Zen and the Art of Airport Maintenance

For those of you too young to have been reading hip "pop" pyschology in the early '70s, a trendy book was "Zen and the Art of Morotcycle Maintenance." It was a novel written by a man who took to his Harley with his son on a cross-country road trip. He was trying to get into the "zen" of it all, roughly defined as that state of being happy and peaceful and living fully in the moment. But the inevitabilities of life kept interfering: motorcycle breakdowns, bad weather, no motel rooms, etc., etc., etc. His conclusion: life is just imperfect on this planet and we all have to deal with that. Some of us deal with it unhappily and others seem to rise above it all and still find "zen," or inner happiness, despite those pesky inevitabilities.

So, anyway, I chose to be an observer of the approaches of these two classes of people recently in two experiences at airports.

On my way to Tucson last Wednesday night, Hurricane Dolly created mass chaos at airports all over the South and West. My flight was delayed to Denver, then the inevitable domino effect: I missed my flight to Tucson. I had to pay to stay at an expensive hotel in Denver because all cheap motel rooms were filled up in the whole city. I got a total of 3 hours of sleep.

Then, on the return trip, I flew to Phoenix but then got stranded there because there were "mechanical problems." (Thank God we didn't find out about those "mechanical problems" after takeoff!) So, once again, I was stranded overnight. I missed a television appearance I was supposed to make on Monday morning in Salt Lake. I was late getting to work, and again I was out more money.

OK, so I am really not writing this post to whine. Really.

What was interesting was to watch people's reactions both times while standing in line for hours trying to get rescheduled. Some folks paced and worried. Some folks were angry and pounded their fists on the counters. One guy, a young gentleman sporting skulls and snakes tattoos, threatened loudly "I'm going to "f--- you up!!!" Some went into an empty corner and slept on the floor.

Regardless of our various reactions, all of us got onto the very same rescheduled flights, all of us arrived at the same delayed times.

I remembered a little plaque that was on the wall of the home of my Grandma Greenhaw. It had a clown face on it and these words: "Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive anyway." My Grandma Greenhaw was a woman who reached "zen" every day. She found joy in things like sliced ripe tomatoes fresh out of her garden and putting pigtails in her grandaughters' hair. She was a person who was a joy just to be around. If she had been in Denver or in Phoenix stranded, she would have no doubt taken it in stride and found "zen" in playing with a stranded new mother's toddler or doing a crossword puzzle to kill time.

For me, I tried to achieve "zen" by repacking my suitcase in an airport restroom because my stash of ripe prickly pears picked at the Hicks hacienda had leaked all over the contents of my suitcase. . . . Yikes! . . .

BTW, you're all getting Prickly Pear - Strawberry jam for Chirstmas. I'm thinking of naming it "Zen jam."

Thaya's Tea Party

For Thaya's b-day Alexys decided to do a traditional tea party! It was great fun, and super super hot. I just wanted to post this funny photo..mainly because Mom and I were the only two adults who dressed up. We sure do love a good reason to dress silly!

Jake's U K report

Here is Jake's report from the UK - he's having good times -

Hey there! Sorry I haven't been very good about keeping you guys posted. I've been busy. :/Anyway, here's what I've been up to:First day, we went to Legoland. I know. Then we did typical tourist-y things in London. The eye, big Ben, all that.The next day, we went to A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe.Sunday, we went to evensong at Westminster Abbey.Monday, we went to the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and Spamalot, which was hilarious. On the way, we ran into the world premiere of Mamma Mia. We saw Meryl Streep, Collin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Tom Hanks. (!)We then went to Glastonbury, which is where all the awsome new age freaks like to hang out.On our way, we saw Stonehenge, which I did a presentation on, Winchester Castle, Cadbury, which may or may not be Camelot, and Roman Baths in, well, Bath!At Glastonbury, we saw the Glastonbury Abbey, the Tor, Chalice Well, and Warwick Castle. We then went to Cornwall, where we saw Tintagel (the place where Arthur is said to have been conceived), stone circles, Mount Saint Michael's Mount (it POURED rain), Penzance and the Scilly Isles (and yes, we were as silly as possible there!). We also biked from coast to coast and saw the Alchemist at the Minack theater, which is carved into a cliff by the sea - wowzers!We arrived in Cardiff, Wales yesterday. So far, all we've done is go to Cardiff castle and meet up with the BYU wales group, where both of the group leaders spoke to all the students for a while.So yeah. It's been so much fun, and I think about you guys all the time.Much love!-JakeP.S.- Mom, can you email me the tofu mac recipe? I wanna make it for the kids here. XDLove ya!

