WEDDING PARTY..

I was three and a half years old in June of 1949.   My sister Marie was engaged to be married to Keith Eyre and had chosen the "new" Idaho Falls Temple for their wedding on June 17, 1949.  I suppose like most every young woman, she wanted to be married in  the latest, greatest temple.

The Idaho Falls Temple was the tenth constructed and eighth operating temple of the Church, and the first temple built with a modern single-spire design.  It was announced on March 3, 1937, and the exterior of the temple was completed in September 1941.  The interior was expected to be completed the following year.  However, with the shortages of materials and work force brought on by the United States' entry into World War II, the temple completion was delayed for four more years.  President George Albert Smith finally dedicated the Idaho Falls Temple September 23, 1945, just one month after the war ended.  The Bern Switzerland Temple wasn't dedicated until 1955, so the Idaho Falls Temple was "new" for quite a long time.

Marie was only 17, going to turn 18 in September.  Petite five foot two with large brown eyes, she  looked like a little girl, even to me, when she stood next to twenty-two year old Keith who was a slender six foot four.  

Though I was a pretty small kid, I have very vivid recollections of Marie's wedding.  We drove from Rawlins to Idaho Falls in our 1940's something Ford.  I assume it was my parents, me--and Marie.  Did Marcia and Glenda go to the wedding in Idaho, too?  If so, they had to have been in the car with us that memorable trip.  Keith went up separately.  With his parents?  Alone?  Don't know except that he had his car there so they could honeymoon at Yellowstone and the Black Hills after they were married.

On the way over land that my dad was very familiar with from his sheep herding days, we drove to Alpine and then near the Gray's River which straddles the border between Idaho and Wyoming.  There must have been some rainstorm activity in the area--probably a lot, as the Gray's River overflowed its banks--and we were unable to continue our journey because of flooding.

It was June in the upper altitudes of Wyoming, and I don't imagine it was a balmy night.  Besides, cars then didn't come equipped with heaters so we probably huddled together under some blankets.  We always had one with us in the car--hence the term "car blanket".  But ours were probably an old quilt or two which were no  longer serviceable for the bed.  

I remember it was cramped in the car, no stretching out.  Though as a little kid I more than likely didn't have as bad an overnight experience as the others did as far as sleep was concerned.  The big discomfort for me was having to use a tin can when we had to go to the bathroom.  That was gross!

Did it rain all night?  Was the road washed out?  Don't know.  But I do know I wasn't afraid.  My dad was there.  Uncomfortable as this disruption was to our plans, I knew all would be well.

And it was.  When morning arrived so did the forest rangers.  They came checking the area to assist any people stranded out in the wilderness and unable to continue their trip because of damage to the road.  And here is the best part--they took us to the Ranger Station and fed us breakfast!  No wonder I love pancakes!    Don't have a clue what it took to get us on the move again.  I didn't have to worry about anything like that.  

So my next memory was being at the Idaho Falls Temple for Marie and Keith's wedding.  

I was dressed in my Sunday best with a matching teal blue coat for the occasion.  While the grownups were in the temple for all of the sacred ceremonies before the Sealing at noon, I was ensconced in the Nursery.  That would never happen today for kids just along with the bridal party and not part OF the party there for the special uniting of a new family.     

Most photographs then were black and white, but the photographic memories of Marie's wedding were in colorful Kodak snapshots.  Apparently, I had broken free of whomever was in charge of me because I was standing with the bride and groom and both sets of parents with the temple in the background in the official Wedding Photograph after the temple ceremony on the beautifully manicured expanse of a lawn, where we eventually joined the rest of the family and guests for pictures and congratulations all around.

It is clear from reading newspaper articles in family history books that there was a wedding reception in Rawlins the following week, but I don't remember a thing about that.  The society page article in the Rawlins Daily Times dated Tuesday June 21, 1949, revealed that Marie was wearing a white slipper satin bridal gown fashioned with long sleeves and accented by a wide bertha with a marquisette yoke (WHATEVER THAT WAS!).  The gown was completed with a shoulder length veil.  AND...that the bride's traveling costume was an aqua colored suit with white accessories and a white carnation corsage.

This occasion was a standout for me on many different levels.  So, as I thought about the date when I got up yesterday morning, the 17th of June registered with this great experience of my young life.

Seventy years!  Doesn't seem like it is that long of a time ago.....yet it is practically my whole lifetime.  

WORDS TO LIVE BY, ACTIONS TO EMULATE....

