28 November 2015

Life has been busy these past few months, with family, work, church service and other activities.  It has been nice having our grandchildren close by since Russ and LeighAnn built a new home in Santaquin, UT.  I am thankful that I have a job to go to each day.  My wife, through a series of unusual circumstances ended up with a better paying job, where she is treated with much more respect by her superiors.  My oldest daughter Rachel recently received her own endowment in the Provo Temple.  All of my kids that are in school are doing well for the most part.  I love serving in the Ward's High Priest Group Leadership and interacting with all the other High Priests.  I sometimes wonder why I have had health issues these last few years, but then feel humbled when I see or interact with others that have more serious issues with their health.  All in all, life is great and I feel blessed beyond measure by the Hand of the Lord.

"Well, it should get you there and back without any problems!"

Circa July/August 1987

During the late summer of 1987-- either July or August-- I made a trip to Colorado with another Wing Enterprises employee, and ended up getting stranded for a day in Glenwood Springs, Co.

Hal Wing purchased some custom crafted wooden furniture in Vail, Co. and needed it picked up and brought back to Utah.  Steve Chase and I made the trip.  We arrived early in the morning at the Provo plant and Doc Shell was just finishing up the services on the Chevy box van, which was known as the "Rocket-Van".  Doc's last words to us were: "Well, it should get you there and back without any problems!"

The first part of the drive was uneventful, and as Steve was driving through Eastern Utah, I climbed back into the cargo area and took all the rope and blankets we had on-hand and tried making a hammock by running the rope through the various metal loops on the walls.  The end result of my labors with the rope and blankets looked encouraging-- as far as being able to climb on and comfortably rest while Steve continued to drive.  I carefully tried to positioned my body onto the newly crafted hammock, but immediately fell through and down to the floor.  It seemed like the van suddenly jerked as Steve realized what had just happened and had started laughing.

We stopped in Green River, UT at a truck stop for lunch.  As we went to leave, the van wouldn't start.  Nothing happened when the ignition key was turned.  The hood was popped and we could not see anything obvious as to why the van wouldn't start.  A Good Samaritan came over to lend a hand. He crawled under and after giving a wiggle to the wiring leading to the starter, the van then turned over and started up.  The guy showed us the wires to wiggle if  by chance we were had the same problem again.

Sure enough, the next time we stopped, the van wouldn't start, so one of us had to crawl underneath, do the wire wiggling to get it started again.  As we neared Vail, the van started having issues with vapor-lock-- causing us to have to pull off the highway and let the engine cool down at regular intervals. Then, someone again would have to crawl back under  the van and shake the wiring so that we could get moving.  After hours of stopping and starting, we finally made it to Vail where we had planned to spend the night.

The following morning, we went to the store and loaded up Hal's furniture items and started off- expecting to arrive back at the Provo plant in the late afternoon.  By this time, we had become quite accustomed to quickly crawling under the van in order to get it to start.  We were hoping that the previous day's vapor-locking problems were just an isolated issue and wouldn't carry over to the new day.  Wrong!

As soon as we hit I-70 the van started to vapor-lock once again.  Our advantage this time was that we were primarily traveling downhill, so we could go for longer distances before having to pull off and let the engine cool down.  Once we got to the area of Glenwood Springs, we decided that we needed to get into a mechanic to have both issues with the van addressed.  As we traveled South on the main road in town, the van really started acting up while Steve was driving.  Each time we came to stop on a red light, Steve would have to quickly throw the transmission into neutral and keep revving the engine to keep it from stopping.  As we spotted and pulled off into an auto mechanic shop, the van was basically doing a bunny-hop as we pulled into the parking lot.

Since it was late in the afternoon, the mechanic told us that the most he could do was to look at the van in the morning.  We found a cheap place to stay for the night, then found a payphone and called the Wing Ent. office to advise of our situation.

About the only thing that I can recall of the following day in Glenwood Springs, as we waited for the Rocket-Van to be repaired, was watching "ANCHORS AWEIGH" with the great Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.  Though my memory isn't quite clear on it, maybe one of us sang along to all the catchy tunes?

At around 2pm, the van repairs were completed and we were happily on our way back to Provo.  The van ran perfectly during that last leg of our arduous journey.  No more pulling off the highway and no more crawling under the van!  Arriving back at the Provo plant late in the late afternoon, Steve and I made sure that the furniture was secured and then prepared to head for our homes.  If Doc Shell had still been there that evening, I'm sure that we each would have given him the Stink-Eye!

