Jan. 30, 2010

Tell about the worst winter storm that you can remember as a child.

I would suppose that the worst storm was in September and I don’t remember which year. The leaves were still on the trees and we had a big snow storm while we were at school. That night as we were going home on the bus we couldn’t make it into our yard. The snow on the trees had broken several limbs and one of them was a large limb from the Walnut tree by the side of the house and then right around the corner was a large cottonwood tree that had fallen across the road and landed on the corner of the house where the fruit room was built. I don’t remember if the house was damaged or not but the bus had to back out a half mile to get turned around. Dad finally moved the tree by strting the little D4 Cat that we had and often had to use to move the snow from our lane in the winter time. Later in that year as the snow melted we ended up having to walk that half mile each time we came or went from the house because the runoff from the melting snow had washed out the road.

Jan 29, 2010

Tell about an experience or event that drew you together.

I remember mostly the times that Leesa would get on the piano and then everyone would talk dad into singing the “Mighty Deep” or “No man is an Island.” He had a beautiful deep bass voice and in fact sang at almost every funeral in a quartet as the bass singer for all of the funerals in Duchesne that I can remember. He was always being asked to sing.

Anyway it was usually a Sunday evening and after he would sing that song or both of them then the rest of us would join in and sing for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was a special time with him and mom.

We always ate our meals together as well and they were just a part of farm life but I think they were also times when we drew closer together. I especially remember eating bread and milk with onions and salt after getting home from Sacrament Meetings on Sunday evenings. It sounds like it wouldn’t be very good but it really was very good and one of the thins that I miss.
Most of the other experiences were when we were working together as we cut and baled the hay in the summer and doing chores all year round.

Jan 28, 2010

What did you and your brothers and sisters fight about the most?

I only remember a couple of fights, one with Lynn and then an incident with Leesa but I am not sure I can really call it a fight. Here is how I have written it in my stories.

Teasing Leesa

Children that are siblings can be very mean to each other just in the name of fun or at least it starts out that way most times. This particular incident I will never forget because I was just teasing Leesa but she certainly didn’t see it that way.

As a youth and the youngest son in the family, born between two girls, made me the one who had to do dishes when I would rather be working outside or so I thought. The older boys were always out doing the chores milking the cows and feeding them as well. There was also bringing the coal into the house and taking the clinkers from the furnace back out. It really sounded fun to a young boy stuck doing dishes. Well one day my assignment was to clean off the table and Leesa was washing the dishes and Marsha drying them or at least that is the way I think it was. Anyway I don’t remember what led up to this but I really didn’t feel like doing dishes but I was going to make the best of it by teasing Leesa. It worked pretty well apparently because she had finally hit her limit and turned and threw the old porcelain sugar bowl lid at me. She is a pretty good shot because it hit me in the head and so I just slumped down to the floor and closed my eyes and played like I had been knocked out. Well Leesa, being the very tenderhearted sister that she was, went crazy thinking that she had really hurt me and maybe even killed me. I stayed there long enough for her to freak out really well and then I started laughing really hard. It became obvious really fast to her that I was OK but that then just made her mad because she had been so worried about me. I think I did end up with a pretty good goosebump to show for the fun. I don’t remember the punishment but I didn’t have to dishes again that I can remember and instead I began carrying buckets of hot water to the barn,washing the milking equipment, milking cows even in the coldest of weather, hauling hay, feeding the cows and horses, hauling in 4 large buckets of coal at a time into the basement for the furnace, carrying out the buckets of clinkers and of course cutting, raking, baling and hauling the hay. Needless to say what I ended up doing alone, except in the mornings when Dad helped me, for over four years after the boys were all gone (missions, marriage) was a lot harder than doing the dishes. Maybe that was pretty good punishment after all.

I can't find an image of what it looked like but was probably similar to this one with a lid and a hole for a spoon handle as I remember.

Jan 27, 2010

Since this is actually being published on Jan 26, I am going to wish Loren a Happy 25th birthday to start this blog.

Happy 25th birthday Loren, a quarter of a century old.

