Books, not bullets

Though I have political opinions, I've never been one to get involved. But this week was different.

I have been a registered voter since 2006, and I have never affiliated with a party. I have found that people too often side with their party more than they side with their conscience, and I don't want to fall into that trap, even inadvertently.

I had never been to a caucus before. (I tried to go to the Democratic caucus in 2016, but it was too crowded.) But this week I attended the caucus for a new party, United Utah. I could have gone to the democratic one, which would have been closer, but I wanted to learn more about the new party. (I couldn't go to the Republican one since I'm not a registered Republican.)

Basically, the United Utah Party is formed for people who are fed up with the extremism of both sides of the political aisle. It seeks to find middle ground. I find myself generally agreeing with the party's platform--not necessarily with everything, but I agree in general. I don't know that I'll officially align myself with it, but I appreciate what they're doing.

I went to the caucus but didn't do anything. I guess that doesn't make a difference. But I am now telling you about it, and awareness is one of the key factors to gain momentum. About three times as many people showed up to the party's caucus as they expected; and the one I attended got a picture on KSL.com.

One of the platform items of the party is "Endorsing the right of Utahns to possess firearms, as well as regulations that limit firearm possession in the hands of those who would use them irresponsibly." I can really sink my teeth into this one.

I am so utterly sick of the argument, "If you take away our guns, then only the bad guys will have them." It's a true statement. It's also an irrelevant strawman. Those of us who want to reform gun laws don't want to get rid of all guns. We just want to keep them away from the bad guys. Is that so hard to understand? The other day my dad was listening to conservative talk radio, and there was a soundbite from Rush Limbaugh saying, "Every liberal on the planet wants to take away our weapons." (That's not a direct quote, so don't Google it.) That is a big fat lie. It is entirely dishonest, irresponsible, and reckless for him to make such a statement. I hope he gets a permanent case of laryngitis and can never go on the radio again until he only tells the truth.

Here are some of the perspectives and rationale of those of us who want tougher gun laws.

• As I just said, we're not trying to take away guns, so quit saying we are.
• We're not trying to get rid of the Second Amendment. As a matter of fact, the Second Amendment says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." So by adding regulations, we are actually doing a better job of complying with the Second Amendment. You cannot interpret the Second Amendment as meaning "there should be no gun laws."
• What reason do you have for owning a gun that is specifically meant to kill lots of people in a short amount of time?
• Background checks are performed in retail, but there are plenty of loopholes for other venues. We want to close those loopholes. And if you can pass a background check, guess what? You can get a gun! And why do you need to get your gun right away? What's the matter with a waiting period? If some deranged person wants a gun to kill people, it's unsafe for them to have it immediately. If you want a gun for peaceful, responsible purposes, it can wait.
• Yes, criminals will still get a hold of guns, but that doesn't mean we should make it easy for them. They say that "the answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." But wouldn't it make sense to try to make it so only the good guys have guns in the first place?
• Yes, criminals can kill with other means, such as knives or bombs. But you can't fatally throw knives at fifty people in just a few minutes, and bombs are much less accessible than guns.
• We don't have a perfect solution. But that doesn't mean we should just keep the status quo, because obviously that's not working.
• Yes, we need better treatment for mental health. But mental treatment and tougher gun laws are not mutually exclusive. We can have both.
• A few years ago, a dear friend of mine made a post deriding comments made by Obama about enacting tougher gun laws. She deleted it before I could respond, but at the end of her post, she said, "Prayer IS enough, Mr. Obama!" Sorry, but I think God would disagree. Are we not taught that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20)? David A. Bednar has said, "Meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them."

So, because of all this, for the first time in my life, I participated in a political rally. And my mom, a teacher, wanted to come too.

Yesterday, March 24, 2018, I drove up to the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, dropped my mom off, and went and found a wonderful parking spot on the street. I joined her, carrying a poster that read, "If you can pass a background check, why would you object to one?" I wanted to be very early, so there weren't very many people there at first. A few people told me they loved my sign, and one woman even took pictures. (So there's probably a random picture of me floating on the internet somewhere.) One of the pro-gun folks was walking around and became quite agitated, telling some of the other supporters, "You don't know what you're talking about!" (I'm a little hesitant to use the expression "pro-gun," because it's not like the rest of us are anti-gun, but it's the best I can come up with for now.)

