Throw the Comb....... Hope for A Laugh....
We do this cutesy little number in Sunset where the Sisters start out singing a little ditty called Nauvoo Sunshine and then the Elders strut out on the stage acting like the macho men they think used to be and sing a song that is set to the music of Stout Hearted Men....and for the record it does take a brave hearted man to go out and perform on the stage. So every night I am center stage front....not a very inconspicuous place to be. So when we come to the verse where we proclaim "We are some men who "were" great specimens.....if you take twenty years off our age".....we are supposed to take a small pocket comb and comb our hair......really???....What hair??? It was prior to our last performance that I told (bad idea) Sister Gibson I was going to toss my comb in the air with a dumbfounded look she replied "You look stupid enough already without doing such a foolish thing....throwing the comb.... is not a good idea. What will Sister Rober (our coordinator) say?" That being said.....(the Devil made me do it).....I threw it. Got great response from the front row....the scowl from Sister Gibson did not go in-noticed, however. Now the really good part....
After the show a young boy came running up to me.....with the comb. His mother right behind him explained that he was so worried that I wouldn't get it back and he kept looking for me the whole rest of the show. We were soon engaged in conversation that as usual, led to "where are you from?".....Utah, Saratoga Springs....."Oh, I have a brother who lives in South Jordan" ....."What's his name...we might know him" "Pikus, it's a really odd name" she replied. "hmmmm, don't know him but it sounds like a good football name....I coached kids for many years in South Jordan". "I don't think so" she replied....and then it dawned on me....this was Nicole Pikus-Pace. And now you may be saying "who is Nicole Pikus-Pace"
I had followed her story, like many others, over the years. She won the silver Medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics...but it is much more. I am not going to tell you of her....she is just another "Mormon Mommy" on the surface but her life speaks volumes and speaks for itself and sends a message loud and clear.....do a little research....Google and such. You will be uplifted and inspired....!!!
The bottom line is......Throw the Comb (follow a prompting).....and be blessed with a Nauvoo Miracle Story!!!
After the show a young boy came running up to me.....with the comb. His mother right behind him explained that he was so worried that I wouldn't get it back and he kept looking for me the whole rest of the show. We were soon engaged in conversation that as usual, led to "where are you from?".....Utah, Saratoga Springs....."Oh, I have a brother who lives in South Jordan" ....."What's his name...we might know him" "Pikus, it's a really odd name" she replied. "hmmmm, don't know him but it sounds like a good football name....I coached kids for many years in South Jordan". "I don't think so" she replied....and then it dawned on me....this was Nicole Pikus-Pace. And now you may be saying "who is Nicole Pikus-Pace"
I had followed her story, like many others, over the years. She won the silver Medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics...but it is much more. I am not going to tell you of her....she is just another "Mormon Mommy" on the surface but her life speaks volumes and speaks for itself and sends a message loud and clear.....do a little research....Google and such. You will be uplifted and inspired....!!!
The bottom line is......Throw the Comb (follow a prompting).....and be blessed with a Nauvoo Miracle Story!!!
Five Minutes Early is.........
So you've seen chairs set up for Stake Conference before...it's not and uncommon site to see the chairs blanket the entire cultural hall floor...and maybe even to on the stage. This is not Stake Conference here in Nauvoo.....it is Sacrament Meeting every Sunday during the summer months.
If you are one of the Elders assigned to set up the chairs at 7:00 a.m. and you really want to help....you will show up at 6:50. By 6:55 a third of the chairs have been set up and by 7:05 we are wiping the sweat off our brow and heading back home. I can thank my priesthood calling with our young men to get me practiced and efficient. As I leave I throw my jacket and I-pad on a seat....mind you I am not saving a seat....I am just putting them on a seat until I get back.
After that the chaos ensues as the missionaries start arriving at 7:15 to claim a prized soft seat in the chapel.....by 7:30 you are relegated to the hard chairs in the cultural hall. 7:40 arrives and all the missionaries are reverently sitting in place as the visitors, YPM's, and Young Sister missionaries arrive. The seating is almost full by the time the meeting starts...... A single blessing is pronounced on the sacrament from the chapel table but there is a secondary table in the cultural hall. YPM's do the chapel while the OPM's (Old Performing Missionaries....that us) take care areas in the rear of the building. It's efficient.......and mind boggling. Sister Gibson and myself are content to show up with the 7:40 crowd and get the hard seat....she brings a cushion as we get thirty minutes more prep (or sleep) time.
A Roof......A Roof.....
.....the Trailer Still needs a Roof!!
The trailer is moving along .....well sort of. While we were able to get all of the siding we had in stock applied by the end of the week we then were left waiting for more. Plenty of material for the inside where we cant' work very well until the exterior is finished and all the exterior plumbing and light protrusions are installed in strategic places so they are flat and will not leak. This in and of itself is a pain since all of the electrical was done before the rib pattern of the siding was in place and installed. When the roof design was changed several weeks ago we were told the materials would be here no later than the first of this week....for sure no later than Thursday. It is Nauvoo....and I have been here long enough to know the pattern....so it was no surprise that were told Friday that it would be here first thing (maybe) Monday morning. We went to work on the inside putting the insulation on the ceiling where we thought the plumbers could work without it being in their way. The exterior electrical boxes, we soon discovered, in spite of our best efforts, were found to be in the wrong places or in some cases, in our zeal (or lapse of memory) we had covered them over. They weren't hard to find since we could see them from the inside but we did have to do a little work to get them moved.
