Author: Sagacity

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Runcorn Burning

I received the news today the ward building in Runcorn, Cheshire burned down on Saturday.  It gave me an opportunity to reflect some on my experiences in good ole Runcorn and the building which is now no more.  I do remember hearing they were going to start adding on a new addition for the building.  However, I do not know if they had started yet or if that had any part to do with the fire.  Perhaps somebody thought if they burned it down, they would get a whole new building.  Hopefully the church isn’t as slow in rebuilding this building as I know they have been in replacing other buildings.
I remember seeing pictures of the Runcorn Building being built.  There were pictures of John Byrom’s mother on the roof of the building when it was being shingled.  I can see other good Saints helping in the construction of their building.  I remember hearing the stories of John and Audrey McKee in helping build the Birkenhead Ward Chapel.  They still had the saw that he used to cut a pipe down in a hole one day.  He asked if the power was turned off and assured several times it was.  The saw proved that it had not been.  He had shared stories about helping build other buildings, the Chester and Runcorn Chapels included.  Even though he lived in Wallasey he traveled to help.  That is the way I guess they did it.  I can see the pictures of Ray Holmes and some of his family helping on a building, I am not sure if it was the Runcorn Building though.  I tend to believe it was.
In another month or so it will be 8 years since I was transferred to Runcorn.  It was there I was assigned to be Elder Hales’ companion.  I had only met the boy a half year before at Pizza Hut in Stretford on Preparation Day.  He was a new missionary and I would see him a couple of months before one of us was transferred elsewhere.  I arrived at 29 Handforth Lane early one morning.  Brother Wood (Rob or Bob, cannot remember) had driven me from Eccles to Runcorn.  We became terribly lost on the meandering roads of Runcorn.  At one point we found ourselves illegally on the busway.  We finally pulled into the flat to find John Pass there with his father, Doug, to welcome me.  They actually were cleaning up some of the front and fixing the shower downstairs.  It had been having some problems.  I remember embracing Brother Wood and the expression on his face.  I too had really come to love Eccles and was not looking forward to leaving.
I entered which definitely had to be one of the largest flats in the mission.  Three floors and it was all to ourselves.  Just weeks before the missionaries for Northwich had lived there.  That P-day Brad and I cleaned up the apartment.  We stacked mattresses upon mattresses in the 3rd flood bedroom.  I remember being astonished there was a weight room on the 3rd floor.
That evening Elder Hales took me to visit the Bennett’s and the Byrom’s.  The Bennett Family was less active.  We sat there visiting with them and that was the first time I ever heard or saw Britney Spears.  She was in a music video singing her One More Time song.  Of course the family had to stop all conversation and turn it up.  We watched.  After that, we excused ourselves and walked to the Byroms.  There we met the whole family and their friend Simone Keogh.  It would begin a relationship that continues even until today.
I am going completely from memory so I may be slightly off in some of the details, but I believe I am correct.  But Runcorn proved to be one of what I felt was my most productive areas.  Elder Hales and I struggled sloshing through the rest of 1999.  One day in the kitchen of 29 Handforth Lane we had a disagreement that would change our relationship.  Our impromptu Companionship Inventory would change the rest of our missions.  Through the week that followed we adapted to each other and our unity increased.  The Lord visibly blessed us in a myriad of ways.  The remainder of Elder Hales’ time and my own in Runcorn saw success regularly afterward.  Our teaching pool became full, we saw lives change, and baptisms started occuring every week.  They were not always ours, but they were the district’s.
Every week we would have our District Development Meeting in the Runcorn Chapel.  The Elder’s from Chester, Northwich, and the Sister’s would join us.  Every week the baptisms were held at the Runcorn Chapel.  It was only a few weeks later the Northwich Branch was created and split from Runcorn.  It was a very exciting time.  We had whole families who were starting to come out.  The chapel was becoming fuller and fuller despite the loss of Northwich.  The whole energy was powerful.  We were very fortunate to be there then.
It was from those friendships there so many other experiences have come.  I would never have entertained Elder Haight or met Elder Ballard if it were not for Runcorn.  My Mission President and I bonded during this time.  I still count Brad Hales as one of my closest friends today.
I remember watching from the weight room in the Handforth Flat the fireworks for Y2K.  We had the perfect view overlooking the valley between us and Frodsham, Helsby, and towards Ellsmere Port.  The fireworks were phenomenal.  In the next room was the bathtub we had shined and filled with water for preparation just in case something should go wrong and we should have no water.  We had a score of water saved there for the drinking or for the toilet right there if need be.
Just across the tracks was the home of the Stake Patriarch, Tony and Norma Johnson.  We spent many an evening on their doorstep or in their dining room.  They were very good to us on a regular occasion.  If it wasn’t for Patriarch Johnson I would not have met Elder Brough and years later be asked if he knew me at a Stake Conference in Logan, Utah.  I remember accidentally fluffing it one evening after dinner to the horror of the Johnson grandchildren.  However, Norma was very civilized and all went on as if had never happened.  It was only a squeek but enough for the kids to smirk.  I am grateful for those who understand our slip ups and keep moving on with life.
I remember many evenings sitting there while Elder Hales made phone calls and I planned for the next day.  I admire how humble he was for making the phone calls because I so much disliked it.  Every evening after the calls he would collapse in bed irritated by the Sisters and annoyed that I harrassed him about being on time for prayers.  He was a humble man and I can only hope all the lessons I learned are retained and applied.
I don’t remember how often, but it was that flat we would arise at 5:30 AM to go running.  We would run and both would be exhausted by the time we got back.  It was then to shower and get ready for the day.  I really enjoyed our scripture study.  Is it any wonder that all the future times we were roommates we carried on that tradition.  Together we finished the entire Standard Works in 2003.  That was a goal we made together and achieved.
Anyhow, Runcorn holds many fond memories.  Elder Hansen who now lives in Richmond, Virginia and whose wife Amanda worked with this summer, that association was started in Runcorn.  Sister Peterson in Oakley started association in Runcorn.  President Wightman called me in Runcorn as he became lost going the wrong way on a busway.
It was on the porch of the Runcorn building I played with the Fullwood girls.  It was in the choir seats of Runcorn I refused to make a hip beat of a hymn.  It was in Runcorn I did a solo in the Easter Cantata.  I think it is sure to say, the Runcorn Ward and Chapel will forever be remembered as a great increasing point for the fire which burns in my bones.
I have heard in recent years the Runcorn Ward has diminished in activity.  There appears to have been a great deal of tumult in the ward.  Even the Byrom Family, who I would never have thought to separate, has been split asunder.  A former Bishop went Apostate and now the building has burned down.
One thing is for sure.  It can only go up from here.  I wish I was in Runcorn now to be a part of the rebuilding.
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Washington Duncan’s

