August 23, 1986

Last night I worked at the football game between the Los Angeles Raiders and the New England Patriots. I work in the Raider ticket office which is good mainly because it means about nine hours of work instead of the five that officers get who work the main deployment. (I'm paid by the hour)

Next Thursday is the last pre-season game and the Raiders will be playing the Cleveland browns. The Raiders figure to have at least 40,000 empty seats so Pete Eiges, the Raiders Ticket Manager asked my partner (Rich Van Nort) and I if we knew of any groups that the Raiders could donate tickets too. NFL rules prohibit donating tickets to regular season games without league approval, but pre-season games are not covered by that rule. Van Nort is very active in another church and he is involved in that church's youth program, and I of course spoke up to get some tickets for our ward.

So, I went over to the Raider Training and administrative office facility in El Segundo and they handed me 1,000 tickets for free. I gave half of them to Richard (Van Nort) but that still left me with 500 tickets. I gave tickets away like crazy to people in our ward and I also called Bishop DeGraf of seventeenth Ward and he was pretty enthusiastic about spreading tickets among his ward members. Anyway, it was kind of fun being the big man on campus and handing out NFL tickets. The seats are all in sections 11, 12 and 13 and about halfway up. Actually pretty good tickets.

By the way, I mentioned that Bishop De Graf was Bishop of seventeenth Ward. Our ward that was called Lakewood Second when we moved in and it is now known as Long Beach Eighteenth.

I got up this morning to the sound of the phone ringing. Adam answered it and it was Cathy's grandmother, Vivian Gray. I could write volumes about Vivian, but not now. She is 85 years old and needs to be in a care home, but still lives in an apartment in Costa Mesa. Cathy's brother, Chuck, also lives with her. Chuck is a classic alcoholic and is basically wasting air by being alive. Adam took a message because Vivian asked for Cathy and Cathy was at the gym doing aerobics. Since I was now awake, I layed down with the boys to watch TV and read the paper. Vivian called again and she was in tears because Chuck hurt his leg somehow and couldn't walk. Well Chuck has an arthritic hip and it has been hurting him for years. The trouble is, Chuck drinks his breakfast lunch and dinner and likes to maintain a blood alcohol level in the neighborhood of 0.15 on the low end and has had it up to .5 (which should be fatal but isn't to a full blown alcoholic). He is a nice guy with lots of potential but he's always drunk. Not tipsy. Drunk!

So Cathy and I spent our day taking Chuck and Nana to the hospital. I wish there was something that I could realistically do for them, but there doesn't seem to be. I'm probably not going to write much about Cathy's family life because there is little positive about it and I don't want to write depressing stuff. Maybe some other time.

Jacob is with me at the bowling alley tonight. We are in Buena Park at the Aztec Bowl. This job ends at 10:00 PM. Jacob has been fun and he is a good kid. He loves being with me and I with him so it works out pretty well.

There's a really nice employee working here tonight and he has given Jake some tokens so he can play the video games. We sent out for pizza and that should be arriving soon. Plus we each had a hamburger when we got here. A lot of fun but I fear it's costing me almost as much as I earn by being here.

I think it's good that Jacob is here because I think he needs to be with me a little more than Kevin and Adam do. Jake is a miniature me and is similar in so many ways. Recently when Adam saw an old picture of mewhen I was about Jake's age (8), he said, "look. There's Jake." So I'm enjoying spending time with Jake. I enjoy the others too but Kevin is 14 and he is usually busy with friends and Adam just seems to love being at home.

The candidacy of Mitt Romney for president of the United States has helped me to become more aware of a strange phenomenon that exists regarding religious faiths. That is that many "Christians" who profess that they have found Christ and accepted him as their personal Savior have decided that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)- including of course me - are not "Christians." At first this was a little frustrating and bothersome. Research (informal as it usually is with me) has led me to believe that these so-called "Christians" have simply co opted the word "Christian" for their own narrow purpose. Kind of like homosexuals who have decided that they are "Gay" and that word that once had such a happy and carefree connotation now only refers to members of that sexual persuasion.

