Sophie's Story

      A couple of months ago I discovered the Personal Progress program. This is a program developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for young women ages 12 to 18. The purposes of this program as far as I can tell(someone better acquainted with this can correct me) is to teach young women core values which will help them in all areas of their lives as they get older and to increase faith in Jesus Christ. The values addressed in the program are faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue.    While this program was developed with the needs of young women in mind older women may also complete it. I know one woman about my age who has completed it and another who has started it but has yet to finish it.    For each of the values, there are three required experiences and three elective. The only exception is the value of virtue which has four required ex...

   Ben is an older man who goes to our church. He fell about a month or so and injured his shoulder. He didn't think it was any big deal, time and rest should take care of it. Turns out it was a big deal. After an MRI it turned out that he had injured his rotator cuff. He would have to have surgery to repair it.     The challenge is that he lives alone. He needed to have someone drive him to and from his surgery. He also could not be alone for the first 24 hours after his surgery. He had put out a message with what he needed. As C and I live close to his home, C offered to drive him. He could stay with us.    The day before his surgery was a flurry of house cleaning. We thought he would be comfortable downstairs. There was a good couch/ bed and a nearby bathroom that would be private. We vacuumed and swept and got everything ready.    The next morning C picked up Ben and took him to the surgery center. Ben had two duffel bags that C brou...

      This time of year is referred to as March Madness. It is the start of the men's  NCAA basketball championships. A group of teams make it to the playoffs and the teams are whittled down to the two best that play each other in the championship game. The teams are organized into four regions for the playoffs. Many people like to try and predict who will win the various games. This is called picking a bracket. Sometimes groups of people will compete against each other to see who picked the most number of winning teams. The winners sometimes win money or get bragging rights.    I got starting picking brackets when I was working with Scott. Scott was my boss and a big college basketball fan. It was fun to see which one of us would come out ahead in bracket picking. After I left that job, I continued to pick brackets every year.  It was fun.   The problem is that most of the time my choices would lose. I know this because of the ...

   C introduced me to a feature on Facebook called "OnThis Day" It brings up Facebook posts that were made on that day in past years. I've started looking at it daily because I find it interesting.   There is one post from a long time ago where I posted a quote from the TV show "MASH". The quote is, " You have a great many gifts, Doctor. It's a pity you can't number compassion in among them." I remember when I posted that. I was having a disagreement with two family members. They did not see this post as I had already unfriended and blocked them to prevent any more unkind exchanges and to prevent the chance that our private issues would become public. However, I had to say something and that quote was what I chose. I still like that quote a lot and believe it was appropriate to the situation.     Another past quote referenced a speech I gave and that it was a pretty good speech. Unfortunately, it was so long ago that I can't remember t...

   One of my favourite TV shows is CBS Sunday Morning. I've watched it every Sunday morning that I am able for at least the last 20 years. The show is comprised of stories of various types. There are profiles of public figures. Stories about current events. They do segments on food, finance, and culture. Some of the stories are about obscure and funny things. Some of the presentations are more serious.    One of the serious stories from this past Sunday caught my ear. It posed a question that has come up in the wake of the accusations of sexual misconduct among many in the entertainment business.  The question is, "Can artists accused of abusive behaviour or assault be separated from their art?" In other words is it ok to like/show something that was created or that includes someone who has done bad things?    It's a good question and a complicated one.    On one hand, when a show/piece of art etc is displayed, it gen...

    These last few days are the kind of days that make those of us in the northern regions happy. It's been warm out. Warm is a relative term in this part of the country. It's been in the 40s and may have even reached 50.     The sun has been shining and the sky is blue. The snow has been melting and leaving miniature lakes in driveways, crosswalks and sidewalks. Rivers of water run down streets.     You can see people. They aren't wearing scarves and hats. They aren't wearing heavy coats. There are a few souls going about in light jackets and a couple of truly hearty souls that are wearing shorts.     People are walking outside a bit more. Those that tend to hibernate are coming out of their shells. Dogs seem happier when their humans take them for walks.     Scamp and Colby are enjoying themselves as well. They do not go outside but enjoy looking out the windows of our home. There's more to see. When they...