Another Nauvoo irony occurred when Elder Hacking was approached by Marcus as asked if he could help paint the FM director's home since the painter's are short handed and behind. He's apparently getting better at figuring things out as he soon changed his mind. On one hand he could see displeasing the director.....on the other hand the wrath and displeasure 5000+ women who needed toilet facilities during the Pageant.
Pella is a Window.....A City.....and
.....and a Story Book
We passed on the Tulip Festival in May so we could visit this Dutch town nestled between Iowa City and Des Moines....We did miss the many tulips, a parade, and crowds of people. The hope was that we would be able have a better experience, see more, learn more, and avoid the crowds. Sometimes a plan comes together....this one did. We were able to walk around and enjoy the things that we would have surely missed.......for example there is the Jaarsma Bakery. It's a big feature on the square and there is usually a line to even get to the counters....it took us twenty minutes to even get to where we could see what we wanted to purchase.....the choices were many. It was good stuff but during the Tulip Festival people waited in a two block line for over an hour.....it wasn't "that" good.
The majority of our time was spent touring the 6 story windmill and it's operation. Pretty fascinating stuff. Sister Lindeburg took to climbing the large fan blade for a picture. In order for these blades to work efficiently the "miller" must set the wind as it changes with a large wheel that turns the upper section into the wind and then he must set each blade to vertical and climb most of the way to the top to set the canvas. Then he can go to work milling the flour.
Behind the windmill is an old Dutch village that has been built to show the mid 1800's life when the town was founded. It's like Nauvoo....without tour guides and touching restrictions. So I made the most of the puppet theater....the names of the characters portrayed by the puppets have been changed to protect the guilty. There is a miniature village created in the museum part that is really well done and fun. And for what ever reason there is a hand carved forty horse team and wagon paying tribute to one of the only people known to have been able to drive such rig.....I guess it is kind of like the mountain climber who was asked why he risked his life climbing dangerous mountains....his reply...."Because I can"
In the square we also ran across a couple of wonderful and interesting people. A lady playing the saw with a violin bow provided eerie sounding music that is best done as a background for a horror movie...but she had done it for twenty years to help fund the arts in Pella. Mark Hayes, the card man, drew our attention as he walked into the bakery foregoing the entrance and using the exit. We immediately struck up a conversation and he explained to me that for many years he had taken it upon himself to go around the square with a condolence card for anyone that had passed away within thirty miles of Pella, have people sign it, and then take it to the mortuary to be given to the family.
It was his way of making something meaningful of his life.......what a message. Sister Gibson gave him a "pass along card" and invited him to come to Nauvoo....She is really excited to show off her singing and acting skills.
Pella is a Window.....A City.....and
.....and a Story Book
We passed on the Tulip Festival in May so we could visit this Dutch town nestled between Iowa City and Des Moines....We did miss the many tulips, a parade, and crowds of people. The hope was that we would be able have a better experience, see more, learn more, and avoid the crowds. Sometimes a plan comes together....this one did. We were able to walk around and enjoy the things that we would have surely missed.......for example there is the Jaarsma Bakery. It's a big feature on the square and there is usually a line to even get to the counters....it took us twenty minutes to even get to where we could see what we wanted to purchase.....the choices were many. It was good stuff but during the Tulip Festival people waited in a two block line for over an hour.....it wasn't "that" good.
The majority of our time was spent touring the 6 story windmill and it's operation. Pretty fascinating stuff. Sister Lindeburg took to climbing the large fan blade for a picture. In order for these blades to work efficiently the "miller" must set the wind as it changes with a large wheel that turns the upper section into the wind and then he must set each blade to vertical and climb most of the way to the top to set the canvas. Then he can go to work milling the flour.
Behind the windmill is an old Dutch village that has been built to show the mid 1800's life when the town was founded. It's like Nauvoo....without tour guides and touching restrictions. So I made the most of the puppet theater....the names of the characters portrayed by the puppets have been changed to protect the guilty. There is a miniature village created in the museum part that is really well done and fun. And for what ever reason there is a hand carved forty horse team and wagon paying tribute to one of the only people known to have been able to drive such rig.....I guess it is kind of like the mountain climber who was asked why he risked his life climbing dangerous mountains....his reply...."Because I can"
In the square we also ran across a couple of wonderful and interesting people. A lady playing the saw with a violin bow provided eerie sounding music that is best done as a background for a horror movie...but she had done it for twenty years to help fund the arts in Pella. Mark Hayes, the card man, drew our attention as he walked into the bakery foregoing the entrance and using the exit. We immediately struck up a conversation and he explained to me that for many years he had taken it upon himself to go around the square with a condolence card for anyone that had passed away within thirty miles of Pella, have people sign it, and then take it to the mortuary to be given to the family.
It was his way of making something meaningful of his life.......what a message. Sister Gibson gave him a "pass along card" and invited him to come to Nauvoo....She is really excited to show off her singing and acting skills.
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