Finally, a brick wall fell down.  As some of you may remember, earlier this year I got a lead through the papers of Howard Ross regarding Beulah Ross.  He had a letter from Donna Beachell Perry in 1972 or so with an address for Beulah.  She said she wrote to her.  That finally gave me a location to pinpoint Beulah.  I then called every Duncan in the phone book within 20 miles of Zillah.  I don’t remember who I did finally get that gave me the phone number for Carol Stone in Sunnyside.  I phone her, got her e-mail, wrote to her and got one forward that had nothing to do with anything.  I have tried e-mailing several more times with no success of a response.
So I took matters into my own hands.  I wrote the Washington Secretary of State.  I actually went through his office with the Ask a Librarian program and sent off a request for any information in the archives for William Duncan or Beulah Duncan’s information.  Well, a month later, I received a pdf file with the obituaries and death notice for William and Beulah.  Her obituary gives some great leads into where to search next for some more possible clues about her family.
I already had her marriage to William in 1922.  But could never find more evidence of them in the Burley, Idaho area.  Now I think my next hunt will be to find their lives in Bend.  I looked up the records for Zillah City Cemetery and much of it is online.  However, they don’t give much more than dates for birth and death.
Anyhow, here are the records for William and Beulah.  Now I can hope I can be so fortunate to find something else on any of her siblings.

