This week following both an earthquake shaking the ground in Japan and a hurricane pounding the east coast, I am reminded how very lucky I have been when it comes to escaping natural disasters, and that I have not experienced anything too frightening or catastrophic. I have never been through a hurricane or tornado, nor do I ever want to be in one, although, I have been in a few earthquakes, windstorms, and even a volcanic eruption. 

Mount St. Helens ~ May 18, 1980

In actuality, I need to go back a few months earlier to March, and I was sitting in Math class when another student ran into the room hollering, "Mount St. Helens had just erupted." Of course, the image conjured up in my mind was that of hot molten lava oozing out of the crater. What a disappointment it was when I watched the evening news and saw it was only a little steam cloud and ash coming out of a vent. However, St. Helens did not disappoint for long and at 8:32am on a partly cloudy Sunday morning on May 18, following a small series of earthquakes the north face of the mountain violently exploded. The collapse of the northern flank of St. Helens mixed with ice, snow, and water created lahars (volcanic mudflows). These lahars flowed many miles down the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers, destroying bridges and logging camps.

We lived in West Linn, a suburb south of Portland, Oregon at the time, and the family was on our way to church, when we witnessed several cars pulled off to the side of the road. We stopped to see what everyone was gawking at and saw a large mushroom-shaped column of ash thousands of feet in the sky. The dark gray clouds appeared to be seeking supremacy as one climbed on top of the other. The eruption continued for eight hours, and the ash circled the globe and turned day into night. In addition, the once perfectly cone shaped mountain which resembled an ice cream cone, now looked like someone had licked the top off. 

The Nisqually Earthquake ~ February 28, 2001

At 10:54am, I was out visiting friends not too far from home when the ground began to shake violently. At first, I didn’t think much of it for I had grown up in California and had experienced earthquakes; however, it only took a second or two to realize this one was big and it shook for 45 long seconds. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake was one of the largest recorded earthquakes in Washington state history. Although areas around Seattle and Olympia suffered damage, the damage and loss of life was minimal, because the quake was at a depth of 32 miles. I have no doubt if the epicenter were closer to the surface, it would have been catastrophic. The only damage to our house was a busted hot water tank. 

Worried about Michael, who suffered from anxiety, I swung by the grade school to check on him, and found he had been comforting other children. The photo is a picture of the road that buckled and collapsed not far from our house. I have video of Michael standing in one of the cracks. 

Hanukkah Eve Windstorm ~ December 14, 2006

A powerful storm slammed into the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and southern British Columbia between December 14th and 15th. The storm produced hurricane force wind gusts and heavy rainfall. Wind gusts were as high as 70 to 100 mph. Our road looked like a war zone with hundreds of tree limbs littering the street and fallen trees downed power lines. We huddled in our house for three days without electricity and school had been canceled because there was no power. Actually, I was thankful, it only took three days for the power to come back on—we initially been told it would take a week. I was also grateful on several accounts, first we bought a generator the evening before the storm (even though we had never bought one before), and second, we had removed several large fir trees in the front yard only weeks earlier. Our property suffered minimal damage, although a tree crushed our trailer. 

Mammoth Lake Earthquake ~ May 27, 1980

Not long after the eruption of St. Helens, we were camping in Yosemite National Park in California, where we heard the mountain had blown again. Because of the direction the wind was blowing, this time Portland was hit with a heavy layer on soot and ash. We laughed because we thought we had missed all the drama. Then sitting down for breakfast at the Yosemite Lodge, I looked up to see the chandlers sway from side to side, and heard a loud rumbling. A 6.1 quake shock the valley floor and caused falling rock, landslides, and shattered nerves. Authorities closed the trails and a series off earthquakes closed the park. We left our vacation early to head back home to ash covered roofs and cars. 

I was a late bloomer, which was okay with me, because I was not looking forward to becoming a woman. I was too busy being a Tomboy and playing soccer. Moreover, I certainly did not want to talk about it either, yet my parents always seemed to choose when we went out to dinner to talk to my sisters and I about the "birds and the bees." This would cause my sisters and I to become flushed, while we slouched lower in our seats, glancing around the restaurant making sure no one was listening. “Mom. Really? Here?”

However, every bud must come to flower and it seemed I ‘bloomed’ over night. I had abnormally enlarged breasts, not proportionate to my height and weight at all.  I was very tall and very thin. And how I loathed and detested them. I hated how they interfered with me playing soccer. I would run and they would bounce up and down on their own. I couldn’t run without them punching me in the face. It was hard buttoning shirts and I tired to hide them in bulky sweaters and oversized t-shirts. I hated how I was teased. I would overhear the other girls in the locker room laughing, and could hear them say, “You know she stuffs her bra.”  The boys were not much better. “Nice rack” or “Good looking melons.”  I felt like a freak and wished they weren’t so noticeable. In addition, although I was only 13 or 14 ,I knew eventually gravity would eventually take over and did not look forward to the day my breasts would droop to my knees.

Then when I was a freshman in college, a few weeks before the holidays, my parents asked what I wanted for Christmas and I surprised them both and myself by telling them I wanted a ‘boob job.’

My parents agreed and looked into the cost of the surgery and discovered the procedure would be covered by insurance, as medically necessary, so over Christmas break I had my breasts reduced. A friend’s father, who was a plastic surgeon, did the procedure, and I was back to school after winter break.

I have never regretted having them done. He did a wonderful job; I was even able to breastfeed my boys. I am also grateful for the loss of the additional strain on my back and neck, having been recently diagnosed with arthritis in my lower back. I can’t image what the extra weight would be doing to me now.

