Pappa Hardy’s Musings on Life.

Once upon a time, in a land long ago, a new entity was born. This place was called a mall. It was a huge, magnificent building that was constructed for the sole purpose of selling goods in an atmosphere of comfort for the buyers. These buildings were the result of cheap fuel, transportation systems (automobiles) that allowed people unlimited mobility and opportunities to leave there homes and travel somewhere to shop.

Later on, a new concept arose called an Outlet Mall. The shoppers desire to get those name brand goods at ever cheaper prices caused outlet malls, so named because they were name brand stores in an outside mall, to sprout up all over America. These “new malls” grew up quickly in vacant fields, and were few and far between because they were supposed to be special.

Quickly they stopped growing because of several new changes. First, fuel became more expensive and the cheap outlet malls became more common and less competitive. Then, a thing called the internet grew up, and the new mall became the monster mall in cyberspace. Now, the ever diligent and suffering shopper can buy his or her goods without ever having to leave the house. All one needs is a good computer, a marvelous modem, and lots of band width so one can shop at ease without leaving the home. Now, we can all shop in the cyber mall and the physical mall is becoming a thing of the past.

One of the great curses of being part of a Bishopric in our church is the fact that it should be impossible to fall asleep in church. As my wife will attest, that is one of my favorite activities. When I was sitting in the congregation, one of the things I really liked to do in the past was sit in a pew that was against a load bearing wall. Once the meeting got started, I would lay my head against the wall and voila, I was asleep, catching some well deserved rest. My wife, being the good woman she is, realized that I should actually be learning something in Sacrament meeting, so she would wake me up. When she realized that was not going to keep me from getting some shut eye, she told me that I was forbidden from sitting next to the wall.

Next, she even refused to sit there and therefore we would sit in a row of chairs (not a pew, which was way too comfortable for me) and then we would try and listen. My eye lids would prove to be way too heavy and I soon would be having my head fall forward and sometimes that would wake me up, and sometimes it wouldn’t. That is how I learned just how sharp my wife’s elbow could be, as she would jab me in the side so that I wouldn’t embarrass her.

Apparently my heavenly father didn’t appreciate me falling asleep in church, so I was called to a position that would force me to sit in front of everyone in the ward on a row facing the congregation. Now I was trapped, with everyone watching whether or not I fell asleep. Unfortunately, even sometimes in front of a lot of people I would fall asleep, but I must admit that I probably fall asleep less in church.

I looked out the window this Saturday morning. I saw evidence of the changing of the seasons. I guess there is nothing so constant as change, and now the season are a changing. I love the fall colors. I just don’t like the winter that follows the colors. They say that the colors are due to the shorter days and the trees starting to change and prepare for winter. I long for a warmer climate, which I guess is an indication that I am getting older too and that the seasons are changing for me. Is that why we change colors, from uniform beautiful tans to blotches on our arms where we have pigment spots. I love the fall. I just don’t care for the winter.

Going to a Family Reunion is one of those Life’s Balancing Acts that we all experience because we are human beings, raised in families. On the one hand, you want to be with family, enjoy their company, and have a good day. Yet, you know that you are getting together with people all of which have different and unique personalities, interests, and opinions. It is at this point that it becomes one of those balancing acts.

You hear something said that you know is crazy, not true, or maybe is an outright fabrication and you want to jump in and correct that person. If you do, that is when the fireworks start, the feelings get hurt, and perhaps those people will never come to another Family Reunion again. What do you do?

Being the type of person that tends to want to make everyone happy, and make sure that no one’s feelings get hurt, you tend to try and avoid making a direct confrontation that will bring that eventual heartache. However, I also find that as I get older I am less likely to suffer fools or their opinions, and am willing to risk hurt feelings to make sure that what I believe is truth does prevail. I don’t know what the right or wrong thing is to do. I just know that it makes going to a Family Reunion or a more challenging experience than the ones I attended way long ago, when I was a child, each reunion a new adventure, and cousins were people I played with and had a grand time. Why can’t it be like the good old times? Perhaps the good old times were not that great. I just don’t know the answer to these questions.

I recently learned something at a bank branch staff meeting (a truly odd event) that made me think about the two animals that have lived in my house recently, and have passed away. They are buried in the ground near a rock wall in our back yard.

According to some Jewish tradition (if I have this correct), rather than bring flowers to a grave site, they bring small pebbles which are placed there. These rocks symbolize the intent to always (like a rock is steadfast and immovable) that we shall always remember the deceased who has passed on.

