Summer Vacation

I realize that addressing you in the plural might be a little over optimistic of me, but every bit of optimism helps. It has been a while since I’ve written, but I wanted to share how my summer vacation got started.

I found out about the opportunity to make a return trip to Utah back in April. I was not told anything about when that trip might be, but I was assured that my spot was already booked and that I would indeed be going.

Last Thursday I was suddenly given one hour to pack up all my property. This I did with the assumption that I would be leaving that day—an assumption that would prove to be wrong. I proceeded to pack up all my clothes and hygiene items. After delivering them to the office where all muy property would be stored until my return, I was instructed to return to my dorm. I then inquired if I would be leaving later in the day. I was answered that no, and that they didn’t know when it would be, but that it was usually within a few days of having packed everything up.

So I was stuck there without knowing when I would be leaving with only the clothes on by back. I was able to borrow a few things but still only had the pair of socks and underwear that I was wearing. I waited for the rest of that Thursday, all of Friday, and all of Saturday but still I had not gone anywhere or heard anything. On Sunday morning I finally borrowed some laundry detergent and went commando for an hour while I washed what I had. Fortunately, Monday was the day.

Having made a decision that it would likely be Monday when I was to leave—this decision being something between a calculated guess and hope born of desperation—I wisely decided to skip breakfast in order to minimize projected bowel needs while in an inconvenient circumstance. I was called to the office at about 10:00am where I was met by two officers who would be my chaperones for the trip. We drove from Safford to Tucson where we would be catching a flight to Salt Lake City. While in Tucson I had a cheese burger for lunch from Jack-in-the-Box. Initially I wasn’t going to eat lunch for the same reason I didn’t eat breakfast, but it was pointed out to me that we would be arriving at our destination after the dinner hour. That would mean I would have gone 36 hours without eating by breakfast the next morning, so I decided to opt in for lunch. It was really, really good. I suppose it’s all subject to my opinion anyway

We arrived at the airport in Tucson and were ushered through security the back way on account of our traveling situation and my chaperones being armed. We had to wait for two hours for the plane to arrive. Waiting isn’t so bad, except when you can’t move and have nothing to entertain yourself with. We were allowed to board the plane first and were seated at the very back. Then the older passengers boarded next. One older lady was a bit upset that we were allowed to board before her.

The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Salt Lake City safely. I was then delivered to Davis County and processed in. And so here I am once again. Most of the people that were here when I was last are gone. A lot of new faces. We’ll see how it turns out. My friend Brett Whitehead is still here, but he will be getting out in a few weeks. The food is still terrible—amazingly so—but the commissary has improved somewhat.

Summer vacation, here I am. Now can I be done yet?

A Train To Potevka

Today I read "A Train To Potevka" by Mike Ramsdell, the true story of an LDS American spy in Russia during the time the Soviet Union fell and the hardships and joys he endured while serving. My friend Kristynn sent it to me and I really enjoyed reading it. I remember meeting Mike Ramsdell when he came and spoke one night at a church get-together many years ago. These two passages come from the book.

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It is not the Lord's way to His plan to take away our hardships and difficulties. It is these challenges that give us the opportunity to grow in faith, character, and understanding. And if we won't give up, He will be at our side to help us see them through.

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One of the greatest gifts that God gives to each of us is the love we share with our family, friends, and fellow men. It is this divine gift of love that enriches us, gives meaning and purpose to life, and makes it all worth living. Everything else in life is secondary. Everything. And when our time here on Earth is over, our lives will not be measured by the riches we accumulate, the honors we receive, the degrees we acquire, or the professional success we achieve, but by our capacity to love and be loved.

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Empire

I just finished reading Empire by Orson Scott Card. It's a fiction thriller about the United States and a what if scenario that the government was overthrown based on very real possibilities. One of the characters points out that Rome wasn't great and was plagued by civil wars until Julius Caesar took control changing the republic of Rome into an empire. He says that the US can't reach its potential until after we move out of our current republic phase and become an empire. It's decently written although in some of the fast moving action sequences it feels like things start jumping ahead too fast, as if the words couldn't be printed fast enough to keep up with the story.

This is one of my favorite passages dealing with an Army Ranger Special Ops guy assaulting the rebels that have high tech body armor and weapons. I thought it was funny.

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"Cole reached up and detached the M-24 sniper rifle from his pack. It fired a heavier round than the pistol -- that's why he brought it. Testing had shown that at fairly close range, it penetrated the rebel's body armor at certain key points. Like the faceplate."

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Maybe you won't find it quite as amusing, but it made me laugh. :-)

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Why is it "a penny for your thoughts", but you have to "put your two cents in"? Somebody's making a penny.

