23 Oct 2005 #0543.html

Newsweek Cover

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Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to this week's "Thoughtlet."

These words are my personal diary and a weekly review of ideas, beliefs, thoughts, or words that will hopefully be of some benefit to you: my children, my family, and my friends.

"Tim Gebauer came by with Andrew Salt to Home Teach us Sunday evening, and brought a copy of Newsweek. It is a significant religious statement to have the LDS doctrine of the Godhead on the Newsweek cover.

I could quote from the article, and I won't. Rather I will give a link to digital photos of the article (http://www.walden3d.com/articles/051016_Newsweek), which is my first posting of an on-line resource I intend to spend the rest of my life building. This way, any of you who read this and want to get more specific information for whatever reason, can go to the original source, and have access to the information. I've actually been working on this idea since at least when we moved into this house. The books I have read and underlined and have typed or had typed, are intended to become part of an on-line searchable resource. Also, the newspaper articles I have been saving and classifying by putting in folders, for over 20 years, are intended to become part of this same on-line searchable resource. The end result is my inheritance for each of the 10 of you and for each of your children.

In my mind it is a small box, shaped like a pretty rock of your choice and liking, that could be called `Dad' or `Grandpa' or a family urim & thummim. In this box are gigabytes of information organized around the two themes of `Prime Words' and `Thoughtlets.' It includes all of the historical information about the founding of Computer Genealogical Services, Landmark Graphics Corporation, China Cattle Corporation, Walden 3-D, Inc., HyperMedia Corporation, Advanced Structures Incorporated, Dynamic Oil and Gas Corporation, Walden Visualization Systems, Continuum Resources Corporation, Dynamic Resources Corporation, etc. in digital form, which are in the boxes in the garage. It includes all of the newspaper clippings in a digital form. It includes each of Ken Turner's paintings, as done for each of you (including the ones that have not been painted yet for Heather, Audrey, Rachel, and Matt). It includes all of my songs in digital form. It includes all of the digital photos. And everything is indexed spatially by the Infinite GridSM, temporally by the TimedexSM, by process using the Knowledge BackboneSM, and by data type using learnings from the Ward Abbott On-Line Atlas project. It is the rest of your inheritance beyond the Ken Turner painting, it is a way to ask Dad or Grandpa or Great-Grandpa a question and have an answer from the perspective of an old guy that's a little too fat, living in the early years of the 21st century, and get a perspective. It is an ongoing part of the education part of the inheritance I promised each of you. And each of you get exactly the same thing, so there is no reason for family quarrels about inheritance. Any money and any things that are left when I die are intended to go to charity, and all any of you get is a Ken Turner painting and an education. The ability to see behind the Newsweek Cover, if you choose to do so.

Monday morning I was at Randall's at 6:15 to pick up any copies of the Newsweek Cover they had. I took them to work, and left it out on top of the computer disk next to my monitors. This way anyone who came in would have occasion to discuss this side of my life. Mike Bennett brought in a customer, and it was fun to watch him move the article aside so the customer did not see it. I gave a copy to Lee Bell, and five weeks later I still have my last copy sitting on top of the disk drive.

For the second month in a row I missed the POPS luncheon on Monday. Can not seem to get my days right, and maybe it is because they had the wrong day on one of their newsletters. Bottom line is I did not get me dues turned in, and so I will not get listed in the directory this year. Oh well! I will miss the November meeting because of the trip to China (0548.html). And hopefully I will be able to attend the December meeting, although I have Jury Duty on Monday the 12th of December (0551.html), and I expect this is when the next Pops meeting is. Oh well!

I'm not sure how many of you caught my note that mentioned that President Pickerd called to tell me Larry Law has a terminal brain cancer (0524.html). For the Nielson's, Larry was the father of a Stephanie, Clayton (Roice's age), Alma (Paul's age), and Paige (Matt's age) that grew up in Nottingham Country Ward. Larry worked for me at HyperMedia Corporation, and spent about a year working for me in Saudi Arabia. Margie was in Young Women's with Marti, and she divorced Larry about the same time Marti divorced me. Early this week I received the following e-mail from Larry's new wife:

`> From: Angie Law <angie.law@sbcglobal.net> > Larry is feeling much better--only running a low grade fever > now and getting his antibiotics. Just feeling itchy due to > the high doses of antibiotics and trying to manage that with > anti itch creams and benadryl. > > He quickly stabilized and was transferred to Nexus hospital > here in the Woodlands. He would really like to have visitors > and some encouraging thoughts similar to the e-mails you all > have been sending to me or a thought from the Ensign. He has > not once complained about this trial, and would be anxious to > hear from his friends! > > There is no telling when a therapist will go see him to work > with him in his room, but the sure times when he is available > are the meal times. 8-9:30, 12-1:30, 5:30 +. At other times > he may have a therapist in there, so you may wait out in the > lobby while he gets done or get a more definite time when > he'll be available from the therapist. > > If you would like to see him, please call me, so I can > coordinate that and not overwhelm him with folks at all times > of the day. I will be there for most of the day, so if you > call me I can tell you the best times for him. > > Thank you all for your encouraging e-mails that have continued > to nurture me and Larry during this time of such emotional > need. I have truly learned much about this gospel through > your wonderful examples! > > Love, Angie'

I responded with:

`Angie, Thank you for the nice note. I was very sorry to hear from President Pickerd about Larry's cancer. It has been too many years since Clayton and Roice and Alma and Paul were doing their teenage antics. I remember with fondness the Family Home Evenings when Paige would come over when Larry lived here after we each found ourselves unexpectedly divorced. It is sad to learn of friends who are sick. I'm sure part of the sadness is selfishness in realizing my time is coming quicker than I want. However, most of it is sadness for times missed doing things together which we each enjoy. I have been doing some interesting data mining in The Book of Mormon this last year which Larry might be interested in. Hopefully I will finish this phase up by Christmas. Larry might enjoy the 14 images at

http://www.walden3d.com/bom/weather/BoM_Weather

- which resulted from a phrase repeated twice about a destructive wind from the east. Since I last saw Larry, I ran out of money again and had to take a job. I work for Geophysical Development Corporation. The last three Saturdays I've gone over to the Beaumont area to help with cutting trees down and handing out food. I'll go back this weekend, and the weekend following we will be in Washington D.C. for a conference. On Sundays I teach the 7 year old CTR class. The bottom line is I do not know when I will make it to The Woodlands to see Larry. I will need a phone number to call or an address in order to visit. It would also be nice to get some specifics on how he is doing and what the diagnosis is. Best Regards, Roice Nelson'

One evening we took some whole wheat muffins to the family that moved into Ken Burton's house. His name is Mark Wolford and he is a programmer from England. We later got a nice note from his wife Wanda, who was not there when we visited, specifying that Mark `saved me One.'

About Thursday, there was a nice note from Jeff Jurinak:

`Roice, Thanks for your steady leadership and hard work with the relief crews in Beaumont, Vidor and Orange. I was glad to have you there and I am very appreciative or your help. Jeff Jurinak'

John Bennett forwarded this from Calgary:

`This is really just for those people who are in the US or have friends or family there. (This doesn't work for Canadian phone numbers - I tried!) The attached document leads to a US government website that allows you to remove your cell phone from telemarketers' lists. Otherwise when they call you will also be charged. Isn't technology wonderful? John S. Bennett Subject: CELL PHONE NUMBERS JUST A REMINDER...23 days from today cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS...These telemarketers will eat up you free minutes and end up costing you money in the long run. To prevent this , call the following number from your cell phone: 1-888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. Or you can register on line at:

http://www.donotcall.gov'

There was also a surprise e-mail from Audrey, a very nice surprise, where she wrote, in answer to a question:

`8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My wonderful step dad roice'

Then there was the e-mail correspondence between Andrea and a former student, who is now one of Rachel's teachers: Kevin (Dr. Stein). I guess Kevin was a handful when he was a student. He apologized for his behavior. Interesting correspondence, and since it was not to me, I won't include it in my journal.

Roice sent a note that specified The Pumpkin Contest has returned!: (http://www.gravitation3d.com/pumpkin).

Thursday I was working on my catching up the Thoughtlets, and made a note that Nathaniel Ashby September 1846 near Bonapart, Iowa on the back of my swallows sheet (0539.html). I have also referred to this ancestor in a couple of other Thoughtlets (../2001/0117.html, ../2001/0118.html, and ../2002/0226.html).