Beulah E Duncan Marshall
Valley Hills Funeral Home
Toppenish – Beulah E Marshall, 93, of Toppenish passed away on Tuesday, March 5, 2002.
She was born March 6, 1908 in Grundy, West Virginia to Robert and Minnie (Hambrick) Ross. She spent her early years in Utah and Idaho. From 1923-1931 she lived in Bend, Oregon and 1931-1942 she lived in Ellensburg. Beulah has lived in the Yakima Valley, Buena area, since 1942.
Beulah worked at Cal Pak seed pea operation from 1943 to 1955. She also worked as a fruit sorter and for 11 years at the Mother Goose Cafe in Zillah. She liked to work in her yard and keep it looking neat. She loved music and dancing and encouraged her sons to play music like their Dad.
Beulah is survived by a son, Jack Duncan of Mabton; 24 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, William J Duncan and Kenneth Marshall; three sons, Robert L Duncan, Harold E Duncan, and Ernest J Duncan, one brother and three sisters.
Funeral services will be held at Zillah Chapel of Valley Hills Funeral Home on Friday, March 8, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. Concluding services will follow at the Zillah City Cemetery.
Valley Hills Funeral Home in Zillah is in charge of arrangements.

William J Duncan
Colonial Funeral Home
Zillah – William J Duncan, 75, of 1109 Maple Way, died Monday in Sunnyside General Hospital, Sunnyside.
Born at Clinton, Ark., he had lived in the Zillah area since 1942.
Survivors include his wife, Beulah; three sons, Ernest and Robert, both of Sunnyside, and Jackie of Toppenish; three brothers, Tolly Duncan of Toppenish, Felix Duncan of Buena and Donald Duncan of Penndale, Penn.; one sister, Myrtle Marshall of Lexington, Ore.; 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Another son, Harold, died in 1973.
Duncan – Funeral services for William J Duncan, 75, or 1109 Maple Way, who passed away Monday, July 11 in Sunnyside General Hospital, will be held on Wednesday, Jul 13, at 2 p.m. in the COLONIAL FUNERAL HOME CHAPEL., Toppenish. The Rev. Stanley White will officiate. Burial will be at the Zillah Cemetery. Mr. Duncan was born in Clinton, Arkansas on September 26, 1901. He had lived in the Zillah area since 1942, moving there from Ellensburg. He and his wife, Beulah, were married on Sept. 20, 1922 in Burley, Idaho. Besides his wife, he is survived by three sons, Ernest J Duncan and Robert L Duncan, both of Sunnyside and Jackie A Duncan of Toppenish. He was predeceased by one son, Harold in 1973; three brothers, Tolly Duncan of Toppenish, Felix Cantrel Duncan of Buena and Donald Duncan of Penndale, Penn, one sister, Myrtle Marshall of Lexington, Ore: 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