To me, a Christian is simply a person who believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, in other words that He is truly the Son of God. To some, the term "Christian" includes only those people who follow the teachings of certain preachers and pastors in a variety of interwoven but specific Christian faiths. These "pastors" or "preachers" have "felt the call" to serve. Having now "felt" or "experienced" the "call" they now feel free to decide what should or should not be adopted as doctrine for those who follow them. Of course they get together from time to time in ecumenical meetings or councils and adjust their beliefs and doctrines so as to be in line with the general and accepted "Christian" belief. A large number of them have decided and preach that the LDS Church, its teachings and its members are well outside of the accepted sphere of "Christianity" as they have defined it. Interesting and unfortunate.

I think the candidacy of Mitt Romney who is a very active member of the LDS Church has helped explode that myth. I and most other LDS Church members believe that it is a little absurd that we who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who have as our first Article of Faith, "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" should not be able to refer to ourselves as Christians. We are Christians in every logical sense of the word.

I think the key to all of this is Priesthood authority. Before I go on, let me emphatically state that this is not an attack on anyone's faith. Fortunately (and correctly I believe) the LDS Church does not attack the faith of others. One of God's greatest and most important gifts to His children is free agency.

By way of analogy, I am a policeman. I have been given the authority by the duly constituted governments of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California to perform certain duties - some of them pretty significant - in order to preserve the peace in the communities within which I work. I have been given a badge (authority) and a uniform so that most people recognize that authority. From time to time, bad people decide to impersonate police officers in order to accomplish their own purposes. Some of these people are evil and greedy. Others just think they have a better way of doing things. Either way, the results are chaotic.

When Joseph Smith was a young man, he wanted to know what God wanted him to do. He apparently had no desire to form a church. He simply wanted to know which church was the right church so he could join it. There were many churches in his neighborhood and they contested one with another to get people to join. Joseph's own version of what happened:

"While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible."

Joseph prayed and his prayer was answered in a very memorable way. He asked which church he should join and was told to join none of them. They were all wrong.

Well, I have written a lot and I'm getting in deeper and deeper, so I'll try to extricate myself in as few words as possible. Joseph also received instruction about the Priesthood which is not a group of people but the divinely given authority to act for God in building His Kingdom in the earth.

The following excerpt from the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants contains some very deep explanations about the Priesthood.

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
43 reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Last night I went to a Stake General Priesthood Meeting with one of my sons, Jacob. I was thinking during that meeting that we who were there had our uniforms (white shirts and ties) and our authority (The Priesthood of God). When you have that, there is much less chaos... kind of like having a good police department but better. Much, much better.

Light At The End of the Career

This is the last day of Deployment Period (DP) 9, 2007. Deployment periods are 28 days. I am retiring in the middle of DP 9, 2008. So, since there are thirteen DPs in a year, I'm officially into my last year now.

Many people know that we have been saying "two years" for about the last ten years. The thing is, we could always have retired anytime during the last ten years. It's just that different changes in my retirement options and certain incentives the City has implemented made delaying retirement more attractive from a financial sense.

The way things stand right now, I can't legally work in my current position after September 8, 2008. So, really, It's less than a year to go. huzzah!

July 27, 1986 (Sunday)

This may be interesting to anyone wondering how callings to Church positions take place.

I cancelled working my off-duty job last night so that Cathy and I could go to Walt Morlok's birthday party. He turned forty and we enjoyed helping him celebrate. Many friends were there. Afterward, Cathy and I went with Sandy and Marga Sanders to get some dessert together.

I haven't held many callings at Church due to my work schedule as a policeman. Lately, I have been feeling the need to try to be home more on Sundays so that I might serve more actively in the Church. Today, just before Sacrament meeting began, my good friend, Paul Clarke, who is a member of the Stake High Council wondered how my Sunday schedule was. Hmmm. After a brief conversation during which I explained that I believed I now had enough seniority to be off at least three Sundays out of four, he told me he was going to report back to the Stake Presidency and asked me to give him a phone call later in the day. Hmmm.