Now for tomorrows blog tonight.

Did you ever have an imaginary friend?

No but in my adult life I have three special experiences that I would like to tell relating a little to yesterdays question and of men who I consider to be special friends but far from imaginary.

I have had three special experiences with general authorities.

Carlos E Asay became a General authority in 1973. I had been associated with him for 9 months as a missionary in the Texas North Mission. I remember vividly our first meeting and our last many years later. There were 30 or so of us headed to the Texas North mission in Oct of 1872. The first and largest group left on the plane first and then 10 of us followed in a second plane quite a while later. It was my first ride in an airplane and a very new experience. I recall the lights of the Fort Worth - Dallas area as we flew over them and landed at Love Field in Dallas. We all got off the plane and proceeded down to the baggage claim area with no idea what was going to happen next or how we were to get to the mission home. No one was there to meet us as we were told would happen. We were all just about ready but facing the baggage ramps when a fellow laid his hand on my shoulder and turned me around. He no more than saw my face and said “Hello Elder Poulson”. I, needless to say, was very impressed that he knew my name and everyone else’s as well. The first group had arrived and they had left the airport headed to the mission home when they were about half way there President Asay realized that his entire group had apparently not arrived. Of course I grew to love him as we worked together in Texas and as he conducted his monthly interviews with me. He was called to be an Area Representative just prior to completing his three years as our mission President. Later at mission reunions he never failed to know our names. In 1999 he invited all of us to a mission reunion at the Salt Lake Temple with any of our endowed children. Jeff attended with Marie and I having just returned from his mission and again President Asay knew my name. He invited all who lived outside of Utah to meet with him after the session and he would give them a tour of the temple and then told the rest of us to set up a time with his personal secretary. He was currently the Salt Lake Temple President.

We were again with him about a week later but it was at his funeral. He had a massive stroke Monday at work and passed away the following Friday. He had gone into work that morning as his secretary related to us very excited and as though he were on cloud nine because of the special reunion. There were 305 of us there and we had also enjoyed it as well.

The second was in 1986 or 87 with Marion D “Duff” Hanks as he was introduced to us. He was the Bother of Janet Christensen and came to a dinner with us at Timp Lodge at an adult overnighter in the 4^th ward. He sat across the table from me and we talked about my current position in the ward. I was the Varsity Coach/Teachers Quorum advisor at the time and I remember him asking me if they were all active and what I was doing to get them that way. He then related how he had 14 in his quorum and that he had been able to get them all active and then challenged me to do the same with my quorum. It was almost like a Personal Priesthood Interview because he was focused on me and I on him during the conversation even though it was at a dinner with others all around us.

The third was not as personal but was with President Boyd K Packer when he came to the Mapleton Stake for a conference. I was currently serving on the High Council and at the start of the conference we were asked to provide security for him along with his two personal body-guards. After they arrived we all had a chance to meet him and shake hands, introduce ourselves and then he went into the office with the Stake Presidency and we went to the chapel. We met at that time with the security personnel and they started it off with a prayer. After the prayer they thanked us for being there to help and then said “We noticed that you all closed your eyes during the prayer (apparently they hadn’t) and we know that is what you are to do BUT it will not happen again during this conference.” They then went on to explain that during prayer was when any trouble makers will most likely make their move since no one will really be watching. (You ought to be on the stand and look out into the audience during prayers for sacrament meeting and you would soon learn that they were probably not totally right but none the less it is apparently when things do happen.) We were then given a list of names to look over and tell them if we knew any of them on the list. I did and in fact was not surprised that his name was on the list since I had been his parents home teacher and had met with him several times and listened as he complained about certain things the leaders of the church fell short of doing. I was then asked to keep look out specifically for him and his movements. Well he moved all over but never was any trouble, I did finally figure out that if I went and talked to him and stood by him that he stopped moving around and was much easier to keep track of during the remainder of the meeting.

Jan 26, 2010 Loren’s Birthday in 1985

Did you ever see a President or Vice President in person?