The Valedictorian of the Prairie View High School graduating class of 2019 began his very engaging address with a quote from Sponge Bob SquarePants.

Only, I didn't write it down thinking that I could easily Google it to find just exactly what was quoted and not rely on my hearing which was even worse because of the acoustics where we sat in the CU Events Center  at Cameron's graduation exercises on May 24th.  When I did Google it, I had NO idea there was such a plethora of quotes from SBSP.  The Internet is full of them!  So, I will just leave that part of my report out and move on to some other great things about this graduation exercise.

The first and most important was that Cameron graduated 7th in her class of almost 500 students!  YEA, CAMERON!  WAY TO GO!

What an impressive graduating class with 92% who DID graduate out of the potential that COULD graduate.

There was a significant number of graduates first in their family to get a high school diploma.  The Valedictorian was one. Tony identified himself as a Mexican-American.  He gave a great speech, was humble in his accomplishments, and talked about his family's sacrifices coming from Mexico determined that he would receive the best education possible. Tony lamented that popular opinion is that people coming to this country are not education-oriented.  That is a myth he said he will work on to eradicate, because the American Dream of believing in someone is still very much alive among his family and friends.

It was noted that 5% of the graduating class are going into some branch of the US military.

Two graduates were totally handicapped and received enthusiastic assistance from the senior class president and several other students to push their wheelchairs across the platform to receive their diplomas.

Two girls were visibly pregnant and two girls were carrying infants that looked just about as big as a doll.  Cute, too.

The student body president had literally counted how many days they had spent together in high school--664 in four years-- and  shared some of his memories of those many days among his classmates.

Their class had the same principle for all four years, and she was "graduating" with them to move to another job on her career path.

This class had also  been the guinea pigs who  learned how to go to school during off hours of the day.  Later they had to get used to a school week of only four days--Tuesday through Friday--when that program was instituted.  What changes they had to accommodate just to get to school!

Thirty-seven year old  Social Studies teacher Kara Bosworth with a Masters in Education told the audience that when people ask her WHY she teaches, she tells them the students are her life. Chosen by the class as teacher of the year, Ms. Bosworth admonished those nearly 500 kids to understand that life requires hard work. "But," she said, "it's worth it!"  Other advice she gave them:  love what you do.  Be passionate about it!  Show compassion and gratitude.  "Fight for what you want, " was her closing statement.   She got thundering applause.

Roberta Thimmig, President of the Board of Education, gave this homely and very needed advice:  "Write a thank you note to those who have helped you along."

Then in speaking directly to the whole audience, she said, "These graduates will determine what history is yet to be written.  Each has to do his/her own writing to determine what their history will be.  I'm asking them to use this guideline: DO NO HARM--to yourself, to others, to the environment.  In fact turn that thought around and DO GOOD!"

And the whole thing was over!

The next day we had a small family gathering at Brice and Judy's home to celebrate Cheyenne's graduation from UC Denver the week before and Cameron's graduation from Prairie View High School.  Good food!  Judy and Cheyenne prepared another of their spectacular feasts.  Homemade pizza.  Fresh cut pineapple--and as a Fillipina believe me Judy KNOWS how to spiral cut a pineapple.  Plus platters of other fresh fruits, as well.  Three giant double crust fruit pies.  Grilled French Bread ham and fancy cheese sandwiches.  Pasta salad, etc. etc. I ate too much.

So, I guess it's a good thing that the next family high school graduations don't happen for another few years.

Momma G has to recover!

COMMENCEMENT DAY!

Cheyenne Nichols graduated from the University of Colorado--Denver last Saturday May 18, 2019,  with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts from the College of Arts and Media.  The Spring commencement was held outside on the Tivoli Quad, Auraria Campus in downtown Denver.

It was 40 years since Grandpa Ross graduated from the University of Colorado.  Though he "re-began" his university studies at the Denver campus in 1973, he finished his engineering classes on the Boulder campus and completed everything in December 1978 for a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  Ross' commencement exercises were in May 1979 at Folsom Stadium in Boulder, as I shared recently in a Nichols Kids monthly letter.

Last Saturday's graduation was an exciting day punctuated with some inclement weather which finally brought the graduation ceremony to an abrupt halt and forced everyone to seek shelter when lightning began to zigzag the overcast sky.  There was some cloud cover when we arrived prior to the 9 a.m. ceremony.  Chilly.  Then the sun came out from behind a VERY dark cloud and illuminated everything so brightly, I was sorry I was without sunglasses.  Plus that little reprieve with hot sun actually warmed up the air.  Not for long!  The wind began to blow, and that very dark cloud began moving our way as it trailed wisps of black fringe obviously spitting rain along its way.