Becky Lockhart: House Speaker & UHP Honorary Colonel

House Speaker and UHP Honorary Colonel Becky Lockart passed away Saturday, 17 January 2015, from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).  

I first met Becky sometime back around the year 2000 when she and another candidate for public office were up in our former neighborhood putting out campaign signs.  I spent a few minutes speaking with them both about the troubles facing the Utah Highway Patrol, and the frustrations I was feeling as a Trooper- especially as it pertained to wages.

Over the course of the ensuing years, Becky became an ardent supporter of the Troopers up on Capitol Hill, and the UHP began to see steady improvements in wage increases and improvements in updated equipment and technology.  

As part of the UHP's Public Information and Education team, I took the lead on a new program called the "High School Adoption" where the main focus was to improve seat belt usage among high school students.  Wanting to expand from a handful of high schools in Utah County, Becky was instrumental in securing an appropriation to fund the program and expand it to multiple high schools around the state of Utah, and the program has continued over the years-- helping to make seat belt use a lifelong habit for beginning drivers.  

As President of the Utah Highway Patrol Association (UHPA), I was honored to present Becky with the "Support Of Excellence" award at our annual 2007 banquet, and to recognize her for her support of the UHP.  Eventually, Becky was invited to join the ranks of the UHP Honorary Colonels Association.

I also appreciate that Becky took time out of her busy schedule to attend my promotional ceremony to Corporal at the state capitol during the 2011 legislative session.  

I'm grateful for the opportunities had to occasionally get together with Stan, Becky and other friends for dinner or other social activities, and for the friendships that have been formed.  

My prayers and thoughts are with Stan and his family at this time!  

A Dream-- From The Mission Journal of George Q. Cannon

In reading the beginning entries of George Q. Cannon's journal from his mission to the Hawaiian Islands, this particular entry stands out. Their vessel was hampered in setting sail from a California harbor due to high winds, and an anchor being stuck in the mud below the water.  On 22 November 1850, recorded a dream that he had the night previous, in which the Prophet Joseph Smith taught him of the power that comes to an individual when Faith is combined with Prayer. 

A New Book & Reminiscing

Just began reading THE JOURNALS OF GEORGE Q. CANNON- HAWAIIAN MISSION 1850-1854. Looking forward to reading deeper into its pages.  Having served myself as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands, I love reading anything that pertains to the early days of the LDS Church in the islands, and it brings back to mind my days as a new missionary on the island of Maui.

The first LDS chapel in the Hawaiian Islands still stands in Pulehu on the island of Maui. Near that spot, the first baptisms were performed by George Q. Cannon and James Keeler.
 

My first assigned area was in Kahului.  Soon after arriving, I attended my first Zone Conference which was held at the Palehu chapel. Having only recently started to really focus on things Spiritual, during the months leading up to receiving my mission call, it was a great experience to sit in that Zone Conference and to be instructed by President and Sister Martin- as well as the assistants to the president, to each share our testimony, and to feel the motivating power of the Holy Ghost.  Those first months of my mission were a great spiritual awakening for me.

A Quick Rescue and Drive to Seattle

Russell, LeighAnn, their children and two dogs left to return back home to Seattle early Saturday morning (03 Dec).  We got a call just before 6am informing us that the old Suburban had broken down up in the Layton area.  Debbie headed up in the Impala, and I headed up in my pickup truck. You may recall that Russell and his family broke down when they came down for Thanksgiving last November.

We decided to leave the Suburban in a Target parking lot and then we all headed back towards Provo. Russell arranged for a towing company to come later and pick up the Suburban, We then stopped at the SLC Airport and picked up a Suburban from a car rental.  After getting everything all packed up back in Provo, we all set out together.  We met the tow-truck operator, who took the broken down vehicle back to Provo.  We then drove straight through to Russell's home in Seattle- arriving at around 1am.  

After getting a few hours of sleep, Debbie and I started for home at 8:30am Sunday morning.  It was raining, and then snow-packed as we started to climb up Interstate 90 out of the Seattle area.  The snow and rain continued until we got down into the East Oregon area.  Debbie and I made it back to Provo late Sunday evening.