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Show 2 TIMPANOGOS TIMES March 9, 2011 rmMkn&mnaimHr - 1 - At first we thought it was birds coming from the West part of the lake where we had watched the birds at first be-fore coming up to where the next large number were located. This was not so. They were in-coming birds, probably ready to stop their flight to Canada to rest. The geese travel so far and then they have to stop and rest for a day or two, sometimes more, before they resume their flight north. The lake began to fill with birds. We watched them come in huge numbers from the Southwest, making all kinds of racket as they flew and squawked at the same time. Soon the whole area was filled with birds. The noise was very loud. The storm clouds began to come in. They were dark and gloomy. The birds began to fly by Marcella Walker You've heard from me be-fore in this column about how much I enjoy going to Delta each Spring to see the Snow Geese on their way North, but our visit last week was the best one ever! When we arrived at the res-ervoir where the Snow Geese congregate each year, a large portion of the birds were near the Sherwood Shores .area. However, there was another large number up in the East part of the lake. The number of them were impossible to believe. We go to Delta every year to see the Snow Geese. Delta City holds an annual festival near the end of February or first of March when the Snow Geese are expected to arrive. Many people attend this annual event. On the day we went there were only a couple of cars there with sight-seer- s. Of course, some people live around the lake all year long. We saw one man come out of his house with his fishing gear. He walked to the lake which was directly be-hind his home. He put bait on the end of two fishing poles and put the poles in a tall metal can, adjusted them to his liking, and then he went back in the house. I guess he checks the fish lines in a while to see if anything is caught. Anyway, we watched the birds in both locations for quite a long time. Suddenly, a huge number of geese began coming in from the West. There was so many in spots that you could not see the sky. They began to land on the lake near the East end where we were watching from our car. from the water to the shore on the Northeast side. The shore was a rather good distance high-er than the water. By the hun-dreds they flew up to the ground above the lake, packing them-selves close together to protect from the oncoming storm. "BLAB" continued on Page 3 Thoughts From The Garden... by Tonya LeMone "The family is one of nature's masterpieces." George Santayana I have always had this wonderful vision of family silting around the dinner table, father at the head of the table and mother, in her apron, at the other end with all the children gathered in between eating and sharing the events of the day. Even when 1 was very young, this was my dream and my hope to someday have a family that gathered at the table, had family vacations, went to church together, celebrated every holiday and birthday together. For many, this was the key clement to the American Dream. When 1 was young, this American Dream was not the case. It was very different from what I had imagined life to be like. I was adopted at the age of four after spending some time in a foster home with a dreadfully mean lady named Annie along with her mean daughters and the constant smell of greasy fried potatoes wafting through the shanty of a house. I am not even sure where I slept, but 1 did know this was an awful situation. Then my life changed overnight. A man and a woman, who were unable to have children, adopted my brother and me. I can still recall that very first day in our new beautiful home. My little brother and I were scared. He was so scared he didn't talk for several months so I spoke for him. I remember walking in to the most beautiful big house I had ever seen and taken to a room and told it was my very own bedroom. Then I was told the dresser in that very room was mine and the clothes in the dresser were also mine. I was overcome by excitement. Could my American dream be coming true? I remember the smell of the new clothes as though it were yesterday and to this day new clothing takes me back to one of the happiest days of my life. The smell of the new wood on that new dresser they had purchased just for me is as familiar a smell as the smell of the first day of Spring. It seemed I had found the dream I had always hoped for. We lived happily for many years then tragedy struck again and my parents divorced. Once again the family dream vanished as quickly as it came. My father raised me from that day on with the help of my granduother and some of the best aunties anyone could have. The summer "exchanges" took place every year between my brother and myself, but I still held on to the hope and the dream of the family I could only imagine now. I went away to college and found the man of my dreams and that family dream finally came to pass for me. We have six children and ten grandchildren, with the father at the head of the table and mother, in her apron at the other end with a plethora of children and grandchildren in between eating and discussing the events of the day. ' Because I was adopted, I have never had a birth certificate and prior to the events of 9-- 1 !, documents verifying ones identification was not a critical matter, so there was really little or no need for me to have a birth certificate. Because of the events of 9-- 1 1 and a birth certificate is required for renewal of a driver's license, I have spent the last months and 15 days trying to acquire a birth certificate. I have sent numerous letters to vital records and county courts and phone conversations with people not really wanting to help me, let alone speak to me, only to finally tell me after a 30 minute wait on the phone there is not a birth certificate with my name at birth or my adopted name. However, I was persistent and with the help of a neighbor pushed forward with determination to find my "roots". Today was a landmark, journal worthy day. In the mail came not only my amended birth certificate with my adopted name, but my original birth certificate with my name at birth. I have always known what my first name was before being adopted, but I had no idea I even had a middle name. With this original birth certificate I now know my birth mother's name, where she was born and how old she was when she gave birth and my actual birth date. . .yes, it is the same date. I was really hoping to be younger! I knowjny birth father's name, which I had a good idea about, but his occupation was listed as "cowhand". This has been an experience hard to explain after all these years. Too often we take for granted the simple life we have, the life without complications or confusion. The life that seems very routine and often mundane and without interruptions. I say to you try the other. You may change your mind and appreciate "from whence you came" even more. What only seemed to ever be just a dream to a little blond curly headed ld turned out to be quite a "Wonderful