Hey Mom, I Caught a Troll

Once upon a time there was a school teacher with a 33 year old special needs son who functioned well enough that he was able to stay at home safely without supervision while his mother was away at work. And, his mother was able to go to work having peace of mind because she knew that her son would phone her in the event of an emergency. Time passed and all went well until early one morning the mother received a call at work:

“Mom, I’ve caught a troll. You’ve gotta come home!” exclaimed her son excitedly.

“Honey, you know I can’t leave work,” his mother calmly replied. “And, remember, you’re only supposed to call me if there is an emergency.”

The second time her son called that day to tell her he caught a troll and she needed to come home, she sternly reminded him that she could not come home unless there was a real emergency. By the fifth call, she definitely was not amused.

When she got home from work that afternoon, her son rushed to the car door as she opened it. “Mom, come see my troll!” He grabbed her hand and hurriedly led her upstairs to his bedroom. There she saw a chair propped firmly against his closet door to keep it shut.

“Be careful mom,” he warned as he removed the chair from the door. “You gotta see him but he really wants to get away!” When he opened the door, there sat a real live midget.

The poor fellow was a Jehovah’s Witness who had been out proselyting that morning. When the midget knocked on the door and the son opened the door and saw him, the boy picked him up and carried him upstairs to his bedroom and shut him up in his closet…where he had spent the last five hours.

Selling Ice to an Eskimo

By Janet Walgren

It snowed today and it’s cold outside. It’s also dark and the kiddies should be getting ready for bed by now… so why is the ice-cream truck parked outside blasting it’s music while the driver knocks on 3 doors out of 24? It happens almost every night except after a drug bust. Money Landry truck perhaps…anyone, anyone, anyone?

The American Busybody

By Janet Walgren

Have you ever wondered what is really wrong with America? Well I think I have the answer. It’s the American busybody. We call what they have say NEWS! We buy their newspapers, books and magazines. We listen to them on the radio and watch them on television. We absorb their propaganda in the movies. We elect them to Congress. And, we spend most of our spare-time everyday discussing the disgusting diet of misinformation they put before us.

We are like the proverbial kid holding a basket of valuables full of – time, money, talent, skills, morals… and did I mention liberty? Oh yeah, I almost forgot… That’s probably because most of it is missing. Anyway, the American busybodies approach us kids and say, “LOOK OVER THERE!!!” And, when we look, they steal something of value out of our basket and replace it with junk.

Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be informed. We should be very informed. The problem is that the American Busybody keeps us so occupied with getting informed about disgusting, trivial, irrelevant things that we forget to pay attention to the really important things. And, that’s the way the American Busybodies want it.

I wonder, when will we get it? When will we grow up and take charge of our information input, our destiny? And, when and if we do finally get it, will there still be some liberty, some freedom, something… anything worth keeping left in our baskets?

Christmas Sweater

By Janet Walgren
For Christmas, my sister, Cheryl, gave me the book Christmas Sweater by author Glenn Beck. I just finished reading it. I rarely read a book from cover to cover in one sitting; this book was an exception. 

This masterfully written book draws one into a surprising emotional roller coaster ride that causes you to examine your inner life, core values, thoughts and feelings at the most basic level while all the time being thoroughly entertained. I don’t think it is possible to read the book and not come away a better person for the reading. 

I highly recommend the book. It would make an excellent Christmas gift for yourself or anyone on your gift list. Thank you Cheryl for knowing that. I really love this present and I love you.

Improve the World – Make a Difference

By Janet Walgren

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment to improve the world.”
                                                                                    ~ Anne Frank

One of the things that bothers me most about politics and election campaigns is the attitude of the voters. It seems like the only people who are considered capable of changing things for the better are the candidates.

Political debates seem to be an exercise in candidates telling us what they CAN do to fix things and telling us that their opponents ideas WON’T work. After the debate is over we are left at the mercy of political pundits who work us over until we go away thinking that NO one can do anything.

When we take the information that we have garnered into our inner circles to discuss things further, someone invariably says, “Well, (~sigh~) there’s nothing we can do to change things!”