The exercises began with the National Anthem sung a capella by a group named LARK.  One of THE BEST renditions I have ever heard!  There was an INVOCATION!  I was impressed about THAT, too.  Introductions all around of the distinguished guests, the deans, presentations of outstanding contributions, as well as faculty and staff award winners, outstanding students, retiring faculty and staff--WHEW!  There was a lot, including an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters awarded to Jake Jabs, president and CEO of American Furniture Warehouse.  Who says having a pet tiger  and all those TV commercials won't get you some recognition?  Impressive credentials, though, I must say.

Only one speaker after all that.  It was University of Colorado President Bruce D. Benson.  As the president with the longest tenure in the university's history--11 years--he probably could have rattled off a lengthy speech.  Instead it was several pithy quotes of advice about how to get along in the world now that the graduates were commencing their real lives.  He closed with this one, "The harder you work, the luckier you will get."  I applauded the brevity!

There was approximately 45 minutes remaining in the proceedings when the announcement came to get out of there!  Cheyenne's College had just lined up to cross the stage to be handed their diplomas and was probably half through the list of candidates-- BEFORE it was Cheyenne's turn.    Too bad.  We didn't get to see her walk confidently toward the tangible reward of her last four years' efforts.  The graduates were directed to a nearby gymnasium where they finished the program WITHOUT spectators.  By then the rest of the family was huddled in the glass vestibule of the nearby parking garage awaiting Cheyenne's joining us for pictures--without her gown because she had already had to turn it in.  Still there were big happy smiles all around, in spite of the fact our teeth were chattering.

Louis and I arrived a few minutes early that morning, and from texted directions easily found Cameron, Judy, and her brother Edwin.  (Unfortunately, Brice was in the hospital and missed it all). Burgandy got there after we did.  While we were waiting for the processional of graduates to arrive at the quad, I mentioned to Judy that I had graduated from Brigham Young University on May 31, 1968, in Provo on an overcast day much like that day.  But other than that I really didn't remember a thing.

So, with several minutes to go, I Googled  "BYU commencement May 1968" and was soon scrolling through the entire program.  Wow!  Didn't remember that N. Eldon Tanner, then a counselor in the First Presidency conducted the graduation ceremonies at the Field House.  (No Marriott Center at that time.)  Didn't remember Hugh B. Brown was the commencement speaker.  Didn't remember James Cash Penny was awarded an honorary doctorate.  I didn't receive my diploma until the Humanities College Convocation later that day.  English majors had theirs at 5 pm.  And THAT was where I finally graduated from college along with 2,850 other people throughout that day during their own college convocations.

Truthfully, I remember lots more about other people's graduation than I do my own.  I just wanted to be the heck over with it and on my way. Said a hasty goodbye to my parents and left for a month's visit to California to spend some time with my cousin George and his wife Karen in Sacramento.  I think we took off in the dark of night after the graduation.  Happiness was seeing BYU in my rear view mirror!  It meant I was done. Done. DONE.

I would venture to say that the graduates in my May commencement at Brigham Young University were probably predominantly white with a smattering of other ethnicities like Asian, Hispanic, etc.  But at Cheyenne's graduation, white people were definitely in the minority--and I mean students from all over the world!.  Here was a group of people who had probably defied a lot of odds to complete their education.  Individuals who didn't grow up with the expectation that they would be graduating from college--and many, many with advanced degrees which probably took years for them to complete as they worked full-time and took care of families along the way.

And...they were dressed up like it was a special occasion--just like when I graduated.  There was no rowdy, drunken partying along the way as was Ross' graduation in 1979.  These people at Cheyenne's graduation (2,100) respected what they were experiencing and acknowledged that great effort with a show of their best--behavior and appearance.  I was proud of them all, especially Cheyenne!

Hard work may indeed make it seem like it was nothing but luck.

BUT EMBRACE BOTH....


PS  Pictures to be added later.

DON'T GET OLD !!!

My parents were 43 when I was born.  So, it didn't take too long into my life before they were dozing in their chairs, falling asleep when I was talking to them, and going to bed early.  My dad used to snooze a lot while he was reading the paper in his big chair in the dining room of our house in Rawlins.  My mother would fall asleep in the car as soon as it started to move.  

