Gordon, we'll miss you

I lost a brother today, and my world has been diminished. Ever since he joined our family, Gordon Smart has had my love and admiration. He was one of the finest men who has walked this earth. He was a devoted son, a loyal brother, a compassionate father, a devoted husband, a favorite uncle, a good friend and a valiant leader. He was generous and without guile. He was my fishing buddy and my friend. My life has been enriched because of my association with him.

I will miss his corny jokes and his funny stories. I will miss the opportunities to sit and talk with him about his latest fishing trip or the accomplishments of his children. I will miss his phone call on my birthday and the birthday songs he would sing to me. I will miss his wisdom, his sincerity and his humility. I will miss his laugh.

As I struggle with our loss, I can't fathom how his family will deal with their lives without Gordon. I can't find satisfactory answers to my questions of "why now, and why Gordon?", but I have to trust in God's wisdom and hope that my questions will be reconciled. The only comfort I presently have is that Gordon lived his life in such an exemplary way that he will be weighed in the balance and not be found wanting.

I heard a song by Jeff Bates that seems appropriate for how I feel. I've modified a couple of the lines, so my apologies to the songwriter.

If there ever was a morning when the fish might bite, it would be right now.
Any other time we'd have had our lines cast out.
Sippin' on a soda, castin' for those trout,
Why couldn't today be like that?

I wish this was a riverbank instead of a graveyard,
Wish we were sittin' and fishin' and this wouldn't be so hard.
It was my favorite thing that we used to do, but now we can't.
I wish you were here, I wish this was a riverbank.

I remember the day that we were casting out of float tubes.
I got a big bite that almost yanked the pole out of my hand.
Well you jumped up and grabbed a net and we both almost fell in.
Yeah we got wet, but we got him.

I know you wouldn't want me sittin' around being sad.
We both know better than that.
So I'm leaving now and gonna head on out and try to catch a few
and while I'm there I'll cast a few lines for you.

I wish this was a riverbank instead of a graveyard,
wish we were sittin' and fishin' and this wouldn't be so damn hard.
It was my favorite thing that we used to do, but now we can't.
I wish you were here,
I wish you were here,
I wish this was a riverbank.

God bless Gordon Smart, and God bless his family.

Arts and Crafts

I decided I wanted a better knife sheath for my bone-handled hunting knife, and I wanted something to look like it might have belonged to an Indian. I made an inner sheath, then covered it with an outside layer of thinner leather, then added the bone beads, horse hair and silver cones, etc. When I showed it to Adam, he said it looked like it belonged to a gay Indian. He's just jealous.

Things to Come

This picture was taken during Steve and Sunny's recent visit to California. She is holding J.R. and Casey's new son, Ethan, and Sam and Charlie were none too happy about sharing their mom. In a couple of weeks, this will be their reality as Steve and Sunny's new baby daughter, Gracie, will be born the first week in September. Good luck Sunny. You're going to need it!!

Sage's Big Day

We recently travelled to Utah to be with Sage for his baptism. He was baptized by his Grandpa Orvis and confirmed by Papa Dickson. It was a great day for all of us and we were so proud of Sage. We learned that his favorite bible character was Noah, and he was counseled by his grandmothers to try to be like Noah and to always be obedient to God's commands.

Read Your Thank You Cards

Nancy got a thank you card yesterday. It was from a lady in the ward that Nancy had taken the time to take to lunch as a thank you for her service as a pianist in the Relief Society organization. It was a simple act, but it required some time out of her busy life. The lady thanked Nancy for the personal time that she gave to her and concluded by saying that she felt the Savior's love for her through this act of kindness.

The reason I mention this, is that Nancy gets a thank you card about once a week from someone she has befriended or assisted. They all acknowledge that the small acts of service meant a great deal to them and let them know they weren't struggling with their problems alone.

Several years ago, a good friend of ours said that if you want to know how you are really doing in this life, read your thank you cards. What she didn't need to say, was that if you don't have any thank you cards to read, maybe you are not doing so good.

In my various callings in the church, I have had the opportunity to help others struggling with their challenges, which resulted in the occasional thank you card. Lately, I haven't been receiving many thank you cards, which has caused me to evaluate how I am doing as "my brother's keeper".

You might ask yourself, "When's the last time I got a thank you card"? If it has been awhile, perhaps you need to look around you and find a way to do a little good in the world today. It will bless your life and the lives of others around you.

Our Outer Banks Trip

As you visit the blogs of our children, they have been including photos and comments about our recent vacation to the outer banks of North Carolina. I won't bore anyone with more comments about the trip except to say that it was one of the finest vacations that I have had. It was great to be with everyone and to simply relax and enjoy each others company. It is so fun to see all of our grandchildren together at one time and to be able to spend some quality time with them. Knowing that Nana (Nancy) has posted a bunch of pictures, I am only going to post a few of my favorites. I believe that between Nancy and I we took about 400 photos. Mom took about 36o of them. I am already setting aside funds for the next trip.

OBX Images