"a total commitment..."

Saturday nights I am in a special place and enjoy my time while I am there. I raised the question of the First Presidency letter to one of my associates during a slack period. I asked him what he thought of it. His response was quick and certain, "a total commitment to President Monson in this."

It is no secret what my thoughts are on the matter. Regrettably, we don't have a great history and heritage of compassion toward those who are different. We failed to get along with folks in Oho, Missouri, and Illinois. After the Prophet's death we jumped on board with the rest of America in the disenfranchisement of all Blacks. When we came west we were not satisfied with our isolation and so we whacked a wagon train from Arkansas, saving only some of the children and babies. 'The indians did it' excuse is not substantiated by the forensic evidence from a mass grave uncovered during the reconstruction of the present monument in the Mountain Meadows near Cedar City. Church historian Richard Turley's definitive book on the subject is to be out in August and I have my name on the list for a couple copies at Benchmark. Among my numerous Latino friends I am told often of ethnic slurs with Church members and without here in Utah. Our Republican legislature has a track record of being anti immigrant in spite of the pronouncements by some General Authorities.

I wish there was a more 'live and let live' attitude among Mormons and our leadership. The commitment of Mormons to follow these instructions of this First Presidency letter will not reduce any homophobic feelings among the membership. The consequence will be anyone with a difference of gender orientation than the Mormon majority will find themselves driven further away. For those of us who have a family member or friend caught up in the Church's efforts to deny civil rights to, the rest of us all take for granted, only adds to the burden and pain we experience. Are we not acting contrary to the Savior's instruction of looking for the 'one' and inviting all to come unto Him and sup at his table? I wonder.

A Matter of Conscience

More than a few disgruntled and unhappy observers have characterized the ongoing efforts by our church leadership to gain constitutional status for key aspects of the "Proclamation on the Family" like the civil rights struggle of the 60's and the question of Blacks and the priesthood. Elder Ezra Taft benson was certain, at the time, that the Communists were intent on destroying America through the civil rights movement. We cannot use that excuse now as the Commies are gone so they cannot be backing the agenda of the GLBTG community. At the height of the civil rights movement in the 60's, the foremost scholar and theologian of the Church was Joseph Fielding Smith. He was President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to more moderate President David O. McKay, the president of my youth. Asked whether there was a place for Negroes in the LDS Church, he, JFS, responded by saying, "The darkies are a good people and there is place for them in this church." Elder Harold B. Lee, who would later become President of the Church, and the decision maker during the tenure of President Joseph Fielding Smith, following President McKay's death, chastised then BYU President Ernest Wilkinson for allowing Blacks to attend BYU. He threatened Wilkinson with responsibility if his granddaughter attending BYU should become 'interested' in a colored young man. So extreme were his views that he questioned whether blood supplies in SLC for LDS Hospital were obtained from any donors of African descent. Such tainted blood carried the 'curse of Cain' apparently. Further, Harold B. Lee vowed that during his lifetime he would insure that Blacks would never receive the priesthood. The interesting conclusion one could reach about that is that he served fewer months than any other president of the church and was replaced by Spencer W. Kimball who sought and received change that came in the revelation of June 1978.

Studying the introduction, perpetuation, and conclusion of plural or Celestial Marriage in the church, I honestly believe we would or there would be a few still practicing it today had not the federal government intervened to the point of extinction of this church in causing the ending the practice. The Manifesto did not prevent President Wilford Woodruff from following a belly dancer, who performed for him in Salt Lake City, to San Francisco where he secretly 'married' her. Marriage defined as between 'one man and one woman' in the days before the First Manifesto and the Second Manifesto would have been rejected quickly and anyone advocating that would have been in jeopardy.

The recent Republican primary election in Utah and the loss of immigration moderate Chris Cannon to Jason "the Ghengis" Chaffetz, in arguably the most conservative of all congressional districts in the US, (Utah's 3rd), suggests his constituency is very much ethnically challenged as to persons of the Brown color. That district must be near 100% Mormon. The track record of our Utah legislature is equally abysmal as they introduced one bill after another to marginalize Hispanics here. There is no question from my experience and observations with Latino members there is an undercurrent in our Utah Mormon middle class culture of ethnic animosity. I believe this current of animosity, coupled with the fear of someone's activist agenda and just plain homophobic views helps us to understand what has propelled us a a church to this point, giving rise to the letter and subsequent efforts to restore the law banning Gay marriage in CA.

