Preparation Day

The house looks pretty good and now I will make the pies. Thanksgiving dinner always has so many good foods to prepare and eat. And the leftovers! Wow! I love to put the turkey carcass into a big pot and boil it all Thanksgiving evening. Then I have a wonderful stock to make the most delicious turkey soup.

So much to be thankful for, too. It is a really great time right now and we are enjoying it!

Then, on to Christmas with some of the best music ever. Don't you agree?

American Sign Language: My Story

Last night our family went to Aspen Grove (near Sundance, Utah) for one evening of an ASL retreat. I was one of the voice interpreters for the guest speaker, Carolyn MacCaskill. To hear (really 'see') Carolyn's story was quite humbling. She is a beautiful Black woman and she is Deaf. She is the 8th Black person in the USA to receive a Ph.d! (Four of the Ph.ds were male.) It was a pleasure to be in her company. She works at Galluadet University in Washington, D.C. Galluadet is the only university for Deaf people in the world.

I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father lead me to learn sign language within a week of me joining the church back in October, 1976. I felt a complete overwhelming desire to learn sign language, though I hadn't even met one deaf person! Another newly baptized member, Paul Durata, was learning some signs and when he saw me fingerspelling with the missionary that taught me, (Elder Gary Cervo), he showed me my first sign, the sign for "help". That was it and my life was changed forever!

I took a class at El Camino College in the Fall of 1977. My teacher was Jeff Lenham. He told me that I would become an interpreter within a year. I really was blessed with the ability to learn quickly. People would ask me why I was learning sign language. My response was always, "Heavenly Father has a plan." Secretly I thought I might have a deaf child because I didn't have any idea WHY I absolutely HAD to learn ASL.

In the middle of my next class, in April, 1978, the Los Angeles Deaf Ward divided. One half of the members started a new ward in Chatsworth, CA. Guess where the other half were moved to? The Torrance IV Ward for the Deaf was established and they met in the Hermosa Beach Ward Bldg. The same building where I attended church!

That very first day that the Torrance IV Deaf Ward began, 30 years ago, was one of the most thrilling days of my life! Judi Ghent was there and she said, "The walls were ringing with 'Where is Mary Bonham!'" Deaf people, at least a couple hundred of them, were right there in our building! I was one of less than a handful of hearing people who "knew" sign language. Heavenly Father's plan for me became oh so clear! I was in heaven!

I have been happily enjoying the sweet company of Deaf people ever since! There is an entire world of wonderful people that I never would have known if Heavenly Father had not planted the desire in me to learn their language. My life has been richly blessed because of my association with Deaf people. (30 years later, I realize how little I "knew " ASL back then. Luckily the Deaf people were patient with me and taught me along the way. Rich, rich memories, sometimes very funny memories, are sprinkled into my life because of these fabulous people.)

All That Jazz

We had a rare treat here in Utah. In the small neighboring town we have a jazz ensemble that played last night. The group is incredible! The pianist is from New Orleans. The singer is from Las Vegas. The bass player was not there last night so I don't know where he is from. The drummer is from Utah. They are determined to make this a weekly event.

I can't believe that in a little town like Pleasant Grove we have world-class Jazz musicians for our enjoyment. A man in Dianna's ward bought some tickets to give to people. We went. There was incredible music and singing and people were dancing. There was no drinking or smoking. Just clean family fun. There were a couple babies. I brought a friend whose father is a jazz musician. She said it was great to be in a room, listening to Jazz, without it being smoke-filled.

When we left at 10:00pm (when it ended) we went back out into downtown Pleasant Grove. There was no one in sight. The street was empty and dark. The only light on the street was coming from the window of the music hall where we had just had a delightful evening.

I am hoping people will realize what a rare jewel we have and come out and enjoy its beauty.

SPECIAL TEMPLE WEEKEND

We had a very special weekend. Bob, Heidi, Kelli and I went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and did baptisms for my stepfather, Harlan Cawelti, his first wife Mary Jane and their daughter, Kathy. Ever since I joined the church in 1976 I have wanted to get Kathy's temple work done.

My mother married Harley when I was just six years old. That is when my life started settling down, and so did my mom! Harley had an ex-wife and two children. His children didn't live with us, but I met them a few times. Kathy was a few years older than me. She was beautiful, inside and out! She was a cheerleader in high school and she was Homecoming Queen. She had a beautiful smile and she was so sweet!

Out of high school, she started college at El Camino College. She worked as a checker (I guess they call them cashiers now) at a store and she went to college. She was a busy 18 year-old young woman. She went to a restaurant in San Bernardino one weekend. Soon after eating at the restaurant Kathy became ill. She couldn't shake the illness and she went to Kaiser, the medical group. She wasn't seen by her regular doctor. The on-call doctor there told her she was just tired from being a busy young woman. Kathy went home and soon fell into a coma. She was rushed to the hospital by an ambulance, but it was too late. Kathy soon died of Hepatitis. She was just a couple weeks short of her 19th birthday. They traced the cause to the chef in the restaurant in Big Bear.

I was just short of my 12th birthday and I was at school the day Kathy died. I came home that afternoon and sat at the counter, where my mom and Harl and I always ate an early dinner together. While we were eating my mom said, "Kathy died today." Harl stoically ate his food. I wasn't mature enough to respond. We sat in silence. I didn't do anything or say anything. I didn't know what to say. We ate as if nothing had happened.

Years later, my mom and I had been to the doctor's and found out she had terminal cancer. (Harl had fallen and broken his hip just a couple hours before the set time of the appointment so he was in surgery replacing his hip when I took my mom to her appointment.) A few days later Harl was at home and I was there with them. My mom told Harl that her cancer was terminal. I was sitting on the couch next to the chair where Harl was sitting. We sat, staring at the TV. Soon I began to hear him stoically stifling a cry. I immediately remembered that day, long ago, when I didn't do or say anything to comfort him. I refused to let that happen this time. I refused to let him hold in his pain alone. I got up off the couch and went to him and held him in my arms. He cried and cried. So did I. In the 36 years of him being my dad, I had never seen or heard him cry. When we finally stopped, my mom said, "I don't ever want to see this kind of display again." I said, "Mom, you are dying. You will see us crying."

Well, this weekend I was again crying, but this time they were tears of joy. Harl and his first wife and their beautiful daughter, Kathy, were sealed together for time and all eternity. My daughter Dianna was proxy for Mary Jane, my son-in-law Todd was proxy for Harl and I was proxy for Kathy. It was the best! Then Bob and I stood in for my mom and Harl and got them sealed together, too. This was a very special weekend!

My First Blog

Well, somehow I have joined the 21st century. Here I am, blogging. I just recently learned the word 'blogging'. Wow! What shall I write about? Me, at a loss for words? Actually, there are too many words bouncing around in my head to sort them out. I am just glad to have actually established a blogspot. Wow!