I guess the two animals of which I speak (TB and Snowball) will always hold a special place in our hearts in our family, not because they necessarily were super animals, but because in their own way they showed love to this family, and we likewise, with rock steady steadfastness, shall have a place in our hearts for them. They were special to us, and I don’t think I will ever forget them.

At least once a day I walk out to the garage. Whether it is to check the garage door to make sure it is shut, or to make sure the light is off, or just to make sure everything is OK, I have the same type of experience. I expect to hear a loud meow of the garage’s inhabitant, either demanding food, a litter box change, or just wanting to be let out for a while. I keep hearing our departed cat. I suffer again every time I go to the garage. Perhaps I will never go to the garage again for a while. The car needs to be moved out to another location.

The World has truly changed in my lifetime. Nowhere is this more evident than in Las Vegas, but you can see it everywhere. When I was young, children had to know how to play because organized sports and activities for them were few and far between. We would play baseball in someone’s backyard, or on the street, or at a play ground for hours. We had a great time. We had snowball wars, we built snow forts, we played catch, we played hide and seek.

There wasn’t much to watch on TV. We only had three channels, and often times the TVs were not working because we had electronic tubes in those TV’s, that had rabbit ears, and they were darn expensive to replace. Of course, black and white TV was the norm and you only dreamed of color TV, that we heard the rich people had.

We had one phone in the home, and it was hooked to a party line. We got our information from newspapers and from talking to people, and we “weren’t in touch”.

Now, we live in a world where nearly everyone has a cell phone. On that cell phone you can get live internet feeds with news, entertainment, text messages, and of course, you can talk on the phone. Text messages have taken over as the way to communicate, rather than talking to someone live. We are detached as a people. Everyone has color TV, and of course, they are big, huge flat screen TVs, sometimes hung on a wall in the living room and taking up a whole wall. You can view hundreds of channels (with absolutely nothing worth seeing on them) and the selection of various channels available is mind boggling.

A major event around the world is known by everyone in a hurry. We are a people in touch, yet strangely enough, I believe we are more out of touch. People want to interact with other people less, preferring to be able to text message each other where they can measure and edit their responses rather than talk to people live.

We have huge buildings and massive ways to entertain ourselves. Everything is programmed for us, and nothing is spontaneous. I miss a lot of the old world. I think we had a lot more fun then. I am not sure our change has brought us happiness.

From the evening news tonight you would have thought that the entire financial structure of the United States had just quit functioning. I have to admit, it was an interesting and also stressful day at the bank. It is not every day that the DJI loses 500 points. The DJI Average lost that much in October of 1987 when the market was a lot smaller. We recovered.

Things are changing fast, that is for sure. Lehman Brothers disappears over a weekend, with Merrill Lynch being purchased by Bank of America. What some people, the ignorant, and most of the populace of this country don’t understand is that the investment banks are not the same as the commercial banks that they equate banking with. The commercial banks and the majority of the banks in this country are much safer than the country realizes. It is going to be a wild ride for the next little while as the markets sort out all of the problems that have come because of the greed of a few who put together mortgages that were not good, and then the populace of this country who wanted a home without paying the dues required and who wanted to profit by using constantly rising home prices as a way to build their equity.

Yes, it will take a while. Those of us who have 401k’s and the such will need to hold out for a while, but I believe that this country will recover. In the meantime, we have a Presidential Election in process and the candidates will beat this to death. We also have basic problems that need to be resolved, the IRAQ war, Social Security, Medicare, and budget deficits. Whoever is elected President has a real challenge on their hands. We will recover from this supposed financial meltdown.

I saw a machine in Las Vegas which must be the rage of the city. I haven’t seen them anywhere else, but in Las Vegas I saw them in the mall, in the casinos, and in many other places. They are a massaging machine that is run using jets of water to massage the people wrapped in the machine. It was an interesting, but strange thing to see.

That title above is reserved for a booklet and program that exists within the youth program for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is to that program, that I do not refer. Instead, I refer to the feats of youth, particularly those of my son. Michael this morning ran in a 10K and had a personal best time of 51:45. While that is by far not the best time that was run this morning, it is an improvement of his previous personal best. I love the youth that can move forward and improve and become better. For me, it seems that each minute, each hour, each day, month, and year, finds me physically getting a little bit worse and worse. Ah, to have the strength of youth again. I just now need to find a Fountain of Youth.