Bountiful Summer

Where I live, as in Ogden, practically everything I need is within a short walk to enjoy warm summer sun or rain.  I simply jog through parking lots for groceries and take a little sidewalk to church.  Unlike our beloved downtown Ogden, the civilized traffic on the main road I rarely approach in Bountiful sounds to me like ocean surf, recalling summers with my sweetheart Kay at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast.  The occasional demon driver punctuating the dream is understandable, as every city has one and tolerates him.  (Unlike surf, the intrusive noise pains my sensitive ears and soul in an otherwise serene summer.  However, I do miss the thrilling sound of fighter jets near Hill AFB.  God bless America!)

Typical of the Intermountain West, Bountiful is thankfully back to normal this summer, if you know what I mean.  Handshakes and hugs are not uncommon, few folks are fearful, and we see each other smile.  Neighbors in my senior community now eagerly gather every Monday for Music Evening.  This week we were entertained by the awesome Old Time Combo and refreshed by frozen fruit bars — just imagine.  South Davis Senior Activity Center (nice new name for our Golden Years Center) has the friendliest staff and again provides healthy dinners at 11:44 AM as they did in the good old days.  Our public library is conveniently located next door.  Also adjacent to the fun senior center is the impressive Bountiful Veterans Park, dedicated November 11, 2020 — especially inspiring at night with lights.

A clear view of the temple on the mountain above reminds us of everlasting life and loved ones who have passed to the other side.  I thank God for my peaceful Bountiful home and for our Kay at work in her heavenly home ... with love.

Phenomenal Families

In my opinion (and my sweetheart Kay agrees), our five children and their families are phenomenal (“very remarkable; extraordinary.”)  Having been born of and raised by amazing parents, our 23 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren are phenomena (“remarkable persons ...”)

A phenomenon can be a fact that is unexplainable or in question.  However, in this case (families), it stands to divine reason: God’s children who come to Earth are “trailing clouds of glory” and are blessed with special gifts.  Loving parents help them develop those God-given gifts, which in turn bless the lives of others.  (William Wordsworth, a gifted Romantic poet, was inspired.)

Two weeks before giving birth to a child, who was preparing for “this big event”, my young wife Kay wrote in her journal, “I hope this baby will be a sweet spirit and a real blessing in our home ...”  That hope was and is certainly realized.  There is no end ...

Backyard with a wild side

My wife Kay hand-wrote in her personal journal 9/18/1980: “... the biggest news!  We moved!  ...  One evening, after Ned and [realtor] Wayne Pope [Avenues barber who gave Russell Nelson’s son his first haircut] had been looking, Ned came home very excited and wanted me to see another [near] Holladay home.  9:30 PM ... we loaded the [3] kids in the car and went tearing out there.  ...  I was immediately impressed with the spaciousness and openness of the main floor, deck and huge back yard [with a wild perimeter, in our view] ...  The next day was Sunday ...  Mom and Dad were immediately impressed with the same features ... and back yard.  ...”

Our home on H St sold quickly for 3 times our purchase price, and we bought the home in East Mill Creek, north of Holladay.  “The kids started school there on Aug. 25th”, a week before we moved — rough few days for Kay.  Soon after the move, little friends on the block were running “all over the neighborhood and through our house and backyard all the time.  It’s quite a dramatic change for us.  Our boys love it, though.”  ...

“For Halloween, we let our boys invite all their new friends over for a party and [wild backyard] spider web hunt.  To our amazement, 25 kids showed up!  A couple of them weren’t even invited.”  Afterward we realized it was too much.  “The kids were all so hyper and hard to control, but in general it was fun, and I’m glad we did it ...” in our home and backyard with a wild side.