No, as to the US Presidents

Yes, as to LDS Presidents. In fact I was about 2 yards away from President Gordon B Hinckley as he was hurried into the RS Room at one of the chapels in Springville. It was a Region Leadership Meeting and he was just coming in from Vernal from a morning session to Springville for an afternoon session and you couldn’t even see any fatigue from the trip. It was a very special conference and he was rushed out just as fast by his security.

Then Marie and I apparently walked right past the room where President Monson was waiting after our stake conference in April of 2009. We would have seen and met him had we waited just 2 or 3 more minutes. He was there to ordain his son as our new stake president in the BYU 6^th stake.

Part 2: Which of the Presidents in your lifetime has been your favorite?

US President Ronald Reagan. He had the guts to see things how they were and act on them. And most of all he was proud to be an American and show it to the world just the opposite of our current guy in charge hiding behind the Arabs.

LDS President. President McKay was the President of my youth for 17 years and thus hold a very special place in my heart but I cannot say he is my favorite because each president as they become the prophet have a very special spot to the side of him. I almost feel a little ore close to President Monson simply because I am getting to know him better than any of the others because of sitting at the feet of his son who has learned so much from his father and sounds so much like him as well. So I do not have a favorite LDS President they are all on a pedestal far above any other men in the world except for the other general authorities. I have now lived during the Presidencies of exactly half of the church president. Also as a side note: We are also related to President Heber J Grant, if I remember correctly.

Jan 24, 2010

At what age did you first vote and for whom did you cast your first Presidential vote?

I was 18 when I first voted but it was not during a Presidential year. Then the next year when it was I was serving my mission in Texas and did not vote. So my first Presidential vote was in 1976 and I voted for Pres Gerald Ford.

Jan 23, 2010

Who was President when you were born.

The author of this book is probably not LDS but when I read this question two answers came to my mind at the same time. I had to go to the internet to make sure that my memory was correct and it was but the internet also made it possible for me to add images of each. So here they are.

The President of the United State of America was Dwight D Eisenhower. He was president until I was 8 years old.

The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was David O McKay.

He was president of the church until I was 17.

Jan 23, 2010

Tell about the naughtiest thing you ever did. If you got caught describe the consequences.

I don't remember too many of the naughty things that I did but there is one that I do remember and Leesa and I will neither ever forget. I don't remember a punishment for it but I will never forget the event. Here is how I have it written in my stories from my life.

Teasing Leesa

Children that are siblings can be very mean to each other just in the name of fun or at least it starts out that way most times. This particular incident I will never forget because I was just teasing Leesa but she certainly didn’t see it that way.

As a youth and the youngest son in the family, born between two girls, made me the one who had to do dishes when I would rather be working outside or so I thought. The older boys were always out doing the chores milking the cows and feeding them as well. There was also bringing the coal into the house and taking the clinkers from the furnace back out. It really sounded fun to a yong boy stuck doing dishes. Well one day my assignment was to clean off the table and Leesa was washing the dishes and Marsha drying them or at least that is the way I think it was. Anyway I don’t remember what led up to this but I really didn’t feel like doing dishes but I was going to make the best of it by teasing Leesa. It worked pretty well apparently because she had finally hit her limit and turned and threw the old ceramic sugar bowl lid at me. She is a pretty good shot because it hit me in the head and so I just slumped down to the floor and closed my eyes and played like I had been knocked out. Well Leesa, being the very tenderhearted sister that she was, went crazy thinking that she had really hurt me and maybe even killed me. I stayed there long enough for her to freak out really well and then I started laughing really hard. It became obvious really fast to her that I was OK but that then just made her mad because she had been so worried about me. I think I did end up with a pretty good goosebump to show for the fun. I don’t remember the punishment but I didn’t have to dishes again that I can remember and instead I began carrying buckets of hot water to the barn,washing the milking equipment, milking cows even in the coldest of weather, hauling hay, feeding the cows and horses, hauling in 4 large buckets of coal at a time into the basement for the furnace, carrying out the buckets of clinkers and of course cutting, raking, baling and hauling the hay. Needless to say what I ended up doing alone for over four years after the boys were all gone, missions, marriage, was a lot harder than doing the dishes. Maybe that was pretty good punishment after all.

