Pappa Hardy’s Musings on Life.

Just when my frustration from other things happening in my life was getting to me, good news. Brian called a few days ago to tell us Crystal is pregnant. We are going to have our first grandchild. Hurray!!! We have been wondering whether that would ever happen. The cycle of life starts anew. We are going to be grand parents. Yeah!!!

Well, I suppose it has to happen.  I was to a city council meeting last night, and was unexpectedly called upon to state my views.  I did so, which included relating to the city council and the city manager what I have heard sometimes about the city when I talk to customers.  Whoa, the city manager gets up and takes a cheap shot at me and the bank.  It makes me mad enough I want to go into politics, be elected to the council, and see him get fired.  Well, that will never happen, and I am sure he doesn’t like to hear things contrary to the picture he wants painted and put out there.  Politics, as I have heard many say, is not for the faint of heart.  I have to decide where my heart is.

While in Taiwan recently we were sorely tempted about the prospect of becoming a “couple missionary”. We met a couple in Chung Li who were a couple missionary. While they were friendly enough, they weren’t trying to learn the language and become part of the China/Taiwan that we both hold dear.

An hour later, we met the new Mission President, and missionary contemporary of mine who took us to Taipei to meet another old friend for Dinner. He immediately asked us to turn in our papers and become a “couple missionary”. He indicated he could make sure we came to Taiwan. Oh, we were sorely tempted. I think we would love to go back for a year or two, or even three. However, reality has set in since we came home. Will we ever go? I don’t really know.

One of the days of my life that I remember with the most fondness was the day that I received my Eagle Scout Award. An Eagle Scout award is a special achievement, one of which I never thought I would obtain. I have always been proud that I took the time and made the effort to earn this award. It was one that I worried about ever earning. I had managed to earn many of the badges that I needed, but there was a couple that I still needed to earn. They included the Nature merit badge which I had been avoiding for many months.

Well, finally I realized, when I was close to turning 16, that I didn’t have too much longer to go before I would be 18. I therefore made that fateful decision to get going and get the badge earned. Well, I managed to get the job done, and earn the badge. I will never forget standing on the stage in the Layton Utah Stake Center, receiving my badge in front of a lot of people. Ever since then, I have been proud to wear the Eagle Scout badge and represent my fellow scouts in the Scouting movement.

We have some special friends.  They are Gary and Karen Christensen.  Gary and I have been close since Junior High School when we both launched failed careers as class officers.  I am amazed that I ever tried that, and Gary tried it too.  In any event, Gary and Karen were both brought to my mind because if I get this right, today there last child Randy is getting married.

 

Gary and Karen are the types of friends that you can laugh with and have a good time, whether it is at dinner, walking around, or just talking and bringing ourselves up to date on their family and lives.  They have been there for us whenever we have needed support.  We are so glad that we have friends like this.

We had another of what seems to be a lot of power failures here in Payson.  Payson has it’s own electrical generating system and company, and to say I am less than impressed is an overstatement.  However, one pleasant side effect occured tonight.  It got a lot of the neighborhood outside for a change, and we (Bonnie and I) went for our nightly walk, a little early.

We must have stopped and visited with at least three or four different couples.  What a lot of fun.  It is great to have friendly neighbors and it is fun to stop and visit.  That is what life used to be like, instead of the busy, busy, move around and go to things society that we have now.  It was a pleasurable night.

I heard an unsettling comment from my wife a while back. Should looked at the side of my head, above my ears and told me that all of my grey hair had turned white in that area. I was chagrined to hear that what little grey hair I had in that small area was now white. I remember the day when I had a totally black head of hair. In fact, when I was in Taiwan on my mission I was sometimes asked if I had Chinese ancestry because my hair was so black.

 

Oh, the unfairness of it all. We age, and we age some more, and then we get old. I sometimes don’t feel that old, but then my body tells me that I ain’t as young as I used to be. I am working to forestall the changes that occur in my body, but then we age weather we want it to happen or not. I guess the key is doing it gracefully and enjoying the walk. I hope the next set of white hairs finds me still happy with the process.

I think that I spend a lot of my life now tired.  It seems like I am tired when I go to sleep, tired when I wake up, tired during the day, and then tired before and after I exercise.  I know that part of that is because of my medical condition, but I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to always be tired.  I guess that I need to do something about this.  I don’t know though, I sometimes feel to tired to do anything at all about this or anything else.

Church History Sites have always interested me.  I guess my mission experience has resulted in a passionate devotion to the church that I belong too and a very exhaustive interest in it’s history.

One such church history site is the city of Kirtland.  When we lived in Michigan, we lived close to the state of Ohio which was the location of the early church.  Kirtland is a small little town even today on the east side of Cleveland.  When we visited Kirtland, we visited the Kirtland Temple in addition to other sites.

Visiting the Kirtland Temple was a very interesting experience.  When we visited, the Reorganized LDS Church, no know as the Community of Christ, provided the tour since they own the building and property where the temple stands.  It was an OK tour, but they were more interested in describing the architecture and other things.  The tour consisted primarily of LDS people, and near the end of the tour the guide took us to a spot in the temple and described what had happened.

This is the spot where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Oliver Cowdrey and Joseph Smith after they came to this spot to pray.  They had lowered the curtain and were praying for guidance from the Lord.  The hair on the back of my head stood up and it was a wonderful experience.  I knew at that time, through a witness of the spirit, that the Lord had indeed appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey.  I didn’t need anyone else to tell me that.  It was indeed a wonderful experience.

Well, we have had some interesting experiences here in Taiwan.  This is Ghost Month.  They have a month where those that are Bhuddist, and of course honor their ancestors, must offer items to the Ghosts that inhabit the earth here so they will not bring them bad luck and will not interfer with the honoring of their ancestors.  Therefore, we have many times seen firecrackers going off, stuffed pigs and tables loaded with many items that are being offered to the ghosts.

This comes with much fanfare and noise.  We have happened upon several such events and it has been fun seeing them happen.  We have seen some interesting events.  In any event, they do get to eat the stuff that they put out, once they have done their thing.