One of my favorite lines from Scarecrow and Mrs. King is “walk with me” because it implies so much. The first words Lee said to Amanda and turned out to mean much more then he ever thought. Neither knew how much both their lives would change after she agreed to walk with him, sticking by him through thick and thin.

No ones path is without hardship and heartache. It is often an uphill climb. In addition, we can’t predict what our challenges will be, because our moves are not scripted like a television show. Our journey is made up of many steps, yet we can heed the warning signs: rough road ahead, slow down, watch for falling rock, the path will be straight and narrow.

Last summer, my eldest son participated in Trek, a four-day, 28-mile reenactment of the trip west made by some of the early Mormon pioneers pushing handcarts.  The purpose of Trek is for the youth to gain a deeper appreciation of the principles of faith, obedience, and sacrifice. Dressed in pioneer garb they pushed and pulled handcarts over dusty trails in sweltering heat with no modern conveniences. Their theme this year was Walk with Me.

“Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.” (Moses 6:34)

The same is true when we choose to walk with the Savior. One of my favorite passages is the enduring poem, Footprints in the Sand, because it gives me hope and touches my heart. The Lord carries each of our burdens, pain and disappointments upon Himself.  It is nice to know when our burdens are too great the Lord is carrying us and our burdens will be light if we choose to just walk with Him. 

No, I am not thinking the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet—in my opinion, the best couple ever is Scarecrow and Mrs. King’s Lee and Amanda. There are three reasons why I believe Lee and Amanda are the best couple ever; these reasons are fate, chemistry, and the natural progression of their relationship.

To begin with, I am firm believer in fate. On a train platform swarming with people, Lee grabbed Amanda from the crowd. Why her? And why did she agree to take the package? In addition, if she had been able to pass the package, their paths most likely would have never crossed again. Was it destiny? Yes, they were meant to be together. Moreover, what is more romantic then meeting your soulmate at a train station? The train symbolizes a journey—perhaps into a new facet of life, or a new relationship. It symbolizes a powerful force that is guiding like fate. A chance encounter at a train station changed both their lives.

The second reason, I believe Lee and Amanda are the best couple ever is their chemistry. I don’t think any couple from any television series had more chemistry then Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson. They were never supposed to become a couple. In fact, in the original pilot script Amanda was married to Dean. How different the show would have been if Amanda was sneaking out on her husband, instead of my mother and sons and spending her evenings with the handsome spy.  However, from the very beginning, there was an instant spark, unresolved sexual tension, and as a fan of the characters, I wanted to see them get together. Lee and Amanda were the first television characters I shipped. Shipping is derived from the word relationship. It is the belief two characters have romantic feelings towards each other and these feelings will lead to a potential relationship. Which leads into the third reason I believe Lee and Amanda are the best couple ever, the natural progression of their relationship.

One of the reasons I do not care for television today is the loose morals. How couples hop into bed without the development of being a couple first. Therefore, I could not care whether they stay together or not. Lee and Amanda’s relationship was slower, therefore more natural. Both coming from different worlds; he is Lee Stetson, one of the top federal agents in the country, a risk taker, a rule breaker, looking for the quick thrill, whether running in with the gun or cheap one-night stands. She is Amanda King, a homemaker, divorced mother of two small boys, whose days are filled with little league, Junior Trailblazers, bake sells, and PTA meeting. Lee thought of Amanda as an untrained civilian, a nuisance, a homemaker having no business being involved in the world of espionage. She thought of Lee as a skirt-chaser, insufferable, and ungrateful, yet what do they say about opposites attracting. Slowly Lee began to trust Amanda and began to rely on her instructs, and Amanda was able to see behind the ‘Scarecrow’ mask to find a caring, sensitive man, who would even risk treason for her. Reluctant partners brought together by an unlikely ‘emergency’, coworkers to partners, friends to best friends, strangers to falling in love with each other. Both believing they were content in their own worlds, neither looking for the other, yet a moment of desperation led to the ultimate declaration of love. It was pure magic!

For these reasons, I believe Lee and Amanda are the best couple ever. Their relationship has always given me contentment, warm fuzzies, and intense joy.

I’m disappointed I have to rant about a business I raved about less than a year ago, yet a big thumbs down to Northwest Running Boards in Portland, Oregon. 

Living near Puget Sound we often have to deal with thick, dense fog, and of course rain, so for safety reasons I had fog lights installed on my F-150 pick-up truck last fall. 

However, earlier this week, I had to drive to Portland to see what Northwest Running Boards would do about my fog lights--the lights they installed got too hot and melted the lens. The company unfortunately  did nothing and wanted me to pay another $250 dollars to install new lights, which would have also required a second trip to Oregon since they had none in stock. They told me it must have been our fault, because we must have left the lights on. Five hours wasted driving to and from. . . and I still have melted fog lights and dealing with a company not committed to standing by it’s craftsmanship. 

I have spent over $2000 at this business: running boards, spray-on bed liner, air bag suspension, window guards, bug shield, and the fog lights and this is how they treat a costumer. Sorry they have lost my business forever!!

Update: I think I may know what happened. I stopped off at the Ford dealer to get an oil change this afternoon and after I paid, I walked out to the truck and saw the fog lights on. I opened the door and reached over to toggle off the switch, but it was off, so either there's a faulty switch or bad wiring. . . wonder if this is what has been draining the truck battery, too. Now again, I ask does this sound like the fault of the customer?