You Never Can Tell

 
Last week I attended a special church meeting, one that takes place twice a year and involves church members from all over our area, not just our small 'ward' congregation. I know some of the people from other wards, having worked with them in various capacities over many years. Some I know well, others not so much. But I do know that plenty of them are enduring almost unbearable trials in their lives and those are the ones I noticed coming into the meeting.

First I saw A and B, a couple with 5 darling children. She is suffering from ovarian cancer. Six months ago she was given six months to live. As of right now she is cheerful and energetic. The prognosis at this point is unclear. To add to their burden, one of their children has taken a rocky, tragic road in life. And her youngest is only 5.

Then I saw C and D, whose teenage son has been fighting an aggressive leukemia since childhood. Every time he receives a reasonably optimistic pronouncement from his physicians, it doesn't last long. Just last week he had another (of countless) surgery to remove new tumors. These parents go about their work and service without burdening others with their troubles.  

E was sitting by himself. His wife no longer attends most church meetings, except that she comes over to the church building every week during Sunday School time to take care of someone else's handicapped child, so those parents can attend Sunday School. I am sad for E because he seems lonely, but he is married to someone uniquely special. Wow.

Some of the people I noticed at the meeting have had painful times in the past--the death of children, seriously wayward self-destructive  family members, and so on. And how many of those at the meeting, I pondered, were battling circumstances unknown to others? 

I believe faith in the Savior is the common denominator here. Each one could be home wallowing in self-pity and asking God "why me?"  I once heard a wise person say, "why NOT me?"  Would we turn to Him if we never had pain and trouble in life?  Would be be so willing to help others if we in turn had never needed help during hard times?    

Many years ago I learned a great lesson. We had had a rough Sunday morning at home, wrestling with a handicapped child and trying to get out the door on time. At sacrament meeting I sat in the back angry and bitter, wondering why all the other people in church that day could come in happy and cheerful, having had a delightful morning at home. It was only me who had burdens and no one else. 

Then I heard the voice of the Spirit say, look in front of you.  I looked. And saw the C family with their severely afflicted Down Syndrome son. In front of them was the R family, whose lovely teenage daughter was and always would be, confined to a wheelchair with spina bifida. Next row up was the N family whose son was deaf. And then the S family whose daughter was afflicted with a debilitating syndrome. And so on. On every single bench that day was a family who struggled with an afflicted child.  I was ashamed and penitent.  And since then I have realized that living in mortality is not meant to be easy. What character and faith would we have without our troubles?  And the most important part of our lives is our Savior who is there to love, understand, and give us peace.

Where To?

We "re-modeled" our backyard in 2011 and since then have added some fun things, like 2 arbors for climbers to drape over, a shed, and a few odds and ends.   This spring I was over at the Imbrie House [a nearby  1866 Italianate-style home, converted into a McMennamins restaurant] and saw this:

Now we have one of our own:

Craig cut the wood; I engraved the signs with a wood-burner.  The locations are places that have meaning to us such as our ancestral homelands, favorite vacation spots, towns we have lived in, and so on.

And as a PS: take a look at our front yard as it was this summer.   We had a glorious late summer into fall, and the yard stayed beautiful.  We're into the rainy season now, so all of the petunias have been pulled out and composted.  The marigolds plants are still growing strong as of Nov. 7 except the flowers are growing moldy quickly due to the wetness.  Their days are numbered.

An October Day in Oregon

These photos of spectators at Brooklyn's soccer game last week need no words except to say this is a typical Oregon October day!

Priceless

One more short election-related post.  This priceless, witty headline appeared in The Oregonian Wednesday morning:

I'm unhappy and surprised about the outcome.  The campaign was unpleasant in some ways.  I was bothered by a certain phrase that popped up among potential voters, now and again: that we had to choose between the lesser of two evils.  Evil these candidates are not.  Far from it.  They are good people who have differing ideas about what is best for the good ol' USA.  Evil is Stalin and Hitler and Amadinejad and Assad.  Lets appreciate our country and the voting opportunity that sets us apart from much of the world. 

Voting Methods Then and Now

 Depending on where you live, the above photo may or may not be familiar to you. These polling booths are exactly like the ones my folks used to take me to when I was a child. Yes, they took me as part of their civic duty to emphasize the importance of voting. And I never lost sight of that.

I did the same for my children until one day, when Oregonians voted to vote by mail. That was a disappointment to me for several reasons.

