Our son's mission call

It as taken me over a week to get to it, but I must take a moment and post the fact that our oldest, Dallas, has received his mission call. He will be serving in the Georgia, Atlanta mission. He reports on December 15th.

Congratulations son! We're proud of you and know that you will have much to offer the people in Georgia and eastern Alabama.

Now begins the task of getting him outfitted to go!

A funny moment at dinner.

Our oldest, Dallas, had his wisdom teeth pulled this past week in preparation for missionary service. When I arrived home from work, I found him lying on the sofa. I think he was asleep, still under the effects of the anesthesia.

Kamryn came up to me and gave me a hug, as she often does upon my return from work. Then she asked me, "Do you know what Dallas did when he got home from the dentist?"

"What?" I asked.

"He asked me and Kelsey to play cards with him."

"Oh?" I questioned.

"Yeah. That's rather unusual for Dallas", she replied.;

Indeed.

A little while later, we gathered at the table for dinner and asked Dallas if he wanted to join us. Much to my surprise, he did. I thought he would prefer to continue resting. The rest of us had some solid foods for dinner. Dallas had a cup of yogurt and some pudding in front of him. A few minutes into dinner, I heard Kamryn call Dallas' name.

"Dallas?" Silence.

I looked up and Dallas appeared to be sound asleep sitting in his chair. We all smiled at one another and Kamryn called again, "Dallas!"

Dallas opened his eyes and asked, "What?" We told him he had fallen asleep.

A few seconds later, Kamryn again said, "Dallas." Again, he had fallen asleep at the table. He woke up again, and this time took a spoonful of his yogurt. Half of it made it into his mouth, the other half began running down his still-numb lip and chin. We all started laughing. It was made all the more funny when he asked "What?", clearly not knowing what was going on. I was moved to tears it was so funny. That and the fact that this mellowness was a side of Dallas we had not seen in some time. It was refreshing.

He wiped his chin, which apparently took more energy than he had available because he promptly fell asleep again. We woke him again and he took another bite of yogurt. Same result. Half in the mouth, half down the chin. This time I went and got the camera.

Kelsey says its mean to post this photo, but I do it out of love!

We love you Dallas.

R2R2R

Back in mid-May, I and two of my brothers (Eric and Russell), embarked on quite the challenge. After much discussion and preparation, we attempted a rim-to-rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon. For those that may not understand what that means, it is a hike starting on one side of the canyon, going across to the other side, then turning around and returning to the starting side.

In our case, our plan was to start on the south rim, go down the South Kaibab Trail, across the bottom, up the North Kaibab trail to the north rim, back down that same trail, back across the bottom, then up the Bright Angel Trail to the south rim. A total distance of 45 miles. Our goal was to complete the journey in under 24 hours because, as some who have made the trip have said, to complete the journey in anything over 24 hours is simply to go hiking in the canyon for two days. Heck, we wanted a challenge.

The following is one brother's (my) perspective.

The three of us prepared ourselves to varying degrees. We had some idea what we were getting into as all three of us have hiked in the canyon before, and we have all hiked rim to rim (24 miles) in a day on a number of occasions. For my part, I prepared by trying to do as much hiking and jogging as possible. I got serious about it at the first of the year and set a goal to be able to jog 10 miles non-stop. I reached that goal for the first time around the latter part of April. Just for good measure, I did a second 10-mile jog the first part of May. At that point, I felt I was as ready as I was going to be.

We left Phoenix the evening of May 13th. Dad was with us. He was going to meet a cousin of his at the south rim and spend some time hiking and waiting (and probably worrying) for the three of us. We went to Williams where Eric, Russ and I had a hotel room waiting for us. Dad spent the night out under the trees in Tusayan.

Friday morning, May 14th, after about the most horrible night's sleep I've ever had (I really don't think I slept at all), we got up, dressed and hit the road after grabbing a power breakfast at McDonalds. We met up with dad and his cousin, Bill Parker, in Tusayan and we went into the park. We left vehicles at one of the shuttle stops, hopped on the shuttle bus and rode to the trailhead for the South Kaibab Trail. After photos, last minute checks to be sure we had everything and last minute exhortations from dad to "be careful", we headed into the abyss at 8:27 AM, which was an hour or more later than we wanted to start, but which would end up being a perfect start time in the end.