Jan 22, 2010

When it was time for discipline, which parent corrected you and how?

I think that they both did. I remember vaguely getting sent to my room without supper and then one of them coming in later and talking to me and asking if I was ready to eat. I also vaguely remember being spanked and I think it was on the bare bottom. I don’t remember any of them very well because I must have learned early that neither punishment was very pleasant and I could avoid them by avoiding what caused them. I do remember one time however when the punishment could have been severe but it wasn’t, the lesson however was learned well. The following is how I have written about it.

A Fire in the stack yard; BYU Pow Wow

When I was 12 to 15 years old we had the opportunity to go from Duchesne to Provo to attends for three Saturdays a Merit Badge Pow Wow that was held at Brigham Young University. I think I went twice in those years.

One particular Saturday however was very memorable.

I had left with the scouts early that morning since we had to be to Provo by 8:30 AM. I wasn’t feeling well but thought it to just be the jitters. I was not a real adventure seeker at a young age and often got sick to my stomach when I would be required to do something out of the ordinary. I went to my first class and had to leave to find a bathroom to relieve my stomach. After spending several minutes in the bathroom and having lost any and all of my breakfast I didn’t feel like going back to class so instead spent the rest of that hour and the following two hours in the hallways of several buildings on the campus. I had a unique desire in my youth to collect things and during those times there were many vending machines in each of the buildings so as I wandered the halls I would stop and put a nickel into the machines and retrieve a roll of life savers. (I never did eat any of them but later put them into an old cigar box that I had at home. Over the years prior to my mission I ended up filling up that box with a number of lifesaver rolls full of candy. After I returned from my mission I found that my stash of sweets had been already eaten by sugar ants during the years that I had been gone. The rolls were all still there but small holes in each package revealed where the ants had carried off my sugary treats.) Anyway I had to spend the rest of the day in misery as we ended the Pow Wow and went out for something to eat before returning home that afternoon. I didn’t eat anything since I was afraid that it wouldn’t make the trip back to Duchesne. When I got home late that afternoon all I wanted to do was to retire to bed and get feeling better. The rest of the family however had taken the day to go to the Wasatch front to do some shopping for Christmas and had not returned by the time we were supposed to be doing the chores. I finally got up and went out to milk the cows and do the feeding. I left the feeding till last hoping that Dad would be home by then and could do the job for me. I finished milking and still no one was home. But that night also had another problem in that it was cold and very dark and as I went out to the stack yard to do the feeding I had left the light off at the barn. I don’t know why but that light that could have helped me was left off. I often went to the stack yard in the dark and knew my way quite well even though there were more than a few times that I would step in fresh cam pies while going there. This night however I couldn’t tell where the hay was that I needed to get for the cows so since I was prepared as a scout I pulled a match from my pocket and started a small fire that would light up the stack yard enough to see the hay. I hadn’t gotten a very big fire started when Dad finally arrived home and came out to see where I was in the process of doing the chores. He turned on the light that was on the outside of the barn that shed some light on the stack yard but still didn’t seem to help very much and then came out to help me. When he discovered the fire he had me quickly grab a bucket and go to the canal for water to put out the fire. He didn’t seem overly upset but did seem quite concerned and after we had the fire out he calmly explained that the hay on the ground was several inches deep and had I left the fire much longer it would have burned deep into the layer and the could have spread for days without our knowing it until it could finally have burned down the stack totally. I have always appreciated the concern he had for me and the patience to help me understand the severity of the situation without getting mad at me. He didn’t say that I could go the house however while he put out the fire but helped me learn responsibility and then helped me finish up the chores so I could return to the house and go to bed sooner. I learned two valuable lessons that day. The first was the danger of fires in a stack yard of old hay. The second however was far more valuable to me and has helped me through the years and it was to be patient and loving in the process of raising children.