Truthfully, it was kind of irritating.  Especially when we would go up to Rawlins for a visit when the kids were little.  I would be excited to be with my mom and talk with her and ask her about patterns and material or some culinary thing or just....talk.  And, I would be talking at her because her eyes would be glazed and drooping.  Soon she would say she had to go to bed because she was tired.

Then after Grandpa and Grandma Huggins died, I moved into a different part of my own life.  By the time we had finished living away from Arvada, though I had always been somewhat of an early riser and could still burn the candle at both ends, I suddenly found myself rising even earlier as I first took Harold and Brice to early morning Seminary, and then began teaching Seminary. My eyes commenced to close as soon as I sat down--anywhere! 

When I went to Book Club every month--and you KNOW how much I enjoyed that--I usually slept through the middle part of the discussion, waking just in time for the treats.  The B.R.O.A.D.S. finally just gave me a blanket at the beginning of our monthly meeting and let me sleep.

The Denver Temple had opened by that time so I often went when a group of sisters from the ward would drive down together.  One time on the way home Sue Schilling told me she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do for me during the session that day.  We were sitting on the front row, and as I fell asleep I kept leaning farther and farther forward until I nearly fell out of the seat.   She wondered, should she wake me?  Should she put her arm out and catch my fall?  Should she ignore me and see what would happen?  

Harold would sometimes call me from BYU at midnight because life was hopping there, and during the conversation he would often say, "Mom, Mom!  You're fading!"   Indeed I was.

I would close the blinds in my office at Data National during my lunch hour so I could take a little nap.  One time one of the other workers went to Janean Call who was our HR person and told her she thought I was dead.  Janean asked her why she thought that.  Well, I was sitting in my desk chair with my head back and my eyes closed and mouth open.  Janean just told her, "Gwennie, it's called TIRED!"

I would fall asleep at our evening meetings at Super PC Memory, but Rick Schaefer always cut me some slack because he knew I got up every morning at 3:40 a.m. and went on a walk before I had a morning devotional, got ready for work and took my kids to Seminary prior to sitting at my desk and  dialing that phone at precisely 7:30 a.m.  He overlooked stuff like that for anybody who made an effort to exercise.

When I traveled for business, I would be sound asleep long before the door to the aircraft closed and the safety demo was on tap.  In fact, the B.R.O.A.D.S. were worried for me to start working for United knowing how my eyes closed so easily once I sat down.

Once I went to work at United I learned how to keep awake on the jump seat, but in the gate room--that was a different story.  One day a young woman who was on our base crew asked me why every time I sat down, I would go to sleep.  I told her I had been tired for years.

I used to fall asleep while writing in my journal.  Still do.  Even texting or emailing I fall asleep and sometimes accidentally click a key on my phone, which manages to erase the whole message forcing me to begin anew.  That becomes a chore the second time around.

As soon as the car begins to move and I am the passenger, I fall asleep. I have become my mother. Louis has just gotten into the habit of saying, "Why don't you just put the seat back and make yourself comfortable."

Today when we got home from Church just after 11 a.m., I ate a quick sandwich and hurried up to the computer.  Pristine hours stretched before me, and I envisioned I would get so much accomplished on the projects I wanted to complete.

My scripture study was first, but I kept falling asleep while I was writing in my Come Follow Me journal--the pen making its way across the page in a squiggle.  At least I wasn't writing on the computer like I was not too long ago and woke up several minutes later with a broken neck to see 12 PAGES of lower case "d" on the document I was writing!  It is hard to keep my eyes open whenever, wherever.  Today was no exception.

I had no idea when I used to wonder why my parents couldn't keep their eyes open all the time that the same thing would happen to me.  I just didn't understand then how life has a way of wearing a person down physically, mentally, and emotionally as the years go by.  Since a real nap is just not in the cards most of the time, I'm guessing a body "takes five" when it can.  That's what mine does.  I surmise the alternative is...  

Don't get old !!!

ALL ABOARD...!

Royal Gorge Railroad

Excursion Train

A few weeks before Brittany came with Ro and Pippa for a visit in April, Louis started thinking about fun things we could do while they were here.  One of the activities he suggested was to ride the train in the Royal Gorge.  I didn't even know there was a train.  We'd been to the bridge over the Gorge a couple of times, but that was about it.  Then Louis found out that the excursion train was seasonal and didn't even begin to operate until the end of April--after the Wilsons returned to Portland.

