MOVING ON

Dear Family,

President Monsoon was in our neighborhood last week and visited Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to the Church Emeritus.  The occasion was a half-hour visit celebrating Eldred's 105th birthday.  This is a picture that was in the Deseret News.

Elder Smith lives in our ward and comes to Church each Sunday, driving himself and his wife a few blocks to church. He got up last Sunday and gave his testimony; what a great example he has been..  I sit next to him in our Quorum meetings and he will turn and ask if I would ride up with him in this little elevator they have in our building.  Operated by a key and a little hooky, but it gets to the upper floor. I have been riding with him for several years.  He has given over 20,000 Patriarchal Blessings but he told me he released himself from giving them now.  He has been in our home a couple of times giving a fireside on the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  He has the clothes they were wearing at the time of the martyrdom and are still blood stained.

We have an older ward full of former mission presidents and Temple presidents and families who have lived in the same house for over 40 - 50 years.  Last Sunday I took a cane I bought in England when we lived near London.  It was slippery outside and I did not want to fall going through the muck.  When I sat in Sunday School, a man sat down beside me and announced he was 93 and he had a cane.  He looked at mine and after a few minutes said, "Do you want to duel with our canes?" "Whaaaat" was my reply.  "Let's have a duel with our canes!" I turned a little ring in my black carved cane and began to pull out the 4 foot steel sword that was in the cane and when he saw about 6 inches of it he said, "I do not want to have anything to do with you!" I guess old guys still like to fool around. Finally had a good use for that sword cane.

Here is something you don't see everyday.  Since my cardiac incident, I have been trying to go to Cardiac Rehab.  It is a slick place with modern exercise equipment, pretty nurses and monitoring equipment.  They put on the EKG leads and monitor, EKG, oxygen levels, blood pressure and hear rate.  Better than Baley's!  I drive them a little nuts always inquiring about the quality of the "T" waves on the EKG. I have been slowly working up the time and pace and feel pretty good today and did the longest time so far without any problems.  Doug came down from his hospital rounds and took this pic. Maybe I will be in pretty good shape for Busch Gardens and the kids in Tampa FL this week.

Al is waiting of the arrival of their eight baby that is any minute but one of her Ewes beat her to it. They went out to the barn and noticed that one of their three sheep had dropped a new lamb. She called for a "new lamb consult" Al and Paul and kids are really getting into it on their farm in Michigan.

We are trying to plan the reunion for this summer and with this large family, it is getting challenging.  Mom will send an email around asking for some preferences.

Next week sunny Florida, Busch Gardens, a little wild hog hunting stint on the Church ranch down there, some good old Gulf seafood, and fooling with the kids.

Love, Dad and Mom