It was a beautiful morning. It was a bit cold and overcast, but the sun shown through from time to time. Across the canyon to the north, we could see storm clouds brewing, which caused a little concern, but not enough to change our plans.

We made good time heading down hill. Parts of the trail are a little steep, requiring a little slower pace from time to time, but not bad. We had a schedule to keep with a list of the major features or stopping points along the trails and where we wanted to be (in terms of time) by the time we reached each spot.

We stopped just briefly a couple of times down the South Kaibab, the longest stop being about five minutes at the Tonto Trail junction. We reached the Colorado River, the seven mile mark, in 1:54; not too bad, but a few minutes behind schedule. We headed into Phantom Ranch for our first real rest. We refilled water bottles, ate a few snacks and rested for about 15 minutes, then headed onward.

Our next major goal was to reach Cottonwood Camp, another seven miles (14 miles into our trip), by the 4:30 mark. By this time, the sun was out, things were warming up and we moved quickly, averaging about three miles per hour across the bottom of the canyon. We passed the Ribbon Falls junction and not long after, hit Cottonwood Camp, pretty much on time. We left Cottonwood at the five hour mark, 14 miles into the journey, with seven miles remaining to the top of the north rim, the 1/2 way mark.

A little over one mile out of Cottonwood, I started to get tired. I began to lag behind Eric and Russ by 50 to 75 yards. Although they didn't say anything, I think they were beginning to worry about me and wonder to each other if I was going to be able to get out the north side, let alone make the return trip.

We passed Roaring Springs and continued onward. At about 6:30 into our hike, we were approximately four miles from the north rim. After reaching Supai Tunnel (two miles from the top), Russ pushed on ahead and Eric and I stuck together. We (Eric and I) reached the Coconino Overlook (one mile from top) at about 8:30 into the hike. Another 30 minutes and we reached the top, nine hours after starting this morning.

As luck would have it, a coworker of mine (Mark Norton) had some previous arrangements to do some work-related training on the north rim. That worked out well for us because he and his wife were able to take 1/2 of our supplies with them and by way of walkie-talkies, we were able to communicate with them before we reached the north rim, such that when we did arrive, they were waiting for us with our supplies. We had packed some cans of chicken chili, a small stove and pot, some camp chairs, extra clothing, etc. We had a much-needed 45 minute rest during which time we cooked a hot meal, replenished our supplies, changed into some dry clothing, and prepared for our return hike.

At approximately 6:15 PM, we headed back down into the abyss. We made good time going down hill, and by the time we reached Roaring Springs, we were about two hours ahead of our predetermined schedule. Things were also getting pretty dark in the canyon. We pulled out our headlamps, and headed on to Cottonwood Camp.

We reached Cottonwood Camp at about 12:30 into our hike and had a short break, then pressed forward toward Phantom Ranch.

We reached Phantom Ranch at about 11:40 PM, approximately 35 miles, 15 hours and 13 minutes into our hike. To say that we were tired is an understatement. We were beat. We had 10 more miles to go, it was almost midnight, our bodies were sore and crying for sleep. We rested at Phantom for about 20 minutes, refilled water containers, ate some food, doctored feet, slammed some extra strength Excedrin (a very close companion during this trip), and moved forward.

It is quite the experience crossing the footbridge over the Colorado River at 12:15 AM. Other than what is illuminated by your headlamp 5-10 feet in front of you, you cannot see anything. The next ten miles were fairly quiet; not as much talking as there had been earlier in our hike.

We crossed the Colorado, eventually made it to Devil's Corkscrew and then to Indian Gardens, where we rested a few minutes. With 4 1/2 miles remaining, Russ went on ahead and Eric and I stuck together. We made it to the 3 mile rest house, then the 1.5 mile resthouse, at which point Eric pressed forward as well.

In the end, I made it out of the Canyon at approximately 5:45 AM on Saturday, May 15, 2010, after 45 miles of hiking, having completed the journey in 21 hours and 20 minutes, roughly 20 minutes behind Russ and 10 minutes behind Eric.

It was a wonderful trip. Would I do it again? Absolutely!

Thunder River

Carey and I recently had the hiking experience of our lives. Thunder River, Tapeats Creek and Deer Creek, north side of the Grand Canyon. A true wilderness backpacking experience. Me, Carey and eight other men. Isn't Carey lucky? Four days, 25.5 miles with backpacks, another 4 or 5 without, four nights each in a different location of the canyon. Nine priesthood holders. One daughter of God. Spiritual firesides each night. It was a wonderful experience. Grueling, but wonderful. Can't wait to go again!