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Death’s March

As is usually the case, death has come knocking again.  He makes his rounds constantly through the world.  Sometimes with almost greedy insistence on a few individuals and others he spares for what seems a lifetime more.  Interestingly, some view it as a favor and a blessing while others view it as horror and devastation.  He undoubtedly works in both ways as we see manifest all around us.
My paternal Grandmother’s brother, David William Donaldson, passed away on Sunday.  After what seems like a relatively short struggle with prostate cancer, he spent his last weeks in pain and hiding.  It doesn’t sound like too many visitors.  At least more angelic than earthly.  His funeral falls tomorrow and with his age nearing 78 it doesn’t ring in as a great surprise.  The longer one lives the more inevitable it comes that we will pass beyond the veil.  As my Uncle Larry Andra has told at every funeral I have heard him speak, it is like a great ship leaving harbour.  Those standing in the harbour sob and cry and the ships disappears and it is shouted, “there she goes”.  On the other hand, as the ship comes in the shout is raised, “there she comes” and all is merry and joyful.  We witness this in life and we witness the other side at death.  We celebrate the ship coming in at birth and mourn her leaving.  Really we only count ourselves blessed if we are not there for both of the same person.
Tonight was the funeral of another friend, Justin Levi Rose.  I don’t know his age, but he must have only been about 25.  I only met him two months ago when he come to visit the Family History Library where I work on Tuesday nights.  A recent convert, he was putting together his family history to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead.  Over the course of several weeks we pieced together several significant portions of his family and he went to the temple with 50 or more family members to do their temple work.  I found out tonight he sailed away last Tuesday of his own accord.
Therein is another interesting part of death.  Some we see it coming and almost expect it.  Others it seems to take completely by surprise.  Yet to those to whom it comes, it seems to sometimes be the opposite.   Uncle Dave just had a new knee and when I visited with him in April seemed like he had a new lease on life.  I don’t think he anticipated death anytime soon just 6 months ago.  Yet I find out that Justin has been living in a state of which they call bi-polar in which he has struggled with wanting death for some time.  Yet in my eyes, I would never have thought either of them were near and certainly not Justin.
One never knows.  In the deepest chambers of the soul we only can understand our path, our destiny, our lives, and our deaths.  Some seem to understand themselves, others ignore.  Others misinterpret, and others walk a path of full knowledge all their days.  Most interestingly, it seems no mortal really knows what battles are being fought in our lives.  Whether they be in the mind or the body they are being fought.  Some lose now, some lose later.  All will die.
The only ray of hope in all this is that we are only in a temporary state.  Death for all is only temporary.  More importantly, the struggles in our souls are also only temporary.  The day will come when all will know as they are known and see as they are seen.  Then will we all rejoice in this great probationary game.  There will of course be some sorrow, but the overwhelming feeling will be one of joy and praise.
Until then, the ships keep coming and going and we watch with sadness and delight.
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More of the same; Life

