Musings

It has been a while since we last posted here. Here are some updates.

Ellie just finished her dance season with two wonderful recitals last week. She is really an elegant and creative dancer. The instructor lets the girls choreograph some of their own dances and Ellie's dances were magnificent! We are so proud of her!

Peter had his final choir concert at Eastmont Middle School last week. It was very well done. Peter is a very talented singer and actor and wants to audition for some plays this summer and next year. He has already been in "Music Man Jr.," "Seussical," and "High School Musical Jr." We take him as often as we can to see his cousins perform, too. We saw one cousin, Abby Paulsen, in the just-finished run of "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Hale Theatre. We also saw her in the Olympus High School version of "Sound of Music earlier this year. And we can't wait to take Peter to any Young Ambassador performances we can find, since another cousin, Zachary Hess, just became a member as an incoming freshman at BYU. We think Peter will love will love this summer.

Parry got straight A's the last quarter! He had been struggling with his heavy academic load this year but he really came through in the clutch at the end. Way to go, J.P!

Trish and I went down to BYU to see the Minerva Teichert exhibit. What a wonderful artist! Her paintings are so expressive. They present a different perspective on LDS culture and history that we really enjoyed. Whenever you get a chance go see her paintings.

School is over on Wednesday and we are hosting the annual neighborhood party for all the elementary school kids in our area. We will be having a water slide, and big bouncing rubber animal of some kind, our trampoline and swing set, plus hot dogs. All the neighbor kids look forward to it every year.

During the past month I have begun writing a book with a friend of mine from the Leavitt days, Greg Jarrard. It is historical fiction set during the Utah War and purports to uncover a conspiracy by the extreme Manifest Destiny crowd to use the so-called "Mormon rebellion" as a pretense for pushing the Latter-day Saints out of Utah as part of a giant grab for the gold and precious metals in abundance here. It will star some fictional chracters but also include historical figures such as Brigham Young, Parley Pratt, Porter Rockwell, John D. Lee, John C. Fremont, and Thomas Hart Benton (the Senator, not the artist).

Trish and I like to entertain and we have had four families over for barbecues during the past month. We have a trampoline in the backyard, a basketball standard in the driveway, a swing set, and a ping pong table and home theater downstairs - plenty to keep guests of all ages happy and occupied.

My back surgery almost three years ago was a miracle. It alleviated all pain, pain which I had experienced off and on for almost 30 years since I injured my back just before my mission. Nevertheless, eventually I will need full fusion surgery because my two lower discs are slowly deteriorating. To my chagrin, this past month I had a recurrence of some that old pain. So, I returned to one of my back doctors for a re-examination. Happily, he said that we could postpone surgery for another 10 to 15 years if I followed a new and rigorous physical therapy and medication program. I have been on it for about three weeks now and I am happy to report that it is working very well. My new pain has dissipated almost entirely.

I am working on a big real estate deal with one of my oldest and best friends, Milt Shipp. He was the East High School Senior Class President and I was his Vice President. We have always wanted to do a deal together and we finally found one. If it works out I will be able to buy that fancy new Hi Fi set I have had my eye on!

Another good friend, Ruland Gill just retired from Questar. I attended two different farwell events for him. At one of them I got to roast him with a fun "Top Ten Reasons Ruland is Really Retiring." His son David also got married that same week.

This year we celebrated Memorial Day on both Sunday and Monday. On Monday we placed flowers on the gravesites of Trish's brother Leif Paulsen, her grandmother Mor, and her Stewart grandparents. We also placed flowers on the gravesites of my Judd grandparents. On Monday we placed flowers on the gravesites of my brother Randy, my mother Cleo, and my sister Valerie. On those days we had dinner at Charles and Marie Roberts' home, Charlotte Paulsen's home, and visited my dad Al. It was a wonderful and spiritual feast for us those two days as we remembered our dead kin with the knowledge that we would all see them again, thanks to the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ!

