George's Story

Our home teacher, George, is about 85 years old, give or take a year.  He is a quiet and humble man, but when he tells a story, it is a good idea to listen, because it is going to be good.

When George was about ten years old, there were not many men in town because of the second world war.  So George and other boys were kept busy with the farm work.  On this particular day, the school teacher in town had lost her cow.  When the cow had gone to the pasture with other cows in the town, it had not come back. Many people had looked for the cow, but without success. The school teacher and her children really needed that cow, and they were especially worried right now, because the cow was about to have a calf. To lose the one cow would mean losing two, at this point in time.

George made up his mind to help find the cow. Since he had already walked everywhere he could think of to look for her, he decided he needed to ride a horse so he could look further away.  His brother was away fighting in the war, and his horse was in the pasture, but the horse was not easy to work with, and missing its usual rider, was even less willing to behave.  George cornered the horse and attempted to bridle it, but it bit at him, and then got away. Two more times he cornered it, but it would kick at him, and he was little and it was big, and he ended up just defending himself from being kicked and could not get close enough to put the bridle on.

George didn't know what to do. He needed that horse so he could look for that cow. He had been taught to pray, but he usually just knelt beside the bed and bowed his head and was quiet for a minute and then jumped into bed.  He had not really prayed. But this time he did. He knelt down behind a sagebrush and said, "Heavenly Father, the schoolteacher really needs that cow. I think I can find her, but I need the horse. I can't get the horse to obey; I have tried.  Please help me to figure out a way to catch the horse." He closed his prayer, and opened his eyes to find that the horse had walked up right beside him, and put her head down so that he could bridle her.

So he got on the horse and rode around some, further out, but no sign of the cow. So, sitting on the horse, again he prayed, "Heavenly Father, thank you for the horse. But now, I don't know where to look for the cow. Can you help me with that?" He heard a still small voice say, "The horse knows where to go. Just tell her 'let's go' and then she will lead you to the cow."  So George leaned in to the horse's ear and said, "Let's go find that cow." And the horse started going--George just going along for the ride.

They came to a place where the fence was down, and the horse stepped over that place and into the forest.  The horse headed north for a ways, and then up in a zig-zag manner onto a mesa. George had no idea where the horse was going.  But he did know they were in an area where there were likely to be mountain lions, so he was worried...if the cow had given birth to the calf, he feared that a mountain lion would have taken it.  They got to a place where, looking down into a valley, they could see the cow.  The horse carefully picked its way down to where the cow was.  George got off the horse and took a good look at the cow and could see that she had given birth, but he could see no sign of the calf. However, there were no mountain lion tracks, either. He walked around and around, looking for the calf, but found nothing.

Again he heard the still small voice whisper "Go and hide behind those boulders."  This he did, and soon the cow began to wander away. George followed her, and she led him right to the calf. The calf was weak and wobbly and would not have the strength to walk out of the valley they were in, and the climb back up and out. George knew he needed to get the calf up onto the horse, but he was just a young boy and the horse was tall.  Once again, he prayed, and was led by the spirit to an arroyo nearby.  By putting the calf on the bank, and leading the horse into the arroyo, he could get onto the horse, and then go to where the calf was and reach down from on top of the horse to pull the calf up beside him.  Then he gave the horse its head, and the horse picked its way back the way they had come, the cow trailing behind following its baby.

It was after sunset when George and the horse rode into town with the calf in his lap and the cow behind. The only man in town, really, a man with an injury that had prevented him from going to war, came out of his barn and saw them. He had George ride to him, and he took the calf down and put it in his barn, and also its mother, and told George to go on home, and he would let the school teacher know.

George rode home tired and happy and with the beginnings of a strong testimony of the power of prayer. He knelt and said a real prayer of thanks before falling exhausted into bed.

That was not the last time that cow made its presence known in George's life. Sometime later (after the calf was independent) the schoolteacher and her children were going out of town and asked George to care for the cow.  Again, she disappeared. Again, he looked for her in vain. Again, he prayed. As he was walking carefully around the schoolteacher's property, he could hear a faint mooing.  He walked all around the house, and determined that the mooing was coming from INSIDE the house.  He tried the front door, and it was locked. He walked to the back door...it was not locked.  Somehow, the cow had gotten inside!  The schoolteacher had left a big pot of water on the stove (unheated) and the cow had been drinking that.  But she was very hungry, and had left her mark on every room in the house! (I would not want to have to clean that up!)  But again, George found and saved the cow through prayer and listening to the promptings of the still small voice.

