Historical

I thought the inauguration speech of Barack Obama was very inspiring. I am not a Democrat, but the race is over, and Obama is leading our country as the president. If you missed it, this site has the best audio version of the speech that I have found out there. In addition, you can read it here. Briefly, I enjoyed the hope, the work ethic, the personal responsibility, the humility, the unity, the volunteer service, and the commitment to our country that President Obama spoke of. I thought he was a little critical of past regimes, but I felt his respect for the good in the history of America. I didn't understand what he meant by "restore science to its rightful place" That one could go either way. I like his sense of involving all faiths (or lack thereof) and his respect for God and faith in his personal convictions. He didn't speak of the more controversial points like same-sex bonds (I feel the term same-sex marriage is a contradiction in terms) or abortion. But he did speak of leaving Iraq responsibly and outlasting the terrorist enemies (not sure what outlast means).
At any rate, I am glad he realizes that he is not the savior of our times, like it sounds like some are feeling. Instead, he reminds us that we need to step up, meet the trying times with dignity and continue to live by our values and faith that have helped shape America thus far.

Drummers

This is kind of random... but I was emailed one of these and coupled it with a couple of others... hope you enjoy. Make sure you watch the middle one too.

Did you know Neil Peart is an author as well? He writes most of the lyrics for Rush and is an entertaining author... mainly regarding his travels like this one

Being a fan of the Muppet Show, I had to include this one

Guess who's reading?

We got a call from Amber's aunt in Salt Lake to inform us that our blog about the Draper Temple had been quoted in the SL Trib. So we checked it out... sure enough, here it is. Makes you wonder who else is reading your blog and where it might end up? We are actually glad that this one ended up in a good place.

Thoughts, Words

So I have been trying to create art (photographic, literary, etc) each day as part of the Production League I have hit about 70% of the days in January. But I needed a place to put my literary work. So here it is. It was inspired and mostly written back in 1999 when I was in the Logan cemetery. But I thought I would drag it out and clean it up to be more readable. This was a time when I had graduated from BYU, been to Asia for 2 months, come back to find out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was up in Logan for 1 week at school thinking about doing a teaching degree. After that week I came back and applied at ARUP, got married, went to pharmacy school, and the rest is history.

Cemetery in the Morning

Death, an inflated mosquito pressed flat, lifeless on my leg. Life – gone. One instant, feeding, flying… In a split second – death. What’s left?

A brother goes to college – once alive.
Split second – dead – who’s left – what remains?

A headstone – McLellan – parents (a few dates – numbers – what is said of their life?)

Parents – what’s left? Children’s lives – a better world – influences linger – people remember.

Their bodies lie still in the ground – an addition to the complex. Yet people still run, slave, and bury their souls for money. Is money keeping us alive?

A few numbers. A few numbers in the bank account – a few numbers – do they keep us alive? A few numbers to our name. A few numbers tell the dates we lived – a few numbers to our name.***

Our skin dies and falls off, forgotten – replaced by new life – new skin – new blood.

Parents, a few letters after the names – they toiled, slaved, and ran for the children – a few letters – parents – maybe even lose their life for.

People still run, slave, and toil for, maybe even lose their soul for money – CEO, PhD, MD, a few letters after their name. What’s gained – what’s lost?
The systems we live by – death – what’s left?
The systems of the soul – what are they?
Economic systems, political systems, judicial, academic, professional, spiritual systems.
Anatomical systems.

Systems, numbers, names, - what do we live for? What do we leave?

cute boy - have to share

This is Scott eating his first banana... wow did he go to town... he's our little feeder fish that just won't stop

Draper Temple

Well, we ventured out into the cold tonight with the kids... we were invited by Tyler's Mom and Dad to attend the open house of the Draper Temple. It was a bit of a zoo to find parking and inside the stake center... but the hosts and guides were so friendly and capable. The inside of the temple was just gorgeous. Everything from the front reception desk to the celestial room. Especially loved was the telestial rooms with their neat murals on the walls. We hope everyone has a chance to see this beautiful edifice we call the House of the Lord.