Starting down into the canyon. Bridger's Knoll in the middle.

























Thunder River, coming out of the side of the cliff face. Beautiful.



























Confluence of Thunder River and Tapeat's Creek.
















A self portrait at the top of Deer Creek where it dumps into the Colorado.























A group photo at the end. Tired but happy!

Some things are hard to put to words

Received a call at work from my stake president on Tuesday afternoon. I closed my office door, knelt and wept. God-speed Addie. Say hello to Daniel.

The burdens of public service...

Being in public service, I hear from all types. Everyone has a complaint. Everyone has suffered discrimination. There's always someone else to blame.

I've been dealing with one particular individual who believes he was terminated from his employment because he requested a new pair of prescription safety glasses. Long story short, there is no merit to his case. Real reason for his termination: he was insubordinate and refused, on several occasions, to discontinue the wearing of his dark, tinted glasses during nightime hours.

I wrote him a letter a couple of months ago when this all started and told him the following:

"Your original discrimination complaint to us, as well as the follow up documents you have recently faxed to me, are confusing and disjointed. There are very few, if any, complete sentences or thoughts. They are extremely difficult to read, and in what appears to be an attempt to give some type of a legal “feel” to those documents, you have created a morass of confusion to the point that it is impossible to determine whether or not you engaged in any activity protected by the ADOSH Act."

He sent me another letter the other day. I've reproduced it in its entirety below. Everything is as it appears in the original, including grammar, punctuation, etc. The only thing I've changed is to add "XXXXXX" in place of actual names, except my own.

Division of Occupational Safety and Health Retaliation : Discrimination :
P.O. Box 19070 Wrongful Termination:
Phoenix, Arizona 85005 – 070 XXXXXXXXXXXX.
Attention : Darren Perkins Date 7 / 14 / 2009
Fax #602-542-1614

Discrimination : Retaliation : OSHA : ADOSH : Complaint # 08-63 ; . { Both : }
Under the Freedom Act to Request Informatio Per Appeal Case # 08-63 ; .
This is a Formal Request Under this Freedom Act ; To Request All Information ; .
Be advised these Requests have been made before ; . Until now this act was brought to my attention ; .
Per : XXXXXXXXXXX ; Also advised of prior Requests and is aware ; . {Misleading }
I am Requesting All Information Per Appeal Case # 08-63 { But Limited to None : } ; .
The Event this Information is not Disclosed ; This could be grounds { With Holding and Concealing
Information : } ; Be Advised and Placed on Notice : ,. To Deal in Good Faith : .
This Protection Act to with hold names and Reports Should Not Apply Do to the Fact and the
Nature of the Corruption Involved in this Case that you are {Aware : } { Darren Perkins } .
My Request was that you Not Be Involved Period { Darren Perkins } XXXXXX. is aware ; .
Accordingly and in a Fashionable Manner ; . If these Requests are Not Granted ;
They will go to the Next Level ; . Be advised { Darren Perkins } ; Deal in Good Faith ; .
Pending Request for Informa6tion Per Appeal Case # 08-63 ; .
Making this Clear : This could be Grounds for Fraud and Racketeering { Criminal Division : } ; .
{ Requesting information Be sent within Next 15 Days Send ASAP : } ; .
{ Leave to Amend : } ; .


Concerns and Copies to :

XXXXXXXXXXX
Fax # XXX – XXX – XXXX
XXXXXXX : This Request for Information has been made again ; Thank You ; I am Standing By
Waiting to Move Forward to the Next Level ; . Please be advised and Placed on Notice ; .

My Contact Information is :
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tucson, AZ 85741
Phone # 602-XXX-XXXX
Standing By Waiting ; .

I love my job. Sigh....

Hurst Family Reunion

This year, Carey was in charge. A big thanks to Bethany Park for tipping us off to the Zion's Ponderosa Ranch and Resort in southern Utah, just outside Zion's National Park.

Dallas: Master Chef

The pool area. Kids had a blast!


Kamryn loved the pool.


Dylan and cousins in the Virgin River, Zion's NP.

Kamryn made a friend with a Famous Amos cookie.

