steak sandwich and fries and we sat to wait.

Just as the grub makes it out to us, a Golf Course employee--I think GG called him Steve--rounds the corner and calls out "Morning, Mr. Genius Golfer". He then walked on to his assigned post in the pro-shop and I started chuckling. Loudly, and with greasy burger in my mouth.

Genius Golfer smiles and says hello in a nonchalant manner, still gripping his steak sandwich.

"MR.?" I asked my beloved husband as soon as I had swallowed, with not so subtle sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Uh, well, yeah." He replies. Then he adds, trying to convince me of his position, "You know, I've been coming here for seven years and a lot of the same guys work here all the time. They get to know me." Now he is really starting to dig. "Plus, it is really no different than when you and your girlfriends go to The Barn. I am just a Regular Customer at the golf course."

I burst into audible giggles now. "Right," I assure him, "I get the R.C.-love factor here. But they do not call us Mrs. So-and-So at The Barn. We are on first name basis with our favorite burger joint employees." [Which, I know gentle readers, is actually pathetic in a greasy, cholesterol filled way.]

"Well," Dear Husband says, "He was just being professional."

That cracked me up all afternoon as I hacked the life out of my Nike Mojo ball. Genius golfer had a decent round, no surprise there, and we did enjoy an afternoon outdoors together. Good thing for me MY par for the course is 9 strokes at every hole. That gave me an overall score of 67--not a bad score for the pros, if I were playing all 18-- but I was 14-under par if you count my way.

Maybe I can call dear Husband, MR. Genius Golfer at home and I could get the same reaction as Steve! Nah. I'd probably have better luck just calling out "NORM!" when he walks into the kitchen each evening. Cheers!

Happy 4th!

I could talk 'til the cows come home about America, and still never be as eloquent or accurate as the folks quoted below. So, I'm checking in briefly, prior to a day at the course with Genius Golfer this afternoon, and leaving you Dear Readers in good hands. Happy 4th of July! Enjoy the day with family and friends, safely.


America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. --Abraham Lincoln

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. --John Adams

Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future. --Ulysses S. Grant

The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. --George Washington

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known. --Ronald Reagan

It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read. --Thomas Jefferson

Choice above all other lands...

As a family we survived the first batch of Isaiah, as quoted by Nephi in the Book of Mormon this past week and have moved onto 2 Nephi.

In the first chapter of that book, Lehi prophesies about a "land of liberty" and teaches us, along with his children, what must happen in order to obtain such a choice land.

In verses 5 through 9 he gives us some information and directions. Knowing, as we do, that he was referring to the "New World" and specifically America, do you remember what it is that we must do to "obtain a land for our inheritance"?

He teaches in verse 6 that "none shall come into this land save they be brought by the hand of the Lord". My great grandmother was mail order bride from Finland. She got here and then had to work to repay her passage. Unfortunately, she didn't care for the man who brought her over and instead fell in love with his brother and married him! For her opportunity, I am grateful! Plus it makes a great "pioneer" story in my family.

In verse 7 Lehi tells us that "if it be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given them, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity". We must obey the Lord's commandments. Many of are trying to do that, but the vast majority of our nation is not. This just adds to our responsibility to share the gospel with our friends and neighbors. How are we doing?

In verse 8 we learn that "it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations". Just over a year ago The Girl got the lead (Christoper Columbus) in the 6th grade musical. While she was preparing for that role, we talked about how Columbus himself wrote that he felt led, as if by the Spirit of God, to find this new world. Uhhh. Yeah. We could have told him that.

Finally in verse 9, we find out that "they shall dwell in safety forever" in this land if the inhabitants will be obedient and keep the commandments. I know there have been times when the safety of this nation was compromised, but according to this scripture, it is due to our own disobedience. We know what we need to do to have this blessing. Are we doing it?

