cc: file, Grandma Hafen via Tony Hafen, Pauline Nelson via mail, Sara and Des Penny, Claude and Katherine Warner, Lloyd and Luana Warner. Diane Cluff, Andrea Shirts, and Heather and Nate Pace
"Last week was a blur. Sort of like a trip to DisneyLand. Working on the Boeing business plan and getting ready for the GSH (Geophysical Society of Houston) 1999 Spring Symposium and GCSEG (Gulf Coast Society of Exploration Geophysicists) 15th Annual Technology Meeting seems to take every extra minute there is in the week. In addition, I had a meeting on Monday with my old office mate, Scott Bowman, trying to get him tied into Continuum, and then had him come back Tuesday morning for demonstrations to several of the Continuum people. We are always building relationships, and those who build up friends, end up with many friends, and a lot of support when they are down. It never hurts to help a friend.
Wednesday a temporary secretary came into my office to do an inventory as part of getting ready for moving to the new building. She looked at Melanie's painting, looked again, and kept looking back at it. I explained the painting, and gave her a set of prints. She looked up at the painting again and said `It looks like it is moving!' I couldn't help but wonder if she thought it was a DisneyLand cartoon. She spent her lunch hour, that evening, and several evenings during the week studying the prints. One of her questions that really struck me was: `Do you think this is what the rapture will be like (my painting)?' One of the other secretaries came and got a set of prints because of her enthusiasm. Later in the evening there was an Evolver conference call in the evening, Rob cooked dinner, job counceling with a friend from my High Priest Quorum, and an interview with President Jones in regards to getting a clearance for being sealed to Andrea.
Thursday evening was Home Teaching Personal Priesthood Interviews. I sure enjoy the guys I interviewed. Dan Jones, Corey Grua, Don Keller, Reed Peterson, Chris Schmidt, and Reynolds Calhoon are really good guys. In some ways I see them as DisneyLand characters, always happy and always friendly. And this isn't just true of church friends. Friday one of the Evolver guys came over to the office and we had another conference call reviewing the Boeing business plan. At exactly 2:20 PM Sara and Rob showed up at the office thanks to Sister Grua, and as I was leaving for the airport, Jeff Hume came in and asked me to get him a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. I was still stuffed up and thus still worried about getting an earache (.../9909.html). Sara drove the Lexus to Hobby Airport, and I returned calls about car insurance and some meetings next week. It was nice to get on the plane and relax a little bit.
LAX (Los Angeles) Airport is a zoo. Rob and Sara and I got in about 45 minutes before Melanie. We went to Hertz and got a car. Then I dropped Sara and Rob off to go in and get Melanie and I drove around underneath several times, since the police would not let me park and wait. Roice called and said he and Paul were running late because Paul was flying with one of Roice's friends all day (they went to Nevada and flew 30 feet above the road in the desert, you'd think they were in DisneyLand). Then Heather called and I miss guessed who it was twice before she corrected me. Oh well! When Melanie came we went to a grocery store to meet Roice and Paul and both cars full of people ended up waiting 15 minutes at opposite ends of the parking lot waiting for the other car. Oh well! We had a nice fast food dinner together and had a lot of fun watching the boys drive Roice's remote controlled motorcycle in the parking lot. We got lost on the way to the motel, and finally found it about 11:00. Andrea and her family arrived about 20 minutes after we did after driving down from Cedar City and St. George. It was good to see everyone. It is really exciting to think about having 10 kids and counting (12 if you count spouses). Good thing none of you kids expect to receive a big monetary inheritance. I sure hope you will someday appreciate the thought and prayer that has gone into your inheritance (the paintings, an education, and a legacy).
So Saturday morning I found myself at DisneyLand again. I don't remember if I went to DisneyLand as a child. I remember going to San Diego to see Mom and Dad's friends who ran Tatoo Shops: Aunt Nell and Uncle Hugh I believe. I remember them telling me you couldn't get married in the temple if you had a tatoo, and continuing to believe this was true until Roice corrected me a couple of years ago. I remember buying firecrackers in Tijuana, Mexico, telling Raymond on the phone about lying to custom agents to bring them into the states. These became our rocket lauchers (.../9908.html). I also bought some chocolate covered grasshoppers on that trip, and they were very useful for folks who were no longer going to be friends, teachers, and others. We would tell them why the chocolate was crunchy just as they started to swallow. I remember going to DisneyLand on my first honeymoon. It is not easy to be faced with the failure in my marriage to Marti. And yet I do believe the Lord expects us to learn from our mistakes and get on with the rest of our lives. I remember when our family drove to DisneyLand in a blue Caravan. It was a fun trip. DisneyLand is a happy place, and all my memories of being there are joyful. So it was with this trip. I don't think it could have gone much better with 10 kids from two families who were just meeting each other, and were spending time together for the first time. I was quite tired when we got back to the motel room at 11:30.
The day after DisneyLand was also nice. We went to Chuck and Diane's, had a wonderful breakfast of sausages, waffles, and English Toffle. About half of us went to church. Then we came back and talked and played guitars and trumpets, and had a good time. The highlight was when Chuck played `Leaving on a Jet Plane' and everyone joined in in singing and showing off. Andrea and I spent some time talking about what a wonderful legacy Walt Disney left to the world. Our discussions reminded me how I hope some of my activities also leave positive footprints in the sands of time.
On the way from and to Houston, early in the mornings and later in the nights this weekend, I read my first Tom Clancy novel: Op-Center, Balance of Power. Someone left it on the plane on the way to Seattle a few weeks ago, and I decided to escape this weekend. I finished the 450 page novel at 1:30 this morning. It is easy to see how people get caught up in reading this kind of exciting story. It is also nice to be able to juxtaposition the novel's excitement with the fun of Disneyland and family. As I start over, I hope to do better at setting priorities to spend time with and support family and friends by building less of an Operations Center and more of a DisneyLand in our home. I hope each of you will also learn from my mistakes (and from my successes) and will all constantly reprioritize, reevaluate and get on with your own lives."