Life". And to quote a dear friend, "It's the makings of you girl." For now, silting at the head of our table is a father and at the other end mother, in her apron, with the children in between eating and sharing ihe events of the day. See you in the Garden bers. There's more violence and more swearing, more people be-ing rude. There are also great people here, too. There have been nice, kind, wonderful peo-ple, too. But it is all knowledge to me. I've learned about being a mother. Being around a two-year-o- ld is not what I'm use to. But with his family so close and having his little brother around has helped me remember what it takes and see it with new eyes. It has also helped me see him more and more with a child and it makes me so excited and filled with joy knowing how wonderful of a father he is go-ing to be. I've learned about so many things being here. I've grown and opened my eyes to the world around me and married life. It's been a huge blessing to be here and to be married. I love being married. by Marissa Moncayo Learning is something that happens every day. I have found being away from home, being married, being around a differ-ent culture is a learning process. Even if it isn't a different cul-ture, learning to be married is still learning to adapt. Two peo-ple' of different backgrounds, origins, upbringings-marr- y. It is a joyous occasion for you love that person with such depth and feeling. You love them so much you'd gladly die for them. But it is also about opening your eyes and learning to be married, not single. My husband and I spent so much time together everyday in college. We were practically together twenty-fou- r seven, so getting married it would seem not to be too "'different.' How' could it be, when we were to-gether all the time, it was like we had been married forever! But that was not the case. It was amazing and has been the best, but it has also been differ-ent from what I had expected. Learning to be around someone twenty four seven literally is a new thing. I was use to being alone a lot and writing alone, reading alone, having my space. Now it's not the same. We have learned a lot about each other already. We have seen how different we do things. We've had to get use to a new way of doing things. One can-not be stubborn in marriage. It takes two parties to acknowl-edge what the other does, to be grateful and not criticize but uplift and learn together. I've learned a lot about being an adult and what that truly means. It's a lot of work and it's a lot of working together. I've learned a lot about the world. In Utah, it's like our own bubble. Out here I've learned what it's really like to be in a majority of non-me- It's perfect to have that person al-ways there who you can talk to and go to. You are never alone and that is amazing. I love my husband so much! So remember to show your gratitude for your spouse and let them know that they are loved and when things are tough, don't criticize, but be patient, loving and uplifting. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I've gained and for my eternal family! "Good Things" - Y i - ' of his DNA. I could see in his philosophy the impact these good people had on his life and the lives of so many other young people in our community. As I interviewed Layne Anderson over breakfast, we had some good laughs about the days he was in school. He said how much he appreciated teachers that really cared about him and didn't see him as just" another WPU. The WPU is the amount of money a school receives for each student. He spoke with such fondness about his experience in FFA under the direction of Wayne Cornaby, who taught welding, small gas engines and agriculture. Mr. Cornaby's students used to call him Uncle Wayne. He was almost like a second father or a favorite uncle to many of these young people. For Lincoln's birthday, I visited elementary schools in our area dressed as President Abraham Lincoln. After finishing with one class, the teacher asked me if I wouldn't go to a school where her friend taught fourth grade. She said that this particular friend loved Lincoln and taught in a school where there were lots of kids in poverty. I agreed. One class soon turned into five classes. As I looked into the eyes of these young people and told them stories from the life of Abraham Lincoln, I thought about how far we have come since Lincoln was a boy or even since he was President of the United States. As I looked into the eyes of the young African American students I thought back to the days they and their family members would have been sold like farm animals. I thought of the days it was illegal for black people to learn to read. Today one is President. I thought of the day Lincoln died. Black people were openly weeping in the streets of Washington D.C. The man who had freed them was dead. That gloomy rainy April morning in Washington was a day of mourning and a day of celebration. Those who hated Lincoln, like John Wilkes Booth, were thrilled with the news of his death. The vast majority of Americans felt great sadness. The wounds of the Civil War were still deep I interviewed Coach Moore in the office he shares with other coaches. He gave me the best chair to sit on. I mentioned in my article about Coach Moore, that he had been crowned state champ in his junior year. What I did not mention was that in his senior year, he brought home the bronze medal. He knew the thrill of victory as well as the agony of defeat. I was impressed with how he teaches the boys to set goals and work for them. When I walked into his weight training class you could sense the order in the classroom. There was a place for everything and everything was in its place. Students were on task. Even with all the success Coach Moore has enjoyed, many people noted how humble he was but when it came to wrestling and his classroom, he was very much in charge. It was clear that those who had coached Coach Moore over the years had made a positive impact on his life. In a sense, they had become part by Mark Bezzant I was deeply touched by my interviews with wrestling Coach Moore and IFA President Layne Anderson. Both were products of Pleasant Grove schools and this community. As I was leaving the high school, I visited with several people, including the new principal at Pleasant Grove High. After my interview with Layne Anderson I returned to the yearbook archives in Pleasant Grove High. and the nation was deeply divided. As I left the last school, I looked up at the American flag that hung from the beautiful flag pole in front of the school, 50 stars, one nation. A relative of Lincoln's had looked at him in his crib and declared that little Abe would never amount "Bezzant" continued on Page 3 os' r. i TIMPANOGOS TIMES SUBSCRIPTION : , Name: Check Check amount: i Make check payable to "Timpanogos Times " . i Mailing Address: CC 1 1 1 year $40 2 year $77 3 year $113 4 year $152 Exp. Date CC Billing Zip. - : All credit card subscriptions will be shredded ' Mail to: 11 S. Main St. Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 (801) 785-311- 1 timpanogostimesyahoo.com v3v? , |