We need a lot more Anne Franks in the world if we want our world to get better.  Just think what could happen if we all rolled up our sleeves and went to work to change things. We need to realize that we ALL count. Collectively and individually we CAN make a difference.

I challenge you to make a difference!!!

Peaks and Valleys

By Janet Walgren

“One of the greatest tragedies we witness almost daily is the tragedy of men of high aim and low achievement. Their motives are noble. Their proclaimed ambition is praiseworthy. Their capacity is great. But their discipline is weak. They succumb to indolence. Appetite robs them of will”.

~ Gordon B. Hinckley, 1979

 

What are you aiming for? Is your goal high? Nobel? Is your target even worth aiming for in the first place? Have you prioritized your targets? Do you even have a target that you are aiming for?

 

What is indolence? Have you succumbed to indolence?

 

Do you have an appetite for things that you shouldn’t touch? Perhaps you need to go on a diet and time limit some things that are OK in moderation.

 

What robs you of will?

 

I love my job. For quite some time now I have been interviewing multimillionaires, people who have made mega fortunes. Then I get to write their stories for a project. Interestingly, I have found that those with the greatest successes have started from the deepest valleys – places that few would want to go.

 

One of the women I interviewed this week made an interesting observation and comparison. She told me to imagine that I was lying in a hospital bed staring at the monitor watching it record my vital signs. She asked, “Do you want to see a flat line or peaks and valleys?”

 

The answer to that was obvious!

 

And such is life…

 

She taught me a new gratitude for the challenges, the peaks and valleys of life.

Mesa Verde – Ancient Native American Home

By Janet Walgren
I have been fascinated by the photos that my friends email me or post on facebook or their blogs about the places that they call home.  I remember thinking what a beautiful place India is (after Archana posted photos of her trip to the Indian countryside). Before her post I thought India was a place that I would never want to visit… full of poor, fly infested neighborhoods with starving people who had snakes in their houses. Now, I know that isn’t true and I would love to go there.

I can imagine that many of my blogging friends around the world have watched TV, news and movies depicting America as a dangerous land overrun with large cities full of criminals and immoral people. Nothing could be farther from the truth so I thought I would do a series about the place, and the country, that I call home. 

The United States of America is a large diverse land with many landscapes and cultures. I would like to show you one of the places that I visited recently.

My dad is 86 years old and out hiked us all. He truly is magnificent!!!

I took my dad on a trip to Mesa Verde, Colorado for Father’s Day to see the ruins of the Native American cliff dwellings. The ruins are amazing. For hundreds of years these cliff dwellings existed undisturbed and undiscovered in the high desert canyons of southwestern Colorado.

There are over 4000 ruins, 600 of them are in the cliffs.

Know one knows where the inhabitants came from or where they went, we only know that at one point in history hundreds of thousands of people lived and thrived in these cities built on top of and in the sheer desert cliffs. It was quite a hike to go down to see the ruins and I can’t imagine trying to raise a family there. But this is where hundreds of thousands of people called home.

Imagine a sheer cliff of red rock and half way down is a cave with a city inside. Imagine raising a family with babies, toddlers and exuberant teenagers in a cave in a cliff.  Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans did just that.

“Split-Level History. Mesa-top and Alcove Living. Although the Puebloan used the cliff alcoves throughout the entire time they lived in Mesa Verde, the cliff dwellings themselves were not build until the final 75 – 100 years of occupation. For over 600 years these people lived primarily on the mesa tops.

Of the 4000 ruins within the park, only 600 are cliff dwellings. All of these cliff dwellings were built and occupied between A.D. 1200 and 1300.”

Here are some of the photos I took on my trip:

 

Judo, my favorite sport

By Janet Walgren
I’ve been compiling some histories, both personal and family, during my down time. Perhaps you would be interested in learning a little about, and seeing, my favorite sport which is Judo.

Yep, that’s me throwing Jim Harrison in a women’s self-defense demonstration

I did lots of demonstrations in front of thousands of people for about ten years. Most of the self-defense routines consisted of karate and jujitsu techniques followed by a judo throw.

