Missionary Highlights: Pearisburg

       My mom and dad sent four children on missions.  Each of us has a testimony of the gospel.  Three of us talk less about our missions than my dad did about the navy (not much; it was a good experience, but certainly not the best two years)  Corey is the only one who has kept in touch with former companions and those he served. 

       Same with my boys.  Aside from their homecomings, I had never heard either one of them mention his mission.  It's not to say that we didn't grow from it or have any positive memories to share - it's just a part of our past that tends to stay there for the most part.

       I loved the MTC.  I loved my district.  I had been assigned to go to Virginia, Roanoke mission, while my MTC companion was being sent to West Virginia, Charleston.  We rarely ever stated what cities we'd be going to.  People would ask, "Where are you going?"

       Sister Larsen would always answer first, "I am going to West Virginia"
       "And I am going to Virginia" I would say.
       "Oh, you're going to West Virginia, too?"
       By the end of our three weeks, Sister Larsen would say "West Virginia" and I would say "Regular Virginia"

       I had been scheduled to leave the MTC on September 6th, 1984.  Everyone else in my district would be leaving on Sept 7th.  Or maybe we were all leaving on the 6th and I just happened to be leaving at a much earlier time.   

       The Elders from Hollister district were all going to Fresno - except for Elder Lovett.  He had also been scheduled to go to West Virginia, Charleston.  People would ask my companion what she was going to do for a companion once I was gone.

       I would answer, "Elder Lovett and Sister Larsen are both going to West Virginia and will be companions for just a short time." 

       They have no sense of humor in the MTC.
       I have often wondered how or what became of my MTC companion.   Common last name.  Haven't stayed in touch.

       I vaguely remember arriving in Roanoke and riding in a van to the mission home and crashing at night.  I don't recall what took place between arriving or crashing.

       We were given our assignments and taken to the bus station.  I was being sent to somewhere called Ripplemead, Virginia.  It was so small that it wasn't even on the provided map; someone had been handwritten it in next to a blue dot that was made.

       I got on the bus and one of the Elders took my bags and placed them in the overhead.  We drove for miles into desolation.  The further we drove, the more rural the areas became until there was nothing but land.  Finally, the bus pulls up at a drug store.  I see a sister missionary waiting. 

       "You've got to be kidding me," I thought.  "This one store is our town?"

       The drugstore was located in Pearisburg, along with one of the wards that we served.  The other was in Pembroke.  I think both those were on the map.  I doubt that all three towns put together had more than 1,000 people.  Today the entire population of Giles County is more than 16,000.  I don't know if the number was higher or lower back in '84. 

       My trainer was a hard worker.  She had become close to many members of the first area we had served - which ironically reminds me a lot of the area in which I currently live - though Giles and Monroe county offered unbearable cold weather which isn't a part of western Oregon. 

       Knocking on doors came with such an eerie sensation.  It was as those who answered the door were still living in the depression and as 1984 was a foreign future to them, we, of course, didn't exist - and it always felt like they were looking right through of us instead of at us. 

       Well, maybe not always.  The residents of Narrows seemed to be a bit more humane, actually understanding the importance of hygiene and all of them had their teeth.  I honestly didn't know where we were each time we would knock doors. There were so many people that lacked hygiene - some were still using outhouses and had no concept of a toothbrush.  That is not an exaggeration, either.  But, of course, that was only a few cities and not the entire county. But when I am asked about my first area, that is what comes to mind; for some reason, it is those "twilight zone" encounters that I remember.

       Sister F. and I were together for a month before Sister D. joined us.  I had referred to our group as a threesome, which never did set right with me.  My nephew called them tri-panionships which actually sounds better.  It was the only group of sisters that didn't include at least one senior sister.

       We went to the ward Halloween party; I thought it would be funny if we could dress as nuns but as we didn't have habits but did each possess a raincoat, we went as flashers instead. 

       Later on, we dressed as stewardesses (politically now called flight attendants) and presented a fireside which I briefly mention here.

As I recall, Sister F was transferred right before Thanksgiving.