Before the main March for Our Lives event, there was a smaller pro-gun rally. We watched them as they marched up to the capitol, wearing black shirts and carrying signs such as "Criminals ♥️ Gun Control." I admit I was a little scared, because I don't like confrontation, but these are confrontational people who like guns! I was pretty annoyed that they stole the slogan "March for Our Lives" for their own t-shirts. Their official rally was on the north side of the Capitol, but they did pass through the south side, where we were. As they walked past, someone in their group called out in my direction, "Background checks are great, but we already have them! Do your research!" Soon, another man came up in a confrontational style and basically told me the same thing and asked me what I wanted. I told him I knew there were loopholes to background checks, and I wanted to close those loopholes. He just wanted to argue, but he left. Later, a very friendly man came up and said, "Can I answer your question?" He said that he was concerned that having a gun registry would make it easier for the government to come and take his gun. His friend dragged him away before I could tell him I thought his fear was unfounded, but I did thank him for being respectful.

People with opinions similar to ours began to trickle in on the capitol grounds. My mom even got a sign for our yard saying "Enough!" A few people had irrelevantly vulgar signs, but most of the signs were poignant and sometimes witty.

Before noon, the main march made its way up State Street. And they kept coming and coming and coming. I didn't like all the signs; some of them were more politically polarizing (when this is neither a blue nor a red issue), and out of several thousand, one or two missed the memo that we don't want to take away guns. The high school students filed on the front steps of the building, while we supporters stood around. They had various speeches from different students. I didn't like a lot of them--they were polarizing, vulgar, and sometimes irrelevant. But some of the speeches were fantastic--logical, well researched, invigorating. It felt great to be part of this cause.

I can't help but wonder if my being there actually did anything. But at the very least, by participating in the march and telling you about it, I think it will get you thinking. I hope that you guys find me a rational, kind human being, right? We actually have much in common. I can go to a performance of Handel's Messiah one night, be in a gun-control rally the next morning, and looking at baby animals the following afternoon. 

And if I can sway just one person, I have done my job. 

The Luck of the Utahn

Not all of my unemployed weeks are boring, and this one actually had a lot of unusual things going on.

On Tuesday, I went to see Phillip Phillips at the Depot in Salt Lake. Phillip Phillips, you might remember, was one of the winners of American Idol--nowhere near as good as Kelly or Carrie, but at least he hasn't faded into absolute obscurity: you have undoubtedly heard his early songs "Home" and "Gone Gone Gone." I actually have all three of his albums, but that doesn't mean I'm a superfan. See, I got his first album because I liked his radio singles, and I have this thing where if I get an artist's first album when they only have one album, then I will get all their subsequent albums. Mostly I find his music a bit boring, but it's OK. I had never been to the Depot before, and I thought it was a perfect venue for him. He's too mediocre for Vivint Arena, but his live singing and band were perfect for this smaller venue. He's just as good live as he is on his recordings. I liked the Depot because it wasn't too loud or cramped. I will definitely keep it on my radar to visit again if they have a band I like.

This was from the balcony, where the bar is. It was the first time I have ever had to use my ID to get in someplace.

On Thursday, I drove through the slushy weather to Manti, where I had an interview. (Don't worry, I have no intention of moving to Manti. Or maybe you want me gone--in that case, sorry, but I still have no intention of moving to Manti.) While I was there, I thought I would have fun in the quaint little town. I love that you can see its temple from anywhere in the town. I stopped in a fun little candy store on the town's Mayberry-like Main Street.