I broke my first board in front of thousands of people during a demonstration.  Jim sprung it on me; it was a surprise. I had never tried to break a board before. I was so nervous that I missed the boards he was holding on the first try and caught him hard with a back kick in the chest. Man did he ever deserve it. Thankfully, I broke the board on my second try or he would have broken my … when we got back to the dojo.

You don’t really hear much about Judo because judo doesn’t pay big profits like the other martial arts.  Jim Harrison promoted my karate tournament wins like crazy because it was good for business.

I was in in TV commercials,  newspaper articles, Karate Magazines, home shows, tournament half-time shows, and even featured at the 1968 World Fair because my karate accomplishments were good for everybody’s business.

In 1975 author, Bob Wall, listed me in the very first Who’s Who in the Martial Arts. Well known karate greats like Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee were also listed in that same edition.

When I was going through some of the newspaper clippings last Sunday, I found an interesting clipping detailing the tournament standings for a karate tournament. Check out the name of the winners. Chuck Norris was the lightweight finalist in the men’s black belt division.

Here is a photo of my winning back kick. I won every match with this powerful kick. Note the bend that is still in my leg. By the time my leg was straight, my opponent was out of the ring on her back side.

So why do I prefer judo to karate when I was so good at karate? Well for starters, Judo doesn’t involve knives.

For years when Jim was developing his knife defenses, he would appear suddenly and hand me a big wicked looking knife and say, “Come at me hard with a thrust!” Or, “Try to stab me with an overhand or lunge at me holding the knife like so.”

I knew if I didn’t come full force, I would get beaten up as he demonstrated what he wanted me to do. And, if I did come at him full force, I was still in for a bruising.

When people read his magazine articles about knife defenses, they said wow! They never stopped to ask, “How did he figure that out?” but I could have told them.

I like judo because it is relaxing. It is cool to throw someone and know that you really did it. It is also relaxing to be thrown. It is kind of like a nice relaxing full body massage.

Judo is a sport that requires self-discipline.

It is a great sport for young kids because they have to develop self-discipline to be able to use it. In order to learn the throws, you have to cooperate with your partner. Judo teaches cooperation.

Judo translates “the gentle way” because you use your opponents strength and momentum to throw them, and it is a life sport that doesn’t take a huge toll on your body.

My favorite judo player was a man named Paul. He was an old, tall, skinny, Ichabod Crane type of fellow who would come to our dojo to work out about twice a week.

Paul would just stand there, hardly moving a muscle as the young bucks attacked him furiously. Then there would be a slight move of his hand and a quick sweep of his foot and the young muscle head he had partnered with found himself on the mat. Paul would help the guy to his feet, but that would only last for a second before he found himself on the mat again.

The young guys had a hard workout but Paul seldom broke a sweat. I don’t think I ever saw anyone throw Paul. He was simply marvelous.

Check out this link on youtube to see a quick demonstration of the classic judo throws. This is a great credit card commercial:

I did a lot of women’s self-defense demonstrations in the 60’s and 70’s to promote the martial arts and women’s participation in them. Judo wasn’t introduced into the Olympics until 1964 and women didn’t participate until 1988 as a demonstration sport. The first women’s Olympic Judo medals were awarded in 1992. I guess that makes me a woman pioneer in women’s judo. Those who trained me were Jim Harrison, Jim Lindell, guest resident sensei Kim Jong Woo and guest sensei Dr. Park Sung Jae.

My Dad

By Janet Walgren

Last Sunday was Father’s Day. My dad is 86 years old. He loves flowers and has a large yard full of them. So, in preparation for the holiday, I went to a nursery to purchase a gift certificate for my Dad. I found a huge nursery unlike any I have ever seen. I was mesmerized by the beautiful flowers that went on and on for acres and I was grateful that I had my camera in my purse.

After over an hour, I walked out of the nursery with 187 photographs of every imaginable type of flower and a gift card for my dad. I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to give my dad his gift so I headed over to his house to give him the gift card and show him the pictures of all the pretty flowers.

My dad looked at the photos then asked me to take pictures of his flowers too. I followed him around his yard as he pointed out flowers for me to photograph. Click, click, click… Then he posed for a photo on his lawn tractor. The end result is a precious photo album of dad surrounded by all his lovely flowers. I know that I don’t have very many years left with my dad, so my album will be a family treasure for my family and all of his descendants and their posterity. What a wonderful gift I received for remembering Father’s Day and my dear father.

