24

What a wild ride for twenty four years.
Evan loves birthdays and he loves a party - his brother Brigham and roomate Stuart know how to throw them, they hosted some 40+ people for the event. Music by Selena Gomez and Justin Berber was a natural setting. Presents of music and posters of the same made it even better. They partied for a couple of hours to Evan's delight. The next morning he went skiing at sundance then flew up (the pilot and stewards both announced his birhtday over the speaker system), to Seattle for a long weekend visit with brigham to Oliver and Kristin. Grateful for all he can do, enjoy, and the many people who help along the way.

The Jersey

Of late Mackey, Brigham and Evan have taken to wearing my sweaters as it is in vogue to wear ugly sweaters and make a mockery of my historic good taste. That which was tastefully has been rendered cliché and cool in its tackiness.Obviously I'm deeply flattered. Evan in looking for an old sweater of mine , in fact, came across an old sweater of his - affectionately called The Jersey.

The Jersey goes back in TV history - The story-line basically was four teens who discover the magic of "the jersey", a mystical football jersey that transports them into the bodies of professional athletes. This is done in a way similar to the way that the main character in Quantum Leap, Sam, travels from body to body, and there is a different athlete featured in every episode. It showed in the early 2002 - 3 time framework and it was Evan's favorite show. He just knew if he could get The Jersey that he, Evan, could be transported into professional sports.


So, being the enterprising father that I am ; I called up the Producer of The Jersey at Disney and asked if they sold replicas of the sweater. After explaining Evan's situation to him, he decided to send me one of their props - pictured above. The Christmas present was bitter sweet. Evan, while tickled pink and excited to get the sweater was quite disappointed to discover that it didn't work.


But the magic is still there today. And it fits him a little better.

Sing a little bit longer

Music has been deeply engraved in the lives of Rindy and I since our youth; and it has played a significant ongoing role in our family. Surprisingly, at least to us, only two of the kids participated in choir during high school – Evan and Parker. Both had spectacular experiences. (One of their shared directors Dale Cruze leads one of this season’s best Holiday Flash Mobs –

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And, to date, only one has participated in college – Evan. He grateful had the opportunity to participate in the BYU University Choral with his second cousin Mariah Wilson as one of the conductors / directors. Evan loves to sing though truth be told he has an incredibly limited range, perhaps only matched by my father.

Nonetheless, he was able to participate when the BYU University Chorale sang at the BYU Dec 6^th Devotional. We watched it, teary –eyed and full of gratitude on BYU internet TV live and hope to post it here if I can find a copy of it.

The Singer or The Song

Musically there is a debate that rages in THE circles as to which is more key or essential. The Singer or The Song. AT times the song being sung reveals the deep inner vision of the singer's souls. At times a song is just a song. Do the great hits from High School Musical reveal an inner truth of Evan. Or is the fact he loves to sing the inner truth. One day we will know.

In the meantime the follwoing story comes from church last ngiht. Mike Lyons had been out in Provo during the week visiting his daughter Sarah. They were in her apartment visiting when a wailing sound penetrated the air from the outside. Sarah looke d at her watch and said - "It must be 4pm"

She parts the curtains and there blissfully walking down the street is Evan. He has his earphones on , his walkman in hand and is singing at the top of his lungs along to the song. My guess is from HSM or one of his favorite boy bands. Evan loves to sing; and when he sings he enters into a world of his own. Sarah commented you could set your watch by Evan coming down the sidewalk singing. he is a creature of habit. She is one of many kind people in Evan's ward who support and sustain him.Accurately Evan's singing does sound more like a wail or call to prayer.

As a side note. Brigham had a similar experience a year or two ago identifying Evan going , out of sight down a stairway but certainly not of of sound. As a side note from a journal entry in Mach 2005 - Ev has a concert tonight.  If he doesn’t sing too loud tonight he might be able to go to competition next week, too loud, he stays at school.  

 And the answer is The Singer.

