Pappa Hardy’s Musings on Life.

The other morning I was luxuriating in the feeling of a hot shower and a memory came rushing back to me that had been buried for a while. I speak of the Million Hour Shower. One summer, I was on camp staff at Camp Bartlett in Ovid, Idaho. The only way we could shower was to heat a boiler with wood and then, once the boiler was nice and hot, you headed for the shower.

We stoked the fire, added more wood, and soon the boiler was hotter than ever before and we didn’t dare wait to much longer. We hoped in the shower, and with no one there, we had a lot of water we could run. I will never forget standing, sitting, and enjoying the hot water for what seemed like forever. In reality, it was probably about an hour, but it felt like an eternity and ever since that day, I have thought about how much I enjoyed the relaxing effect of the Million Hour Shower.

One thing for a westerner who grew up in the USA which is not natural to know is the art of haggling. We are so used to going into a store and having a price listed on the item we want and then we walk to the cash register, and pay for the item. That is just the way it is. That is just how things are handled.

Well, in Taiwan the art of haggling is alive and well. No one expects you to pay the price marked, and it can actually get to be fun haggling for something, trying to come to a price. It becomes a personal thing, where you actually are having a social interaction with the shop keeper or the more you haggle, the more they like it. I grew to love haggling with someone. It was a real fun activity.

“Beloved Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, dies at 97
SALT LAKE CITY 27 January 2008 President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.
President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.
The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from cause’s incident to age. Member of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.

This is off of the churches general website.

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away
January 27th, 2008 @ 8:00pm
(KSL News) Officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced this evening that Church President Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away.

He passed away at his home about 7 o’clock this evening with his family was at his side. President Hinckley was 97 years old. He was the 15th president of the Church.
Born in Salt Lake City on June 23, 1910; he graduated from the University of Utah and served a mission to Great Britain. After he returned, he embarked on a lifetime of service for the Church.
He was employed as the executive secretary of the Church Radio, Publicity, and Literature committee, before he was called to be an Apostle in 1961.

He was later called to serve as a counselor to President Kimball, President Benson and President Hunter.

Since becoming Church President on Mar. 12, 1995, he has directed the most intense temple building program in the history of the Church in an effort to extend temple blessings to more members.

He has exhibited vitality and energy as he has traveled about the world meeting and speaking to members of the Church.

Through television interviews and national press publications, he has increased media attention and improved the public image of the Church. He has counseled Church members to fellowship new converts, befriend members of other faiths, live exemplary lives, and avoid the evils of the world.”

What an ordinary Sabbath day, ending in such an extraordinary way. I loved President Hinckley almost like no other man on the face of the earth. He was such a powerful leader and prophet, and this was so unexpected. I had wondered when this day would come, but even knowing that I was so surprised. He was a wonderful man.

I am at a Stake Merit Badge Pow Wow. While this is a worth while event for boys, and as a former scout I feel strongly about helping out boys, one thing that it has pointed out to me is that I just don’t know how to say no.

I really don’t have time to be here. I should be at home with my family, taking care of my family. I am so over committed that it just doesn’t make sense for me to take on even more. I am on the city planning commission, I have church responsibilities, I have work responsibilities, I am President of the Chamber of Commerce, I am just doing “way” too much. I need to concentrate on the best, and not do more.

In a couple of days I will be teaching a Merit Badge Class at the Payson South Stake Merit Badge Pow Wow. I agreed to teach and counsel the Personal Management Merit Badge. I hope I survive a 9 hour long event with the boys.

It took me back to 15 to 20 years ago when we lived in Cheyenne. I was in charge of developing a District Merit Badge University. I was lucky enough to start a program that goes to this day. I felt that I only would be providing pay back by helping at this event. I hope I survive 15 boys for all day long.

I had an interesting experience about 4 years ago. I was traveling around the Orem area, and as part of that day I was stopping at the LDS Distribution Center to buy some items. It was April and they were announcing the new General and Area Authority Seventy leaders of the church. I had received an email from a good Chinese Member friend of mine, Ho Yu Chen, who had served as my 1st Counselor when I was serving as the Branch President of the Chung Li Branch in the Taiwan Mission in 1972.