Dads are often busy and get very little credit or thanks for all they do. They are gone a lot as they work to provide for their families. It is our mothers who get to spend the money and the time with their families. And, they often get most of the credit for all that our dads provide. Today, I would like to thank my father for all that he does in hopes that it will stir something within each of you as you honor your own fathers on Father’s Day and every day of the year.

I am thankful that my father honored my mother. My father and mother never fought; perhaps they should have a time or two but they never did. I have always known that my father loved my mother and I appreciate that. It helped me feel loved and secure.

My father was a good provider. We were never hungry, homeless or lacking the necessities of life. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for a father of ten children. Dad was an electrical engineer for AT&T but never finished his degree. He enrolled in night school several times, but there was always another baby or child who needed something when his tuition was due. Dad never complained.

My father is careful in his hygiene, dress and appearance. He was, and still is, always well groomed. If dad was working in the yard or on a car, he would always take the time to clean up before dinner. It was Dad’s way of showing his family how important we were. He afforded us the same courtesy he showed to guests, business associates and strangers.

It was my father who gave me my love for learning. I remember going to classes with him at the University of Utah when I was little. I remember the physics lab, the flight simulator, the math classes and the planetarium. I remember coming home from the U and fencing with dad in the driveway after his PE class. Those were the good old days when I was 4 and 5.

Then, there were the fun times with the Boy Scouts. My dad was a scout master and I got to go on their hikes. Sometimes I rode piggy back on the scout’s shoulders but they never complained. On occasion, our family got to camping with the scouts. Now I love to camp and my children’s favorite childhood memories involve long camping trips.

I learned to swim in Yellow Stone Lake on a family camp out. When our family went camping, we would have fishing contests. I always caught the biggest fish and I never realized that my fish was already cleaned and ready for the frying pan.

It was my dad who taught me about God and provided my moral compass. He was a missionary for my church and I got to travel with him when he was assigned to talk to congregations in small towns with exotic names like Hiawatha where we would hold church in the Odd Fellow’s Hall after cleaning up the beer cans from the night before.

As I grew, and our family grew, my parents were blessed with over 100 direct descendants. They were also blessed with the gift of hospitality.

The record attendance for a Thanksgiving dinner was 87. No reservation was ever required at my parent’s dinner table. It was not at all uncommon for children, grandchildren and their children to show up hungry (and unannounced) right before dinner.

Over and over again, I watched a repeat performance as my parents performed the miracle of the loves and the fishes. On one such occasion, we were serving pork chops for dinner. As each person showed up, we kept cutting the dinner portions in half. By the time Dad arrived, he got a pork chop bone for dinner. Instead of complaining, he said it was delicious…just like his family.

Often family would show up for a surprise weekend visit (impromptu family reunion). When we ran out of space to sleep people in the bedrooms and living room, we put the overflow on the porch and in tents in the yard. Everyone was always welcome and my parents were always excited to see them.

At 86, my dad can still out ride any of his grandsons on a bicycle. A month ago he ran a 5K and he keeps a membership to Gold’s Gym so he won’t lose muscle mass in the winter. He still helps my brothers take out trees and concrete from broken driveways and he maintains the yards of several of the neighborhood widows in his spare time.

I took my dad on a weekend trip to Monticello, UT and Mesa Verde, CO for Father’s Day. Dad was jogging up the trails while I huffed and puffed my way down to the cliff dwellings and back up. He was a good sport as he patiently waited for me to catch up. We had a marvelous time.

My father keeps the family anchored. He lets us know that we are deliciously interesting and exciting even though we are very diverse. I love that about him.

When I was raising my family, my children didn’t have a dad that they could lean on, learn from and depend on. Fortunately, there were many good men who stepped up to the plate as surrogate fathers for my children. They were marvelous men who set awesome examples for my family. Principle among them was Robert Wolf. He was a grandfatherly type of man whose service to my children was unparalleled.

