"People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic."
---THE THIRTEENTH TALE...by Diane Setterfield

Upon reading these words last night I made a mental note as to which page to retrieve them and share. I have been thinking about plates of gold, the family tree painted on the upstairs hallway, Pres. Eyring's suggesting to make notes of daily tender mercies, and the general New Year's reconsideration of better journal keeping.

People don't altogether disappear...I can resemble my parents now and then. I am made aware of this fact when I make a comment, a certain expression, move a certain way and my husband or children assert that I am a "Clark," or in my mother's case..."Peterson." I am flattered at those times.

More than "ink on paper," the real magic is eternal life. Just the same I can see the value of keeping a record of one's life. I would love to know a little about the names that grace the upstairs wall of my home.

I learned early on that setting a table is so much more than just laying down knives and forks. It is creating a setting for food and conversation, setting a mood and an aura that lingers long after what was served and who said what was forgotten.
---Peri Wolfman

I so enjoyed sharing a simple meal with my family last night. We laughed, bantered, listened and lingered over empty dishes to savor the real flavor of friendship and love. My heart was satisfied and filled as well as my stomach. The perfect meal.

2008 dawns and the Iowa caucuses are tonight! I love the presidential campaign season . I'm a casual follower of politics, and the strategy, posturing, pandering, and the slip ups of the candidates (the Dean Scream four years ago was a highlight) all are far more entertaining for me than any TV show.

Last year I changed my political affiliation from Republican to Independent. I decided I couldn't sign on to the platforms of either party and in the last several elections I voted for candidates in both parties. Because I'm not a Republican or Democrat, here in Utah I won't be able to vote in the Republican primary. The democrats will let me, however, so I'll be casting a vote for one of the democratic candidates. Below is my take on the race so far:


Hillary
A few weeks ago she was all but the inevitable Democratic nominee. Some of her debates haven't gone so well and her comment on issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants caused some concern and as a result she's slipped in the polls. Plus, a high percentage of voters really don't like her at all (some even use the word "hate"), so how she would perform in a general election is in doubt.

She proved herself as an able campaigner and she won over enough skeptical voters in more conservative upper New York to win the the state race for the senate. She also demonstrated an ability and willingness to compromise during her short tenure in the senate and I think she's more centrist than people give her credit for.

Barak
Weak on experience with only one short term in the senate. His comments about how he would handle complicated foreign policy issues have been vague and simplistic. His stump speeches can be powerful, but have also on occasion sounded canned and worn out. He is a breath of fresh air and an interesting candidate. He can really draw the crowds and is a hit with younger, professional demo's. We'll find out tonight if that translates to a hight turnout.

Edwards
His tirades against corporate greed and the insurance and drug companies are designed to resonate with an angry public, but he's only addressing some of the many problems in the health care mess. Coorprations are easy targets but their employees and stockholders are also voters. His other policy positions seem reasonable and well thought out. He's proving to be a better campaigner than I expected, but he's a little too much a pretty boy for my tastes.

BOTTOM LINE: It will be interesting to see what happens tonight in Iowa and next week in New Hampshire in this too close to call race. I could live with any of them as our next president and am leaning toward Hillary.

Romney
Really, how can a Mormon run for the presidency? I'm amazed by the anti Mormon bias being thrown about on blogs and even on national TV programs. That stuff would never fly if directed toward Jews, Muslims, blacks, or even catholics, but because so few Americans say they know a Mormon, it's tolerated.

Mitt is honorable and ethical, but seems a bit testy in his interviews and he does the typical politician dodge when asked an uncomfortable question. He has outspent all the other republican candidates in Iowa combined and is dead even in the polls with Huckabee, but there is some indication that Huckabee's surge is petering out and Romney is gaining strength.

McCain
In 2000, McCain was my man, but since then, his unflagging support for the war in Iraq, his age and crankiness have hurt him in the polls. As the war recedes as the defining issue in voters minds, McCain has been gaining in the polls. He has hardly campaigned in Iowa but is showing strong late support there and is about even in New Hampshire with Romney.

I like his independence and his willingness to take an unpopular stance at odds with his own party. Sticking to your guns however, is a trait he shares with the current occupant of the White House and we know where that has gotten us.

Giuliani
They called him the republican front runner last summer but I expected him to free fall from that position as voters took a closer look. Yes, he reduced crime and restored efficiency as mayor of New York and yes, he was a steadier in the traumatic days following 9/11, but look a little closer and you'll see he was a confrontational bully who was derided by many who worked with him. His judgment of character is in question and his personal life will repel conservative republicans if it hasn't already. I don't expect him to be much of a factor in the race except in Florida and maybe California.

