Rubber band powered airplanes...

When I was a kid, maybe Jack's age, we used to get these rubber band powered airplanes. You would wind the propeller backwards until the bands became taught. To launch it you would release the prop with the left hand while giving it some forward thrust with your right. The plane would climb and circle a bit and then coast in hopefully for a soft landing on its gear. Care had to be taken lest the bands be wound overly tight and stressed which would result in premature failure as they would develop cracks and break. Eventually they would all succumb to that in any case. Sometimes the landings were less than soft and the balsa wood wings and other components would need to be repaired with Elmer's glue until that was no longer possible. Replacement bands never seemed to be available or any spare parts for that matter. While the planes flew in the sunshine of a spring or summer day we were all in high spirits and imagined we were aviators on board our fragile ships set free for a few seconds from the bonds of earth to soar above.

Tonight in the temple I worked with a brother, a decade or so older than myself, and he was struggling. He had forgotten some essential dialogue and gave incorrect direction to one of our guests. I had to have a coordinator intervene to remedy that and he was embarrassed. He apologized later and we visited for awhile. He is a retired doc and internist. His last mission for church was being the medical coordinator for all of Central America. He seemed uncomfortable as we visited and favored his right foot. Seemed to be even in some pain. Turns out he had surgery on his foot and it was not healing because of diabetes. Later in the evening he bumped his knuckle and was bleeding on things that are white there. The blood stained white fabric was near me and I pointed it out to the coordinator so the panel could be replaced and first aid given to my friend.

I guess one of the challenges for me in working at the Bountiful Temple are the almost weekly reminders, the awareness of the cracks forming in the rubber bands amongst my friends and people I get to know. The mortality rate for that senior group is higher than maybe one would encounter on the golf course or in the work place. Cancers, ALS, and other maladies have taken people out of my life there that I have loved and miss. My friend, the recorder, is diminishing weekly with the effects of mesothelioma. It is both inoperable in immune to chemo therapy. The roll call is being added to for those who have gone on.

Yes, the rubber bands break and no longer are the dreams of flying and soaring possible. I even heard RA suggest the new Bosch duel fuel oven/stove we bought this week would be her 'last one'. I used to become annoyed when I would hear my folks make similar comments about their 'last car', or the 'last shingle job' on the roof at 460 North Main. They sometimes would phrase it in words like: 'this should see us out'. Now it seems we are where they were and are focused on similar kinds of things. Maybe that is the natural order of things. If so give us a little understanding if you hear more of these kinds of things from us. My friend I was told went home early. He was not having a good night. Maybe he will have a better one next week.