The Tip

Infrequently Evan will call me during the middle of the day at work. Usually his midday calls are to mom and he calls me after hours. If he fails in connecting with Rindy and has a question he calls. Friday at work the phone rings close to to the end of the day, and it is Evan. He has a question and needs some help. The situation: He is at Brick Oven

in Provo and has a math issue. How much do you tip when you have a bill of $10.44? A great question. Good in so many ways. He is off dining on his own; he knows how to read a bill; he knows he should tip; he wants to do it right.

The conversation goes as follows.
How much is the bill
$10.44; what tip
I think $1.50 would be an appropriate amount.
Thanks
What is the t.o.t.a.l. - spelled out by Evan
How much is 1.50 and $10.44?
Can you add it for me
$11.94
Where do you have the period?
In the middle.
Read the number to me
One One Period Nine Four
That's right
Thanks dad
Need anything else - No talk to you later

He keeps growing and learning; its amazing. Another Evan Experience

Happy Birthday

 A significant life, with significant achievement, and with significant impact.

It is interesting to recall the fear and trepidation of those first uncharted days, not knowing what we could dream or what even we should dream. He has surpassed and altered our expectations all along the road. For that we have many to thank. Thanks to doctors and nurses, to teachers and aides, to friends and neighbors, to classmates and teammates, to brothers and sisters, to angels and God, and an incredibly tenacious and visionary mother. Twenty three years ago who would of thought that during his birthday week in 2011 he would: attend classes at BYU, work in the Athletic department, attend and work in the Temple, live 1,300 miles away from his parents, be roommates with Stuart, have 50+ people attend his birthday party, go skiing at Park City. None of that was on our radar. All of that happened this week.

Grateful for a great birthday of a great guy.

Love that Evan!

The Temple

I have been considering the Temple as we discuss and work preparing Evan to enter therein for his own endowments. He has gone through the old and new versions of Temple preparation classes; he has gone and participated in that which he already can; we have pondered and prayed; and we have discussed with others. In the process two conversations have struck me most profoundly, one with my father and one with the bishop.

First as to father. He and I were discussing thoughts on the ordinances and he commented: “ As I have aged in recent years many things have left me, however, the temple has never left me”. It harkened me to several writings one from Elder Bednar: The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house. 

Another that predates that by Elder Maxwell: They may even pass through our holy temples, but, alas, they do not let the holy temples pass through them.

Father has the had the temple pass through him and as such it has changed and filled his heart, and has not left him. Though his age and health precludes regular attendance at this point, the temple is ever with him. He has “his tent facing the Temple” and has made it central to his learnings and personal revelation. Nibley proposes that this is our objective individually and collectively as societies. Civilization is hierocentric, centered around the holy point of the temple. The temple was certainly the center of things in Babylonia, in Egypt, in Greece—wherever you go. This was certainly so in pioneer Utah. This pattern descended, of course, from ancient times to the Latter-day Saint church. He goes on to explain how it is the wellspring of all learning. And clearly the proliferation of Temples in our day would reinforce his thinking.

This latter point was center to my discussion with my Bishop; I was concerned if Evan had sufficient mental capacity to grasp the temple. He spoke of his relative unlearned state as a 19 year old when he first attended, and how repetition and time have been great teachers and expanders of his understanding. Nibley speaks that: Ordinances are not the fullness of the gospel. Going to the temple is like entering into a laboratory to confirm what you have already learned in the classroom and from the text. The fullness of the gospel is the understanding of what the plan is all about—the knowledge necessary to salvation. You know the whys and wherefores; for the fullness of the gospel you go to Nephi, to Alma, to Moroni. Then you will enter into the lab, but not in total ignorance.

That Evan will learn similarly through repetition and time is certain – but – the Lord’s greatest concern for any who go to the temple is not their understanding but their worthiness. That Evan is worthy is the question and central to ability to attend. That question of worthiness is what should be most central to our daily lives and that such worthiness is our primary goal in striving to return to Heavenly Father.

(Dad and I then spoke of sealing sessions back in his day, of polish families waiting to be dealt with as families and not inventory – another story for another day)