The Ho’s were a terrific family that I had come to know when I was a missionary. They were my second family. I found them to be such special people, such loving people, and such people of promise. I loved them like I loved my own family. I had kept in touch with them over the years, and loved to hear how they were doing.

Brother Ho (aka Philip) had over the years become a very strong member of the church, being a Bishop, then a Stake President, and the rest of the family had done similar types of leadership opportunities. Brother Ho had sent me an email indicating that he would be in Salt Lake City for conference, only to be stopped in coming by the SAR virus that was ravaging Asia at the time. That morning, I heard President Monson read a somewhat familiar name. He presented the name of Elder Yu Chen Ho. It took me a minute to realize that my dear friend had just been sustained as an Area Authority of the church in Taiwan. I was excited to hear that my friend had been sustained to the leading councils of the church.

Over the intervening years, as I have met with him and his family, I have come to know just how inspired this call is. Brother Ho has come to be known by me as a true Area Authority of the church. He is indeed Elder Ho of the Seventy.

Last night and this morning we had a very interesting experience. We spent the evening of our 34th Wedding Anniversary traveling to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to help several of our kids move to a new home. We are such devoted parents, traveling during the middle of the winter of I-80, which those of you who have traveled during the winter can be a treacherous trip.

While the day was not one where we were battling bad weather, snow, blizzard like conditions, we did run into the infamous Wyoming Ground Blizzard. For those of you who have never made such a trip, the ground blizzard is caused by those ferocious Wyoming winds blowing crystals of snow across the road. As the evening progressed, and as we got further towards Rawlins, Wyoming, we ran into blizzards which were causing concern because we couldn’t really see the road very well. It was weird, we saw Oil Rigs with lights a glaring, projecting beams of light up into the heavens. It was a surreal experience.

This morning, after deciding that we didn’t want to battle Elk Mountain in the dark (stayed in our absolute favorite city of Rawlins), we drove it during the morning hours. It was real bad, with visibility down to zero at several points for about 15 miles. You could not see more than 10 feet in front of the car, while the road was not icing over because it was so cold and because the wind was blowing so hard. It was scary. Now we go on to Cheyenne and help the kids move. It is going to be a busy day, but we love being with the kids and the family

I had an interesting experience when it comes to my 34th Wedding Anniversary. This year I celebrated it on the high seas. Yes, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on a cruise ship bound for Mazatlan, Mexico. We were on the Golden Princess, the month December, the year 2007. When you sign up for a cruise, you can have them help you celebrate your anniversary if it is within about a month of the cruise. We celebrated our anniversary on a Tuesday, December 4.

We came back to our room from a day full of activities to find balloons all over the door saying happy anniversary. I was wondering why they were there when my dear wife confessed to having gone on line and indicating that it would be our anniversary. They allowed you to go to the dining room and have a special meal and cake afterward. The embarrassing part was that we were sitting among all of the Zion Bank people and they sang Happy Anniversary to us. It was a very special event, in a very unusual place for Bonnie and I. I am glad that we did it.

I was married almost 34 years ago, in one week. It was a wonderful winter day, the sun out, the weather relatively warm for the month of January. I was married to my lovely wife in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a wonderful day, and it is one that I have remembered with fondness ever since. We have had a good 34 years.

Last night we had the opportunity to stay in a hotel close to that same temple. I am up in Salt Lake for a sales conference for the bank, and the room that we have has a wonderful view of that same temple that we were married in those years ago. It is a beautiful site at night, the lights on the temple outlining it’s shape against the hill that sits to the north of it. The downtown is beautiful to, marred only by the gaping hole where once used to be the Crossroads Mall and the ZCMI mall on the other side of main street. It was fun just laying with the lights out, a view of the temple presenting itself.

Now the city is beginning to wake up, but I just had to think about how special that one place is to me and my wife. It has been a spiritual experience for me to see that place where I was married all of those years ago.

I just received a call today from the City of Payson regarding serving out the term of Kim Hancock on the Planning Commission. Being the spirited Public servant I am I told her I would. I think I will do it since it is only to fill out Kim Hancock’s term, would be for three months only, and that would let me know if I want to do this full time by applying for a vacant spot. I must be crazy.