-- Steven Wright

Sonic Boom

Today I had the privilege of experiencing the signature sound of a sonic boom as a fighter jet flew overhead. At least I assume it flew overhead. I never actually saw the jet. But I suppose that if it was moving faster than the speed of sound, I didn't have much chance of seeing it anyway.

Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Another Super Bowl has come and gone, and unfortunately I wasn't able to watch it. Instead, I spent my evening playing chess. I could go into an exciting play by play recount of how my games played out, but somehow I just don't think you're that interested, and besides, this is about the Super Bowl. I suppose for some of you, the Super Bowl is nothing more than a good excuse to get together and eat good food and maybe see some good commercials. Although I do enjoy watching football, I do not "follow" it, nor do I have myself a favorite team. If I am watching a game, I usually root for the offense, whichever team that happens to be at the moment. What I most enjoy about football is watching the successful execution of offensive plays. This year the Super Bowl saw my family divided as some (being Packers fans) were on one side of the line, and others (being Steelers fans) were on the other side of the line. The battle lines were clearly drawn. It's probably good that I wasn't home or I might have gotten caught in the middle. On the other hand, I missed a good opportunity to have played devil's advocate and harassed both sides.

The compound here put everyone in a prize pool this year for the game. My numbers were 7 for Green Bay and 4 for Pittsburgh. That means that at the end of each of the four quarters, if the last digit for both teams' score matched my numbers, I would win. Prize bags containing all manner of delectable comestibles were given to the winners. But of course I did not win, but what else is new.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

I have just read an incredibily informative and entertaining book by Bill Bryson titled "A Short History of Nearly Everything". It's a book that covers what we know (or think we know) about the science and history of outer space, our planet, and life. It's sufficiently superficial to allow the casually informed to be able to enjoy it while at the same time being sufficiently in depth to allow the more seriously informed to also enjoy it. And through it all is layered a good natured sense of humor that truly made this book a joy to read.

Here are just a few examples:

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The second half of the eighteenth century was a time when people of a scintific bent grew intensely interested in the physical properties of fundamental things -- gases and electricity in particular -- and began seeing what they could do with them, often with more enthusiasm than sense. In America, Benjamin Franklin famously risked his life by flying a kite in an electrical storm. In France, a chemist named Pilatre de Rozier tested the flammability of hydrogen by gulping a mouthful and blowing across an open flame, proving at a stroke that hydrogen is indeed explosively combustible and that eyebrows are not necessarily a permanent feature of one's face. Cavendish, for his part conducted experiments in which he subjected himself to graduated jolts of electrical current, diligently noting the increasing levels of agony until he could keep hold of his quill, and sometimes his consciousness, no longer.

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Although there was no reliable way of dating periods, there was no shortage of people willing to try. The most well known early attempt was in 1650 when Archbishop James Ussher of the Church of Ireland made a careful study of the Bible and other historical sources and concluded that the Earth had been created at midday on October 23, 4004 B.C., an assertion that has amused historians and textbook writers ever since.

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A hundred years after his death, a statue of Lavoisier was erected in the Paris and much admired until someone pointed out that it looked nothing like him. Under questioning the sculptor admitted that he had used the head of the mathematician and philosopher the Marquis de Condorcet -- apparently he had a spare -- in the hope that no one would notice or, having noticed, would care. In the second regard he was correct. The statue of Lavoisier-cum-Condorcet was allowed to remain in place for another half century until the Second World War when, one morning, it was taken away and melted down for scrap

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Chemistry students have long amused themselves by computing just how large a number the number of molecules found in 2.016 grams of hydrogen gas is (6.0221367 x 10^23). It is equivalent to the number of popcorn kernels needed to cover the United States to a depth of nine miles.

The Great Outdoors

No, I am not referring to the movie "The Great Outdoors" -- which by the way is a great movie -- but rather to me watching movies in the great outdoors. Yesterday morning, on the last day of the year, I braved 21 degree weather to sit outside and watch "The Other Guys". Today, on the morning of the first day of the year, I inconceivably did the same thing in order to watch "Shrek - Forever After". It's going to take more than a little cold weather to teach me a lesson. I guess I'm not a fast learner. The temperature was again a brisk 21 degrees, but today came with an added bonus of an 11 degree wind chill. Now I know you may have colder temperatures where you live, but you cannot claim to have sat outside in them watching a movie as I can. Therefore I hereby lay claim to having been instrumental in achieving the earliest dumbest thing done this year. So far.

Well here's to a new year. I hope yours will be better than mine, because if not, that would be sad indeed. Remember, you only have slightly less than two years left before the end of the world arrives -- rumored to be scheduled for December 21, 2012 -- so get your shopping done early.

Happy New Year!

