Congrats, Annette!!

My good friend and neighbor, Annette, has published her first book! King's English Bookshop threw a catered soirée and book signing for Annette, Saturday evening to announce: Waiting for the Light to Change. I bought a book that night, thus I haven't finished reading it. But I can say, "So far, so good!!"

Annette was an English teacher at Murray High School for many years. She took early retirement to pursue her love of writing fiction. (Her husband Charlie is my husband's cardiologist.)

The story is about an LDS school teacher ("write what you know") who is a single mother trying to handle the curves life has thrown her way. This book is "for anyone who has ever known heartache and hope or overcome difficult obstacles. . . Annette has a clear, steady voice as she opens a window into the troubled world of adolescent angst and teachers trying to see into that world."

I highly recommend the book, because I know that everything Annette does is absolutely fabulous. (She was the best R. S. teacher I've ever had.)

Our Friend Down Under

Taggart Lake Trailhead - Great Tetons N.P. 1985

Danielle, Bill, Ian, Sheri, Wes

Twenty-three years ago, we became friends with a graduate student from New Zealand, who was in Salt Lake for two years doing research. Ian grew to be a best friend to our family of four. Our kids were ten and eleven at the time, and at twenty-seven, Ian was like an uncle or big brother. Sometimes, he was just a big kid.

We all loved the way Ian spoke, his accent, and the funny terms he had for everyday items. He was so full of life, so eager to learn and explore. He made little, inconsequential events fun. Some nights we would laugh so hard our ribs hurt the next day.

We took Ian with us on a camping trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone in 1985. So many things about that trip stand out, it seems like it was just last year.

To give Ian an authentic taste of the American West, we took him to the Bar J Ranch in Jackson Hole for a night of BBQ and Cowboy music. As it turns out, Ian is vegetarian. The BBQ steaks and chicken didn't tempt him and he stuck to the baked potatoes, salad and rolls. We encouraged him to return to the buffet often to fill up. He'd return with a potato and roll. When we'd return for extras, we would get Ian another potato and roll. He ended up with seven extra potatoes and rolls, so he filled his backpack and we had fried potatoes and rolls for several mornings for breakfast.

At night we'd drive around the park to spot wildlife. Ian was thrilled to see a magpie, a raven, or a squirrel, animals we take for granted. One night as we drove around a curve, our headlights shined on a herd of elk in a meadow. Ian was bouncing up and down in his seat, shouting, "Oh, oh, oh, look! A flock of elk! A flock of elk!" We all laughed so hard, it was impossible to tell Ian that it was a herd, not flock.

Our hikes in the Tetons took us into bear territory. As we approached the trail head to the Taggart Lake and Death Canyon, we found a sign posted on a paper plate. It was strategically placed above a pile of fresh bear skat (i.e. poop). The sign was a warning, saying "Bear on trail. Skat left 9:30 AM." We arrived at the spot at 10:10 AM. In spite of the warning, we trekked on, being seasoned hikers and campers, we knew how to avoid bears. Ian was excited because he WANTED to encounter a bear, something he'd never seen.

As we hiked, we kept talking and laughing, explaining to Ian that the noise would keep the bear away. Eventually we came to the head of the Death Canyon trail without meeting the bear and decided to take an appropriate photo to commemorate our experience.

Death Canyon - After the Bear Massacre

Two years of friendship passed much too quickly. Ian returned to New Zealand, finished his PhD, married and had a family. Our lives moved on, also.

Recently, Bill came home from work and asked me to guess who showed up in his office unexpectedly. Of course, it was Ian. He is now a tenured Senior Lecturer (full Professor) of Anthropology at a college in New Zealand. He was invited to present a paper at Princeton University and decided to pay a visit to his friends in Utah on his way back to NZ. We were so happy to see him!

Ian and Bill - Olympic Park - 2008

Ruth's Diner - Bill, Ian, Danielle

A dinner at Ruth's, a ride up the canyon, an evening too quickly spent. Ian was just the same. The years and miles melted away. We laughed until we cried. He was very good medicine.

Everyone needs an Ian in her lifes.

Odds and Ends

Ivy Baker Priest (1905~1975)

United States Treasurer 1953~1961

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning."

~Ivy Baker Priest

"We seldom stop to think how many peoples' lives are entwined with our own. It is a form of selfishness to imagine that every individual can operate on his own or can pull out of the general stream and not be missed." ~Ivy Baker Priest

"In 1953, shortly after taking office as Treasurer of the United States, Ivy Baker Priest was asked by President Eisenhower how she was enjoying her new job. She responded, "'I'm enjoying it immensely, Mr. President . . . but at the moment I'm just so overwhelmed to be here . . . I never expected to get anywhere near the White House.'" Eisenhower's face broke into a familiar grin, "'I know just how you feel,' he said. 'Neither did I.'" During her eight years as treasurer Priest dined with queens and princes, cabinet members and ambassadors, captains of industry and leaders of world thought, but through it all she never lost sight of her humble beginnings as the daughter of a poor Utah miner growing up in Bingham. On one occasion Priest was seated next to Norman Vincent Peale at a Washington, D.C., luncheon. The famous minister turned to her and said: "'Mrs. Priest, the people I have known in this world who have achieved things have all overcome some great handicap to reach their goal. I hope you won't mind my asking you . . . what was yours?'" Without hesitation she responded, "'Poverty.'" "'And now you are in charge of all that money,'" Peale said and laughed heartily." Utah History to Go

I was thinking about my Grandmother today and her relationship to President Thomas S. Monson. It started me thinking of other people my grandparents knew. My grandmother was personal friends with Ivy Baker Priest. I have no idea how they became acquainted. I was remembering when my grandmother lived in our home. One day she reached in her purse and pulled a dollar bill out of her wallet. "See the signature at the bottom, Sheri?" my grandma asked. "The woman who signs our money is a very important lady and she's a good friend of mine," she continued. I think she told me about how they met, but I've long since forgotten. If only we paid better attention to our grandparents and parents before they are gone!

My Brother's Farewell 1960

Stephen and Dad Kenneth (back)

Mom Viola, Grandma Olive, JoAnn, Sheri (front)

My grandfather was good friends with David Abbot "Ab" Jenkins, who set numerous world automobile speed records on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats between 1932 and 1956. He named his race cars "Mormon Meteor" because he was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I learned today that Ivy Baker Priest and Ab Jenkins are both buried at Wasatch Lawns Memorial Park along with my Grandparents! What a coincidence.

Now I'm wondering what other famous people my grandparents and parents knew!

Ab Jenkins & Mormon Meteor III

How our lives entwine--how many thousands of people have effected my life! Friends, family, teachers, church leaders, authors, artists, politicians--have taught me--changed me.

Who have I taught, changed, effected?

Where does the circle end?