Wood Badge

I just spent the past two weekends immersed in the Boy Scout leadership training known as Wood Badge. It was a fabulous experience. I met some wonderful new friends, learned some new leadership skills, and got re-acquainted with a tent! There is a lot of lore associated with the Boy Scouts. It has a very rich culture all its own, and I found myself wanting more of it. There is something about the uniform (I am now the proud owner of my first Scout uniform since I last owned one at age14), the games, the silly songs, the campfire skits, the badges. It is all about teaching young men citizenship and character and learning to love the outdoors. It is common sense training packaged in khakis and a neckerchief. And the training is not just about teaching young men how to be leaders. It teaches unity and teamwork and love of life and reverence for God. It helps in all aspects of life - work, home, and family. I remember sitting there one day thinking to myself that corporate executives would pay thousands of dollars for this kind of leadership training. Yet there we were, sitting in this country lodge, being taught true principles on a shoestring budget. We had a campfire program every night, flag ceremonies night and morning, two interfaith services, and days filled with songs and cheers and games (all with insightful purpose). I would recommend it to anyone, whether you are involved in the Boy Socuts or not. By the way, they train you using the "patrol" method (that is, you do eveything as a team, learning that you can get much more done together than you can by yourself). I was in the Fox Patrol. Go Foxes!

Mother's Day - Trish's Home Run

I can't tell you how happy and proud I am right now. I just returned from taking our Harrison children back to their dad's house after having them spend a couple of hours with us for a special Mother's Day celebration. (The regular schedule calls for them to be over there this weekend). We had a nice lunch together (hambugers on the BBQ grill) along with Trish's Mom & Dad, Carl and Carol Jean Paulsen. But before lunch we participated in a very special Sacrament Meeting. Trish was the final speaker and her topic was the Family. She spoke primarily from the Declaration on the Family. In all honesty, it was as good a talk as I have ever heard from any pulpit on the issue! To use a baseball metaphor, she just knocked the ball out of the park! I love and respect her sooooo much. But that wasn't all. Immediately preceding her talk, the Harrison kids, Trish, and I sang "A House Becomes a Home" for the Sacrament meeting special musical number. Carol Jean accompanied us. It was a lot of fun. It also set the stage for Trish's wonderful address. It has been a fantastic day so far, filled with the spirit of family and love. But there is more to come. There's a Paulsen Mother's Day celebration in Draper later today. Stay tuned.

Keaton's Blessing

We attended little Keaton Al Riggs' blessing last week in Lehi. He is such a cute little boy! Dad Micah did a great job with the blessing. Keaton's blessing was one of six (!) blessings in that ward, leaving about 15 minutes total for testimonies. Delicious refreshments were to be had afterwards at the Micah & Amanda Riggs home. The Lord continues to bless our extended family!

Riggs Reunion

The First Annual Al & Cleo Riggs Reunion was a smashing success! Held at the humble abode of Robin & Trish on May 3, it was notable for the great attendance. We had 100% representation from all families (even Val, who was there in spirit!). In fact, as far as we could tell, there were only 5 extended family members NOT there. The food was good, there was a lot of love and re-bonding, and the famous Riggs Home Theater was well used. But most importantly, we remembered Al & Cleo through shared stories and testimonies of their love for us and for each other. Thank you all for making this event so successful!

Iron Man Rocks!

J.P. and I just came from seeing the new Marvel Comics superhero movie "Iron Man." It was very good! Having grown up on Marvel Comics, I can honestly say that this is the best adaptation of a Marvel hero since the first Spider-man movie. Iron Man is a perfect summer movie, full of action, superhero fun, and, by the way, great acting. Robert Downey, Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark. And if you go, stay until after the credits. There is another scene. 'Nuff said!

Delta Merger

As part of my role at the Salt Lake Chamber I was involved to some extent with the Delta / Northwest merger. When the Delta CEO came to SLC two weeks ago his advance man asked Lane Beattie and I whether or not he should meet with the LDS Church's First Presidency while he was here. We said that not only should he meet with them, but that the Second Counselor was a former airline pilot. It turns out that at the meeting with the Church leaders, the Delta CEO offered President Dieter Uchtdorf a chance to fly some of the Delta flight simulators the next time President Uchtdorf was in Atlanta. Watch the news the next time President Uchtdorf has an assignment in Atlanta!