First, a community gathering at the local school or firehouse has deep value. You mingle with your neighbors, you witness people doing what in some other countries either doesn't happen, or happens at the peril of one's life. It is a public way to demonstrate your patriotism and your concern for civic affairs.

Second, as I mentioned above, voting in a way that takes a degree of effort sends a message to the younger generation.

So when we went to by-mail voting I realized we had to create a way to make an impression on our children (and now grandchildren). It has worked best to sit down a night or two before election day with the family and spread out our ballots with the voters' pamphlet open and Oregonian summaries available. Sometimes I let one of our kids pencil in the bubbles for me (so arrest me).

Then it's time to deliver them to the ballot box (you can mail them in if you vote early enough). Our local library is the closest place with a drop. And doing it on election day requires patience and careful driving. The scene is not unlike what happens when the latest gadget is released and people clamor to be one of the lucky to buy it first. There's no place to park and people are frantic to get inside before 8:00 p.m. Our library got smart and now on election day volunteers meet your car to take your ballots and drop them in the box.

We delivered our ballots last night with our grandchildren slipping them into the slot in the ballot box. We want them to remember "participating" in voting.

Reminiscing a bit, the first presidential election I remember was Kennedy vs. Nixon in 1960. I was barely six and in first grade. The kids on the school bus  would chant loudly, "Kennedy Kennedy is our man, Nixon goes in the garbage can!!" And then vice versa for the other side. Mom was Republican and Dad a Democrat. I used to eavesdrop on their political discussions.

My first voting election was in 1972, barely at age 18. The voting age  had just been lowered from 21. I honestly can't remember who I voted for that year.



NOTE: Oregon's percentage of people who vote in elections is hardly higher than it was when we had to hoof it to the polling place. Why would that be?

The Latest in New-Car Design

My neighbor got a spiffy new car last week.

If I Imbibed. . .

I am not now, have never been, and never will be, a consumer of alcohol. But if I were, surely I would be swayed by the picturesque, beautiful boxes the stuff comes in. If you ever see me lingering in the liquor aisle at Fred's, I'm not contemplating a life-style change, I just can't look away from the striking art on the beer/ale cartons. (Question: are beer and ale the same thing?). Take the tour!

First, the seasonal:

Rogue (Dead Guy Ale!) did not appear at Winco until just before Halloween; do ales and other alcohol have seasonal versions, or at least seasonal containers?? 

What a pretty box.  I would buy Pumpkin Ale to serve in October and November.

Angry Orchard should be served on a dark and stormy night. Reading Dracula or Rebecca would be appropriate.

Another tree theme, this one wine.  A companion to Something Wicked This Way Comes, Helter Skelter or, break out your Steven King collection.

Christmas is just around the corner. Pick up some holiday-appropriate ale along w/ your gifts.

How about some stunning scenery with your beer / ale??

 The Donner Party camped by this lovely lake and mountains, but I doubt they enjoyed it much.

 

A Pacific Northwest view.

Black Butte is a favorite vacation spot of many Portlanders.  It looks just like this:

I have lived in a place (Boise) that had an inversion problem and it's not pleasant, so why would they name a beer that?

These retro designs send me right back into the 50s and 60s:

Longboard is from Hawaii, but the scene reminds me of Malibu Beach.  Remember that movie, The Endless Summer?  

Who doesn't love the old song? 

A creative display of beverages in front of the Great Pyramids in a Garden of Eden setting.

Fat Tire takes me back to childhood. Sadly, my bike was not this cool.

Another bicycle theme, another Deschutes Brewery (located a few hours away in Bend Oregon).

The Patriotic:
This one I am familiar with. Portland's mayor is Sam(uel) Adams. When he was running for office he received a letter from a lawyer for Boston Beer Company asking him to  give up his Sam Adams websites, as they felt it infringed on their company.  His reply: "They say they've been using this trademark since 1984 . . . I've been using it since 1963."

Wildlife:

The very cool abstract kangaroo.  A Town Like Alice?

Bridgeport Brewery is located in NW Portland and uses the St. Johns Bridge on their logo. A few times I've smelled crafted beer in the air downtown, perhaps from Bridgeport or from Henry Weinhards.

Also by Bridgeport, and I give this one FIRST PLACE for a creative and an intriguing pretty picture (plus I may be related to the dude).  Sit down with Anna Karenina:

Odds and ends:

Widmer's is not artsy like the above, but gives a smart and clean impression. It's like beer wearing a suit.

Psychedelically pretty.  Read The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test.

The weird:

No words.