Letter from 20 years ago

Rosie asked me to see if I have any baby pictures of her--and while searching for them, I found a letter written from my husband Bruce to my son David on November 21, 1994.

This is unusual because Bruce does not write letters as a general rule, to anybody. And also, he has not been himself, really, for the past 15 years. So. Finding this letter was a very sweet thing. Reminded me of things that I love about him that have been on hiatus for too long.

At the time, Bruce was in Alberta working for Sale Control Systems, while the children and I were still in BC. Bruce was on a leave of absence from his government of Canada job to see if he would like it, and he did. We all moved to Alberta a month later.  But, David's teacher Sam Milad asked for a letter, and Bruce wrote one and faxed it to Sam. So it is on old, circa 1994 fax paper, which means the letter is fading and parts are completely blank, but not so blank that I can't figure out what the blanks mean.

Good thing I found them today, before they fade away to nothing!

Here is the text of the first one:
Hey Sam, how's Vancouver? Calgary is great--cold but great. Give Myrna a call to let her know I sent the letter to David as requested--have her give me a report as to the outcome of the special fireside that this letter is intended for. Sorry, but I just can't make it. If you need to talk, call me at (403)777-1682. Bruce.

And the text of the actual letter to David:

November 21, 1994

Dear David,

I'm not very good at expressing myself as you know even in letters and I apologize for it, but I'll do my best. I am writing you to say thank you for being you. You are growing into a fine young man in which your Mother and I are well pleased.

David, it's not many young people your age who can say they have met their Great Grandfather, but when you met yours a few years back, I noticed how proud he was of you and to get his picture taken with four generations in it. Your Great-Grandfather and Grandfather were proud of you back then and I could sense that they saw more in you then (than) I could at that time. They were right, there is more to you then (than) what you realize right now, I can see that now.

You have done things that I have seen other boys your age pass by because they probably felt that they were either too young, too old or that someone else should do it. You have helped your Mom and I with your younger brother and sisters, you have tried to keep your room clean, and when Patrick had made the mess in it, you took the responsibility upon yourself to clean it without complaining (too much). You have devoted your time to neighbours and friends, no matter how young or old. You have invited them to a good game of street hockey, basketball or even just catch. I was real proud of you when you gave up your Saturday morning to mow and weed Sue's backyard and stayed there until she told you that you did enough. That, David, is showing service beyond that which is expected of children your age.

Although you are in your own world and we have to almost grab you by the face to get your attention sometimes--well, at least repeat your name over and over two or three times--but once we tell you (and your (you're) paying attention) you obey us the best you can. If the answer is no, you let it be without arguing or whining, although you probably think that we are wrong, that David, means a lot to me. Especially now when I am not at home to help around the house I can trust you enough to help your Mother and to set an example to your brother and sisters.

Soon you will be one step closer toward a journey which you started when you turned eight, a spiritual one that will lead you back to your Heavenly Father. Although you haven't realized it, you have been preparing for the day to come for over eleven years, the day you turn twelve and eligible to become not only a Deacon, but a member of the Priesthood and I hope that you will respect the power that goes along with it, as well as the responsibility. I have noticed that you have been trying to be honest in all your doings. You try to show love toward your fellow men, even when life's not fair, and David, life's not fair, but it's the temptations in life that makes it not fair, and it's the temptations in life that help you to grow. Learn to deal with and to over come temptations by studying the scriptures, obeying your Mom and I, listening to your Teachers, both at school and Church. But, mostly kneel down and pray to your Father in Heaven. Turn to Him when you have nobody else to turn to. He will always be there when nobody else can.

David, I love and miss you and I wish I could be there. Please take care of Mom and the rest.-- Dad

Here is the picture that Bruce referred to in the letter:

Bruce, his father Wayne, David, Wayne's father Russell. Taken in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1987.

YA Save

Josie is having a really good experience as a part of the Young Ambassadors performing group. On their recent trip to California, they did a performance a night or so for ten exhausting but exhilarating days.

All the group in San Francisco

Some of the band: Michael, Josie, Jordan and Mitchell, photo by Celeste, one of their band mates (the trumpet player)

 Josie is a good helper, and so she did a lot of loading and unloading of equipment and instruments. She is very good at the whole set up and take down routine.This weekend, the group was performing in Centerville, which is about an hour away.  Normally, they would have packed up on Thursday after their normal 3 hour long rehearsal, but the truck was not back yet from Saint George, where it had gone off on some other assignment.  So the packing up was delayed to Friday.

