Landmark: Blog

It is an interesting dichotomy that there is always an opposite in every thing. Christmas was unusually delightful this year, with everyone gathered in Illinois. Especially charming was a visit from Texas of my niece’s family, including her three “small fry’s” - a 4 year-old, 2 year-old, and 6 month-old. Naturally, there was the exhilarating excitement typical of the bright-eyed imagination of little ones. We had such entertainment in their busy motions, curious chatter, and wondrous amazement. Although a calm, quiet, reflective Christmas does have it’s advantages, there is nothing comparable to the energy of a Christmas, full of “Santa anticipation,” and then followed by the optimism of a sensational new year.
But as the saying goes (although not completely accurate), all good things must come to an end. And I had a surprisingly abrupt end on January 13, when my father slipped on the winter ice and broke his hip. The contrast of youthful invincibility with elderly [...]

Beverly Landgren Waite, age 87, peacefully passed away at her home, after a brief illnesss. She was surrounded by her husband and their four sons, with their families. Beverly was the daughter of Swedish immigrants, Arthur and Bertha Carlson Landgren. She grew up in Rockford, Illinois, along with her sister Shirley Mae, and brother John David (my father). Her humor and wit was evident from an early age. She charmed her family, friends and all those with whom she came in contact at home, in school, and throughout her life.
She was an outstanding student, an avid tennis player, and a dedicated musician. She devoted her life to her family, her community, and to her Church. She and her husband presided over the missionary work in Paris, France, Ivory Coast, West Africa, Lausanne, Switzerland, Brussels, Belgium, and Metz, France. They also served in temples in Switzerland, Chicago, and Utah. She was an avid geneologist, having prepared thousands of names of her Swedish ancestors. [...]

"I am not defined by my government. I AM defined by the Constitution", www.GBTV.com. There is concern, as of late, that bad policy is contributing to the instability of the US and the world. We would hope that good policy could effect their stabilization but sadly, the opposite seems to be occurring. It is a legitimate concern, when government agencies run around targeting private companies, invading and criminalizing them. One has to wonder and begin to question whether such harassment is for political reasons or merely the result of certain agencies becoming too big, bloated, and run amuck with unrestrained power. Sometimes thoughts of the more nefarious kind come to mind, even though those thoughts are quickly exiled, in hopes of convincing ourselves that the unimaginable could never be happening. Why would anyone intentionally want to harm the country? http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/
Yes, all this talk of creating jobs [...]

Happy Birthday, all you October babies! I love October. When I was a little girl, I looked forward to the end of the month, which was not only the coming of Halloween, but my Dad’s birthday, as well, on Halloween. All month long, I got excited for the costume I would choose and prepare (actually my Mom prepared it and saved the stickers for me to place on it.) I also planned and hoped I would receive my Dad’s favorite candy from trick-or-treating, so that I would be able to give him the present he wanted most. He loved the Hershey’s almond bars and the Payday candy bars. After we returned from trick-or-treating, we would dump all our candy on the table and let him pick out his favorites. It was such a fun time, as a kid, because we were too small to think of real birthday presents. We just knew we were able to give him, on our own, the birthday present he really wanted most - all from our own stash of collected candy. At least, his “excitement” convinced us this was the [...]

What a wonderful time to be in London. I wish I were there. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' UK website chronicled the last-minute scramble of hundreds of volunteers to answer the call from the Mayor of London's Office to help in the city clean-up. It was a smashing success & evidently, a good time was had by all who participated. http://www.lds.org.uk/news/article-view/archive/2011/september/article/mormon-helping-hands-launches-the-london-mayors-clean-up-appeal-1/
Actually, I always wish I were in London - ever since I went to Europe, after my first year of college. My sister and I, along with our two cousins, Randy and Tom, bought EuroRail Passes and we road practically everywhere that train would take us. We would plan our sights by day and then plan our trains by night so that we could sleep eight hours before arriving at our intended destination. As you can imagine, this rendered a lot of dirty, cranky teenagers. Then every two-three nights we would break [...]