The Lord did preserve this land for a reason, HIS reason. He lead and inspired patriots to plan and prepare a government upon this land to bring His purposes to light. We are blessed to be living here with those promises made to Lehi and his family still intact for us if we just listen and obey.

We sing "God Bless America" as almost a pleading prayer. He has blessed us and will continue to do so if we do our part. It can feel discouraging when you listen to the news or read the paper on any given night. But I know God's promises are sure and He will not forget us.

God Bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam. God Bless America, My Home Sweet Home.

Have a wonderful 4th of July with your family.

Abigail said it BEST

This afternoon a pair of Dear Friends and I, joined by our gaggle of children, took a field trip to downtown Provo to see the Colonial Village set up to celebrate the Freedom Festival. There were several displays, many colonial-dressed ladies, and some hands-on activities that our four year old friend, Kyler, was not allowed to touch. We heard about some very interesting things that took much longer than a 2-and 4-year old had the attention span to hear.

One thing I enjoyed very much was found in the Hall of American History. Along with a copy of the Constitution (hand written by the original's original calligrapher) there were several other displays emphasizing the importance of those early American colonists who put their own lives on the line to create this nation. One pair of framed letter fragments caught my eye. They were pieces of letters from John and Abigail Adams.

John Adams, the 2nd president of the United States, wrote prolifically to his wife and Abigail did the same back to her husband. They were separated for years of their married life while he was away on the business of the government--the Continental Congress to an appointment to France looking for an ally in the War for Independence. Their letters tell much of the story of an infant America. Their letters tell much of their lives as civil servants and loving spouses.

Last summer I read David McCullough's biography of John Adams. It read like a novel but was researched like a legal brief. From that reading, I found I really liked John and Abigail. They interested me. They intrigued me. And they inspired me.

In an letter Abigail wrote to her beloved husband in the early winter months of 1777, she expressed something that I remembered today during our field trip. She wrote, "Posterity who are to reap the blessings will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors."

She was right. There is no way I will ever comprehend the 'hardships and sufferings' of those devoted revolutionary men and women. Yet, I am a beneficiary of the blessings they provided. Today, I enjoy the blessings of citizenship, of the freedoms they procured and were determined to preserve. How can I ever repay their efforts? In actuality, I can't. I never will be able to come close to matching what they secured for me in this land.

The best thing I can do is be grateful for all that we enjoy in this country and then teach my children of the truly heroic and visionary men and women who sacrificed and dedicated themselves to providing a country unlike any other. Ever.

Thinking about what we enjoy in America, often thoughtlessly, it makes me want to fly the flag and wave sparklers every day. It makes me Proud to be an American. It makes me grateful for what we have and take for granted every day other than the Fourth of July each year. I hope my kids can get that same feeling of love and respect and awe for what our country has to offer. THAT is the best way I can think of to show my gratitude to the founding fathers and our other colonial ancestors for this marvel that they created for us, 232 year later.

Olympic Dreams

This week, following a fairly good showing by both The Kids at the Saturday swim meet, I have occasionally been on YouTube looking up Olympic Swim videos. THIS is why the Internet was created--for me to discover, on a whim, just what I want!

Do any of you remember the 1984 Summer Olympics? That USA love fest in Los Angeles, with all the communist teams boycotting us because we boycotted them four years before?! I was almost 15 during those games and I remember just eating it all up. Now, I can recall watching Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci in Olympics prior to this one, but that was still when I was young (and small) enough to be delusional about someday being a gymnast. And even though I cheered for MaryLou Retton and Peter Vidmar, by the '84 Games I was well on my way to understanding there was no possible chance of me EVER being a gymnast, or any other Olympian for that matter.

I have old photos of my sister, mom and I joined by several other neighbors at the end of our mile long street where it meets the state highway to watch the Olympic torch run by. It was pretty cool. What I remember best of those games though, happened at the Olympic pool.