An incident referred to but I had shared it

I wrote that I had already told this story in the blog but apparently I haven't. So I decided to add this one just so you understand what I was referring to in that blog.

A Quarter for a daring feat: Climb down into the well.

I don’t know for sure how I survived my Cousin’s visits each summer. There seemed to be a favorite member of our family that they would always pick on and that person was me. This particular story also deals with one of those pranks.

Jack Skewes has always been one of my favorite cousins and I don’t know why because one of my earliest memories of him was when he challenged me to climb down into our well house. The well house was a cement box that about 8 to 10 foot deep and five foot by 6 or 7 foot wide. It was below ground and housed the pump and water tank that was the storage for the water when first pumped out of the well. It was a very dark place especially after the wooden lid was placed over the hole that was the access to the well house. Black Widow spiders seemed like the place a lot better than I did and for years I can recall on several occasions finding them in that hole along with other various species of spiders. I accepted the challenge because, well, I was trusting and he offered to give me a quarter which was more valuable than a bucket of gold to a young man of my tender years. I remember the fear that I had as I climbed down the wooden ladder that allowed access to the pump and the tank. I was almost to the bottom and victory when the wooden lid was slipped back over the entrance and I was submerged in total darkness with all those spiders ready for a hearty meal of a young man’s flesh. I quickly climbed back up the ladder only to find that the lid would not moved. Jack had put a heavy rock on the lid so that it wouldn’t move. My memory from that moment on was probably something that I have shoved deep into my subconscious memory bank since I have no recollection of how long I was in there before he had pity on me and removed the rock. I don’t remember if I cried but suspect that I probably did since I was not very brave nor have ever been since that time. I am sure the spiders were probably just as scared as I was as well but that wasn’t in my mind either. So why is he a favorite cousin, well, probably because he has also been there most of my life as a good friend as well as a cousin after the “rock on the well lid” incident.

Another version:

All for 25 cents

I have told in other stories about the fact that I had cousins from Bountiful who would spend their summer months in Duchesne living with Nana (Grandma Poulson) and often staying or visiting with us as well since we only lived a couple of miles out of town and were on a farm no less. I have also explained that I was often the target of pranks that they would devise in my behalf sine I was four years younger than my next older brother and 10 years younger than my oldest cousin.

It was my oldest cousin that pulled this prank on me and has since changed my life forever. (At least I like to blame it on him and hold no malice in so doing since we have become very good friends and I have gotten revenge many time over by taking his picture at every event we have ever attended just because I knew he didn’t like it either.) I must also explain that even though I did get an allowance of 10 cents or so once a month and maybe even more often, that to me at that time 25 cents was worth an awful lot. Candy was still sold for a penny a piece and so 25 pieces would go a long to satisfy a sugar need. I probably didn’t get to have all 25 pieces though since mother was very strict about our paying tithing first and so 3 cents would most likely have gone into my little yellow tithing bank. We also got our water from a well. The well house wasn’t an above ground building but rather a cement lined hole in the ground with a cement top minus room for a hole where the ladder would lean and we would gain access to the tank and pump below at about an 8 foot depth. It was very dark inside and consequently a handy spot for Black widow spiders with their lovely red hourglass marking on the bellies. I hated the well since you could barely move around the tanks and work in it. My cousin must have guessed that fact and thus dared me one day to go into the well. It took some convincing but the quarter that he offered finally made me bow into the pressure. He removed the heavy rock that was on the wooden lid of the well house and then the wooden lid as well so that I could climb down into the well. He watched as I went all the way to the bottom of the ladder and then kindly replaced the wooden lid complete with the heavy rock. I have absolutely no recollection of the length of my duration in that dark spider infested hole but was sure at the time that every black widow sharing it with me was headed my way to teach me about the importance of not invading their space. I did finally escape their vengeance unbitten to receive my 25 cent reward but to this day am a bit claustraphobic in caves and dark abyss where black widow spiders not only try to get revenge for my invading their domains but revenge for all the black widows I have killed so that they wouldn’t invade my domain either.