On October 24th, I took a day of vacation, and P and I went to Millie's Pancake Haus for breakfast, then to the temple, then to Bill Johnson's for dinner, then to the Penny's outlet, then we went home on the old highway. It took a little longer but it was a nice drive compared with the freeway.

The following day, S, P, and I went and cleaned the Church. Hurrying home, P and I returned to the stake baptism where I presided for our ward's portion. We had to be on time because I was giving the opening prayer. It was a very nice service with about 40 people associated with A T, who was baptized.

Then I went up to Camp Zion to our Youth Retreat. It was a good time to be there with the youth.

At work, they're locking down the server to only fix the “have to” defects and trying to stabilize it.

I finished Robinson Crusoe. It was an interesting story. It tells the story of a young man who trusted in his own strength and wits to survive on an island, but over time he comes to understand that there was a kind God watching over him and blessing him. He also learned that no matter how difficult the situation that comes to him, the Lord has a hand in it, and it can turn to his benefit if approached with faith.

I read Our Town by Thorton Wilder. How quickly do our lives pass away, and we let them go without paying attention to those people who mean the most to us.

J was reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine. I reserved what I thought was his book, but it was a biography of him. It was quite interesting. He was born in Thetford, England, and I remember that there was a plaque dedicated to him on a wall in Thetford when I lived there. He worked for social justice.

He was instrumental he in rallying popular support from the colonists in the Revolutionary War. When he exposed some members of the Continental Congress who were stealing funds, he became an outcast. But even then towards the end of the war, he secured about two million dollars of aid from France which allowed us to win the war. Curiously, this loan was a significant contributing factor in the financial collapse of the French government and paved the way for the French Revolution.

Paine went to France during this period, but when the revolutionists behaved as brutally as the previous government, he spoke out firmly against their atrocities, and was subsequently arrested and condemned to death—this was only prevented by a clerical error. The United States then granted him citizenship, and he returned here to live out his life.

I read 2000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Vern. How often do some brilliant people continue to pursue a cause long after the time has expired. And what a loss to the rest of the world are these misdirected efforts.

Mom gave me a copy of William Zimmerman Terry's missionary journal. He was in Germany in 1896. It has been very interesting reading.

At work, M H focused on getting the temp table support done, and I took all the defects which had to do with hangs and crashes. Examining cores, I could tell that we had some thread which had an exclusive lock on a latch, but I couldn't figure out who it was. M A helped me, using the AIX operating system source code, analyzed the core, and we figured it out. Two other defects had to do with some hangs in DB2, but now I'm waiting on the tester to obtain some additional DB2 trace information.

On November 7 was stake temple day, and we went and did a session, then a sealing session, then an initiatory session.

On November 8, we took C, K, L, and D to the zoo, and we had a nice time. They especially enjoyed the children's water activity, where they push a button and water squirts out.

On election day, and we elected the first black President of the United States. The marriage amendments in three states: Florida, Arizona, and California also passed. I was pleased, and almost surprised that it passed in California.

On November 21, I went with the teachers and priests, and we camped near Peppersauce Cave, and the following day, we went through the cave. It was good to be there with the young men.

The Supreme Court, in a major setback to the Bush Administration, ruled that a certain number of men detained as terrorists needed to be released, that detaining people for seven years without proving their being terrorists was wrong. I was pleased to hear that our government just can't lock up people they don't like.

Mom brought me a typewritten copy of William Zimmerman Terry's missionary journal. He served in Germany in 1896.

I read A House Divided by Pearl Buck. It followed a young man Yuan as he departed from his father's house, a cruel warlord, in who's footsteps he refused to follow. But he went to live in with a relative, who was financially supported by the family. His debt became greater as they bribed the government to release him from from prison and certain execution, and financed his studies in the United States. It spoke of traditions and prejudices, how people in the United States would ask him if they ate rats in China, and when he explained that they did not and what they did eat, how they immediately forgot what he had said and clung to their previous thought. There were characters who illustrated how people deal with change: some who will suffer any injustice as long as they can get a few coins; others who live for pleasure; and others who are always angry with how things are, and plot to overthrow it, but when they do, they become like those they opposed in the previous regime. Yuan could not determine who he wanted to be given the roles around him. And because he did not know who he was, he couldn't understand those who really tried to help him and his people. So rather than seeing his benefactors in their true light, he misunderstood them and their motives and became more isolated than before. He began to believe an idealized version of his heritage and defended it, but when he returned home to China, he was faced with the conflict with his idealized version and the China as it really was. He made two trips to see his father, one shortly after he returned to China, and he reacted with anger and annoyance as he came to understand that the country was not as he believed. But later when he returned to nurse his dying father, he was more accepting of what he saw. The ending of the story would be termed a “happy ending,” but it seemed abrupt and inconsistent, as if Buck decided that she needed to finish the book and did so.

W received his calling to serve in the Ogden, Utah, Mission starting December 31st. I was very pleased with the assignment.

S, S, and J came down for Thanksgiving, and we had a good time with them. We got our first good fall rain on Thanksgiving day. We had the entire family here on Thanksgiving day, and on Friday we went hiking up to Seven Falls. P and L and K stayed back when the baby became fussy, and when we were about a mile from the falls, it became evident that C would need to be carried the rest of the way, than I headed back with him. But the others went up and enjoyed the falls. This morning we arose and took family pictures, and they left about noon to drive to Las Vegas to stay the night. They plan to drive to Saint George tomorrow, attend church, then head into Provo.

I've been trying to catch the packrat, but he's just too wary to disturb the trap mechanism, but he does get the bait. The good news, though, is that the three surviving pepper plants are growing peppers, and the tomato plants are flowering.