During Sacrament Meeting, our Bishopric was re-organized and the Elder's quorum President was sustained as a Counselor to the Bishop. I noticed they didn't release him as Elders Quorum President. I know enough to wonder about the new Elders Quorum Presidency as it might relate to my earlier conversation with Brother Clarke.

(Later on July 27, 1986)
I called Brother Clarke and he asked if Cathy and I might meet with President Richards. We did and President Richards told me that he was calling me to be the Elders Quorum President in our ward. It's difficult to explain without sounding phoney, and I seriously believe there are plenty of other good men who could hold that calling, but after listening to President Richards, and saying a little prayer, I have a testimony that the Lord wants me to be the Elders Quorum President.

I am overwhelmed because of the responsibility of this calling. Since this journal will not be read until much later I will write down some of my thoughts regarding my calling.

My first responsibility is to select counselors which means that an even greater responsibility is to become much closer to and more reliant on my Father in Heaven.

In that regard, President Richards had this advice. "No spirit or power can offset the power of fasting and prayer." He promised me that I would be guided and directed and inspired if I would liberally engage in Fasting and Prayer. This advice strengthened my testimony all by itself because Fasting and Prayer are two areas in which I can easily improve.

I am considering retaining David Armstrong and Brian Brown, the current counselors, as my Counselors.

My impressions of David are: He is a devoted father and husband, a home owner, college educated and hard working. He is pretty sober minded but does smile from time to time. I respect and admire him. I believe I would trust him completely.

Brian Brown recently turned thirty. He is single but will be getting married in the near future if things go as planned. He already seems more responsible since he announced his engagement. I was leaning another way, but Bishop Davis recommended I keep him if I am so inspired because Brian is new in his calling, it's his first Priesthood Leadership calling and he likes it.

I began thinking of Walt Morlok as a possible counselor almost immediately. Walt is a convert. His wife and kids are also very active members. Besides being a good friend, Walt has been our home teacher for the last couple of years and he has been very diligent. He currently is our Ward Scoutmaster and has worked very hard at that calling despite substantial adversity. He has been Scoutmaster for over two years and I believe he is ready for a new responsibility.

I will meet with Larry Bell, the current Elders Quorum President and Bishop Davis this Tuesday to get more input.

This coming Saturday, August 2, 1986, I will baptize Jacob and confirm him a member of the Church. My mom and dad might be here for that and that will be nice.

August 1, 1986 (Friday)
Last Monday I fasted and prayed about who to select as counselors. After that experience and meeting with Brother Bell I settled on Brian Brown as First Counselor and Walt Morlok as Second Counselor. I also decided to call Vince Jenkins as our Executive Secretary and Galen Saunders as Secretary. These names have now been cleared by Bishop Davis and by the Stake Presidency and High Council. Elders Quorums don't usually have Executive Secretaries but, partly because of my work schedule and mostly because it seemed like a good idea, we got approval to proceed.

Monday

It's Monday. I usually have Mondays off, but today my boss is in training (all week actually) and we need to get our Section's days off reviewed and approved for the next deployment period. So here I am working a couple of hours of overtime on my thirtieth wedding anniversary. I've got to suddenly do something else right now.

Now it's Tuesday. I handled yesterday - nothing noteworthy - and went home to my bride. On the way, I stopped and got a nice potted rose bush with beautiful red roses and a couple of nice cards. One was kind of funny and the other romantic.

I think the rose was a bad idea, because when I got home, we decided to just work in the garden (plant the rose, etc.) instead of going somewhere else. You know, just a quiet day of puttering around the house. Eight hours later I was dog tired and saying to myself, "I got to go to work so I can get some rest." We pruned the big pear tree. Big, big job. Then we had to figure out how to deal with the branches, etc. I don't know why I say "WE" because I really mean "I".

Actually it was satisfying and it felt good to get the work done.