To Dad, Bob Wolf and all the others who have provided fatherly love and support for my family, I would like to thank you for all you have done for me and my family. I wish all dads out there a very happy Father’s Day every day of the year.

Think so you won’t sink

By Janet Walgren
I have spent the last half a year of my working life interviewing people to get their stories for a book my boss is writing. Today I interviewed a delightful highly educated woman who has solved numerous problems with a slogan she used when she was teaching swimming lessons. She told her students, “if you have a problem, just keep your head about you. Think so you won’t sink!” After saying that to students for years, it occurred to her that the slogan not only worked in the pool, it also worked in life.

Are you facing a problem or challenge in your life? Don’t panic and react negatively. Why not think your way out of it? That’s what most famous scientists do for a living.

Memories, Attitude & Happiness

By Janet Walgren 

I think that every mother knows how to count to ten. In fact I heard a frustrated neighbor counting uno, dos, tres… just the other day. And, when I went to the Asian grocery store last week there was a mother counting ichi, ni, san… Some things seem to be universal when a child is misbehaving. One of those things is, mothers count to ten. Ah, the memories, the stories about ten. Tales about ten continue for generations and shape the course of history.

 

Being the second oldest of ten children, I have done my share of reminiscing with my siblings and I have noticed something very interesting. Everyone tells stories about the number ten differently. I’m not talking about the details of an incident; they are pretty much the same. I’m talking about attitude, the spirit in which the stories are remembered and told. I’ve noticed that attitude makes an amazing difference in the life of the subject of the story, and more interestingly, the teller of the story.

 

There is an excellent example of what I’m talking about in the book, Love is a Verbby Mary Ellen Edmunds. Mary shared a bedroom with her sister Charlotte. Mary and Charlotte were very different personalities which is not all that uncommon among siblings. Charlotte was a compliant child and Mary was the adventurous one. At bed time, when the sisters didn’t settle in and go to sleep right away, it was not at all uncommon for Mary’s mother to count to ten. And, Mary’s mother instinctively knew whose fault it was so she would march in the bedroom, go straight to Mary Ellen’s bed and give her a spanking.

 

On one particular night, Mary was trying to talk Charlotte into to jumping out the second story bedroom window.  She had a theory that if you bend your knees on impact, it would absorb the shock and your legs wouldn’t break. Charlotte was reluctant and refused to try the experiment. As the conversation progressed, Mary’s mother started to count, one, two, three… When she got to ten Mary knew she had to act fast, what to do… Then she had a brilliant idea.

 

“Charlotte lets see if we can trick mommy! Lets trade beds and see if she notices.” They exchanged beds in the nick of time. Her mother entered the bedroom, marched over to Mary’s bed and gave Charlotte a sound spanking. Then she marched out of the room saying that she didn’t want to hear another peep and told them to go to sleep.

 

As Charlotte lay sobbing, Mary exclaimed jubilantly, “Charlotte we did it, we tricked mommy!” Both girls were pleased and excited that they had tricked their mommy.

 

Imagine yourself as Charlotte. What would you say as you reminisced about that incident? What emotion would you attach to the memory? How would you paint your sibling? Would you be kind, charitable? When you told the story, would it be funny? Or, would you be the victim of a bad sibling who made your life miserable?

 

Happy adults find the fun and the funny in their memories. They are great story tellers and everybody love to listen to them. They discover the lessons in life and paint their associates in charitable ways as they impart their wisdom and sage advice.  People love to be around these happy folks. They make life pleasant. They even make work pleasant- even when the task seems as unpleasant as testing a theory by jumping out a second story window to see if bending your knees on impact will keep your legs from breaking.

 

I think almost everybody has been a Charlotte who got the undeserved spanking at sometime in their life. And, most people have found it necessary to be a Mary who needed to find a quick solution to an unpleasant problem on occasion. Regardless of the situations that you have faced, or that you are currently facing, your approach, your attitude will make all the difference. And, only you can choose what that attitude will be.

 

What makes the difference in people’s attitudes? I believe that it is love. As you go about your life, remember Love is a Verb.