From my study of church history and my knowledge as a lifetime practitioner, apologist, and advocate, I would conclude the following:
1. Membership and our leadership are very slow to change, i.e. nearly 140 years in righting the wrongs of the personal prejudices grafted into church practice following the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith by his successors, principally Brigham Young.
2. Membership and the present leadership are very much influenced by the 'culture of fear' here in America. It is with uncertainty and trepidation they view and feel threatened by events such as the recent CA Supreme Court decision concerning Gay marriage. It may portend the coming wave that will sweep across the land threatening traditional marriage everywhere.
3. LDS Church leadership responds to threats, direct or implied, from state or federal governments. This battle between the forces of conservatism and 'family values' in California or any other state will not be won by any other means than a real or perceived threat to the tax exempt status of the Church. They will move quickly and stop funding efforts to support Prop 22 and like battles if there is a possibility of losing exempt status.
4. Lastly, our leaders are fallible and often speak and do so from their own experience, as I freely admit I am and do. Not always are they inspired or do they speak the 'will of the Lord'. Who can deny the off kilter doctrinal statements of Brigham Young in teaching the so-called Adam God theory? On what basis did we deny persons of color for nearly a century and a half the blessings of the priesthood?

Will change occur on this matter in the Church? Not in my lifetime, except and only unless the tax exempt status is threatened. Will writing letters to the Brethren bring about change? No. What am I going to do about it? In a private way, (as I do not want to formally compromise my status), I will support financially and otherwise, the efforts of any who would oppose the coalition, (including my church), to pass legislation such as Prop 22. I will continue to contemplate the matter and seek illumination. The process works and resolution may come.

Why vote Republican...

The ladies up in Cache Valley, (See, Hear, Speak No Evil), had this on their Blog and I borrowed it here. It is too choice not to share with everyone. Hope they do not mind.



See you somewhere in one of the aisles at Wal Mart...

The sentence has been affirmed...

The Girls are to end their existence this afternoon. Being the coward I am I cannot participate. I fed them some nice grape leaves from Margaret's vines this morning. I had RA fill their water container and food dispenser too.

No longer will they queue up to the fence or come hopping out of their house when they hear my voice. No longer will I hear their contented clucking sounds. Who ever thought chickens could become such friends?

In memory of the Girls, a piece from Mozart's Requiem:



"Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis."

Sith Lords and the Primary on Tuesday

I wrote this comment on Tyler Farrer's Davis County Watch this morning.

Tyler, who can say whether Becky is a Democrat or not. Currently, I am declared 'unaffiliated' as to my party, but I am thinking very seriously about declaring myself a Republican on Tuesday so I can vote against the slate of Republican candidates put forward by the Dark Lord Palpatine/Darth Sidious. We must put an end to the careers of so many who adhere to Sith traditions -- they who seek for power and would trample the rights of this now free, but threatened people of Utah.

Progress on the Dory

We made some great progress with the boat today. Besides doing a dry fit up of the outboard motor mount on the transom and thereby determining we need the long shaft 4 hp Yamaha, we also taped all of the exterior joints with a 12 oz. special bi-axial fiberglass cloth. Miky, one of the boy scouts, helped me tape them. You cannot see the joints because the glass becomes very clear once the epoxy resin wets it out. We are using an epoxy from a company called MAS as it is reputed to have the best barrier properties against water permeation. We will mix up some epoxy body putty tomorrow and 'fair' all of the joints we taped. Then on Weds we will cover the entire exterior hull with a synthetic glass material called Dynel. It is also woven and tougher against abrasion than fiberglass.

The outboard motor mount is stainless and raises and lowers, spring loaded. I think we can get 12-14 inches of water above the cavitation plate on the motor and that is good. We will have plenty of power to get off the lake if a storm comes up. I think a bit of a deck area, or thwart up front, would be good too if waves are high and we are pushing through them, so the water just doesn't come spilling over the bow into the boat. It means some protected storage underneath and built in flotation as well.