This morning Laura and Rob Jackson from Louisville, Ky. were here and wanted to know if we could do breakfast. So I took my lunch break early and met everyone at Bake and Broil on Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach. Laura is probably Cathy's dearest friend. They are very sister-like and it's fun to see them get together. Rob and I have gotten to be pretty good friends too. So it was enjoyable. Actually I really hated to have to return to work, but that is still something I have to do.

The Jacksons used to live in Long Beach, but moved to the Louisville vicinity a couple of years ago fo a variety of non-fascinating reasons. We have visited them from time to time and become somewhat facinated with that part of the country ourselves. For one thing, by my calculations you can get roughly ten times the house there for the same money you'd spend here. In other words, a home purchased in the greater Louisville area for four hundred thousand dollars might easily be worth four million inan equivalent area in Southern California. While that might be just a little generous, it's close. So, we sell here, take our four hundred grand in equity and by a little nicer place in Kentucky.

There are many other reasons too. There's a Temple in Louisville, two stakes, an international airport, and it's centrally located to the eastern half of the USA - an area we would love to explore.

I mentioned Deployment Periods earlier. This is the operational month for the Los Angeles Police Department. Each Deployment Period (DP) is 28 days and they start on a Sunday. There are two pay periods in each DP. The DPs are numbered throughout the year and next Sunday will be the beginning of DP 10-07 (the 07 being the year). There are thirteen DPs in a year.

Not that I'm counting, but DP 8 of 2008, ends on August 16, 2008. That will be my last DP on the job, so I have twelve DPs left. y then, I will have worked 439 Deployment periods for LAPD. Seems like yesterday.

July 24, 1986

This is a transcription of an entry from a previous journal. It's long, but it' was written in one day.

I suppose that July 24th (Pioneer Day) is as good a day as any to begin my journal of current activities anew.

I have been trying, albeit very intermittently, to write my life's history.

Last Sunday I was assigned to speak in Sacrament meeting on the subject of Pioneers. The reason I was given this opportunity was my pioneer heritage. I Do have an extensive pioneer heritage and I chose to talk about my Great Grandfather, Francis Marion Lyman. In 1848, at the ripe young age of eight, he drove an ox team and wagon across the plains to Salt Lake Valley. One of the most telling stories of this adventure was when the team was about to cross a particularly rugged creek in the mountains east of Salt Lake. The men insisted that he give up the reins to an older driver to get the team and the wagon across the creek. This resulted in a near catastrophe as the wagon was severly damaged. Francis Marion privately believed that he could have successfully maneuvered the wagon safely to the other side if they had let him. He eventually died in 1916 while serving as President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

He had three wives, the second of which was Clara. One of Clara's daughters was my paternal grandmother, Lucy. Lucy was eventually married to George Partridge, my Grandfather.

In 1917, the year after Francis Marion Lyman's death, my father was born to George and Lucy and was given the name, Francis Marion Partridge.

While researching my talk, I learned something of journals. Francis Marion Lyman wrote extensively in his journals. He apparently learned this from his father, Amasa Mason Lyman (also an Apostle) who wrote 43 volumes. Francis Marion Lyman reportedly wrote more than his father but used fewer volumes. So I'm motivated to write my journal.

Dates, prices, details and places will probably be of great interest to future readers so I will try to be informative in those areas.

I am a policeman. To use the current vernacular, I'm a motorcycle cop for the Los Angeles Police Department. My current salary is $760 per week. When I first became a policeman in San Leandro, California an April, 1969, I earned about that much a month.

I am assigned a motorcycle which is owned by the City and which I may ride back and forth from home to work. This is a nice benefit since the City pays for the motorcycle, its upkeep and gasoline.

The salary I mentioned above was effective as of July 1, 1984. We haven't had a salary adjustment in over two years even though we normally receive an adjustment each July 1st. We are getting an adjustment of 5% for last year and another 5% for this which means my new salary will be about $836 a week. Not bad for a High School graduate. I mention the figures for historical purposes only.

A Brief History:
Born: January 2, 1946
Married: September 10, 1977, to Cathleen Madison (She joined the Church as a convert earlier that year)
Step Sons:
Cathy had been married to Larry Pacheco and had two sons by that marriage. Michael Scott Pacheco and Kevin Matthew Pacheco.