My girls

East Rim trail, through Echo Canyon. What was supposed to be a 10 mile hike ended up being about 15 due to a couple of wrong turns. It was incredibly beautiful, but the lesson learned: Don't go for a wilderness hike without a map. (click on photo for a larger version and note Dallas just left of center. I'm glad he came hiking with me and his uncles.)

Stake Youth Trek

About three weeks ago (time flies), Carey and I were honored to participate in our stake's youth trek as a ma a pa. I won't take the time to recount all of the details and wonderful experiences, but will mention a few things that make me grateful to have participated. In no particular order:

• Having both of my boys participating. Dallas went as a big brother to the Crump (older) family, and Dylan as a son in the Pottle (younger) family. Although we didn't have opportunities to interact with them much, I am grateful they both made the decision to go.
• Sharing a common experience with the Beeson's, the McLean's, the LaMunyon's and Jarret Sharp.
• Being with my Stake President, fellow counselor and other stake and ward staff and friends. I am only as good as the people I surround myself with and for four days, I was surrounded by the best.
  
• Walking.
• The Sabbath. I love being outdoors and I love Sunday meetings. Combining the two is icing on the cake.
  
• And last, but certainly not least, having 14 wonderful youth as our "children" for four days. They were awesome! They loved each other, they helped each other, they had fun together and they made their ma and pa proud.
  

Our stake's youth are amazing.

Dylan's sweet jump

Here is a sweet jump by Dylan during a recent trip to Wet Beaver Creek. Nicely done.

Havasupai 2009

Same place, many of the same people, lots of different people, some different scenery, but still a great time.


The newly created "30 Foot Falls." Not as beautiful as Navajo Falls used to be, but still a great place to jump and swim. Maybe even better than Navajo was.








Base of Havasu Falls. Not quite the same swimming hole it used to be, but still a great spot.









Dallas, looking cool at 30 Foot Falls.







This was a fun trip, but also brought back some bad memories for me, personally. I think it is time for a new hike next year.

Dallas' Graduation

I'm getting old(er). There, I admitted it, kind of. Dallas graduated from high school last week, making it harder for me to deny this simple fact.

We're proud of Dallas. He is a good kid. Very independent; a bit stubborn; sometimes the cause of much anxiety but still a good kid.

The graduating class.

Dallas, walking up to the stage to receive his diploma.

Dallas, walking off stage, diploma in hand.

My sister-in-law, Jen. And she thinks I'm weird.

Dallas' graduation present, a trip to Eloy, AZ to skydive.

From the two "thumbs up", I'd say he was having a good time.

We love you son and are proud of you!

Carey's Graduation

I want the world to know how proud I am of my wife. At 32 years old (not really, but she'd kill me if I put in her real age), she achieved one of her goals, to obtain her Bachelor's Degree. She graduated yesterday from Arizona State University with a BA in English.

Isn't she beautiful? I must admit getting a little choked up when I saw her walking.

Kelsey and Kamryn entertained themselves with a tic-tac-toe game made from rocks

The announcement of the name and handshake.

Kamryn, Carey, Kelsey

A proud husband.

Grand Canyon hike

Each year some of us make a pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon. This year, nine of us went and I think we all had a great time. The weather was beautiful, the hike (down and out the south rim in one day) was challenging, but fun, and the company was the best.

This year's participants: Me and Carey, Eric & Elisha, Russell and Jen, Nilda Hitchcock, and Ryan & Kalyn Taylor.

Me and Carey at the top of the South Kaibab Trail

A beautiful view near the top of the South Kaibab Trail

Jen, Carey, Elisha, Nilda, Kalyn, blowin' in the wind

Looking down the trail to the Colorado and the Black Bridge

At the bottom. Carey posing near the Silver Bridge before crossing.

A break at Indian Gardens

Bright Angel Trail; three miles left.

Good times.

Recommended reading

If you want a good read, check out this link.

http://www.hillsdale.edu/images/userImages/mvanderwei/Page_4221/ImprimisApril09.pdf

Live free or die!

Continuing the challenge

Following in the footsteps of my friends Jarret and Miriam, I offer the following:

The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

I will get it done this year.

I will make it for just you, but offer no guarantees as to the amount of enjoyment you will get out of whatever I make.

I hope you like it anyway.

AND...you have to do the same post on your blog for others. Honor system.