But on Friday, at the time they planned to load, Josie had a work meeting with her boss followed by two hours of class. So she had to say that she could not help with the loading.  And this did not bother her conscience one bit because did I mention that she is a really good helper with that task? And did I mention that sometimes she would be the only one setting up, or one of two setting up? So. She has been a very dependable helper, so going to class instead of helping with the loading of the truck was the option she went for.

On Saturday, her friends picked her up and I said something like, "Do you have your harmonica?" and she said she had everything and they left. They surprised me because I thought they would be heading for the freeway, but they actually went the other direction, toward BYU.  And then, not too long after, the phone rang and it was Josie telling me that she had forgotten her MUSIC, and would I bring it to the RB? So I quickly grabbed it and drove over to give her the music.

Then, since I was out and about, I made a swing into the grocery store to buy bread and cheese and tabasco sauce. About a hundred dollars later, I headed for home, wanting to be there when Kristy was there to give Bruce a massage, so I could pay her.  During the massage, I put away the groceries, and then put in a load of laundry. All of a sudden Bruce's phone began to ring.  I went to get it since he was lying face down on the massage table, but I missed it. However, I could see that Josie had called. By this time, It was about 4:30 pm.

After a bit of me calling her and no answer, and her calling me and no answer, we finally connected. They had just unloaded the truck at the theatre in Centerville and her instrument was NOT THERE. Yes, her trusty compadres had packed up her STAND for her instrument, but no actual instrument. And her harmonica, which I had so carefully asked her about--she had told me she had it, meaning it was inside her instrument case, which she assumed was on the truck with the rest of the gear. "What are you doing for the next couple of hours?" Josie asked.

So. She texted me the code to the room where the YA band meets and rehearses, and I went tearing to BYU to get her instrument.  There was a swim meet on, so that meant there was not much in the way of parking, so I was praying for a parking spot because that sucker is HEAVY.  I was so happy just to find a place to park that was reasonably close.  Then I walked very quickly into the RB and put in the code and got the instrument. At that point I checked my phone again to see if Josie had texted me the address to which I would be taking it. She had...and then it hit me...what exit? Where is this address?  I did not have time to waste looking it up, so I forwarded the address to Andrew, my trusty son-in-law who has been my living GPS before (me and Rachel going to Shalise Hardy's wedding reception comes to mind...) and he came through for me with the exit number and instructions once I took the exit.

Then all I could do was drive.  All the going to BYU and getting the instrument and so forth ate up a lot of time. By the time I was getting on the freeway, it was almost 5:15. I passed exit 279 and realized that it was actually only 40 miles to the exit I needed, 319.  I made sure to stay in the fast lane and drive as fast as I could with traffic; I mean staying with the traffic and not speeding dangerously. At my last red light I texted Josie to just relax, that it would all work out.

And it did! Andrew's directions worked beautifully, and I pulled up to the theatre at 6 pm. I called Josie, who met me at the back of the building at about 6:02. That gave her time to go in and set up for sound check in a reasonable amount of time for the 7 pm show. All was well! I saved the day for the YA!

Josie offered me to stay--the house manager had tickets for me--but I had not cleaned the house properly for a couple of weeks. (WEEKS!) so I went home and did that. But Josie said it all went well, that she played well, that her band members complimented her on how well her solo went (and they are the ones to impress, right? Because they actually know what a good sound is for the group) and I got home safely, and about three or four hours after I got home, so did she.

However, I think there may be some future trust issues with her group...they will SAY they have packed everything, but Josie is going to be double checking the practice room! Because a rescue operation to Centerville was do-able, but a rescue operation to St. George or other venues, not so much...

Two Stories

1. As quite often happens, I did not do the best parking in the garage on Sunday. So when Bruce got out of the car, he walked around the garage and up the sidewalk instead of waiting for me to get out of the narrow way so he could walk through the garage.  When we both got inside, he said, "There are spikes coming up in the garden."  Surely not! It was February 1! That is too early!  But yes, indeed, the crocuses are emerging from the short winter sleep.  Weirdly enough, we finished our last tomatoes from our garden on Jan. 2.  So, the garden...too long the produce has lasted, too soon the flowers are emerging.  I am no fan of winter, but I do like it to show up when it is supposed to, just for the sake of consistency...

