Oh, those pecking beaks It’s 9:15 pm when we arrive at the long, dark sheds where the chickens live. As my roommates and I walk through wet grass to the doors leading inside, I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into. My church was in need of men to help gather…

The testing ground that is unemployment One thinks about a lot of things when one is unemployed. And the longer it goes on, the less productive those thoughts become. …

Poverty and the pissed-off Zone Leader The four-month old government was struggling to govern, the resultant strife nowhere more apparent than in the economy. Inflation outstripped pay raises, and prices at the local markets rose every day, the Argentines feeling a familiar pinch in their pocketbooks. …

Waiting for the answers to some vexing questions When we arrive at that time when All Things are revealed- after we’ve all passed on and are doing whatever’s on our respective schedules in Heaven- I hope there’s a Q&A session slipped in there where I can get some straight answers…

The places one’s thoughts go while in The Chair Wednesday, March 24 Started packing last night for trip to Portland, my plan being to head north on 101 as soon as I left work this afternoon. …

You think it will never happen, and suddenly they’re gone As my wife and I have entered the “empty nest” portion of our lives, I pause to look back at all the time spent raising kids. As I reflect on the parental advice we received over the years, I realize…

Church, Isabel, and Codeine That first Sunday was an adjustment. Downsizing from a church building to a house, sacrament meeting was held in what would have been the living room. Subsequent classes took place in former bedrooms or the kitchen. But being in a sacrament meeting where only twenty-five people…

The power is in my hands, but only if I believe so Saw a film a while back that really got me to thinking. It was a sci-fi horror flick about a group of mutant children taking over the world by way of mind control. …

A new town, a new companion, and illicit movies I opened my eyes to the Trinity. They were standing on a long, reddish-brown tapestry that hung on the far wall, above an armoire and a small table. Past the empty night stand, a clock showed 10:45 a.m. Past Elder Stephens’s…