A season draws to a close

Four years ago, March 6, 2005, I was jolted out of my comfort zone. I guess the Lord felt I had been comfortable long enough. I was terrified and felt very inadequate to serve as bishop.

Now, as my time as bishop draws to a close, I feel tremendously blessed, yet incredibly sad.

It has been an honor.

Stake Conference

We had stake conference this past weekend. What's more, we had a change in our stake presidency. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and Elder Pickered of the Seventy were with us to make that change and help to uplift and strengthen the members of the stake.

As one might imagine, we had record attendance at each of our meetings. At the adult session, I think we had about 740 attendees, almost doubling the previous high water mark. That was a particularly good session of conference, as the adult meeting usually is. It was great to be in attendance with my wife and my oldest son, Dallas, who, at 18, can now attend the adult meeting. I appreciated his attentiveness to the things that were said, particularly those said by an Apostle of the Lord.

In the priesthood leadership meeting earlier in the evening, Elder Nelson taught us about the importance of paying a full tithe with respect to the economic conditions in which we currently find ourselves. He said that if we invest in our tithing, there will be no erosion of our nest egg. That statement could be interpreted in different ways. I think what he was saying is that a full tithe payer will have the promised blessings poured out upon him/her such that there will be increased strength, spiritually and mentally, to weather any storm, economic or otherwise. A full tithe payer builds a firm foundation for present and future crisis.

He also taught that each man needs to understand that his most important duty as a priesthood holder is to care for his wife. I wonder how many problems would be solved, or not even become problems in the first place, were all of us priesthood holders to learn that important lesson. I was taught by Elder Nelson in different settings on both Saturday and Sunday. On each occasion, the importance of wives, children and family was made very clear: they are our first priority; nothing comes before them.

Elder Nelson taught so much during our meetings: the process of revelation received through a Prophet, Christ's mission and atonement, our need to focus on ordinances, how to pray and the importance of enduring to the end. The whole weekend was one big spiritual experience for me personally. It is not often that we have an opportunity to sit at the feet of an Apostle, in person, and be taught.

If there was one thing that struck me throughout the weekend, it was the deep love that Elder Nelson has for others. It is evident in his eyes, in his handshake, in his voice. With all due respect to all of the other church leaders and members I have come to know and love over the years, I have never felt more comfortable than I did in the presence of Elder Nelson.

An afternoon with the girls

Last week, I took Kelsey & Kamryn, their cousin, Megan, and Kamryn's friend, Havana, on an afternoon excursion to downtown Phoenix. We drove over to Christown Mall, got on the new light rail train and rode down to central Phoenix. We then walked a couple of blocks to the Arizona Center and went to a movie. Hotel for Dogs. Great movie, very entertaning for kids and adults. After the movie, we walked back to the light rail and rode back to Christown Mall and then headed for home.


The girls seemed to all have a good time. The light rail ride down was fairly uneventful. Not a lot of people heading downtown that time of day. I have to say that the ride was actually quite nice. The train cars haven't been tagged or busted up, yet.

Here is a picture of the girls at the light rail station when we got off in downtown Phoenix.

I thought this picture was pretty funny. I told Carey about it. Now I'm thinking that maybe I'm the only one that thinks it's funny.

Kamryn, Havana and Megan at the Arizona Center.

Havana climbing the decorative panels at the light rail station.

On the ride home, we were joined on the light rail by different groups of ASU students who were participating in some type of a scavenger hunt. Many of them were dressed up in different costumes, most quite odd. One guy in one of the groups had a huge, fake, black afro looking thing. The girls, who up to that point had been pretty energetic, were stunned into silence. I secretly took this photo, which doesn't give you a good appreciation of what he looked like, but you get the idea.
It was a great afternoon.

A plug for agency and the Word of Wisdom

Carey and I went hiking this morning; something of a habit for us on Saturdays or holidays. More often than not, we'll go out to Thunderbird Park in north Glendale. Such was the case today.

We got out there around 9:00 this morning and entered the park via 59th Ave. We parked in a little lot at the far west end, then hiked up to the main trail that goes around the northern hill, and started heading to the east. As we approached the main entrance to the trail, close to the 59th Ave. entrance to the park, we heard a brief squeal of tires and looked up to see a truck making a quick turn from the inner park road onto the short entrance road, just behind a white SUV. I didn't think much of it and assumed it was some punk showing off in his truck. I turned my attention back to the trail.