Michael, who was eight at the time Cathy and I got married, very badly wanted to be with his dad and to this day has preferred to not be apart of our family.

Kevin is a superior young man who I think the world of. He is our oldest son (excluding Mike). He is fourteen years old and has been sealed to us in the Temple as Kevin Matthew Partridge.

Besides Mike and Kevin, Cathy and I have had two additional sons, Jacob Edward Partridge (age 8) and Adam Grant Partridge (age 6).

Cathy is the Stake Home Making Leader in Relief Society. She has served as a Home Making Counselor in the Ward Relief Society.

I was Executive Secretary of the Ward for a time but had to be released due to my difficult work schedule.


Our Ward meets in a building on Woodruff Avenue in Long Beach. We moved into the Ward about five years ago. At that time, it was Lakewood Second Ward and James Lamont Wright was the Bishop.

We moved into our home (6031 E. Wardlow Road, Long Beach, Ca) in October 1983. We had been renting a home on Radnor but bought this home for $115,000. The price was about average, but the house is a little bigger than average.

When Bishop Dan Davis was called we were still Lakewood Second Ward, Long Beach East Stake. After a few months, I was called as Executive Secretary. Then our Ward was changed to Long Beach 18th Ward but the boundaries remained the same.

When we bought our house, we didn't have very much money. In fact my Mother and Father Gave us the down payment. We had a little money but mom and dad contributed the lion's share. Anyway, because our down payment was relatively small (10%) we had to get a variable rate loan in order to handle the payments. What that means is that even though our interest rate is 14%, our payments for the first year were based on 9%. I don't remember the payments but they were manageable (somewhere around $1,000 per month). The problem was they were going to go up each year. Plus the amount we owed was going up due to negative amortization. After two years our payments were over $1,200 and due to hit $1,300 + this November. Also, when we bought the house, we owed $104,000. Now we owe $115,000.

That was the problem. I was hoping and praying that the value of the house would go up and interest rates would come down. Without those two things happening we were going to have to become renters again.

Interest rates have fallen to 10% and so we had the house appraised and it came in at $152,000. Our prayers were answered. we re-financed with a fixed rate loan and our payments won't ever go up again.

The money I earn by being a policeman doesn't cover our expenses. So we have a choice - Cathy goes to work, or I work extra jobs. Cathy likes to stay home. Our sons like her to be home and I honestly prefer that she be at home. So I work extra jobs.

One of my favorite jobs is working at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. I work in the box office for the Raiders and for USC Football. I get to be where a lot of fun things are happening and get paid pretty good money for it.

At the moment, I'm sitting in a bowling alley - the Eldorado - on Lincoln Blvd. near Manchester in Westchester. I also work at the Aztec Bowling Alley on Beach Blvd in Buena Park. These are very boring jobs and they don't pay very well ($10 and hour). So when I decided to get busy on my journal I decided to write in it while I'm working. The people in charge don't mind. Most of these extra jobs are consistent in that we (as policemen) are paid for being present and being able to take action if needed.

This is an unusually busy week for me but we are short of money due to a wonderful vacation we just took. I worked nine hours on Sunday, five on Monday, five on Tuesday, five today and I will work five hours on Saturday plus my regular forty hours at LAPD. This is unusual, though.

The vacation we just took lasted three weeks. We spent two nights at the Grand Canyon and three nights at Yellowstone Lake Hotel. There were large, cut throat trout in the lake but we were there just before fishing season began. We saw lots of Bison, elk, antelope and even a bear.

The condo at Lake Tahoe was the highlight of the trip. We had a private beach, swimming pools and we didn't have to drive anywhere. Cathy and I took the Harrah's Shuttle to the casinos a couple of times. We saw Sammy Davis Jr. in concert at the South Shore Room.

Well, it's getting late. Six pages (handwritten) is a pretty good start. I'll be writing more this Saturday night I imagine. Until then...

Real Time

It's Labor Day and it's hot! I think this is the longest hottest stretch I can remember since I came back to Southern California nearly 33 years ago.