The plans for the 22' arrived today and it is a much bigger endeavor but very doable. We will start that after hunting season in the fall/winter. It is the Surf Scoter 22'. You can see it on an earlier post. I will be making the pilot house about 3 or 4' longer to accommodate more interior room for a sit down head and a better galley. Extending the roof back a bit so you can duck out of the rain or sun in the cockpit will be helpful.

Paul is on the right in this picture

"You are my best friend and I hope you will always remember this. I pray that our savior will forgive me and you will also."

I read a journal article yesterday in Scientific American about the catharsis of blogging and maybe an insight as to why it has become so popular in America. I think we probably all would agree with that assessment. Josh expresses that with his "Stress Filled Times of Me", doesn't he?

Today I write about my friend Paul Randall. He sent an email yesterday, maybe 30 minutes before he took his life with a gunshot to his head. The long and the short of it was that he was in pain and without hope. He had been a firefighter and EMT and a decorated one. He was my friend and my assistant in the West Bountiful scout troop and loved doing that until the pain became too great. Few parts of his body functioned in any sort of normal way. The sound of his own voice made his ears hurt. Surgery two months ago to correct the hearing only made it worse. Among other things he had Menieres disease which affected his balance, equilibrium and made him nearly constantly nauseous. In spite of everything we enjoyed a fruitful and positive relationship. We would explore the favorite places I enjoy eating in the valley. He thought the chicken on the mezedakia plate at the Other Place Cafe was the best chicken he had ever tasted in his life. That was his favorite after the Trang, dim sun at the Ahn Hang, mo mos from Shambala, and Crown Burgers. Nielsen's frozen custard was something he had never experienced until we took the boys there one night. He taught the boys how to fish, tie a hook on and cast a line. We worked on the stitch and glue boat together which he really enjoyed discovering this new process of working with wood. The boys liked him and appreciated his help and guidance with the scouting work. He was dedicated to them and they knew that.

There is a hole in my life, in all of our lives, because of his passing. Thanks Paul for being one of the best friends I ever had.

An update -- Following the funeral services yesterday his widow informed me that she had his Scout shirt buried with him in the casket, "because he loved scouting with the boys so much."

June 9th is my Dad's Birthday

I was privileged to enjoy a long association with my father because we lived next door and were involved more with the folks during their retirement years. My children were blessed to have loving grandparents so close. I am grateful for that and all I learned from them. I received the priesthood from him. I have used it and given it to my son and blessed my daughters as well. That is its nature. I have given it to others who didn't have a Dad like mine. I cherish the first Sunday I sat with him in the High Priests group. I was called to be a most junior member of the Centerville Stake High Council. For a number of years my Dad served on the Davis Stake High Council. When I was a kid we would go with Mom to hear him speak in Farmington and Kaysville.

In honor of my Dad I took RA and Em to the ice cream store here in Ft. Bragg today. Naturally, I ordered a scoop of strawberry. He was definitely a strawberry guy. When we were kids we often would take a Sunday drive that ended up with an ice cream cone, sundae, or shake, usually at the fountain at Service Drug in Bountiful. Later when Baskin and Robins opened we would take our kids and the folks would treat everyone to ice cream. Families always came before anything else including silly interpretations of rules about not shopping on the sabbath, even to buy ice cream cones. My Dad was like that. He was honest and down to earth, the most honest man I ever knew. He always told it the way it was and did not mind the use of a few good four letter words here and there. Mom used to marvel that none of us picked up on any of his bad words. He never used those words to put anyone down but they could be applied to a weather report for example. Once we were contemplating a trip somewhere and Mom asked Dad what Bob Welti had said the weather was going to be and he responded by saying. "the damn weather is going to be raining with snow in the mountains." Astonished my mother questioned whether the weatherman really said "the damn weather..."