Time keeps ticking by too quickly sometimes.  I have so much to write but not as much time as I would like to do it in.  Such is the limitations in the probationary game.  There are plenty of achievements to report though in the past week or two.
This evening I spoke with Gerald Neuffer in Columbia, Missouri.  In a most random turn of events, I noticed that a Jenna Neuffer became friends with my friend, Kami Lowe on Facebook.  With a name as rare as Neuffer, I knew all odds were in my favor of having a near shared ancestry.  I sent Miss Neuffer a message and asked for her Grandfather’s name and phone number.  Which she supplied.  Come to find out, I even had Gerald already in my family history.  I just had his first name Myron (Gerald is his middle name but he goes by it.  Probably due to remove confusion with his father’s name being Myron).  He knew the Andra’s well and said he remembered Millie, who was just younger than him.  Funny how small a world it is.  He went to get his PhD and never left Columbia after moving there in 1947.  We conversed for a little while he dug for information verifying I was not this total stranger calling for his family history for some other sinister reason.  He sounds like a good guy.  He asked if I was doing genealogy.  I confirmed I was and that I was the family historian.  He then happily related he was basically that for the Neuffer/Nuffer family.  I was definitely glad to hear that.  What is the chances of the Andra historian running into the Nuffer historian in Columbia Missouri?  Very far removed from Preston, Idaho!
I received a phone call from Jacqui yesterday about the Phibbs/Ross/Beachell family.  I tried returning her call and spoke with her mother for a few minutes.  I am glad she finally returned my message.  I only left it in May!  That was before we moved!
In other news, there was an e-mail that found its way to me from Robert in Fresno, California.  A most interesting question.  He asked if I knew of any of the siblings of my Constance Jorgensen.  I always felt Constance most likely had siblings but was never able to find any.  Between her parents marriage and Constance’s birth, there is twelve years.  I was sure there were other siblings.  Olavus and Hanna Mathea Jorgensen immigrated with Constance and settled in Richmond, Utah.  Constance married Ole Christiansen and gave birth to my Great Great Grandmother Martha Christiansen who is the mother of my Lillian Coley.  Constance died in Portland, Oregon while visiting and was buried there.  In the whole episode, I knew some day I would have to do some research in Norway to find the rest of this family.  Well, Robert e-mailed me asking me if his grandmother, Amanda Jorgensen Swensen could be a child of Olavus and Hanna.  He produced a copy of a hand written copy pedigree she had produced in 1935.  Sure enough, everything lined up.  Well, Amanda was born another 12 years after my Constance (24 after the marriage of the parents).  She immigrated to Utah a good 10 years after her parents and sibling came over and settled in Logan, Utah.  By the time she arrived her parents were both deceased and her sister had married.  It seems that she never knew she was only 15 miles from her parent’s graves and her sister.  The exciting news is that Amanda gave us the names of her siblings, none of which made it to America to her knowledge.  We added the 5 siblings.  Don’t know their ages, but definitely gives some more to go from.  That will give us much more to go from when the time for the Norway research begins.
I am happy to report I completed the New Testament this evening.  I am one day late.  If I had read the one chapter a day, I would have finished yesterday.  Last weekend put me just off enough that I did not catch up in time.  I completed the Book of Mormon on schedule this year on August 27th.  Now I can go through some General Conference talks and some other reading for the year.  Next year is the Doctrine and Covenants which you can almost read three times in a year.  I think I will just do it twice though.
The ward continues to blossom when it comes to family history.  It seems like people are doing their homework, research, and compiling regularly.  I have e-mails at least once or twice a week for help on something.  That is an indication something is going on.  That is definitely something which is a good thing.
Online the family history work continues to reveal new and interesting things.  I received an e-mail from a Homer Mason.  He was inquiring concerning the Jonas family in Washington State.  Come to find out, Anna Jonas is his Grandmother.  Anna was the daughter of William Jonas who was the brother to my Joseph Jonas; father to my great grandfather Joseph Nelson Jonas.  He knows very little so it has been fun introducing him to the family.  I have especially enjoyed his research on a line of the family I have not been able to crack.  It has proved not to be an easy line for him, but with his living in Yakima, he is much closer and capable of doing the work than I can.  I really hope I am accepted to the University of Idaho for Law School.  Then I could work on the Jonas, Ross, and Sharp lines in Washington State.
Stepping back to the Andra family.  This past weekend Amanda and I took a trip to Washington DC for our monthly temple visit.  But a new aspect as emerged.  My Great Uncle and Aunt, Donald and Lolane Andra, are now serving a mission in the temple.  We went up Friday night and stayed with Amanda’s Uncle and Aunt in Springfield.  Saturday we picked up Don and Lolane and made our way to Mt. Vernon.  They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  It was the 18th Century Fair so there were masses of people.  Don and Lolane are good and quick on their feet.  Despite being in their 60’s they move well.  Don reminds me so much of my Great Grandpa.  I get a kick out of both of them.  We were limited on time as they had to be to the temple to work later in the afternoon.  We did probably the fastest walking tour of Mt. Vernon I can imagine.  We zoomed all over the grounds, through the fair, and then back up to their apartment to change and attend the temple.
On a side note, as I went into the endowment room, I noticed the officiator’s name was John Whatcott.  I looked at him and asked if he was from Kanosh.  He looked a bit surprised at me and said he grew up there.  I told him of the Whatcott’s I knew.  After the session he asked me to remain in the celestial room so we could visit.  We had a great visit.  Come to find out he knows Don and Lolane from St. George.  Small world.  Don knew which session we were on and waited for us to leave the celestial room.  He walked us down to the next floor and we parted again.  I met Don’s Home Teaching companion, Elder Toronto, while picking up Amanda’s Aunt’s glasses from the temple lost and found.  Funny how interlinked the world is, at least in the church.
I have not made mention of it yet, but I am going from contractor status to full associate status at Bank of America.  Meaning, I will be an employee of Bank of America and not an at will person filling a seat.  Many companies now do the contractor business as they can then hire on employees after they have shown their worth.  I must have done well enough for them to offer me employment starting October 1.  I am excited.  Business has been picking up.  I don’t know if it is from the crunch in the market or what.  Bank of America definitely stands on higher ground than those feeling the squeeze or sinking under the housing market.  One thing is for sure, with this rate cut, we are expecting the next month to be hectic.
My birthday came and went just like every other day or the year.  I am back to being congratulated for it being my unbirthday.  I received all sorts of e-mails (which will take me a good week to respond to them all), many messages on Facebook, and a couple of cards and gifts.  Amanda and I enjoyed a nice big meal at Chili’s for dinner.  We joked about it being our triannual beef night.  It is birthdays or anniversary that I get to eat a steak.  Monday was a 12 oz Ribeye.  Mmmm, so good.  That is of course not mentioning the Idaho potatos.  Amanda got me a shirt, a jump drive, and something else which slips me at the moment.  I also received a journal, a few checks, and some other random memorabilia.  I honestly don’t feel any different now than I think I did when I was 19.  Except the fact my knee was reconstructed in 2004 and doesn’t give me the issues it did at 19.  So I guess I feel better than at 19.  I have filled out in stature, even added a little padding in the middle,  and perhaps a little wiser.  Life is good.
My blessings continue to flow despite my inept nature.  I continue to be given the little peaceable things of the kingdom from time to time.  They make the living and endurance all worth it.  Line upon line right?  Sometimes I wish it was more page upon page, but alas, I am not the one running the show.  Church goes well.  I feel spiritually well.  Not the muscular behemoth I would like to be spiritually, but I feel strong enough to do what needs to be done and any forseeable adventure.
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Idaho’s Craig