Louis brought it up again when we started talking about what  mini vacation we were going to take for our anniversary this month.  I actually had some vacation days beginning the 11th, so we thought about Savannah, Montreal, or Oakland where we could go to the open house for the newly refurbished temple.  I suggested Oakland because that is where Louis served his mission.  We leaned toward that choice as Louis expressed an interest in seeing the mission home and some of the areas where he served, as well as the  temple now ready for rededication.

Alas, United's planes to San Francisco (United no longer has gates at Oakland) were already full for the middle of May.  So, we started over.  Savannah, Montreal...…  Louis also suggested a "stay-cation" in Denver like we did a few years ago.  But, I thought I wanted to "go" somewhere--until the last few weeks of flying were so overpacked and full of weather delays that a road trip sounded lots better to me.

Why not Grand Junction?  And then I said I didn't think I wanted to drive even that far.  We'd already gone to Cheyenne once.  Didn't want to do that a second time.  That's when Louis brought up the idea of the Royal Gorge Excursion Train again.  He was really enthusiastic about it.  I was kind of ho-hum, but it was only about three hours (plus) away.  Why not?  There are also some places around Colorado Springs that we could pretend to be tourists.   Like Pikes Peak, for one.  And Manitou Springs has a Christmas shop.  Right up my alley....

It was a beautiful morning when we left home about 8 am for Cañon City.  We stopped for snacks at 7/11 and went to the drive-through at McDonald's for orange juice and breakfast sandwiches to fuel our way.  Great discussion in the car about this week's Come Follow Me since there was a fair amount of time to develop the topics, and no distractions.  Spring in that part of Colorado was definitely two weeks ahead of us here in Johnstown.  All the trees were full-blown green with leaves, as were gardens, shrubs, and even the wayside undergrowth which was already hearty and lush.  And the day was pleasantly warm in the low 80's.  Life doesn't get much better than that!

Seemed like no time at all that we were driving into the attractive railyard with lovely landscaping and fresh white pea gravel ballast covering the boarding area by the tracks instead of a cement platform .  We had made online reservations for the 12:30 pm afternoon excursion.  That day it was a good choice to be out riding in the best part of the afternoon.


Louis waited in a long line to purchase the tickets in the restored depot/gift shop which sported a vintage Santa Fe railroad sign, but the signage printed on the engine and cars was just like the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's script.

The  Royal Gorge Railroad  which began in 1999 has been refurbished to it's 1950's excellence with added air conditioning.  It sported a Dining car, a Club Car, a Vista Dome car enclosed in glass, coach cars, and an open-air observation car. The long line of cars had a diesel engine on both ends. 

Boarding the SPURBUCK coach car

We chose to sit in one of the coach cars because of the high backed seats and big windows.  Sounded roomy and comfortable.  Our car was situated about mid-train with Spurbuck stenciled on the side.  We had passed the Zebulon Pike car and the Theodore Roosevelt car, so I was kind of disappointed we got the non-descript one.  (A Spur Buck is a Mule Deer with spurs on its antlers.)  Plopped down into seats 3 and 4 which were facing seats 1 and 2.  We were about the tail end to board, so we were hoping no one would come and sit across from us.  Then Louis realized that we were supposed to be in 1107 seats 3 and 4, not 1119 seats 3 and 4.  Got up and wandered down the aisle to our ticketed seats.  Crowded in that part of the car and there were people already sitting in seats 1 and 2.  Nonchalantly wandered back up to the end of the car and sat down again.  Felt like the passengers on United--taking any seat we wanted and hoping no one would come and claim their rightful seats.  Luck was on our side--no one came by the time the conductor yelled "All Aboard....!" as he pulled up the stairs.  With a toot of the horn, we were on our way as soon as the red signal turned to green.

Our seats were on the Arkansas River side.  This was our lucky day!  We got to see all the rafters and boaters shooting the rapids as we chugged along on our 24 mile round trip through the Royal Gorge's granite cliffs reaching straight up on both sides of the river bed.  The river isn't deep, but I have heard the rapids are pretty gnarly.  A couple of places it looked like it might be just a bit of a squeeze to get through the narrow opening of turbulent water flanked by huge granite boulders. 

I was glad it was a sunny day.  Didn't look so foreboding with sunlight and blue sky at the top of the sheer rock walls of the giant ravine we were in.  We also rode under the famous hanging bridge which is still in use.