My Dad had few hobbies other than working though he liked to fish and hunt in his earlier days with friends and some family members. He liked a nice car and I had some pretty sweet rides to drive to high school and beyond. Once a brand new Buick came home for a few days and never left. At first he told Mom it was just a "loaner". Finally, he admitted he had bought it. Our boat was acquired similarly. It was planned secretly without Mom knowing about it until the time was right and after several inspections at Otto Smith's workshop the secret was revealed.

Dad instilled in all of us a sense of duty and service. He wore his life out in doing things for others and for all of us. He was an example in many ways and there is lots more than his love of strawberry ice cream and Sunday rides that continues with us to this day.

Thanks Dad for everything and Happy Birthday!

Fence is done

Our construction and staining has been a little delayed because of a nest of small birds on one of the electrical panel boxes out back. We do not want to interfere with the mother and babies so we work a little and then come inside while the mother feeds her babies.

We have the deck now surrounded by fence so next month when the boys and dog arrive we can maintain the perimeter.

The Dory

We have finished the exterior sanding and fairing of the hull and are working on the skeg. The next step will be to tape the seams and glass the entire hull before we install the skeg. Keep in mind this is in lieu putting fiberglass on a cardboard box for a bird house to fulfill one of the requirements of the composite materials merit badge.

Still have not decided on colors or the name yet. We are learning how to do the stitch and glue process of boat construction in preparation for the 22' Pilot House Surf Scoter.

She said 'yes'

It is called a pilot house cruiser and we can start building it this fall. It is 22' long and powered either by an IO Volvo Penta Diesel or a 90 hp outboard hidden in a well. There is another option too, something called a sail drive. I have ordered the plans so we can start making some modifications. The pilot house needs to be enlarged to accommodate a better galley as well as an enclosed head. Privey for you landlubbers. To keep us all from getting too much sun the pilot house roof will be extended aft and then an awning to keep us in the shade while cruising. Its range is more than 300 miles with a 50 gallon gas tank. That means some serious exploring on Lake Powell or at the Gorge. Certainly a charcoal grill we could hang over the side for cooking our catch of trout or bass would be required.

Dark Canyon is a destination in Lake Powell that is only reached with some difficulty by trail from above. Driving the Noyo King to to its mouth and throwing out the anchor and wading ashore to explore the springs, pools and water falls will be one of the first destinations. GPS, a sonar fish finder, an I Pod wired sound system, a small heater to take the chill of fall mornings on the water, a solar array to keep our batteries charged and a cooler stocked with Calistoga, what else do we need? How about a launch date of summer 2009?

I have seen several of these designs also carry a mast for a simple cat rig sail. With a breeze we could cut the engine and hoist the sail and drift along with the fishing lines over the side. Anyone want to bring along a good book too? Maybe a lounge chair on the foredeck for the first mate?

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.

A View Forward off the Port Beam

We are making significant progress on the wood and composite Dory. It is now wired together and the next step is to epoxy the interior and then we can pull the wire stitches out. The boys are enjoying it and becoming better acquainted with materials and a few hand tools.

Stitch and Glue Boat Manufacturing

This is it, the boat the Boy Scouts and I are building in the garage. Overall it is 15'-4" long and has a beam of over 4'. The plywood is made in France and is marine mahogany. We have not spent much time working on it. This week maybe the sides will go on and we can start the epoxy and glassing. We are building it from plans and a set of instructions from the Devlin Boat Works in Olympia WA.

When we are through the boys will have received their Composite Materials Merit Badge.

Still trying to decide what to name it.

Another view of 'A Child's Prayer'

Are we or aren't we... Will it be WP or Joseph?

From today's Des News:

By Carrie A. Moore
Published: Monday, Nov. 12, 2007
After more than a century of speculation about whether LDS Church founder Joseph Smith had children with any of his plural wives, a local geneticist said he recently has crossed two such purported descendants off the list of potential candidates.

Ugo Perego, director of operations at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, told the Deseret Morning News that technological advances in DNA testing during the past couple of years have helped prove with "99.9 percent certainty" that two early Latter-day Saints thought by some to be Smith's children are not his descendants. They are:
• Mosiah Hancock, son of Clarissa Reed Hancock, who was married to Levi Hancock.
• Oliver Buell, son of Prescindia Huntington Buell, who was married to Norman Buell.