Choices, Gratitude and Freedom

By Janet Walgren
“You always do what you want to do. This is true with every act. You may say that you had to do something, or that you were forced to, but actually, whatever you do, you do by choice. Only you have the power to choose for yourself.” ~ W. Clement Stone

If this statement is true, and I believe it is, then why do we choose to do what we do? What is our guile, our motivation? Are we choosing to act on greed and self interest or moral principle? Are we willing to make tough choices based on principle regardless of the consequences?

Yesterday was Memorial Day. I don’t know if you are aware of the origin of Memorial Day or the story behind the first Decoration Day. I would like to share it with you because it embodies the choices of many men and women resulting in the liberty and freedom that we enjoy today as a nation.

“According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first Memorial Day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves re-interred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North’s victory. On May 30, 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they’d picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.” ~ Wikipedia

I love this story. I love the gratitude that those people expressed. How many today can say that they have a heart felt appreciation for the sacrifice of life and family that has given us our liberty, our freedom? As I passed the cemetery yesterday, the graves were covered with flowers and flags. But that was yesterday. What about the rest of the year? How do you or I express our gratitude for freedom and all that we enjoy? My first ancestor to stand on American soil came here on the Mayflower. From that time till now, my family has been represented in every war our nation has fought. I have seen first hand the consequences that come to a battle scarred veteran and his family. They are grievous to be born.

As we go about our daily lives conducting our personal and business affairs, I hope that we remember the sacrifices that gave us our privileges. And, as we remember, I hope that we will choose to show our gratitude by the choices we make.

Stupid Criminals & the Elections

By Janet Walgren

Last week, on the evening news, I heard a “stupid criminal” story about a twenty-one year old man who stole a check from his girlfriend’s mother and tried to cash it at his local bank. The teller alerted police immediately after she was handed the check. The thing that tipped her off that something wasn’t quite right was the dollar amount. the check was filled out for $360 BILLION Dollars. Everyone who knew the perpetrator was in a state of slightly amused shock as they expressed their disbelief noting that if they actually had $360 Billion on hand, “We wouldn’ be sitting here… We would be somewhere sipping margaritas…It must be 5:00 PM somewhere around the world.”

How could he do such a stupid thing? How could he be so dumb? As I pondered these questions, I tried to come up with a logical answer, but each time I thought up a scenario, I started laughing. Not that the situation was funny, it wasn’t in the least, but it was simply beyond my comprehension how anyone old enough to get to a bank teller’s window with a check in hand could have possibly expected to cash a check for such a large amount.

It would have been nice if I had seen the “stupid criminal” news clip on a T.V. sit-com; I could have gone to bed laughing. Unfortunately, the incident was all too real and the more I pondered it, as I watched the evening news, the more I realized that there are three candidates running for president right now who are each trying to cash bigger checks than that at our teller windows. So, why don’t we see them as stupid criminals? After all isn’t voting for a candidate like cashing a check called “Campaign Promises”… And, wouldn’t it be lovely if their checks only cost the tax payers $360 Billion… ~sigh

Just Follow the Directions

By Janet Walgren
Years ago, as a young mother, I attended a homemaking class and luncheon that was sponsored by my church’s women’s group each month. The classes were very interesting and so were the luncheons. I always marveled that twenty-five individuals could be given the same identical recipe and use identical ingredients and come up with twenty-five distinctly different dishes. I would chuckle (quietly to myself) as this happened without fail month after month for years. It simply boggled my mind.

Last Saturday, my daughter and I took a little trip to a small town and resort area north of where we live. While there, we discovered an antique book emporium where I found an early edition of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I was excited; I had been passively looking for the book for years. The book tells how to make everything (pickles, sauces, dressings, butterscotch, Carmel… from scratch).

When I got home, I perused the cookbook. The puff pastry and pie crust recipes caught my attention. I had always wondered how a bakery could take the same basic ingredients that were in my kitchen and end up with such a variety of delectable pastries. The directions in the cookbook were very explicit. First you mix all the dry ingredients with water and refrigerate the dough. Next you roll the dough out in a 6″ x 18″ rectangle. Then, you thin slice a quarter pound stick of butter lengthwise and place the strips of butter width-wise across the first 9″ of dough. Next you fold the dough over the butter and seal the edges and refrigerate the dough. After the dough is chilled, you roll the dough out to a 6″ x 18″ rectangle again and fold the dough over and refrigerate the dough again. After repeating the process eight times the dough is ready for use and will create a flaky fluffy pastry just like you find in the bakery.

