Goodnight Newel...

We live in such interesting times. We can follow news--not just national, or international news, but news of family and friends--in real time. Instantly, we can know not only the location of loved ones, but with a digital message, how people are doing, how they feel, even what they're eating. And we navigate our lives as if this has always been the case, as if communicating with others anywhere on the planet with only a slight delay for a signal to bounce around the curvature of the earth is as normal as breathing.

We know of weddings, births, goals met, games won, lives enriched.

We also know the moment loved ones pass.

For there's opposition in all things.

Today I learned a man I've known almost all my life passed away. He's the father of my dear friends, a patriarch of a family that, at times, I felt as close to as my own. And I morn with them.

As is the case with many relationships, seeing them, talking with them--sharing their company, has not happened in years. But the time apart melts with the power of memory. I can easily recall the times spent in my friend's home, a structure bordered by road and stream, a home that if you look at it today, it's difficult to imagine raising five children in it because it's so small. But they did. I remember the kitchen transitioned to the living room and beyond, bedrooms. It was the living room where the guitar lay waiting patiently for its owner to pick it up and lovingly, respectfully, create music, a physical manifestation of the home's soul.

I remember also a story, told by the oldest son, of a time when he called upon his father to help him unfreeze a frozen car door lock. The adventure involved, among other things, a hair dryer, and an Exit sign in parking garage. Though I wasn't there, the telling of the experience brought me to tears, not only because of the hilarity of if all, but because imagining such a brilliant man and son using their combined intelligence not finding ultimate success was truly funny, honest, naked comedy.

Even though I've gone through what my friend's family is experiencing now, everyone's reaction to the passing of a parent is different. They, along with me and my siblings, are now without parents, both having left. It opens a chapter all will face if we but live long enough. So I join hundreds, if not thousands of others--both here and beyond--who simultaneously morn and celebrate the life of a good, honest, decent, brilliant man, a man for whom there will be shed both tears of pain and of joy.

For there is opposition in all things.

Goodnight Newel.

Jim Hansen...My Friend's Father Passed Away

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There were lots of deaths this month, lots of deaths. Some rocked the world, others not so much. But each death is personal, intimate, singular. This month Stan Lee and William Goldman passed away, two entertainment giants.

Last Wednesday Jim Hansen, or James Hansen, died. He was my US Congress representative for twenty years. He was our congregational leader before that. And, perhaps most importantly, he was a childhood friend's father.

I doubt the man knew me personally. It's possible he might have known my father. Our town was so much smaller then. In our religion a group of congregations (or wards...) is called a Stake. Stakes have leaders called Stake Presidents. When we first moved to Farmington, our town was not big enough to have a Stake. When we finally got one, Jim Hansen was chosen as the first Stake President. 

Then he was elected to congress.

My wife and I had a discussion last week about politics and how being a member of congress would be tough. You're always making promises that you either can't keep or never intended on keeping in the first place. And Mr. Hansen ran and won for ten elections.

As we get older more and more of my friend's parents are leaving us. Most won't be famous screenwriters or comic book creators, but to those that know them most, that doesn't matter. The pain is personal, intimate, singular.

Jim Hansen was one of the leaders of the community in more ways than one. He accomplished a lot in his eighty-six years. Many will miss him, but none more than his closest family. God speed, leader, congressman, father.

* Photo credit from The Spectrum: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/11/14/jim-hansen-southwestern-utah-dies/2002800002/

You Never Know What The Day Will Bring...

This morning, as my mind regained consciousness, I thought about the day ahead. Except for a couple of things, my day was pretty much wide open. My first obligation wasn't until 11am. I had almost the entire morning to myself.

I decided to send a book to a friend. She said her son was getting excited about reading and my book is perfect (IMO...) for a ten-year old. I was amazed at how little it cost to send a book to California--if you don't mind it taking a week to get there, that is.

I took my daughter to her first day on a new job and helped her get set up. As a parent, you worry that your children will be okay. Will the job be too much? Will people treat her well, or will they be mean? Will she want to go back tomorrow?

Time will tell.

Funny thing about time. At noon I drove a few towns over and helped a family as they uprooted their lives and relocated. I was one of many which made light work (speaking of which, I was not part of the piano-moving crew...). It felt good to help out.

I came home and logged onto Facebook and found out my friend's father passed away.

Talk about not knowing what the day will bring.

With both my parents gone, I now watch the parents of my friends succumb to age, accident, and illness. I've always said if you live long enough, you'll attend at lesat two funerals, your mother's and your father's. The advice of my friend who lost his father was good and always appropriate--don't take life for granted.

We never know what lies ahead--it's the mystery that causes either great stress or a sense of wonder. Tomorrow is Sunday. I have a general idea of how things will go, but there are no guarantees. And when we boil it down to its most basic parts, those same three words pretty much cover it.

Time will tell.