Perego said that brings to five the number of people that some believed were Smith descendants whose paternal DNA does not match up with his. To date, at least seven other early Latter-day Saints have been identified in various historical documents or in later writings as potential Smith offspring, he said.

In 2005, Perego said DNA testing also ruled out three other alleged male descendants — Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (son of Mary Ann Frost Pratt, married to Parley P. Pratt), Zebulon Jacobs (son of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith, married to Henry Bailey Jacobs) and Orrison Smith (son of Fanny Alger).

Some candidates are surrounded by what he called "strong historical evidences like journal entries," while other alleged descendants have little historical basis to be related, other than "speculation based on conclusions that sometimes may have been too rushed," Perego said.

In Hancock's case, "historically, there is nothing about him. In fact, another son of Levi Hancock is more in question, named John Reed Hancock." Mid-20th century historian and author Fawn Brodie, in her book "No Man Knows My History," had "quite a lot about John Reed Hancock," he said.
Brodie also believed Buell was Smith's child, born during the early church's days in Far West, Mo., he said. "She goes quite far to explain why she thought this was the case. The time was perfect because (Prescindia's) husband was gone from the church, and there was a plural marriage that took place while he was gone."

Brodie also offered as evidence a photo of Buell resembling two of Joseph and Emma Smith's sons, writing that his "physiognomy ... seems to weigh the balance overwhelmingly on the side of Joseph's paternity."

Historians say Smith was married to as many as 30 women before he was killed by a mob in June 1844.
Perego also has gathered DNA samples on about 120 descendants of Josephine Rosetta Lyon, daughter of Sylvia Sessions Lyon, who was one of Smith's wives. But Y chromosome evidence, used to determine paternal relationships from father to son, is not present for Lyon because she is female. The effort to determine Lyon's parentage is ongoing, he said.

His most recent findings were presented as a paper at the annual John Whitmer Historical Association conference in Kirtland, Ohio, in late September. The group's officers since have asked Perego to put his presentation into an article format suitable for publication in their next annual journal.

The list of approximately 12 people alleged to have been Smith's children "may grow over time," Perego said, noting historical documents continue to surface. "I'm not saying the list I have is definitive or complete at all. But out of those we have data for, there is no evidence from DNA at this point that Joseph Smith had any children from women other than Emma Smith.
"In the future, if DNA data will be able to be collected and tested, we might know otherwise. But right now, we're able to eliminate five children from that list. There may be some cases we might never be able to test at all."

While Y chromosome DNA is passed from father to son and is most accurate in identifying living people, mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to daughter and is more often used in paleontology and archaeology, Perego said. As a result, there are distinct limitations on the testing that can be done to date because such testing on a living — and cooperative — male descendant requires an unbroken male line.

Perego has mapped Smith's DNA by retrieving samples from living descendants of two sons he had with Emma Smith — Joseph Smith III and Alexander Hale Smith. "Their Y chromosomes were identical, so we know for 100 percent sure what Joseph Smith's Y chromosome looked like. We can now use that standard to verify any other alleged sons," which he did with those who have been eliminated as possible descendants.

"For 160 years people have been writing in books or speculating that these people could have been Joseph Smith's children. When people write something in a book, many people refer to that almost as a fact. Brodie went on and on about Buell, talking about the timing and the picture — everything seems to indicate Buell was Joseph Smith's son. But the DNA says otherwise."
Perego said he was not only able to eliminate Smith as their father, but also was able to confirm that the men who were married to Hancock's and Buell's mothers were actually their biological fathers.

As he finds living descendants of people in question, Perego said he will be happy to continue to test them. "I think this will always be a work in progress. Hopefully, someday we'll be able to test some of the girls as well, when genetic testing is developed to accurately conclude if some of these girls were or were not his descendants."

Plural wife Sylvia Sessions Lyon left a deathbed affidavit for her daughter, Josephine, telling her that her father was Joseph Smith. In terms of circumstantial evidence, "that is probably the strongest case out there, but it involves a daughter. I've collected maybe 120 samples from descendants of Josephine, but as of today, there is not an accurate method" to prove parentage.