It seems I keep getting this bombardment of what I think about Senator Craig.  Well, here we go.
I have no quarrels with the man.  He wasn’t always the nicest man in the hallway when passing.  Then again, I don’t think I have met a Senator yet who really went out of their way to say hello.  That is the extent of my personal experience with him.  I think I said hello twice passing in the underground tunnels between the Dirksen and Russell Buildings.
Beyond that, here is my take on the scenario.  Idaho seems to like him and have always done so.  He met their needs and I think he enjoyed his role as Senator.
However, the little ordeal in Minneapolis is something that was quite foolish.  Having been in stupid positions before, I know all the little ways you try and weasel out of it.  Which it surely sounds like he did.  I am not so much concerned what happened in that stall, whether he was soliciting or not, but he played the weasel in trying to get out of it.  For the most part, he was successful.  They only charged him for disorderly conduct.  It would be hard to catch him on more unless he allowed the police officer to actually climb in his stall or he climbed in the other one.  Then I would say we have serious grounds for what his intentions were.  Picking up toilet paper, a piece of paper, with whatever hand, or just waving a nice hello to the person in the stall next to him doesn’t really matter.  To me they don’t prove anything lewd or a great breaking of the law.  Now if there was a mirror in his hand, there are some issues…
It does bother me that police don’t have something better to do than sit in a bathroom stall to find those who want to enjoy some time with another man.  On the other hand, I am disappointed that people actually do this enough that it is a public disturbance that the police have to be called in to do this.  At any rate, it is a bad note of commentary of the society that use the restrooms at Minneapolis.  I expect this is a wider problem than just the cold and snow of Minnesota.
Alright, the Senator got caught with his hand in another stall.  For what reason, I don’t think I or Idahoans generally care.  The lying or trying to back peddle out of it, that seems just human nature to a large degree.  I can even see pleading guilty to the charge to just be done with it.  How many of us could really fight that speeding ticket they say we were going 11 over when we are pretty sure it wasn’t more than 8?  But we pay it just to be over and done with it.  That seems like what has happened here.  Okay, I am fine with that.
I am somewhat concerned that a US Senator would be allegedly caught doing something like that.  I think his electorate might even think twice before reelecting him.  But what concerns me is that a Senator seems to be so thoughtless in his actions.  For his being not very nice in the hallway of the Russell Building, he sure seemed pretty nice to say hi to the person in the stall next to him.  That was not thinking.  Next, he should have made it public knowledge and just been done with it.  It is a petty situation but not reporting it to those who care about it made it stink.
But the thing that alarms me is that he isn’t willing to fight.  For a man who sits in Senator William Edgar Borah’s seat and perhaps even behind his very desk, he seems shameful.  The Lion of Idaho would be ashamed a man would falter and not raise his mighty fist to the party.  What comes first?  Idaho or Republicans?  Senator Borah was known for standing for principle, for his state, and not ever being dictated to by the party.  This man seems to be weak and willing to forfeit what he was elected to in Idaho for what the party thinks elsewhere.  I still don’t hear many people calling for his resignation in Idaho.  It is elsewhere, some of his own selfish companions in the Senate.  What happened to principle?  What happened to standing up for something?  What happened to honor and integrity.  Well, we don’t really know what happened in that stall.  Whatever it was, I hope his honour and integrity is still intact.  But sadly, it doesn’t appear to be.
A straight man doing actions confused with being gay?  A Senator claimed to be doing something in a bathroom stall?  A State Representative faltering to a Party?  If he is a good man, he will stand up and serve the remainder of his term, regardless of who calls for his resignation.  He has nothing against him which disqualifies him from finishing his term.  A Misdemeanor does not remove a Senator from office.  Even an Ethics Committee wouldn’t remove him for that.  If he serves Idaho, he will remain.  If he serves the party, he will leave.  If such is the case, good riddance.  Let’s find us another man to honorably fill Senator Borah’s shoes.
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The World of Adoption