We have made a decision to get air conditioning in our home next spring. We may never use it because we hope to move next summer, but it should increase the marketability of our house.

We suffered through a long, hot Sunday yesterday.

Today we are going wherever we can to be cool. Beach (we know of some out of the way spots that are cool and seldom visited). South Coast Plaza (huge shopping center in Irvine). and maybe a movie if we can find one that isn't revolting and/or disgusting.

We are very happy for Jake and Meredith. She seems to really love him. Like me, he recognizes that this one quality (plus she's obviously attractive and has many other fine qualities) is the single most important one in a marriage relationship. And, he reciprocates. Saturday, he almost single handedly moved Meredith from one location to another and that was a chore. He used my pick up truck and had to make four or five trips. I helped a little but he did about 98% of the real work. And when it was all over... they seemed to still be in love. So I guess this is going to happen. Oh, did I mention they are getting married on November 10th (2007) in the Utah Timpanogos Temple?

We are also happy for Adam and Myisha. She has worked and worried for a long time about getting a career going in teaching. She is very excited that it is now happening. She will have twenty little third graders to teach and they can't begin to know ho lucky they are. She is such a loving, caring, classy woman. the whole package. She will not only teach but set a great example for her kids.

Adam seems to be nearing his goal of becoming a U.S. Navy Attorney. I don't know if there is such a thing as a Judge Advocate, but since he will be entering the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, I assume he will have some supernumeric title. He's earned it. Graduated from Long Beach Poly where he was a member of the Southern Section Champion Basketball team and, far more importantly, elected Mr. Jack Rabbit by his co-students. He then served a mission in Hiroshima, Japan, and graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a degree in history. Now he's finishing up his final year at Santa Clara University Law School.

Being a Navy Attorney won't make him a lot of money, but it should give him a lot of pride and satisfaction. It's very hard to get into that position - the men and women who are there are highly respected and admired.

Kevin and Kim. Well, they're just two of the finest people I know. More on them later.

Dad, Background

My dad, Francis Marion Partridge, was born 0n March 16, 1917, in Salt Lake City. His dad, George, was the grandson of Bishop Edward Partridge, the first bishop called in the latter days. His mom, Lucy Lyman Partridge was the daughter of Francis Marion Lyman, Apostle, and the grand daughter of another Apostle, Amassa Mason Lyman.

Quite a pedigree. However, I have found that you have to live your own life, learn your own lessons, develop your own character and find your own testimony.

Mom and dad got married on a December 26, back in the 1930s, in Berkeley, California. The ceremony took place in the home of Glen Harmon, my mother's uncle.

When we lived in Alhambra, California, my dad was working for the Southern California Gas Company in the Gas Company Building on Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles. Dad used to take the "Red Car" - the old Pacific Electric Railroad that ran all over Southern California - to work. I frequently walked up to Huntington Drive to meet his train in the evenings. Sometimes, usually on Fridays, he brought me a treat of some kind.

In about 1956 (I think), dad went to work for Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corporation (PNPC). PNPC was a subsidiary of the El Paso Natural Gas Company, headquartered in texas. PNPC was established solely for the purpose of constructing a natural gas pipeline from Texas to the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, Washington, et al). Up until then, there was no natural gas in those areas except propane.

Dad had to work in Texas for a few months, but would soon be based in Salt Lake City. Mom and my sisters and I moved (drove) to Salt Lake before I entered the fifth grade. Dad had been in Texas.

The day we got there, dad told me I could go on a business trip with him the very next day. We flew to Pocatello, Idaho on a Frontier Airlines DC 3 (my first ever airplane flight). At Pocatello we checked out a PNPC car. Dad had to inspect the pipeline between Pocatello and somewhere in southeastern Utah. All I remember is we had a great time.

Dad was always a good dad and a good husband. I always knew that mom and dad loved each other. Dad was also always a solid Priesthood holder and active member of the church. He always set a great example for me and I sometimes did a good job following his example.

Dad passed away nearly four years ago. He was eight six and had lived a good life.