Fun on the Fourth

Hot air baloons launching from downtown Provo.

Two sisters from Iraq doing sparklers for the first time.

Some of our group awaiting the fireworks show.

S'MORES - All American treat.

What an amazing Fourth it was this year for the Kellys.

When you are with people who are seeing and experiencing something for the very first time, you see and experience things anew. It was amazing how I noticed even the littlest of things this year, and there were many more poignant moments for me as I thought more deeply about what all of it means.

Feeling the audience rise from their sidewalk seats as the flag went by - slowly, silently, simply -at the parade. Putting my hand over my heart with all the audience. Cheering as WWII vets waved that "parade wave" from their perches on the backs of Army jeeps. Eating watermelon, potato salad, s'mores and other good ole' American fare. Watching the fireworks and writing my name in the air with a sparkler for good luck. Sharing some thoughts on freedom with refugees who had only been in the country a few weeks, including the father of the family who was imprisoned and tortured for TWO YEARS for expressing a view that was slightly critical of some of his former country's actions.

I asked the Iraqi family what they liked best so far about the US of A. I thought they would say something like: enough food, a roof over their heads for the first time in two years, not living in constant fear. But, the mother of the family said "the love of the American people," and she shared that many people had been so kind, welcoming and loving to them. I have never been as proud of my country and my people as I was at that moment.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Freedom Festival

We are lucky to live in Provo, which goes crazy for the Fourth of July every year. There is a month-long huge festival, including parades, hot air baloon launch, Stadium of Fire. AND a non-denominational religious service. (OK, we concede that the two featured speakers were Michael Ballum, famed Mormon opera star, and Glenn Beck, famous - or infamous according to your polictical persuasion- Mormon talk show host.) But, there was also a Jewish Rabbi who did the invocation.

Jim and I trekked down to the Marriott Center for the 90 minute service and it was better than expected. No crazy right-wing babbling, just a stirring emotional tribute to this great country we are blessed call home.

Beck told the story of his experience in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, wandering lost and bewildered in a city he had just moved to weeks before. He also pointed out that people are "dying in the desert" trying to have a small piece of what we take for granted every day."

I love that he also said we should not be a nation who gets on our knees and begs the Saudis for more oil. We are a nation that can create our own solution to any crisis, even oil shortages. Without begging. If we choose to do so.

He was truly inspiring, as was Ballum, who told the story of Marian Anderson, perhaps the greatest African American opera singer, and her courage in singing at the Lincoln Memorial after she had been banned from singing at an opera hall in D.C.

Here is some more of his speech.

Enjoy!!

'The Leader We Need Is You,' Beck Tells 17,000 at BYU

The answers to America's problems aren't found in Washington; they're found in the people of America.
That's what radio and TV personality Glenn Beck told a vocal crowd of nearly 17,000 gathered at BYU's Marriott Center Sunday evening for America's Freedom Festival's annual Patriotic Service.
"In a time when America is begging for a leader; in a time when America is shouting out, 'Where is the leader, when will he step forward?' I am here to tell you: You are the leader — the leader we seek. The leader we need is you; it always has been.
"We are the United States of America," he said. "We can solve any problem."
Beck said the signers of the Declaration of Independence, in "hot, humid, not-yet-riddled-with-gangs Philadelphia," put "we the people" at the very top of the document in big, bold letters for a reason — to remind the people of America who would shape the nation's destiny, even with all of its problems.
"Hope is the recognition of who we truly are," Beck said. "Not in who we've allowed ourselves to become — all we have to do is remember."
Beck repeatedly told the crowd it is vital for Americans to remember how important God is in America's past and future. He said the pilgrims humbly came to the American continent according to God's will. Like those pioneers, he said, America needs pioneers now.