I also stopped in a little LDS bookstore. They had a surprisingly decent selection for such a little town, and I was surprised they even had the book with my name on it, which I doubt anyone will ever read. (I took pictures, but then I remembered there was a sign saying no photography, so I won't put them here.) They also had many used books for sale. I bought a copy of History of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association by Susa Young Gates, a source I checked for At the Pulpit. This copy was used in the Manti library. It still had the card in the back that they stamp. As I looked at the dates, I thought, "Oh, this hasn't been out of circulation for that long, since 2013 is pretty recent." But then I realized that the '13 was 1913, not 2013! I think it's cool I got this old book that people were getting from the library in Manti more than a hundred years ago. It was a decent way to spend eleven dollars. (It was one of those stores where you walk in and feel bad not buying anything.)

 Since I've already been in Sanpete County in the last six months, I wanted to go through Emery and Carbon Counties, but I didn't want to with the snow and rain. (My car's lane-departure and forward-collision sensors quit working because they were coated in slush.) But a lower priority bucket list item for me is to go to every county seat, so I decided to eat lunch in Nephi. Every little town has a burger joint, and at this time of year I like to see if they have mint shakes. I stopped in a place called Nebo Queen, and mint was not on the menu. But then I happened to notice a sign for shakes of the month, including the "Leprechaun"--a mint chocolate chip shake with Lucky Charms! It's the most creative March shake I have seen, and it was in the most random place.

I have a group of friends who have season tickets to the Utah Opera, and one of them couldn't go on Friday, so she offered her ticket to me. I figured I might as well take it and see if my opinion of opera is justified. I have always felt that nobody actually likes opera--they just say they do because it makes them sound sophisticated. It's like the Emperor's New Clothes--everyone is too embarrassed to say it's bad because they will sound stupid.

We saw two operas by Puccini, Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi. My opinion has softened. I hate to admit it, but I did enjoy it. Not enough to consider myself a fan, but it was enjoyable while I was there. Here's my opinion now: operatic singing belongs in opera and nowhere else. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a lot of operatic guest stars, and they are terrible. BYU devotionals always began with soloists who sang somewhat operatically, and they were terrible. But opera is fine in opera.

I can remember every St. Patrick's Day going back to 1994, and Saturday was the only one I can remember where it snowed (in Utah, that is). Luckily, my coat and my umbrella just happen to be green. I like St. Patrick's Day because it's one of the first warm, sunny days of spring, but not this year. There's no reason I should like St. Patrick's Day: I'm not Catholic or Irish, and I detest drunkenness. But I do like it. I like wearing green from head to toe (I wore green shoes, socks, pants, belt, shirt, and glasses). I like eating corned beef, even though I don't usually like beef. I like seeing food colored green. I like imagining leprechauns and pots of gold. It's a strangely fun day.

Six years ago, I went to Salt Lake's St. Patrick's Day parade (that post was one of my more popular ones). I wanted to go last year as part of my holiday bucket lists, but it was on March 18, the day I move on to Easter. (I don't like the holiday enough to celebrate it when it's over, and I'm especially cynical about parades.) Since I missed out last year, I decided to go this year. I invited others, but nobody likes me and I went alone. It was OK. It was less interesting than I remember from the parades of 2012 and 1996. There were no green horses or dogs. No shamrocks painted on the road (just a green line). Most of the entries were politicians, Irish dance schools, churches, and Catholic schools. I had no idea there were so many Catholic schools in Utah. There were a few local celebrities: the morning show of Mix 105.1, and Mayor Jackie Biskupski. Wasatch Brewery had an entry, and I could hear some of the people on their truck commenting about my greenness, but I avoided eye contact because I don't condone them at all. They had some events afterwards at the Gallivan Center; I wanted to get some Irish stew, but it was cash only and the ATM was broken. (It's just as well--ten dollars was very steep for a plate of stew.)

According to Wikipedia, Lenten fasting gets a hiatus on St. Patrick's Day, so I didn't have to count calories. Two years ago, I first had an Asian avocado milkshake, and it's a new favorite tradition. It's a nice break from minty everything, and it doesn't even need food coloring to be green. (You might object to Asian drinks on an Irish holiday, but I don't think minty shakes are any more Irish.)

