"Oh, No. Oh, Dear. I Think She's Actually Hurt."

The clarity of picture in this clip is very poor but the ending comments of the newscasters make it well worth the view. I got a good laugh out of it...

The Rescue

I'm going to teach the gospel doctrine class this Sunday. Yikes. Actually, I'm looking forward to it. I usually do feel positive about these kinds of things until about a 1/2 hour beforehand when I start violently convulsing. Luckily there is a manual, I know of some good sources, and I have some left over Klonopin from way back when.

So the lesson begins at the time when Joseph (coat of many colors) is now 430 years long gone and Israel is in bondage by the Egyptians. The lesson can be found HERE. The lesson plan suggests to have someone share a personal experience of rescue. I thought about rescue in my life. What has been my most dramatic rescue?

Flashback to February of 1997. I was a new 12 year old beehive and eligible to go to the stake youth Valentine's Day dance. I'd only been 12 for about a month and the whole boy-girl activity combo was so new and exciting.... and frightening. My best friend was 9 months younger than I, which meant I'd be rockin the dance floor solo. As soon as mom dropped me off, the moment I hopped out of the van, the excitement for the activity drained in exponential increments. In less than a minute flat I was left alone to fend for myself in the sea of goober-boys.

The dance was crowded and, as I wandered in, a slow song came on. I walked through the double doors, looked up and caught Stuart's eyes. I knew what that look meant. It didn't take much prior experience to recognize the penetrating question in his eyes. I had been born 12 years ago, not yesterday. In that blinking moment, the spirit screamed "RUN, you fool". Well, maybe it wasn't the spirit but whatever it was, I listened. Terror sank in and if I would have known what Klonopin was at the time, I would have been begging it from anyone I passed by.

In an overcrowded gym, one can only run/shuffle away so quickly. Luckily, I made my escape into the hall to get a quick drink. It only takes about 2 seconds to get a drink so I circled around the building and entered the gym from another door. How naive to think that I could have escaped the dance-proposal skills of the cunning Stuart. Before I could get ahold of myself and the situation, I found myself in the arms of my pursuer.

Bravely choking the tears back, i caught the last 30 seconds of the song with him then jogged/stumbled to the phone in the hall. Now, you may laugh and scoff, thinking, "Tears? Heh." I'm not lying though. This was traumatic for me. I called my mom and told her with that ugly-cry voice to "Come get me NOW." Needless to say, I waited outside for her.

My mom was the best rescuer ever. She was so reassuring and comforting on the way home as I choked back the tears (she was probably cracking up while I wasn't looking). She took me back to the safety of home and nurtured and nursed me back to strength without the aid of Klonopin... and life went on. I'm so grateful my mom rescued me from the dangers and trauma of the dance floor. Man, I owe her.

Now, how to fit this into the Sunday school lesson...

Bagpipes

I just got home from the daily duty of crossing guard. On the way (walking home), the bagpipes were blasting from the home of a neighbor. It's been so long since they've played. I love hearing them. Spring + the neighborhood bagpipes= good way to start the morning.

On the Mind...

1. On the way home tonight, I saw a guy get pulled over by a cop. I hate it when that happens. I felt so bad for the helpless chap and I didn't even know him.

2. I love donuts and ice cream and chocolate eclairs and cheesecake.

3. I have a chancre (see definition HERE) under my top lip and it's causing my lip to swell. Gross! I haven't had a chancre since I was little. What's the deal? Get it off me!

4. I'm so close to the end of the semester. Just hang on.

5. I really miss the temple. I've been every week since I went through in October and two weeks off seems like forever. I'm so grateful its only 10 minutes away and will be open next week.

6. I have always planned on graduating and continuing my education, but I also hoped that I'd have kids by now, not in pursuit of a career. It's weird to start planning for one but I'm excited. There's a fulfilling satisfaction obtained on the job that can't be obtained by any other means.

7. I really want to go on a mission. I've wanted it so bad for so long but it just isn't right. In my mind, it's the perfect thing for me to do, yet I just can't get the go-ahead. The whole prosessing of the situation is like meeting a guy, working the charm, then waiting for the treasured phone to ring... and he just doesn't call. Argg. Oh, I wish I could go. At any rate, I'm grateful for personal revelation and the confidence that comes from living in line with it. Though I'm not on a "mission", I'm grateful for the opportunities I have in my daily life to help build others around me.

8. Also, guys can be so dumb sometimes.

Poem For the Day

Who Am I?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Who am I? They often tell me

I stepped from my cell’s confinement

Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,

Like a squire from his country-house.

Who am I? They often tell me

I used to speak to my warders

Freely and friendly and clearly,

As though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me

I bore the days of misfortune

Equally, smilingly, proudly,

Like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?

Or am I only what I myself know of myself?

Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,

Struggling for breath, as though hands were

compressing my throat,

Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,

Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,

Tossing in expectation of great events,

Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,

Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,

Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?

Am I one person today and tomorrow another?

Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,

And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?

Or is something within me still like a beaten army,

Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, 0 God, I am Thine!

March 4,1946