Recognize any of these names? Rowdy Gaines, Pablo Morales, Steve Lundquist, Rick Carey, Matt Biondi, John Moffet or Janet Evans--sound familiar? OK, I know, Janet Evans was awesome at the '88 Seoul Games. In high school I didn't have many movie star crushes--except Indiana Jones, understandably --but I think the next closest thing I had was a pretty major crush on that Olympic gold winning men's medley relay team. Whew. They were fantastic.

Each time I watch my own kids, or the other kids on our city team swim, and they are doing their best, I get the same feelings deep in my gut. I am proud of them for their accomplishments. I am proud to see them do well, and I am proud of their sportsmanship. And, in a corny way, it makes me feel like I can do whatever it is that I do even better too. There is an element of "practice makes perfect" with swimming, like anything else. But as I watch my kids enjoying something I loved at their ages, it makes be feel closer to them and more connected as a family.

And really, who couldn't enjoy a little "old school" swimming remembrances when it conjours up some patriotic pride and a little swimming envy as well? Since the Beijing games are only about 5 weeks away now, maybe in August I will watch another set of Olympic pool sensations with my kids and find a whole new batch of swimming heroes.

End of the Month?!

Here it is, June 30th. How does this happen? Not literally, of course. I understand that each day is a different and subsequent date of the one before. Each month has the requisite number of days assigned and June happens to have 30.

What I mean is, where has the summer gone?! The kids got out of school on May 30th. They go back on August 18th this year. That is the earliest I can remember. But here it is the end of the the first full month of summer vacation and what have I to show for it?

This does not bode well for July which, having 2 holidays in it, plus The Girl's birthday, a Scout campout, a week of Girls' Camp and several swim team meets and activities, will slip from my grasp before I know it too. Is this what old people mean when they tell you as a punk kid that "You'd better enjoy it now, because the time goes by faster and faster as you get older"? Am I that much older?

I remember summer vacation going on forever. Of course, that was when I was a punk kid and had the whole day to myself to go about the neighborhood on my bike and play with friends, pets, fields, my imagination, until dinner and was called home to eat. Where did that time go?

I guess I had better make better plans for July or the whole month will be a loss. I think there is something to be said for unscheduled play time as a kid. I hope the same can be said for stay-at-home-moms in the summer. At this point, that is my only defense.

A Peculiar People alright!

In Sunday school today we had a discussion that stemmed from this scripture reference: Deuteronomy chapter 26, verses 17-19:

17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

The gist of the discussion was that as we obey God and follow His commandments we are going to be different from others around us who live a more worldly life. We are going to stand out and be PECULIAR.

Have you ever visited Utah? More specifically, have you ever visited Utah county? Peculiar is a very apt word to use. That isn't to say there aren't peculiar people in other locales but I live in Utah currently and as a transplant to this valley there are a lot of peculiar things about it.

More ice cream is purchased here per capita than anywhere else. If there is a line at the Gas 'n Sip soda fountain, 9 times out of 10 is is for the Diet Coke spigot. There are endless recreation activities outdoors among mountains and lakes and rivers. Yet a large percentage of locals never participate. Citizens here are very patriotic and declare publicly and proudly that they love America, but we consistently have low (like under 30%) voter turnout for elections and even fewer participate in caucus or mass meetings prior to county conventions.

I don't really think our Sunday School instructor was referring to these kind of peculiarities in our lesson today. But the topic itself struck me as ironic. As a people, as LDS people, we seem so anxious to be mainstreamed and accepted by others and other faiths. Yet we know that the understanding we have is different and we have an obligation to share it with those around us. That is a peculiar way to live.

Perhaps, we might be more effective examples when we come to accept our peculiarness and demonstrate the joy we find by living the commandments of God and being obedient to His word. Then as a Peculiar People we might also be the "light of the world" as Matthew teaches. In the meantime, we have to learn to just laugh at ourselves and not take it personally when others laugh a bit too. Maybe then we can offer a glimpse of what being peculiar means to us and how it blesses our lives and families.