DOZING!!  Old eyes can't stay open

 Louis was eager to go to the open observation car with several other passengers, but I opted to sit with my feet up on the opposite seat and close my eyes for a minute or two.  Later, Louis reported that one rafter actually fell off and was having kind of a tough time getting back on the raft.  Whoops!  Dozing, so I missed that little excitement

When we got to the end of the line at Parkdale, Colorado, there was a 15 minute break while the engineer walked through all the cars the entire length of the train and readied himself to take us back to Cañon City, driving the engine that had started the trip at the rear of the train.  Because of the empty seats across from us, we scooted over there.  That way we still got to face forward  and see the river side of the train once again as we rode.  

The whole trip took about two hours.  It was fun!  Louis told me he had driven extra enough the week before that we could splurge on our little vacation, so we ordered lunch on the train during the return trip.  He had a turkey club sandwich with lemonade and I had a HUGE--too big for one person in a tin pan serving dish--order of nachos.  Our server brought it to us on lap trays.  It was actually as good as the brochure hyped it would be.  And prepared right there on the train.  The people who opted for the dining car had a full lunch included in the price of their ticket. We didn't eat in the diner or order food from the Club Car very often--like NEVER--when I was little, so eating a meal on the train was a treat.  It was this time, too.

The employees looked to be a combination of college kids, who were the stewards and servers, and retired people doing the driving and managing the train.  I think they had actually been real railroad employees during their lifetimes.  All were friendly and helpful, seemingly having a good time doing something that looked kind of fun.  

It wasn't until we were getting off the train that Louis said, "I have a confession to make.  This is the first time I have ever ridden on a passenger train!"  I was surprised.  "Did you like it?" I asked.  "I loved it!" he said.  "Then it was worth it. You're happy.  I'm happy."

I truly enjoyed the little excursion trip, mostly because it brought back a lot of great memories of all the years I rode the train.  But I thought it was too bad Louis had never had the opportunity to ride a train when it was in its heyday more than half a century ago.  Railroads were  an illustrious and great part of America's history.  

Last week was the sesquicentennial of the Golden Spike ceremony joining the Union Pacific Railroad with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promentory Point in Utah.  I remember the big deal for the 100th anniversary in 1969, and those special locomotives--the 6900's--to commemorate the occasion.  Railroad is in my blood, and I still experience strong tugs at my heart strings when I feel the pounding power of those giant turbine engines or hear the blast of the horn as it signals a train is on the move.

Here's another interesting fact.  The Royal Gorge ride is one of the eight best  heritage railroad excursions in the United States according to Trains Magazine.  I boned up on some other history tidbits, too, like the war between the Santa Fe Railroad and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway who fought over the rights to use the tracks that had been laid through the gorge.  Like straight out of a Western movie.  People even got shot!

And this last little observation:  I could have sworn that we used to spell Cañon City with the "y" instead of the tilde over the "n" which signifies a nasal sound.  Now most signs in the town are Cañon or just plain Canon.  Well, whaddayaknow!  And to write this blog entry, I even learned HOW to make that little tilde diacritical mark on the computer.  Now if I can only remember the code to do it!

In all, a pretty decent 18th....  

TWICE IN A LIFETIME

I've been pretty good the last couple of months or so walking outside for my morning 3.5 miles  sometime between 4:30  and 6:15 a.m.  I got kind of lax--okay, let's say it out loud--L A Z Y--during the winter months.  It was sooo easy to crawl out of bed, slip my feet into my walking shoes, and just traipse down to the basement to walk on the treadmill rather than put on my sweats, my reflective winter coat, and brave the chilly dark.

But I love "morning dark"!  It is so comforting even if it is downright cold sometimes.  Yet, I got out of the habit of walking outside when there was always a Netflix episode of something I was into ready and waiting in the CD player downstairs.  Right where I left off.  Untouched, since I am the only person who ever walks on the treadmill OR watches CDs down the basement.

On April 19th  I was coming down the neighborhood path behind the house just as the brilliant sun crested the horizon on the Eastern Plains signaling the start of another glorious day.  At the end of the path when I turned onto the sidewalk to finish the few hundred feet to home, I saw again the full Easter moon in the western sky.   I had admired it the whole way to the interchange before I turned around to walk home.  Only now, it was suspended right over Twin Peaks in an inky sky that set it off to perfection. One hundred eighty degrees to the west of a glorious morning sun, that luminous full moon hovered in concert with it over the Northern Front Range before slipping away into the still dark night shrouding the mountains.

