24 March 2009

A Memory of Grandma Allen

During my Grandma Allen’s funeral on Monday, March 23, I had some memories of her brought back to my mind. I thought I would share a rather humorous one here on my blog that illustrates how older folks are/were a little intimidated by advances in technology. (For instance, the clock on Grandma’s VCR would blink after a power outage – rather than set the clock to get it to stop flashing, Grandma would place a tissue over the clock so she wouldn’t see it anymore!)

Anyway – shortly after Ruth and I were married we stopped in to visit Grandma Allen, I believe it was Spring. As we sat visiting, I noticed an unopened VHS copy of Anne of Green Gables sitting in her entertainment center. I asked her when she got that and she informed me that it had been a Christmas gift and that it was one of her favorite shows. I then asked her if it was one of her favorite shows, why she hadn’t opened it and watched yet – to which she responded that her VCR didn’t work.

I went over to the entertainment center, grabbed a video tape (one that was already opened) and proceeded to start the movie playing on her TV. I told her it was not broken and she said it never worked for her. I left the tape in the VCR, turned it off along with the TV and then asked her to come over and show me exactly what she does when she tries to watch a movie.

She walked over and turned on the TV. She then hit the power button the VCR and then said, “Then, just to make sure it is really on, I hit the power button again.” I tried very hard to control my laughter – realizing that by “making sure” the power was on, she was toggling the power off, again. Rather than try to explain the idea of a on/off switch to her, I simply told her that with this VCR, you have to make “extra sure” it is turned on and hit the button 3 times!

I don’t know if she ever really got the hang of it and used her VCR, but the experience has always made me laugh!

19 March 2009

Happy 50th Anniversary - Mom and Dad

Today is my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. The following tribute and pictures ran in the local newspaper this past Sunday:









On March 19, 1959, Milton Charles Anderson and Bonnie Shanalee Allen were married in the Logan LDS Temple. Milton is the son of Sylvester and Arlene Anderson and was raised in Millville. Shana is the daughter of Preston and Bonnie Allen and was raised in Hyrum. Throughout these past 50 years their family has grown, they have called many places home and worked diligently in their careers and Church service.

Milton and Shana are the parents of 6 children; five sons and one daughter: Curtis (Kerry) Thousand Oaks, CA; Marcia Miller (Richard) Central Point, OR; Bryan (Becky) Mesa, AZ; Paul (Stacy) Layton, UT; Blake (Laural) Layton, UT; and Kelly (Ruth) Nibley, UT. They have also been blessed with 28 grandchildren and one great-grandson. Milton and Shana are proud of all their children, particularly that all of their sons and their son-in-law are Eagle Scouts and are active in the LDS Church.

Milton and Shana began their married life together living in Logan while Milton completed a degree in accounting and economics from Utah State University and Shana worked at Thiokol. Milton became a licensed Certified Public Accountant and later obtained a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Utah. Milton retired in 1994 from a career with the Federal Government. Over the course of his career, he worked in the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services as an auditor and a federal investigator. Shana worked tirelessly as a wife and mother and later as an office manager for a periodontist.

Over the past 50 years, Milton and Shana have made their homes in Logan (1959-61), Salt Lake (1961-65), Tokyo, Japan (1965-67), Bountiful (1967-1978), Lakewood, Colorado (1978-1994) and currently live in Millville. Since retiring, aside from building their own home and developing the family farm, Milton and Shana served as service missionaries at the Logan LDS Employment Center, have served in the Logan LDS Temple, and cared for their own parents as they have aged.

Milton and Shana enjoy travelling to visit their children and extended family, as well as the many golf courses along the highway from here to there. When they are home, they can often be found playing golf at Sherwood Hills and Logan River, where Shana hit a hole-in-one during the summer of 2006!

It is with love and gratitude that we congratulate them on 50 years of marriage and thank them for the love they have shown over the years and the example they have set for their children, grandchildren and generations to come. Happy Anniversary!

God is in Control

I have a had a few experiences in the past couple of months that show me that God truly is the regulator of life and death.

My grandmother passed away early this morning at the age of 95. She has lived a good, long life and her death was truly a blessing as it relieved her of any further pain and suffering. In many ways, I can’t explain how she held on as long as she did.

Last fall, she broke her hip. When I went to visit her in the hospital prior to her surgery, I was sure she wouldn’t survive the procedure – but she did. She then spent some time in assisted living while she recovered and completed some therapy. However, shortly after returning home about a month ago, she fell again and was not really able to support her own weight or move on her own (even with a walker) after that time. I’m not sure why she had to suffer the pain and anguish of becoming completely dependent on others before she passed away.

Another death that touched me recently was that of a soldier in Iraq by the name of Michael Alleman. Mr. Alleman was my daughter, Raquel’s, 5th Grade teacher at Nibley Elementary. He had a great love of his Country and instilled that same love and passion for freedom in his students. The year after he taught Raquel, he left the teaching profession to enlist in the military and served on the front lines in Iraq. He was killed in the line of duty – leaving behind a wife and two small children. While Mr. Alleman died defending what he loved – his death made me again question why some people die, while others live.

The third story of life and death is that of my three nieces who were involved in a near-fatal car accident on December 6. All three were hospitalized. Two of them made rather quick and remarkable recoveries – the third niece’s recovery is incredibly remarkable, but has been considerably longer. She was in a coma for nearly 3 weeks and spent nearly 3 months in the children’s hospital in Denver, Colorado. You can watch the associated video in this post for more of her amazing story. The point is – this experience, again, made me question why some people live and some people die.

This was reinforced again with the untimely passing of Natasha Richardson (famous actress whom my family loved in The Parent Trap). She passed away apparently from a fall on a beginner ski slope. Why would she die from a comparatively minor fall while my nieces survive a horrific car crash – I do not know.

What I do know is this:
· God is good
· God loves us
· God’s purposes and perspective are eternal
· God is in control