Could it be that the difference between a dud and a really exquisite result, in cooking or in life, is simply in just following the directions?

The Price of Knowledge

By Janet Walgren
There is a certain responsibility and accountability that comes with knowledge. William Wilberforce (1759-1833), a British statesman and member of Parliament who toiled out his days fighting to abolish the slave trade said, “Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way… but you can never say again that you did not know.”

In the D&C, Section 123: 13-17, the Prophet Joseph Smith instructed the saints on their duty in relation to the persecution that had been heaped upon them:

Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven –

These should then be attended to with great earnestness.

 Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.

You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

The Mormons were suffering severe persecution at the time of this proclamation. The prophet Joseph Smith was imprisoned in the Liberty, Missouri jail. The jailers had given him human flesh from a slave for a meal (that he didn’t eat) and were boasting of raping the Mormon women. The Mormons had been driven from state to state and Governor Boggs, of the state of Missouri, issued an extermination order against the Mormons. (The political power of a voting block that was against slavery was considered a threat to swing states and others, especially those in the clergy of other churches, didn’t like Joseph Smith’s claim of having a vision where he saw God the father of our spirits and Jesus Christ, his son.)

Today physical slavery still exists in many parts of the world including the United States. Works of darkness and evil still prevail around the globe. Governments are bribed and corrupted. Voters are lied to. Consumers are defrauded. Financial slavery has reached pandemic proportions with no government that dares to check the power of the global financial elite. There is a war of evil against all that is good among men. A secret combination here and silence there enables the enemy of righteousness to conduct this clandestine war which results in carnage and havoc among all the nations of the earth.

So, what do you know? Knowledge is never free. 

Organize Yourself

By Janet Walgren
In the cannon of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there is a book called The Doctrine and Covenants, commonly referred to as the D&C. It is a book explaining the history and government of the church. The book also gives guidelines on how to live in order to maximize your successes in various aspects of life. In one section, it gives a sequence to use in establishing a home and family:

LEARN:
And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

PREPARE:
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God:  D&C 88: 118-119

 Lately I have watched the lives of several acquaintances, neighbors and friends unfold and I have come to recognize that a multitude of problems could have been prevented if the individuals had followed not only the counsel above, but also the sequence.

An unlearned, undisciplined or disorganized person be it a spouse, leader, friend or what ever is a very hard act to follow.

When the Clock Stops

By Janet Walgren
Have your ever considered that some time sooner or later you will die? It was on my mind this week, probably because of the “annual” or “you are now old enough to need this” tests and that screenings ordered by my doctor. Anyway, there is no sense procrastinating thinking about the inevitable, right???  So, what did my overactive, hyperactive mind conjure up for the occasion?

The Game of Life

Imagine a long thick rope stretched out for thousands of yards suspended about 3 feet off the ground. The Devil is holding one end of the rope and the Savior is holding the other end. The rope is so long that you can’t see the ends until you are almost to them. There is a mist veiling the ends of the ropes and people are stationed along the rope to entice you one direction or the other… The rope is for your own personal game of tug-of-war and your position and direction of travel on the rope when the clock runs out will determine your eternal reward. Unlike other games of tug-of-war where you are chosen for a team and take a position on the rope, in this game, you choose which side you are on and your position on the rope. In this game the rope doesn’t move; it is up to you to move on the rope. You are free at anytime to let go of the rope and reposition yourself. The only restraints are distance, time and agency or your strength and will to choose.

There is a dance between choice and obedience where your agency intertwines with the will of others as you position yourself on the rope.  It is an intricate dance; a costume ball. The music started long ago and you are well into the game. It is like a cake walk but everyone is dancing to their own music. You only get one chance; when your music stops, your game is over. Are you satisfied with your position on the rope? Are you traveling in the right direction? Can you afford detours in the wrong direction even if it is on the right side of the rope? Are you pressing forward towards the tree of life? Are you ready to die???