Huckabee
He's funny and a natural campaigner, plays a mean bass guitar, and has made a tremendous impact with very little money and not much of an organization. Evangelicals are more comfortable with a baptist preacher than they are with a flip flopping Mormon but as he has gained strength in the polls, the penetrating eye of the national media has revealed his quirky stance on several issues (abolishing the IRS?) which may make him less of an attractive candidate to mainstream voters. I think he's hit his high water mark.

Thompson
The press has labeled him as lazy and he's having a hard time shaking that image. He waited too long to get in the race and that hurt him. Besides, what does he really bring to the table other than his status as a celebrity? Are republicans that desperate for another Hollywood actor? He's through as a serious candidate.

BOTTOM LINE
It's all much ado about nothing. Unless all the demo's implode there is little chance for a republican to gain the White House in 2008.

Feeling a little nostalgic at the passing of 2007? For a whimsical look back not this year, but at the 50's, click on the link upper right. I can recall most all the things mentioned in the song. Burma Shave signs were usually in groups of six spaced along the road. I remember seeing them on trips to the family cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains when I was a kid. They were edged out as highways became super highways and billboards crowded them out.

"If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life."
----Author Unknown

Today I will focus on this amazing journey and the sacred star that I have committed to follow. May God bless us as we struggle to birth the best that is within. xox

These fashion photos appeared in the JC Penny catalogue about the time Cristie and I got married. Thankfully I was out of style then as much as I am now!

Happy Birthday Valerie!

Latest barrier to getting any work done in my office.

I returned from Tucson today and as my flight descended toward the SLC airport and I beheld the fresh coat of snow in the valley and on the mountains, my heart jumped. Mind you, I've spent the last two days in 70 degree sunny weather at a resort where the saguaro cactus surround, waving and reaching to the sky. A place to where many rush to escape winter's deathly tentacles. But for me, winter in the rockies is peaceful and cozy. It's essence of quiet beauty restores me. I was happy to return.

In downtown Tucson last night I stopped at a drug store to get some toothpaste. After making my purchase I came out of the store, and while walking to my rental car a guy approached me and asked me for my spare change. I quickly raised my hand in the halt position and told him grumpily that I had no spare change. I was telling the truth. In this plastic age, I'm mostly cashless. But I'm sure I could've found a way to help him somehow, without even much inconvenience to me. He told me in a most pleasant manner to have a nice evening after which I guiltily sulked the rest of the way to my car. As I was pulling out I looked to where he had been standing and I couldn't see him. The thought occurred that maybe he was one of the Three Nephites or some other heavenly tester who beamed away to report I had failed miserably....again. I dismissed the silly thought at about the same time he rounded the corner back into my view.

Nevertheless, I had failed. I resolved to slow down this holiday season, to look into the faces of strangers and try to be more like The Master. Again.

A few more pictures of Thanksgiving....


It was fun!

What would my life be like without radio? I got my first one for my 5th or 6th birthday (mine was exactly like the picture, except yellow) and I went to sleep to Lucky Lager Dance Time on KMPC in Los Angeles every night. They closed out the show at 9PM with "Dream, when you're feelin blue; Dream and they might come true." I'm sure my preference even today in having a radio playing by my bed all night can be traced to my childhood days of nightly broadcasting comfort. I've never been a good sleeper.

We moved to the house on Roscoe Blvd when I was eight and shortly thereafter I noticed Dance Time being displaced by some kind of game announced by a golden voiced guy with a strange accent (New York). The guy was Vin Scully and the team was the Los Angeles Dodgers who had just moved to the West Coast from Brooklyn. I became a Dodger fan gradually and reluctantly, irritated at first that my evening program had been preempted by the unfamiliar. Amazingly, Vinny still calls Dodger home games.

In my high school days I still listened to the radio every night. Bland dance tunes had long since been replaced by the Beatles, Beach Boys, The Animals and of course, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. My brother Tom didn't mind so much going to sleep with the radio during this period. Occasionally we could find KSL on the dial, a Salt Lake City radio station and listen to one of the early all night talk show hosts, Herb Jepko. Tom would protest before he fell asleep when I tuned into Herb's Nitecap show, but I got a kick out listening to old folks calling in just to pass the lonely nighttime hours. I drew solace in knowing there were others not sleeping besides me.