       I got along with Sister D.  We both enjoyed having companionship study each in our bed so that if there was any time left, we could enjoy a companionship nap (that's what she called it) and neither of us cared for knocking on doors. 

       We found a young man and taught him all the discussions at the bishop's home.  We spent Christmas together, and actually had two baptisms scheduled for Christmas day. 

       For Christmas, Sister D's family had given her a suitcase which contained a film projector and several canisters of different church films (we didn't have DVD's or tablets back then - no emailed accounts to our parents, no facebook posts . . . ) which we would carry as we would invite others to hear our message.

     One my last week there, we  toured some of the spots which Giles county had to offer.  By accident, we

encountered the city of Goldburg, which had not been marked on the map.  I think we counted 6 - 10 houses.
We were both freaked out as it appeared (and felt) like a Satanic ghost town

       At the beginning of 1985, I was transferred to my second area. 

The Best Two Years

      
     The Best Two Years was released two months before Jenna was born.  I LOVE that movie.  We had it on VHS.  I think it had been given to one of the boys for Christmas – or perhaps it had been a gift to all of us.  I don’t remember.  For a while there, I had been watching it for at least once a month.

       I don't fully identify with the characters . . . I never learned a foreign language.  I knew Elders who lived with two sets.  I don't know of any sisters that have lived in more than one pair. . . .  but I can relate all of them to different Elders I had served with in my mission. 

       On the last birthday I had in Utah (less than two weeks before our move to Oregon) Tony and Rochelle gave me a CD of The Best Two Years.  Actually, a set of CDs.  One contained the movie released in February of 2004, the other includes bonus materials including the original play put on at Promised Vally playhouse.  I hadn’t even realized it was there until the other day.

       Jenna was singing the few lines that she knew from "The Best Two Years" and I was singing along adding "my best suit from Sears" which she thought I was making up to rhyme with what she was singing, but I took out the movie to show her and inserted the stage production. 
 

     "We  can watch this later.  I want you to hear the songs" and so put on the movie - which may actually become one of her favorites as she laughed at so much of it - and then attempted to learn the lyrics so that she can sing it at school as she underhandedly tries to get her peers to learn it.

       Jenna is already singing primary songs whenever she is with peers who swear; the more they do it, the louder she gets.  She will make a good missionary - well, she does already.

       We watched the movie on Friday night. On Saturday she asked if we could watch the stage version.  The Best Two Years is not cheesy like many other Mormon classics. I wish I was able to share all of the other cheesy movies like RM or Suits on the Loose.  I know SLC library has them, but I know that DC does not.  Maybe I can order some online - or ask my family members to keep their eyes peeled at second-hand stores and yard sales (like anyone  will be holding a yard sale at this time of the year)

      

                               Thank you, Tony!

We Don't Always Have the Option of Choosing Our Family

        Nicki is Rochelle's sister.  She's not in any of the family pictures that were taken at Tony and Rochelle's wedding 5 1/2 years ago.  I was not aware that she even had a third sister.  All of them have an "L" sound at the end of their name - but Nicki has chosen to go by her middle name.  I think Rochelle told me that Nicki had withdrawn herself from the family and started to go by Nicki at that time - though I could be wrong.  I actually don't know Rochelle as much as I'd like.  I certainly don't know her family - only what Tony paints for me - which is less than flattering.  But Tony always sees the lemons rather than the potential of lemonade.

        Rochelle's mother passed away only two months after she and Tony married - which wasn't a great surprise; neither of her parents was in the best of shape, but I somehow believed that Rochelle's dad would go first.

        Nicki had returned for the funeral.  I guess it was then that she decided to become more involved with different family members.  Tony absolutely does not care for Nicki.  He says she's weird.  I'm guessing that she is psychologically disturbed, but again, I don't know.

        Rochelle has had some health issues that deal with childbearing.  It's said that the first pregnancy and birthing is the most difficult and the second is the easiest.  Not in Rochelle's case.  She was scheduled to be induced on the 17th, but her concerned doctor told her to check into the hospital yesterday.  It was Tony's birthday.

