Stories

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to go down to Layton for Tanner's Eagle Scout Court of Honor.  It was a wonderful program and my convictions about the values of Scouting were only strengthened.  That is a subject for another post, but what I'd like to share with everyone tonight is a little experience that crosses at least four generations.  Rene had asked Micah, Ryan and Samantha's little four-year-old, to tell a story as a part of the program.  I would have been scared to death to do that in front of a crowd of strangers when I was four years old, but not Micah.  He stood up in front of the audience and began his story in a strong and very audible voice:  "It was a dark and stormy night and three hobos sat around the campfire, one said to the other, Hey, Bill, tell us a story, and the story began like this, It was a dark and stormy night and three hobos sat around the campfire, one said to the other, Hey, Bill, tell us a story, and the story began like this. It was a dark and stormy night and three hobos sat around the campfire, and one said the other, Hey, Bill, tell us a story............................"  And so it went  on and on. Finally Rene had to tell him that was enough.  He did great and everybody got a charge out of our little story teller.  I couldn't help but visualize Mom, up in heaven looking down on us that night with the biggest smile on her face.  She, no doubt would have been proud of her Eagle Scout, but she would have been equally as proud of Micah telling this story, which she used to tell us and at least I, and I'm guessing most of the rest of the siblings, told their own children from time to time, then they told their children and here is Micah telling a whole audience of strangers four generations later.  As I reflected on this, I also thought of some of the of the stories Mom used to tell us at bed time or just when we wanted to hear a good story.  She told the old traditionals, like Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs, but had a few more original to her.  Do any of you still remember the stories about the "Stone Soup" or perhaps the lady that made some delicious cookies, and she couldn't help sampling them throughout the day? By the time her husband came home from work, there was only one left.  Her husband asked how she could have eaten all of those delicious cookies and left only one for him.  Her reply was: "Just like this", and she ate the last one.  There we others of course.  I hope some of you remember those great stories and a wonderful mother who took time to tell them to us.  The influence of those stories is still felt nearly a century later, and I'm sure, or at least I hope, that influence and fun will go on for many generations to come.  It would be great if some of you would share some of those stories here on the blog to be passed down to future generations.

Micah, our little story teller, and our Mama Eagle, Rene.

By Bart

Divinity???  Seeing Things As They Really Are.!!

A few days ago Ryan came over and left a plate of Samantha's home made divinity at our front door.

We had gone to the movie and when we returned there was a phone message telling us that it was there. It was a thoughtful act on the part of Ryan and Sam and their sweet little family, and it looked so good. It brought back of flood of memories about divinity, from the times when my mother would make it as a special treat for us, and sometimes a plate for the neighbors too, to the time I stayed home from school, because I was not feeling well and during the course of the day I got this weird idea about making Ellis and the girls, who had gone to school, a "special treat". I got some laundry detergent, added just a little water, and beat it into a nice mixture with the egg beater, which when put out onto a sheet of waxed paper a spoonful at a time, looked exactly like a nice batch of home made divinity. I'm not sure why Mother let me do this, but she went along with the prank. Later in the afternoon the other kids came home from school and were anxious to try the freshly made "divinity" they found waiting on the cupboard. Eagerly, they helped themselves, only to find out it didn't taste like the divinity they were expecting. I've tried to repent of this, but somehow, deep down inside, it felt good to get even with my big brother, Ellis, just a little bit. As I have reflected on this, I thought maybe it might sevre as an object lesson. Sometimes, the things we think are sweet, are not really sweet at all. It is possible for us to be fooled by things that look good, but really are something else altogether. When I went to take a picture of the plate of divinity, Sam had made, my camera had been left in the car and had a fogged up lens. The picture of the sweet stuff is a little hard to discern through the steamy lens. Sometimes we allow things to disrupt our clear vision and make it difficult to see things clearly. Jason sometimes has spoken to his kids about "moments of clarity", when we see things as they really are. Unfortunately, we do not always enjoy such clarity. It is then that we have to rely on faith and trust the Spirit to help us discern between the sweet and the bitter. If we partake of the bitter, there will be consequences, and of course, if we partake of the sweet it will bring rewards. I later cleared of my lens with a dry cloth and took another picture. It's great to be able to see, and then even greater, to see clearly.

By Bart