Friday Cindy Peevy and I went to the north Belt and I-45 and I gave a presentation to Truit Smith and his team at Newfield. Mike Dunn came to participate after another lunch meeting. I thought the presentation and the meeting went well. However, a few weeks later we got a call telling us they are not going to be purchasing any of GDC's Field Studies nor Well Studies nor TILESTM nor anything else right now. Frustrating.

Saturday I was part of a work team, and for the third time a team leader, that went back to Vidor. Andrea substituted for me at the Primary program practice on Saturday. I rode over and back alone with Dan Jones in his truck. He did not know about Larry Law's cancer. The trip gave us time to talk. I think it was good for Dan. The ER Bishop was in fine form. He started the meeting by lifting up his foot, pulling back his pant leg, and saying, I wore no socks today in honor of Mayor White's call for everyone to wear no socks because the Astros won the Pennant and are in the World Series against the White Sox. On reflection the GDC office and the city and the region was much more excited about a baseball game than the Newsweek cover. The baseball game is over, the Astros lost four in a row, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is rolling forth to fill the earth like a stone cut from the mountain without hands (Daniel 2 in the Old Testament).

It seems like the trees just get bigger and bigger. We took a couple of four foot oak trees off of trailer houses. We cut down several damaged trees. It was very hard work. The digital photos I took do not do justice to the work we did (http://www.walden3d.com/photos/NottinghamCountryWard/051022_NCW_Vidor_Team).

There were two funny conversations. I was attempting to be friendly with the families we were helping, and so I would ask if they know Wrights Bar-B-Que and Jackie Wright and his son Jared. Then I would tell them Melanie is married to Jared. I told one lady, who's son has just got out of prison, who came by while we were working, and who is a real work of art, and her response was one of the most sincere and responsive comments I've ever heard. She simply said:

`Congratulations!'

I'm not sure it is possible to describe the feelings, the goodwill, the joy that was in this single word. I was touched. At the last place we went to, I repeated the process and the man, a marine looking man with an artificial leg, responded:

`Well, bless her.'

When I told Melanie while we were eating dinner at Wright's Bar-B-Que, she said I needed to tell Jared. When I told Jared, he responded with

`Now you have heard both sides.'

The ride back with Dan Jones was nice. We talked about how all of the travel I did for Landmark Graphics hurt my family. He told me how much his kids appreciated receiving the post cards I sent to my various classes from different places around the world. I think this mostly effected Stephen and Greg, and not so much the two older brothers. Again I was wiped out when we got back home. It feels really good to work hard like this.

Sunday was the annual Primary Program. It was special to have my class say our parts: Ashley Siebert; Kirsten Songster; Dylan Hutchings; Jared Davis; Tyler John; Jonathan Schmidt; Noah Inman; and Jennifer, a new girl. As always, just the songs were very special:

Working with 7 year old kids is so special. Too bad y'all grow up to become teenagers and beyond. I've been told on good authority, that once there are a few kids in the house there is a return to the kind of attitude I see with my primary class. I look forward to those days.

Sunday evening in my weekly calls I learned that Sara hit a deer in Austin, and it killed the deer and dented in her grill. She could not believe there were deer in the center of Austin. Oh well! I could not believe that two members of the Godhead, appearing to the 14 year old Joseph Smith, as depicted in a stain glass window, was on the Newsweek cover."

Since the 38th week of 1996 I have written a weekly "Thoughtlet" (little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me). Until the 43rd week of 2004 I sent these out as an e-mail. They were intended to be big thoughts which mean a lot to me. Over time the process evolved into a personal diary. These notes were shared with my family because I know how important the written word can be. Concerned about how easy it is to drift and forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of daily life, I thought this was a good way to reach those I love. It no longer feels right to send out an e-mail and "force" my kids and my family to be aware of my life and struggles.

Everyone has their own life to lead, and their own struggles to work through. I will continue this effort, and will continue to make my notes publicly accessible (unless I learn of misuse by someone who finds out about them, and then will aggressively pursue a legal remedy to copyright infringement and I will put the Thoughtlets behind a password).

The index to download any of these Thoughtlets is at http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets, or you can e-mail me with questions or requests at rnelson@walden3d.com (note if you are not on my e-mail "whitelist" you must send 2 e-mails within 24 hours of each other in order for your e-mail to not be trashed).

With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)

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Copyright © 2005 H. Roice Nelson, Jr.