Well the good news is I passed all my medical tests this week with flying colors. Perhaps I should plan on living another 20 years or so… but perhaps I should keep pressing forward because I will never know when my music will stop.

(I am second oldest of ten children. One of my sisters had colon cancer so we were all told to go get tested. Five have done so. I was the only one out of the five without anything to be concerned about.) Life can be sobering at times. It is a serious business especially if you believe in a life hereafter.

Parking your bad habits

By Janet Walgren
I had a friend who loved donuts so much that she ate dozens every day. Then one day her doctor warned her that if she didn’t stop eating donuts she would soon die of a heart attack. My friend was devastated. Why hadn’t someone warned her sooner about the harmful effects that donuts have on the body? She vowed to make a change in her diet and promised her doctor that she would give up donuts completely. She was going on the wagon!

On the way home from her doctors my friend passed her favorite donut shop. Just the thought of chocolate donuts made her salivate. She reasoned that it wouldn’t hurt her to have a farewell donut this one last time, but just to make sure it was OK, she thought she would ask for a sign. “I will drive through the parking lot,” she thought to herself, “If there is a parking spot directly in front of the donut shop, it will be a sign that it is OK to have just one more donut.” Well sure enough, on her seventh trip around the parking lot there was a spot directly in front of the donut shop and before she knew it, she heard herself saying, “I’ll have a dozen of the chocolate donuts and…”

This may seem a little bit funny if donuts are not your problem, but we all have our favorite sins and transgressions.  How many trips around the parking lot does it take you to justify your harmful habits and inapropriate behaviors? Do you have habits that you need to overcome or areas in your life that could use improvement? This is my year to do better! How about you?

Treasures of India

By Janet Walgren
A few weeks ago Archana posted some pictures of India’s countryside on her blog. I commented and asked her to post more about India. She did and dedicated the blog post to me:

Tribal Art of India
January 25, 2008 by Archana

A couple of weeks back I had written a post on my visit to the Countryside. I received the following comment from Janet Walgren:

“In America we only see the travel posters with snake charmers or news clips of crowded buses and poverty stricken slums full of starving people. I am certain that I have never seen a photo that would entice me to travel to your country until now. You showed me a face of India that I have never seen before … I do hope that you will post more photos to show the world the beauty that surrounds you.” I was really moved by her comment. It also made me realize, that not only abroad but even in India many people are unaware of the treasures that lie hidden in their own country. I dedicate this post to Janet Walgren.My cousin sister is an artist and has great interest in tribal art forms of India. These pictures are from her collection. Most of these art forms are associated with religious rituals and boast of an unbroken tradition of many hundreds and in some case 1000s of years.

I was touched by the art and especially intrigued by the four prints of “The Tree of Life” I encourage you to check out Archana’s post and hope that you find it as interesting as I did.

If we now shun the fight

By Janet Walgren
Recently I discovered the movie Amazing Grace. I didn’t know the story before. The movie was excellent and it had a profound impact on my thoughts. The movie tells a true story about the fight to end the British slave trade. It didn’t glorify the debauchery in graphic cinematic detail, it used words which ultimately proved much more powerful in conveying the awful realities of the trade. I was sickened at the inhumanity of man back then, but then I wondered if we aren’t just as guilty in our own unique modern way. The movie left me with many thoughts to ponder, thoughts about the inequities and injustices of today’s world, thoughts about great men and our own standing in eternity. I feel a need for deep introspection and careful evaluation of my own worthiness. How is my life stacking up compared with my possibilities and capabilities?

I have oft heard people exclaim how they would like to meet a great author, artist, statesman, or religious figure in the next life.  I wonder, how could I ever think to stand in the presence of such amazing men and women when my own life, my own endeavors are so pathetic, so trivial, so meaningless. Would not a crowd of adoring fans such as I be like a swarm of gnats to be swept from the face of greatness? Perhaps if we want to stand in the presence of greatness, our trial, our work is to shun our lives of ease and ease the burdens of the oppressed, the downtrodden, those who lack faith. Every person that has ever walked this earth was sent here to make a difference. I ask myself, what difference have I made? Are you making a difference?