Let me tell you, the process of selecting individuals to adopt a baby is hard work.  I can imagine what it must be like to some degree to be hunting for a spouse online.  I really prefer doing things in person.  Since the person with the baby doesn’t have access to the internet at home, I offered to help do the search.  I have reached out to friends, family, and the LDS Social Services website to find those who might provide a good home.
On the good side, the response has been wonderful.  I am learning a whole lot about an area I really did not know existed.  What is more, it is much more extensive, organized, and larger than I would have ever thought.  Many have responded and contacted me and many have been culled from the crowd by LDS Social Services’ rules and restrictions.  On a good note, I did find a cousin of mine who announced to his family they were going to adopt and his sister just happened to know I was looking for someone.  We made the connection and are working to see if we can follow that end through.
Just as with missionary work, you don’t focus all your attention on just one or two when they might fall through.  I spent probably a good six hours on the LDS website working through all the biographies on there.  I think I reviewed every single one of them to one degree or another and have a list of about 30 couples that caught my eye and felt good.  I have shared that list with the birth mother but plan on narrowing the list down to about 15.  I just have to spend a few more hours in order to work through their profiles more closely.  I am quite impressed with the variety of individuals though that are in those 30.  I was afraid when I started I would only choose photogenic couples or younger ones.  But such has not been the case.  I think they extend to all ages, all sizes, educational backgrounds, ect.  They are all over the country as well.  I know there are another couple or two who are going through what they need to for them to be considered an option.
On the whole, this whole scenario has raised the profile of adoption.  As I have visited with people it is funny how many people will not be available for this baby but are seriously registering so they can adopt in the future.  So what might be a sticky situation for the birthmother here is in my view working some great things.
I will tell you, I continue to have some sleeplessness at night in concern for this child who isn’t even mine.  But as I help work through and select parents to raise this child, I feel a certain affinity for him.  What is even more interesting, I think of all the children who have been adopted before.  How much time, effort, and money that has gone into each one.
There is so much planning and consideration that goes into place for any child to be born.  But it is a whole new array of choices and decisions to make for an adoption, at least where we get to play a part in it.  Even then, social workers and many people still work to make the adoption work.  If it doesn’t benefit anything else, I know it has benefitted me.  I have had to weigh all the options in the possilibity of us taking this baby.  Then when we just couldn’t make that work, trying to work out for others to have the opportunity, help them to plan, and keep the birthmother’s plate as little as possible has been a chore.  It has had its rewards though.
It truly takes a community even to bring a baby into this world.  At least to do it well.  It only expands from there.  It is amazing the world we live in!
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Crowns, Adoption, and Lewdness

The final episode of the tooth isn’t quite as interesting a tale as were the previous two.  Therefore, I will have to cap it off, literally, with just saying it went smoothly and I was out within an hour.  In my remaining space, here are a few updates on life.
Amanda and I have been approached to consider adopting a child that is coming available in December.  Due to the circumstances we have tried to exhaust our mental processes for the positive and negatives sides of this situation.  For the most part we have determined we simply cannot do this right now.  It either means and end to Amanda’s schooling or costs in daycare that would put us far beyond our income.  Therefore, if you know of a good couple who are looking for a child to adopt, please let me know.
I am watching with shock at the latest releases regarding Idaho’s Senator Larry Craig.  I am ashamed a public servant could be so utterly selfish as to bring such disregard upon those he represents.  Whether he is guilty of the crime or not, the ineptitude is such to warrant his resignation or removal from office.  A writer of our laws cannot make a coherent decision of whether to plead guilty or not?  What is more, when his moral character is at stake he was willing to take a guilty plea to make it go away.  Sounds like too little integrity to me.  It seems that if a persons character is at stake, they should be willing to give all to defend in honesty that good name.  That should ring all the more true when the person’s character represents nearly 1.5 million people!  While Senator Craig has done much good, sadly such a blemish can undermine all he has done and render him useless in the future.  It is time to switch employment if he thinks these actions in a restroom are befitting of a representative of the State of Idaho and the United States of America.
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Hands off Higher Ed