        How cool would that be to share a birthday with your father?  I have a cousin and uncle who shared the same birthday.  I don't think Rosa was ever bothered by it.  Jenna, on the other hand, likes the idea of having a birthday all to herself. She hoped her new niece wouldn't be born until today for that very reason.  Looks like Jenna won out.

        Unlike many parents who pick out names before the child is born, Rochelle and Tony have also procrastinated with that.  Ester did not receive a name until just before she was born.  Unfortunately, her new sister still does not have one.  Jenna and I have decided to call her Eliza as it was one of two names mentioned and we actually like it better than the other.  Ester and  Eliza sound cute together. My new granddaughter will probably be called something different from any of the possibilities given (which, of course, wasn't many).  So she will be Eliza in my blog.  9 pounds, 7 ounces 19 inches long.  Rochelle has such a tiny frame.  She must be hurting. 

Fall

Most of these were taken at Millsite.  The first and the last were at Stewart Park in Roseburg

our yard

Blog Makeover and Unfinished Ideas

          Recently I had gone through my flash drives in search of a scrapbook that I had scanned.  During my search, I came across the following unfinished thoughts and added covers.  This is what my blog used to look like

 It's been nearly five years since I started my blog.  I wonder if it is time for a new makeover.  I created this cover near the end of 2012:.

and here are some thoughts that never got posted as they felt incomplete at the time

2012 March 19

Apple Pie & Coffee

            Roland often tells the experience of a man he had worked with several years ago.  The man had come from another country and knew very little English.  But he could place an order for “apple pie and coffee” – just “apple pie and coffee”.  His mouth became weary after eating so much apple pie.  He wanted to order something else.

            One day he sat down at the counter and decided he would order something else.  He listened to someone order “a ham sandwich” and decided that he would order the same.  He practiced saying, “a ham sandwich” so that the waitress would clearly understand what was being ordered.

            When the waitress finally did come to take his order he clearly spoke,  “a ham sandwich”.  The waitress then asked if he would like white or rye bread. He just stared blankly at her before he changed his order to “apple pie and coffee”

            As with the man in this example, each of us needs to learn things for ourselves – and not always rely upon the knowledge or experience of another.  We can attempt to imitate and mimic – but there will come a time in our lives when it will be our own experience and knowledge that will make a difference.

counting back change

paper money

Shortly after my brother Corey was born, my mom took on a part-time job at an ice cream parlor just to make ends meet.  It really wasn’t her intent to become a supervisor – but the alternative was that someone else would continue to supervise and the choice of candidates that were left seemed less than average.

            There weren’t the computerized registers that most stores have today – where the clerk punches in a number and the register tells how much change to return.  Employees were required to count back change and my mom was appalled with the number of employees who were unable to figure it out.

            I remember her setting down my brother Patrick and me and teaching us how to count back change.  We were seven and nine – and I wasn’t even that great at math, but I got it.  Counting change was NOT that difficult.  Her point exactly.  Surely if her seven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter could do it, the hired employees should also be able to figure it out.

            I continued counting back change even after the computerized registers – “9.40 is your change.  40 makes 11 (as I hand them their change) 12, 13, 14, 15 (as I count out the ones) and five makes twenty” which was disturbing to customers who had no concept of counting out change either.  They’d recount it in front of me as though I was trying to cheat them.  Duh!

2012 August 5

Gays and Jews

There are several versions of “The Jazz Singer” – I happen to like the one with Neal Diamond – who in the beginning of the show performs his music in an all Black Club with his three African-American friends who need a fourth group member.  

Knowing the strict rules of the club, he tells the other three that he cannot assist them as he is definitely NOT of the same race.  But with some help of make-up and a wig, Neal Diamond is transformed into a passable looking black man.  But the make-up is on his face only and not on his hands.  He gets caught and the four end up in jail.

            Laurene Oliver plays the father to Neal Diamond’s character, Jess.  He is the one who posts bail for Jess and his friends.  The disappointment on his face is rather obvious and he says one of my favorite lines from that movie, “Isn’t it hard enough just being Jewish?”

         My ideas were to include:   Putting on a façade for others rather than being happy with who we really are.  Closed Gays – compare to the Jewish markings in WWII

  

          I still have many Unfinished thoughts.