2.  I stopped at the store on the way home. I was going to get some frozen things, some produce, and some yogurt.  In the dairy section, I was just going to look at the price on Yoplait yogurt, because it was on sale, but then I stopped to look at another brand. While I did that, a young man of about 12 and his mother stopped right in front of the Yoplait, while a younger boy of about 7 or 8 was running seriously amuck and being pretty loud about it.  He almost ran right into me, so being polite, I said, "Excuse me" even though he should have been the one saying that. He looked at me very curiously, and then ran away very quickly, crouching down low and being generally silly. Since his mother and brother were quite permanently parked in fromt of the Yoplait, deciding on flavors, I decided to look at the Yoplait in the center cooler--fewer flavors there, but enough for me. While I was choosing yogurts, the little boy continued to duck down behind the cooler, then back up and then down, and looking at me, all while I was completely ignoring him, Suddenly, he broke into a ran, and went to his mother yelling, "Hurry! Hurry! We have to hide! Quick, we need to hide!" "Why?" asked his puzzled mother.  "From her!" he accused, pointing at me, "She is too scary! We need to hide!"  His mother did get after him and say, "That isn't nice, you will hurt that lady's feelings!" "But she is scary!" he protested. "You don't even know her." his mother said.  Well, I got my yogurt and went to the produce section feeling a little bit...well, not flattered. Although...Melissa Fletcher at his age would have, and did, agree. She thought I was a witch.  Sometimes I CAN be witchy, but I thought today I was pretty good. Perhaps not.

This is why I worry about health, and money too

Because, living in the United States. if you have a big health concern, you HAVE to worry about money.  My friend Jeanne posted this GO FUND ME request:

"My wife, Amy (Lee) Yerdon suffered a Brain stem stroke on January 20th, 2015.  This was not diagnosed at the ER, and she was sent home.  It was later in the week that we were able to get it properly diagnosed, and she was admitted to the hospital for a number of days.  This type of stroke does not effect one side or the other, but both sides.  At this point, she has slurred speech, vision problems, is unable to write, type, etc.  She is going to require extensive physical, occupational and speech therapy.  She is unable to drive, and will have to go on disability.  At this point, we have to reach out to family and friends for help.  As it stands, we have 12 weeks at 60% of her pay, and we have to pay for her portion of health insurance.  At that point, her job can be terminated and we would need to pay the entire amount for her insurance under COBRA.  With mounting hospital bills, and only 20 therapy visits allowed by insurance, we need help.  Not only for the hospital bills, but trying to keep our household afloat.  Amy is a proud person, and is not one to usually ask for help, but we have no other choice at this point.  If you know Amy, she is a wonderful caring person, and would do anything for anyone.  I ask that you consider supporting her in her recovery.  Please forward this to anyone that knows Amy or myself.  God Bless, Much Love and Thank You!  Chad Yerdon"

I do not know these people, though Jeanne does. They live in New York State.

 

This is why I worry about money. We personally have savings, but not enough. Seriously, if I was not working and we were using our savings to pay our house payment, we would have four years of house payments before the money would be consumed. When you are paying huge medical bills AND you can't work AND you have a family to take care of...so stressful.  People get wiped out by these situations.  They have to choose...house payment or medical bills.

This is why every now and then, I think really seriously about getting a job in Canada, because at least there, your health emergency and paying for your home are in two different boxes, which can buy you a little bit of time. You can take the time to decide that you need to sell your house because you can't work anymore, so you can't afford to keep the house.  And you can play with the timing of things a bit more, instead of having the health stress and the financial stress all at once. Because when you go to the emergency room in Canada, the emergency is the most important thing, but when you go to the emergency room in the United States, the priority seems to be how are you going to pay for this?

This poor woman is going to need therapy for possibly years, but in the United States, the insurance company gets to dictate how many visits you can have. In Canada, at least that is the DOCTOR's decision.  Totally blows me away that in the United States, the doctor's decisions can be over-ridden by the insurance company.  Arrgh. It is a ridiculous system. 

 

And while it is nice that people can ask for and receive needed help on the internet, does anyone else besides me find it weird that this seems NORMAL to most Americans?  Like, oh my goodness, we had better help these people out. But then, when the question of universal health care comes up, they cannot support that?  It is not okay to help everyone, but okay to help only the people you know, or who your friends know? Like, if you don't personally know someone, they must be a lazy drain on the economy, but if you know them, then they legitimately need help?  

Ridiculous.