Perego's work is an independent project that Sorenson has allowed him to work on, rather than something the foundation does full-time, he said. His motive, he said, is truth, not glory.

"As a scientist, I like to look for truth. If there is a book that says this person was Joseph's son, and I have evidence that's not right, it's important for me to offer an alternative explanation from science that people can refer to. New authors in the future can then take that new genetic evidence into consideration.

"My goal is not at all a crusade to prove or disprove either that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy or that he had children from women other than Emma. I have no agenda to prove or disprove.

"There are legitimate cases of individuals studying family history who have a pedigree chart in front of them that shows" Smith as a third-great-grandfather.

"Because there is some evidence like a book or a rumor in the family, individuals don't know who to put on their pedigree chart. We're talking about real people who want to know who they are descended from.
"Most have told me they don't really care if they come from Joseph Smith or from someone else. They just want to know which one."

For information on DNA testing for family history research, see Sorenson's Web site at www.SMGF.org.

"Pick it Willie."

Almost became a Ghostrider today on my first ride to work this spring. I was about to cross some tracks and had to swerve to miss a car coming fast from behind, consequently my back wheel went into that opening between the RR track and the pavement. I had slowed enough to get the bike under control and it was fortunate it was not the front wheel or I might have had a case of road rash.

When I ride my Ipod is on and often listen to inspiring music. I happened to be listening to Willie and Johnny doing "Ghostriders..."

The song was written about sixty years ago and about a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the ghosts of damned cowboys. He is warned that if he does not change his ways he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies." According to Wiki the song's story seems to have a marked resemblance to the northern European mythic Odin’s Wild Hunt illustrated here juxtaposed with a recumbent rider.

These first 10 miles were good and I am happy not to be riding in the sky chasing the devil's herd or cleaning dirt from a scrape.

Update: I dropped the bike off today at the bike shop as it did not ride well last night going home. I have a broken spoke and a bent derailleur it seems and I cannot ride it for a week while it gets repaired. Maybe I need a back up bike.

"Prius owners have...

a cult like devotion to their cars" according to one reviewer. In addition, JD Powers says the owner satisfaction with a Prius is at an unprecedented 98%.

I went to hybridcars.com and took a little test to see how we did comparing the Avalon to the Prius. Driving 12K miles per year our green house gas, C02 emissions, are reduced from 10,264 pounds to 4893. We will do better than that as the mpg for the test Prius was 46 and we get 49-50.

R's enjoy their SUV's maybe.

A recent survey completed about hybrid car owners discloses the following:

•Are twice as likely to say they go skiing, hiking or practice yoga than non-hybrid owners.

•Eat more organic food and drink more decaffeinated coffee than the general population.

•Say they are savvy when it comes to computers, mobile phones and digital electronics.

•Lean, politically, away from the right, with 14 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat and 34 percent independent.

I believe it is also true that hybrid car owners enjoy the drive more as they drive slower, keeping the mileage 50+ in the HOV lanes.

Is there a hybrid in your future? and Martha

We drove our green, (red), Prius from Centerville to Green River Utah last night on regular, 85 octane, gas and averaged 54+ mpg. We drove above the speed limit especially in the HOV lane but many people in their SUV's and trucks sped around us at much higher speeds.

We continue to Monticello today. Who knows maybe we will make the whole trip on one tank. We saw that Prius sales were up 38% in CA on 2007 over 2006.

Just an update as we concluded our trip... Our total for the entire drive was 52.6 MPG.

The reason we we went to Monticello was to visit Martha and Kelly before they leave for the John Wayne Cancer Institute. As some of you know Martha had half her liver removed because of melanomas. She was able to keep half and it regenerates in time she told us. She has had chemo therapy which was ineffective against this type of cancer and one other type of treatment from the John Wayne Clinic. She start a new treatment regimen, and this is the last one in the doc's bag, beginning on May 1st.

We solicit your prayers importuning heaven for a miracle for her.

She is ever positive and you would not think a single thing was out of order in her life. Kelly remains stunned as any of us would be, like me, and is doing his best. They send their greetings to all.