A few seconds later, I heard the familiar crunch of metal. I looked up and saw that this truck had pulled out onto 59th Ave. and slammed into the front right panel of the white SUV, which must have pulled onto 59th Ave. just a split second earlier. The truck pushed the white SUV to the east, onto the median, causing the SUV to run over and flatten a metal post and sign in the median.

All of this must have caused the idiot in the truck to loose control because he next swerved sharply to the west, went off the road and down the embankment and back into the park, except this time he was not on the road, but was driving through the rock, brush, cactus, etc. He was driving as fast as he could in that terrain, too. From our vantage point, we could easily hear the truck as he gunned the engine and it bounced over rock and brush. He was clearly trying to escape the situation he was in.

About this time, I noticed a guy in a yellow shirt, a fellow hiker, I presume. He was running along the inner park road, about 100 yards from the truck, yelling profanities at the guy in the truck. My first thought was that this guy had stolen his truck. About that same time, the truck made it to the edge of the desert, about two feet from the asphalt road, and was stuck. I could hear the engine screaming as the guy floored the gas pedal, and the tires digging into the dirt, but he wasn't going anywhere. The man in yellow was still running toward the truck.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for some excitement. I told Carey I'd be back and I ran off down the short trail toward the road in pursuit of the man in yellow and the truck. The man in yellow made it to the truck not more than 10 seconds before I did and as I continued running, I watched as he opened the truck door, grabbed the guy inside, yanked him out of the truck and threw him on the ground. That's about the time I arrived, just behind a second gentleman.

The idiot from the truck was struggling, trying to get away, but there was no way he was getting away from me and the man in yellow after we pounced on him (the other guy had stood off to the side). It didn't take long to realize that the idiot was either drunk, under the influence of drugs, or both.

A few moments later, a detective from Phoenix's finest arrived. He happened to be at the park exercising. A crowd began to gather and Glendale's finest were summoned. Prior to their arrival, the idiot entertained us with comments such as "those drugs really knocked me down" and "why are all these people here" and "we don't need to get the police involved. You can take my truck and I'll just walk home" and "I have more lawyers in my family than there are police officers in the whole city" and (looking at the man in yellow) "you don't have any hair." (The man in yellow was as bald as bald can get). I admit that I laughed out loud at a couple of those.

Glendale's finest arrived, we all gave our statements, and Carey and I continued on our hike around the hill. By the time we finished our hike, the tow truck had just hoisted the idiot's truck onto the flatbed and was getting ready to leave. Oh, the idiot had high-centered the front of his truck on a HUGE boulder lining the roadway. I'm not exagerating when I say that there was a good eight inches of air between the ground and the bottom of the front tires. That guy was going nowhere real fast! Completely messed up the underside of his truck, but he seemed to be more concerned with the fact that the little door to the gas cap was dented inward.

I'm grateful for a Church that teaches that our bodies are temples, that teaches the importance of staying away from substances that can harm us physically, emotionally and spiriturally. I'm grateful for agency and the freedom to make those choices. Too bad others cannot learn the simple truth that our freedom, our ability to choose, increases when we make correct choices. Conversely, when we make incorrect decisions, we loose that freedom. Sometimes in dramatic fashion.

A wedding

My youngest brother, Russell, got married yesterday. What a great occasion. It was a privilege to be in the temple with him, his lovely bride, Jennifer; my own wife; my other brothers and their wives; my parents; Jen's parents, siblings and spouses; other family members; and some dear friends. The ceremony provided opportunity to be reminded of things that are most important, namely the relationships that we have with family. That is the one great cornerstone to our Heavenly Father's plan. It is the reason we exist. It is the reason for the gospel - to bring families together in eternal units. Russell and Jen are the latest in that unit and I'm grateful to have been in attendance.

Likewise, I'm glad they had such a great reception last night. It was a reunion in many ways. A family reunion, a ward reunion, and a reunion with friends. The night was about Russ and Jen, but some of the rest of us benefited greatly, too.

Hmmmm. As I ponder the subject, I hope that death is somewhat like a wedding reception, with the newly deceased standing in the center of the room, maybe with a couple of previously deceased relatives by his side, and many, many other family and friends filing through in a line to greet him and congratulate him on his achievement. Heck, I hope that there are also chicken salad sandwiches, meatballs, and an Italian ice/syrup bar, catered by Belnap & Company. Now that would be a sweet homecoming.