Pappa Hardy’s Musings on Life.

I saw a movie tonight that moved me. It was the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story is one of a child born with an old man’s body, and then as the man grows older in mind and spirit, his body grows younger. It was certainly a different take on life’s experiences. The thing I loved about the movie was the thoughts that it left about life, and the fact that we should cherish each and every moment. We should also never let life get us down, but should try and try again. It was thought provoking. It makes me think of my own life, and how we should try and do our best always.

Well, one unintended consequence of spending Christmas with the family is that the kids are all becoming rock musicians. Chris has a game that is the rage right now, called Rock Band. There is a Rock Concert going on right now in Chris’s front room and soon I am sure that the kids will be playing to sold out auditoriums all over the country. I intend on becoming quite rich.

Back in 1977 I joined in line a ton of other young, science fiction aficionados to attend the newest release from Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As anyone who saw this movie will attest, the end of the movie takes place at Devils Tower in Wyoming where man met for the first time aliens from outer space. Since that time, I have wanted to see that landmark.

Today I saw that landmark. It was a wonderful experience. We sat and ate our lunches in the shadow of this landmark. We took a hike around the base of the monument, and I enjoyed taking the time to appreciate and take in this National Monument. The only thing lacking was the aliens, the army flying around the monument, and the nerve gas. Also lacking was the music and the talking computers.

We had a good time today. I enjoy taking it easy with no schedule or deadlines to meet.

My two oldest sons are fans of a band called Barenaked Ladies. My oldest son in particular really loves this band. While I knew of the band, and had heard some of their songs, I really didn’t see anything special about them. As we all grow older, we tend to take new things and not embrace them, simply because we have too much emotional baggage invested in the old, and to bring new in takes a lot of effort and energy.

However, I sometimes eventually will move on. Recently I started to listen more to this group and have come to find I like them. In fact, I claim a father’s privilege of having my oldest son take me to the next BNL concert that occurs in Utah, if in fact he comes to attend. The group has catchy lyrics and tunes, and I believe they would be enjoyable in a concert setting. Come on Chris, break loose and take your old dad.

For those of us who thought we probably had heard all there was to hear about how the Fab Four (The Beatles) come to be, there is a new interview that has just surfaced and will be broadcast by the BBC. I can’t wait until this interview makes it to America. I am still fascinated by this rock group. Much better than say, the Bare Naked Ladies or some such other more recent group, don’t you think?

Saw recently the new Indiana Jones movie. It was OK. I think the major problem was that it was a rehash of a lot of old plot lines, and the intensity just wasn’t there. Harrison Ford is a good actor, but he just didn’t have the intensity he did when he was 40. I guess it reminded me of how old I am getting. I don’t have the same intensity either. Maybe someday, when I am fully resurrected, that old intensity will return.

Recently Bonnie and I were on a cruise aboard the Princess Line Golden Princess. I remember watching a show in the 1980’s called the Love Boat. I really hardly ever watched the Love Boat, but since having been on the Golden Princess I have thought about that show. First, in a show on the boat they kept playing that theme. Second, there is a decided lack of young people looking for that special someone because they all travel on Carnival now. Instead, there is a significant preponderance of silver haired, seniors, some of which are on the prowl for a possible mate in their senior years.

However, for the most part there are just a ton of seniors on these cruises. I would guess that of the 3,000 or so guests on this cruise, about 60% are senior citizens. It is a little bit depressing for me because we are moving into that crowds age range. Oh well, maybe the boat should now be called the Senior, maybe sometimes love boat.

While on the Golden Princess we attended one of rhe shows which was a Magic Show by the Great Gaetano. As part of the show, he called up a young child for one act and the child was real cute and did well. The magician however, gave the young man a “magic” penny which he was to put under his pillow and then tomorrow 5 dollars would miraculously appear there. He of course was looking in the direction of the parents hoping that they would not make him a liar.

The next day I saw the young child in the elevator and I asked him if the magic penny had changed. He grinned at me and proceeded to tell me how well that trick had worked. I was glad it wasn’t one of my kids. They would have went for a twenty dollar bill, and all kids would have wanted to be grandfathered in. The kid was a true star.

Well, at least it seemed to be. The setting was right. Tonight I was sitting in the famed Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square. The big, wonderful organ was there, and there sat a choir. It looked like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but it wasn’t. It was the Orem UVSC Institute of Religion Choir singing at the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Samuel H. Smith, first official missionary in the history of the LDS Church.

My son Michael was there as a singer in the choir, and I was there both as a descendant of the Smith’s as well as a proud father watching his son perform. The choir actually did quite well. It was however a long drive into Salt Lake. I can’t believe it, but as I get older it gets harder for me to make these kinds of trips. I am really beginning to show my age. Michael did a good job, and I think we have one of my kids who make it into the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Who knows?

On our recent cruise we were guests on the Golden Princess, a new class of cruise ships for the Princess line. The ship was huge, to say the least. The guests can number up to 2,600 and I think I heard that the crew compliment was 700 or more. It is a small city on the ocean. It was incredible as they provided food anytime of the day or night for us, made up our beds, and provided entertainment. It was truly a delightful experience for us types that want to be pampered. I read the other day, in an ad from Princess, that you could take a cruise around the world for 107 days, for only $28,000 if you wanted the cheap rooms. I am tempted, if I only had 107 days of vacation time and $28,000 that I had no use for. I am sure you could get bored on a voyage of that length, but think of the parts of the world you would see. It would be a great trip.