cc: file, Grandma Hafen via Tony Hafen, Pauline Nelson via mail, Sara and Des Penny, Claude and Katherine Warner, Lloyd and Luana Warner. and Diane Cluff.
"We left Philmont between 7:30 and 8:00 Tuesday morning. We were at the Albequerque Airport a little after 11:00. We watched the movie `Labyrinth' on the way, and I read Thomas Hobbes some. Once we checked our bags, I called up the MuSE office and arranged to take Craig Peterson out to lunch. Marti and Sara picked up Rob to take him to Colorado to visit his Grandma Sharp. Craig is the Chief Technology Officer of MuSE, and is the key software developer. We have built our entire effort at Continuum Resources around his ability to perform. He has been very challenged lately. His wife left him for another man, they got back together, then they went ahead and finalized a divorce a few weeks ago. I enjoy Craig, and we had a good discussion about where work stuff is at. We also talked about personal feelings, and I tried to share some of the stuff I learned at PAIRS. His divorce has only been finalized a few weeks, and I was suprised to hear him say `I met this girl last week, and I think she is really special.' I recalled how I felt two weeks after my divorce. It took me a year and a half to even go on a date. Different backgrounds.
Craig dropped me back off at the airport at 1:10 PM and our flight left at 1:45 PM. We flew to Dallas, then we flew to Houston. The flight to Houston Hobby was delayed for an hour on the runway because of weather, they flew into Houston via San Antonio, and we were about 45 minutes late arriving. Andrea was waiting for me. One of the first things she said was that Paul had called a couple of times, making sure the move of all of his stuff to Provo in a U-Haul rental truck driven by Alma went OK. Andrea said Paul told her `I met this girl and ... .' I thought of my friend Craig's words to me, and I thought of my little boy Paul. Andrea tells me he is complaining about having no money and that he is buying $75 tickets to `Phantom of the Opera' and taking this girl to the most expensive restaurant in the Salt Lake Valley. Andrea says Paul intends to date other girls, and that no steps are planned for the next year. The girl is from St. George, is a return missionary, and is someone whose family Andrea knows. Paul, you havn't called and talked to me since I got back from Philmont, and so at this stage I am going on rumor and innuendo. It feels to me like my little boy is growing up and thinking of some pretty serious steps.
It was good to be home. Andrea drove me to work each day and picked me up each evening except Thursday when Roger Anderson dropped me off. All day Wednesday was spent catching up on e-mail. Thursday I started working on a talk I give to the Hydrographic Society next Tuesday evening. Thursday afternoon was spent with the two gorillas working on a presentation for an Executive Vice-President on Friday morning. Thursday evening Roger and I made some calls about purchasing a $40 million oil company. Exciting times. Can't make our monthly budget as a family, and working on these giant big deals. The presentation on Friday morning went very well. It is exciting how this has all come together. Friday afternoon I was working on the paper and making calls when Melanie called and said `Dad, I met this guy and he is soooo cool.' Is it something in the water? I was on the other line, and so I called her back in the evening at 7:00. Sounds like she has fallen head over heals. I think the reason she wants to go to the Adolph Hafen reunion at Labor Day is because this guy is going to Utah to finish up his classes at the LDS Business College in Salt Lake. That's OK, and I hope everyone else will be able to join with us too. It is pretty obvious I need to get our family budget under control so we can be ready to help if there are major expenses relative to these girls and guys that seem to be popping out of the woodwork.
Friday evening Andrea, Audrey, Rachel, Matt and I went to `Wild, Wild West' and then out to dinner at `Black-Eyed Pea.' It was a really nice evening, and I am so proud of my new family. Saturday morning Matt and I went on a 5 mile hike from Bush Park to Maudeen Mark's ranch and back, as part of his first class merit badge. It was fun, and I was certainly in shape for this hike (../9927.html). After we dropped off three of the other boys, we went back to the house and I dug up some bushes that had died. By the time I finished I was all dirty and sweaty, so I just took my wallet and other stuff out of my pockets and jumped in the pool in my clothes with Matt and his friend Patrick. We had fun. Andrea joined us for a while. I went in and worked on catching up one of the Thoughtlet I was behind (../9926.html). Rachel went to see the movie `Notting Hill,' which Andrea and I had seen earlier. I picked her up on my way to pick up the panoramic prints from Rob and my Philmont trek. As she got in the car I recalled the movie was about a guy who said to his employee `I met this girl, and ... .' I said to Rachel, `I feel sorry for you kids. That is a cute movie, and yet it is so sad how the sacred is made so base.' Rachel told me not to worry because she has been taught right from wrong. I reminded her that even those who have been taught right, can get addicted to pornography, sometimes even easier than to alcohol or tobacco or caffine. She agreed, and we changed subjects.
Later last night, after a nice dinner, Audrey and Matt rented the movie `The Mighty,' and we watched it together. It is a really neat story about a big dumb kid who gets his brains through a handicapped kid who he puts on his shoulders. It was kind of like the two kids said to each other `I met this guy, and ... .' I was in tears by the end of the movie. I'm not sure why stories can touch me so much, and I'm glad they do. Hopefully it means I can still hear the spirit in my life. As we went to church today, I was glad to see friends who were visiting and had not met Andrea yet. I was glad to be able to say, `I met this girl, and ... .' I hope each of you will always be glad to say a version of this phrase. Have a great week."