Wall Street Journal

12 May 2007

Hillsdale, Mich. – From the first days of federal aid to higher education, instinct told us such aid would carry with it obligations that, in the words of Bill Buckley, “a free university ought not to undertake.”  Over the past 50 years a few private colleges and universities across America, including Hillsdale College, where I am president, have paid the price to keep their independence.

No part of the billions from federal taxpayers that go annually to our competitors comes to us.  In the past, our families were even prevented from taking the limited tax deductions available for college tuition.  We face the annual challenge of keeping up with the rapid growth of subsidies to higher education.

Today we watch with trepidation an attempt to establish federal control over all colleges and universities, including our campus.  Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings wants to extend the testing and standards requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act to colleges.  The specific details of what these testing an standards would entail are unclear, but are likely to be determined by education department regulators over the next several months.

President Bush and Ms. Spellings have brought a new approach to education reform at the federal level.  They have good motives and a fair appraisal of the situation, at least in K-12 education.  But national standards and testing in higher education will only strengthen a bureaucracy that already plagues an otherwise highly competitive system.

Mr. Bush and Ms. Spellings will not be around long enough to write the rules of this new program.  They will leave behind them a much larger department, now armed with the tools to influence education to a much greater extent.  Ms. Spellings often uses the language of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society in her speeches.  Since Sept. 11, 2001, spending on higher education has grown at rates greater than, say, the Defense Department.

National standards are unnecessary in higher education.  There are already plenty of accountability tools available to students and their parents – starting with the ability to pick up and go elsewhere.  There are more than 2,000 accredited four-year colleges in the country.  At Hillsdale we have long survived by attracting private capital and good students to our campus, so we are well aware that universities compete for students, donations and top-notch professors every year.  We also know that those institutions that allow their standards to slip will soon find their best students and faculty members migrating elsewhere.

These facts notwithstanding, Ms. Spelling’s efforts to impose nationalized college testing began in earnest last fall when her National Commission on the Future of Higher Education issued its final report and recommended the new testing mandate.  Republicans – had they maintained control of Congress – might have gone along.  Instead Ms. Spellings is now attempting to impose the mandate through the backdoor by forcing college accreditation agencies to start demanding that the tests be imposed.

The accrediting agencies are now almost 100 years old, and colleges use them to learn about themselves and to demonstrate competence by third-part testimony.  The accrediting agencies have for the most part respected the mission and purpose of the institutions they review.  But since the federal government became a major funder of colleges, the accrediting agencies are the gateway to that money.  This makes them, as much as the recipient colleges, creates of federal policy.

Several weeks of tense “negotiated rule-making” between the department and the accrediting agencies have just ended without agreement.  The department has invited a representative of the largest accrediting agency to step down from the consulting panel because of her recalcitrance.  Meanwhile the department threatens to impose common standards in accrediting without agreement from the accreditors.  This is the opposite of competition and diversity.

Reform is certainly needed in higher education.  But we should be discussing tax credits not uniform standards.  We should be thinking about tax-free saving accounts for college rather than rules and subsidies.

Here in south central Michigan, we are used to being recalcitrant.  Living by private resources for more than a century and a half, we have supported the principles of “civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety” that have been the core of our public mission since the founding day.  We succeed today by the requirement of a tough core curriculum, recruitment of a talented student body committed to an honor code, and by remembering the relationship between liberal education and a free society.

Mr. Arnn is the president of Hillsdale College.