Sunrise and Sunset

The sunrises and sunsets here in Safford Arizona are absolutely beautiful if there are any clouds in the sky. Much more impressive than anything I ever saw in Utah. The colors are simply amazing. I really wish I could take photographs of them. Right now I go to breakfast just as the sun is coming up, but right before it has crested the eastern horizon. The blues, reds, pinks, yellows and whites are incredible. As I go to dinner, the sun has just fully dipped below the western mountains, again creating a spectacular vista. I think the sunrise is the more impressive of the two since I am right up next to some mountains on the west. The horizon to the east is much lower allowing the sunlight to illuminate most of the overhead sky before the sun peeks over. Because of the mountains on the west, only the clouds to the west get lit up after the sun has slipped out of view. In the morning there are often both high and low clouds. The high ones get illuminated while the lower ones remain in shadow. This creates some very interesting contrasts. Five days until Christmas and the weather here is beautiful. I may just end up staying in Arizona of my own accord after my current tour of duty is up. I'll have to see what the summers are like first though.

Amusing Scriptural Passages

I was reading in the Old Testament today about when Saul was being chosen to be king and came across a couple phrases that struck me as oddly funny which I just had to share.

1 Samuel 10:22

"Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff."

1 Samuel 10:27

"And they despised him, and brought him no presents."

Outside

My brother Alan claims to have once asked me how I felt about being outside, especially since so much of life here in Safford takes place out of doors, and also in light of the fact I spent 9 months in doors without being able to go outside. Allegedly I never answered his question. So I will do so now. I love being able to go outside and spend most of my time each day outside. It's great to be able to see the night sky as well. Because of the compound lighting, most of the stars are not visible, but many of the brighter ones are.

The weather here during October was beautiful. Now as December approaches, the temperatures have dropped and it is quite cold. It's no longer quite as enjoyable to be outside, but it's still nice to be able to. I hear it will get colder yet. The wind is the biggest weather problem. It makes the cold even worse since I don't have any real cold weather or wind breaking gear. I have a set of thermals and sweats and an institution issued light jacket. As long as the wind doesn't blow, then being outside is bearable. It's still cold, but just some light shivering is all that's necessary to endure it. But when the wind blows it quickly gets to be no fun to be out of doors. especially when the wind is blowing. Luckily there is almost no precipitation, so snow is not something I'll have to deal with here. I can see that I'll be spending most of this winter in doors when possible.

Once warm weather comes around again though, I will once again be spending a lot of my free time outside underneath the beautiful blue Arizona skies.

Visitors From Outer . . . Town

This weekend my parents Craig and Bonnie, my brother Alan, my sisters Amy and Wendy, and my nephew Caden (Wendy's son) embarked on a journey from the freezing weather in northish Utah to the freezing-but-maybe-not-quite-so-much weather of southish Arizona to visit me here in Safford. Two days from morning until evening were entirely spent visiting. It was so great to get to see them and I'm really grateful for the sacrifices they made to come see me. I certainly don't deserve it. But I guess some of those sacrifices depend on your point of view. For instance, they got to skip church whereas since our Sunday services held here in the compound are in the evening, I still had to go. Well I suppose I didn't have to go, but I chose to go. I guess that was a good thing since I was teaching the lesson this week, which was coincidently on sacrifice.

Cops and Robbers

So there I was. Casually seated around a table outside playing cards and wondering whether frostbite was going to become a concern or if I was just allowing the fact I could no longer feel my fingers to needlessly worry me. It was pretty cold to be sitting outside, but that's where all the tables are. When what to my wondering eyes should appear? An inmate running by in a mask, pursued -- none too closely, and losing ground I might add -- by an overweight correctional officer huffing and puffing it. I do admit it was amusing. I guess the C.O. was able to radio ahead because ten minutes later or so we saw several officers escorting someone back in hand cuffs. Of course that meant that the compound was closed early. We all had to go back to our dorms so they could do an emergency head count. At least it is warmer inside.

Racquetball Roughness

Today I got hit in the head playing Racquetball, twice. Anybody who's played Racquetball knows how much that can hurt, especially the direct hits which haven't had any chance to lose their kinetic energy by bouncing off any walls. Add to that freezing cold temperatures from playing outside, and that little rubber ball becomes quite the projectile. Luckily I was facing away from the incoming projectile and was thus only knocked up the side and back of the head.

The File Room

The File Room

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read", "Lies I Have Told", "Comfort I Have Given", "Jokes I Have Laughed At". Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled At My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done In My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath At My Parents"

I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I Have Watched", I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not some much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts", I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared The Gospel With". The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards in contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards.

I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in those moments, couldn't bring myself to look at His face. I saw there a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, once by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted, rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "no, no" as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His had on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.