In a flash I thought about that morning years ago when I was driving to work from the Secrest Court house to Super PC Memory on 108th just west of Wadsworth. ( I wrote about this experience in an issue of the Nichols Family News once.  You might remember that article.)

It was pitch black night over the mountains underneath a gloriously full moon, while to the east it was the brilliant sunrise of a new day.  What a juxtaposition!  I had marveled at the sheer splendor of that early morning phenomena, thinking how lucky I had been to see such an occurrence.

A couple of days  after that sighting, I spied a letter to the editor in the Rocky Mountain news written by a guy who had also seen that spectacular moonset/sunrise. In his message he expressed my own feelings of "AWESOME" (which is exactly what that word is supposed to be used for).  For several months after that I tried to "catch" the sun and the moon dancing in the sky like that again.  Then I realized:  that was not a common occurrence. So, I quit perusing the newspaper on a regular basis where I had been checking the times for sunrise and moonset when it was a full moon.

Then....without even thinking about it...there it was again just a few days ago!  I googled sunrise for that Good Friday morning.  Six thirteen a.m. in Johnstown.  And moonset was 6:45 a.m..  So, after the sun was fully up over the horizon, the moon was ready to tuck itself behind the mountains and call it a night.

I wanted to see it again on Saturday as the timing was still within those parameters.  Too bad.  It was totally overcast.  By Sunday that window had closed.

But that's okay.  After I saw that beautiful display--rising sun and setting moon 180 degrees apart from each other so long ago one November--it never occurred to me that it might happen again during a different time of the year.  Amazingly, it did!  I wasn't any less impressed this time than I was the first time I saw that unique display.

I believe the beauty of creation is a constant reminder of divine architecture which not only delights the eye, but gives celestial promise to our worldly home.

There IS a God in heaven!

BACKSTAGE 2019

Last year United posted notice that all 26,000+ flight attendants would be required to attend a three-day training period called BACKSTAGE in Chicago sometime during 2019.  WHY?!?!?!

That didn't sound at all appealing to me.  Is all I could think of was a replication of the two days of colossally boring, dragged out classes for recertification once a year.  Sitting in a classroom setting that is so uninteresting that it is always difficult for me to stay alert and not nod off while I am feigning some sort of attention.   I was hoping THAT training idea would go away!

A few months after the initial announcement, there started to be regular communications about all the progress toward the venue, the preparations, the bidding process to choose when we wanted to attend, etc.  It looked like BACKSTAGE was going to happen.  At least have a beginning.  Similar kinds of  extravaganzas with huge work groups attending together had been implemented before, then quietly went away a few months later when somebody finally determined there was nothing successful about them.  I went to one here in Denver a few years ago.  One of the first sessions.  A lot of employees ended up never having to go.  So, a large number of flight attendants were thinking along those lines and bid to go late in the year.  Sneaky, huh?  They were hoping that by the waning months of 2019, there would BE NO Backstage.

I missed the bidding which was during the time I was off for cataract surgery.  It was my fault.  I had refused to read any mail from United during the time I was recuperating and didn't know anything about it.  So, the company assigned me the month of April.

At first I was torqued that it was so soon.  I was also guilty of thinking maybe it would go away after a few months.  Then I thought, "What the heck.  Just get it over with."  Though I honestly, honestly was irritated that so much money was being invested in this lavishly preposterous endeavor.  Just save all that money, give it to the flight attendants as a bonus, and make us do a CBT for credit with the information they wanted us to know for the latest and greatest customer service:  "core4".

I bid to go the second week in April.  I got my first choice.

It is no secret I was not an easy person to live with during the week prior to my departure for Chicago.  I was full of apprehension for all kinds of situations.  And it came out as cranky, cross, short-tempered, and morose. This wasn't like going on a work trip where I know exactly what I am supposed to do.  I can smile, interact, and be friendly the length of any flight knowing that I am never going to have to worry about whether or not the passengers would seek me out to sit by them during any seminars, be chummy and squeeze in next to me at mealtime, or engage in friendly conversation during the lulls of a convention.

No.  I knew what this was going to be like.  I lived with these same apprehensions in high school and college.  Would I be the only person without a seatmate.  The one sitting alone at the table when the people on both sides of me were attached to and engaged in conversation with their own little group.

It wasn't so bad when I travelled in Corporate America.  I WAS the company.  And there were always clients to hobnob with.  But as soon as I went to United's training center in Chicago in August 2000,  all those former fears surfaced again.  Oh, people are polite.  Cordial.  Friendly even.  But I am not the kind of person who is instantly ensconced into the "in" crowd.