Tom and I also occasionally listened to Wolfman Jack, who had his beginnings in Border Radio in the early 50's but by the time we listened to him he was probably broadcasting from Hollywood. When I hear tapes or imitations of the Wolfman, it immediately takes me back to those days. When Cristie and I were first married I think we saw the movie American Graffiti three times.

The Carter Family, country music pioneers, were also Border Radio regulars. See clips of them on You Tube for a real treat. They started out broadcasting at odd hours in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning from mega watt stations just across the Texas border with Mexico in the 1930's during the depression. It was before my time, but I have no doubt had I been alive I would've been a big fan.


With all that competes for our entertainment dollar, it's hard to think that radio was the only option for my grandparents as they were raising their families. I still remember watching my Grandpa Ed swinging at the air as he listened to Saturday night fights on his big console, a central piece of furniture in their living room. It was all they had then. I'd have a hard time living without it now.

Hi family! I just got home from Arizona and the highlight of my trip was definitely visiting the Mission Office and visiting with Joe's Mission President and his wife. Right when we got there Sister Bassett gave me a big hug and said Elder Carter was here just an hour ago. President and Sister Bassett were very complimentary of Joe, told me that he is quiet but get's the job done. We listened to a song that some of the elders sang in a fireside on Sunday sung to the melody of "Be still my soul" but called "I love the Lord". Afterwards Sister Bassett said Elder Carter sang in the group.

I loved being in the office and seeing Joe's picture up on the board with his companion. I am so thankful that he is serving. It was neat to be so close, yet so far :) Love you all.

Keep posting like this Jer- it makes it soo much easier for me to update my blog ;). (Thanks for letting me copy it). By the way I love the picture...now, where was I when all this was going on? I'm glad you stay on top of things!

Sam pulled Tater Tot's tooth last night. She was eager to have him do it! I don't think this girl feels much pain, or maybe she just ignores it when it comes. If so, she possesses a great life skill.

On Cristie's suggestion, we had a family prayer when Sam & Melissa and their kids were ready to leave. I asked Jack to offer it. He uttered a sweet, fervent prayer and was very serious about it. Last week at Johnny Nielsen's farewell, I watched young Ed, sitting in front of me singing the hymns without parental coaching (heck, he wasn't even sitting with his parents). I remember my grandmother being very interested in how the gospel was being accepted by her grandchildren. I see it in my mother, and now I too take great joy in watching my grandkids sing, speak, pray, and most of all accept the ordinances of the Priesthood.

November is the month we celebrate Veteran's Day, and it's the month of my Dad's birthday. My mother presented me with my Dad's masonic ring shortly after his death, and in his honor I wore it last November and have decided to wear it this year as well.

His service to our country all those years ago in WWII means more to me now than it did before, perhaps because he's gone, perhaps because I know better now how young 17 really is. I've watched several episodes of the Ken Burns series on The War on public television this fall. I have no way of knowing what kinds of battle experiences my Dad had because he didn't talk about it much. Even when we were little kids, infatuated with war and soldiers and guns, he didn't share much about his days in the Navy. My mother thinks it might have been because he was ashamed of much of what he did in the war.

Anyway, I'm proud my Dad served our great country in that awful war, and I wear his ring this month in his honor.

TRICK OR TREAT
Okay, I'm sure this layout is going to be messed up. someone help me figure this thing out!
It was lots of fun!

I hate that Doug and I are not in those pictures. What a great group! I thought about you all often and am glad you had a great time. I had a great weekend myself. A girl in the ward called me yesterday and invited me to go to an all day seminar called "Time out for Women". This is an event done by Deseret Book once a year and is kind of like a mini education week. Women come from all around. The speakers were awesome, Kenneth Cope was there to sing, and it ended with my favorite, Sheri Dew - she is awesome! It was so nice to be able to go and be inspired and lifted as well as make a new friend. I love you all and miss you SO much. I look forward to seeing Katie and Danny next week.

Sam dares Lizzie to eat sand.

It was too hot. It was too cold. There was too much downhill, and then too much uphill. It was too long, and many who went said one time was enough. Perhaps their perspective will change as time passes. The Subway is indeed one of the premier hikes in Utah. I loved being there, soaking in the incredible beauty and being assisted through some of the tougher obstacles. My favorite part of the hike is probably the first segment. It's downhill, not challenging, and I'm fresh, so I can better take in the beauty all around. Another favorite for me is the cascades (where we took the last pic). We've made it throught the narrows, we've frozen in the icy waters and the canyon has now opened up and we're in the warm sunshine. My least favorite? The hike out, of course.