Dream Flying

The other night I had a "flying" dream and woke up quite exhilarated! I don't recall such a dream since I was in elementary school. Quite a treat to be zipping and swooshing around the sky -

Final Missionary

After the stake Christmas Choir night a young man came up to me. We gave each other a hug and exchanged greetings. He had just returned from his mission on Tuesday. What made this particular reunion more poignant than usual is that he was the last missionary that, as a stake president, I had the opportunity to set apart.
All in all there were about 325 members of the stake I had the opportunity to set apart as full time missionaries. Those settings apart were some of my favorite experiences of that calling.

Change Day & College Football

Every 3-4 months UTA has a change day, meaning the bus drivers all pick up new routes. Sometimes this is a good thing but most times it carries a bit a sadness with it. In the evening I am often the last passenger to be dropped off and I go up to the front of the bus and chat with the driver for the final 5 minutes.

The driver, Dennis, we've had for the last three months or so is a big college football fan and so we've had a running dialogue during the season. He's an Ohio State fan from the midwest who likes BYU and several other teams as well.

I keep waiting for him to break into singing! If you can picture the opening to the movie Money Talks (I've never seen it) where the guy is jivin' and singing to the car radio (which we have played dozens of times at our house) and then add about fifteen years to the actor's age you'd have what Dennis looks like.

I'll miss our chats, predictions and rehashing of the weekly gridiron scene! Maybe he'll pick up the 803 again next fall -

Caitlin & Choir

From the mezzanine floor in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, under the glittering chandeliers and surrounded by the richness of intricately carved wood accented by gilded paint and Christmas lights, the sound of young women's voices, beautiful and clear, descended through the air.

Caitlin looked beautiful!

I wish such memories lingered with more clarity and permanence. So much of our experience is buried by the passing days.

Cocoon

It's the time of year of the work cocoon, meaning I go to work in the dark and return home in the dark. There is something enclosing and restrictive about this. Is there a hint of snugness? I don't think so. Any mid-day walk is therefore doubly liberating!

Dance Concert

After a period of dormancy Quickenings is back de vez en quando

Last night Christian and Caitlin, along with other members of their ballroom dance class, performed a Viennese Waltz. They both performed with grace, assurance and flair. Christian in black pants, white shirt and red tie and Caitlin in a classic black dress. Although they may be uncomfortable with the thought, they both had a wonderful stage presence. Congratulations to both of them!!

Short (?) Walk In Clean, Brisk Air

The temperature had dropped 40 degrees from the day before and it had been raining during the morning hours. By noon the rain was temporarily suspended. I decided to take short walk up the canyon where, twenty five years ago, I used to run several times a week during my lunch hour. The air was brisk and clean, the leaves beginning to exchange their greenery for a variety of vivid colors.

It was a joy to breathe and to see and to sense. I kept walking. Delicious memories of running through those same places years ago came rushing back. I kept walking. There was something that kept pulling me north. Just a little farther, a little farther.

Finally I had to turn around, the bungee cord of responsibility would only stretch so far! Still, the sense of exhilaration lingers -