When I looked at the list of who was attending the same week as I was, I saw a couple of flight attendants that I had had more interaction with than nodding at each other in the domicile.  Maybe we could hook up.  Nada.  They had already hooked up with someone else. So, I followed the crowd as the 40 flight attendants boarded the plane at DIA bound for Chicago.  As soon as I deplaned at O'Hare, I hoofed it to the baggage area where we were supposed to register....but everyone got there before me!  Someone in the group knew a shortcut.  No one bothered to put me under their wing and sweep me along with the rest.  Needless to say, I was happy when we got to the Palmer House Hotel in downtown Chicago after our one-hour bus ride from the airport.  Soon I was in my room and knew EXACTLY what to do there to prepare for the next day.  I do THAT all the time.

The next morning...more apprehension.  Another bus ride to the venue:  a converted warehouse at Lexington and Jefferson just outside city proper.  Continental breakfast to begin the day.  And then....someone I had flown with a few years ago--also feeling a little on the outer fringes--said hello.  Though he and I were wearing different colored tags which determined the sequence of the seminars and classes we were to attend, he said he would stick with me.  And he did.  I had a sidekick.  A seat partner.  A confederate.  He even said he didn't want to stay for the party that night and would be taking the first bus back to the hotel.  Fine by me!  That was exactly my plan, too.  Though I had not heard that the reception and party after the dinner for the previous weeks was a drunken hullaballoo, with people throwing up on the bus during the ride back to the hotel, I wasn't interested in staying any longer than I had to.

Then the purpose of the whole gathering began.  And was I ever blown away!  The ENTIRE executive cadre addressed the group of 700 flight attendants during the Main Stage events.  CEO, President, Vice Presidents over different aspects of United, and others from the corporate level who shared what the vision of the company as it moves forward is all about.

The talks were fast paced, entertaining.  The power point presentations were exceptional.  Though the speakers weren't behind a podium, they used teleprompters like in General Conference. They knew their stuff and they believed in what they were "preaching".   In fact I began to think of this three-day deal as United's "General Conference" for its flight attendants!

The word ministering was never used.  But that is exactly what these company executives were asking us to do for the passengers.  They talked about being kind and compassionate.  Being warm and welcoming as our guests come onto the plane.  We are ambassadors for United.  When people see us, do we reflect the values of a positive, professional image and attitude?  (When people see us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do they see Christ's image in our countenance?  Isn't it about the same kind of thing?)  

Focus on families!  They are important.  Give them all the assistance they need.  (I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the company president and the vice president of marketing both have six children.  These are fairly young men with young families.  Who would have thought!)

When they talked about how to treat other people, it was in the same way Christ treated others.  Listen.  Be empathetic.  Care.  Be calm.  Pay attention to the person.  Share gratitude.

The break out sessions tried to help us remember how important it is to reach out to people even when we are NOT on a plane at work.  "How do you show people you care?"  "What do you do every day to let your family know you love them?"  This one was directed at me.  And I spoke right up:  "I pray every morning for each of them by name as I picture their individual face in my mind's eye."

One of the breakout sessions was about keeping ourselves healthy and strong.  Setting goals.  Self-reflection. Healthy eating with plenty of rest. (Word of Wisdom, anyone?)  Sometimes I forget that the gospel gives us so very much to make our life happy and full of joy.  People were really into these simple principles.  Like they had never heard of them before.

We were shown a video of what the warehouse looked like when they began this project and all it took to transform it into what it became for BACKSTAGE.  Remarkable!  It was classy.  The food was a modern take and stylishly presented.  Everything ran like clockwork.  I was impressed and finally glad that I had the opportunity to go.  It was a good three-day experience.

Bottom line:  I have told everyone that I had been dragging my feet.  "Give us the money and a CBT,"  Then I tell them,  "But after it was over, I thought it was worth the time and any effort on my part."  Besides it WAS mandatory and counts toward one day of requalification this year.  So, in September I will only have one day of tests.

There are plenty of flight attendants who are still hoping that they won't have to go after all when November comes.  Some are calling it the "Princess Party".  Many have heard about the drinking and the dancing after the major dinner.  But I have a whole different outlook now.

GENERAL CONFERENCE never fails to lift me to a higher standard for myself.  United's "General Conference" did the same for my flagging attitude as a flight attendant.

Thank you, United!