After attending an awkward performance by the LDS Air Force Cadet Choir from Colorado, I came home and watched the Disney Channel movie The Luck of the Irish, which came out in 2001 but I had never seen. I used to have a list of movies and TV episodes I would watch for every holiday, but I have mostly stopped that. But I found it interesting that the grandpa leprechaun was played by the same actor who played the leprechaun in a March episode of Bewitched thirty years earlier. Not that you care.

Marchy March

Sometimes I don't know why people keep coming to this blog, because it's always the same. Running, cats, holiday food. This week is no exception.

I'm trying to diversify my activities, so I bought a pool pass. I was able to use what I learned in my Swimming for Non-Swimmers class in 2013. But I only went swimming once this week. I have had a sniffy nose, so I haven't wanted to spread it around in case it's contagious; and the lap pool was closed for competitions half of the week; and I still have a little bit of fungus on my arms. (That sounds grosser than it is.)

After my swimming, I had to go to Dunkin' Donuts for a review. That location was very dirty, just as it was when I went in October. And since there are a lot of homeless people around, there are a lot of impatient signs posted. I also had to stop at Trader Joe's, since that's the closest location. It was surprisingly busy for the middle of a weekday. I have my fingers crossed that one comes closer. I've heard Trader Joe's described as a glorified junk food store, and it's true; they have all sorts of outlandish holiday treats. At the same time, though, whenever I go there, I feel like buying lots of healthy food, like fresh produce and nuts. They also have a great selection of veggie burgers, my favorite food.

My ward had an evening with a relationship coach, and there was a Q&A session. There were lots of opinions, sometimes contradictory, from lots of people, including some who go on and on without making any sense. At one point, the speaker said that women still like men doing gentlemanly things. Some girls I don't know next to me began mumbling statements of disagreement. I feel like I have a quandary. With some women, if I don't open the door for them, I'm an inconsiderate, unchivalrous jerk. And with some, if I do open the door, I'm a sexist, condescending jerk. I can't win!

One of Jimmy the cat's habits this week has been that he wants to sit on my lap, but he doesn't want me to touch him. One time, he was sitting on my laptop's keyboard, so to discourage him, I began brushing him, which he didn't like. He didn't like it so much that he kept attacking my arm. I was on my side, so I put my arm behind me, and he came around to the other side so he could attack it again. But most of the time he's very affectionate. Having a cat is like having a teddy bear come to life. I'm astonished at the amount of people who harbor an intense hatred of cats, but I don't need those people in my life.

It's fine, I was just going to sit here all night anyway.

 On Tuesday, there was still lots of snow around, and I decided to go running on the Legacy Parkway Trail, which is flat and paved. But I was not feeling well that run. Maybe it was the Shamrock Shake I had for lunch? The snow was gone from all the path, but there were some significant puddles.

The next day, instead of running, I took my bike down to that same path. It was enjoyable, and easy. My Fitbit says my heart rate never exceeded 68 bpm, and my resting heart rate is around 50. So I didn't get many extra calories. I wanted to go to the Bountiful Pond, since I've never been, but the dirt trail was too muddy.

I enjoy the interpretive signs they have at trailheads along the route, so I had a goal of one last sign I wanted to read in Centerville, but somehow I missed it and ended up in or near Farmington before I turned around. I went a total of seventeen miles, a new record--again, very easy.

On Wednesdays, I've been attending two different tutoring sessions for Tongan students. At the first one this week, the missionary in charge was helping a student and asked me, "What do you know about geology?" If you know me, you might think I was jumping up and down for joy. But if you really know me, you would know that I never jump up and down for joy, because I'm not very emotive. At the second one, I helped a kid with percentages. I showed him cross-multiplication and decimals. 

At Christmas, my boss got me a seasonal cookbook, so on Thursday I made green mac 'n' cheese, which used peas, broccoli, and pureed spinach. I liked that it was vibrantly green without any food coloring.

Yes, I eat my food over a newspaper like a dog. I also had corned beef and Irish soda bread from Trader Joe's.

I've created new rules about when and how much candy I can buy, since it's gotten excessive, but I had to break them to buy my all-time favorite holiday candy, See's St. Patrick's Day potato, which looks like a potato and tastes great. During this time of lots and lots of mint, it's nice to have something unique. I like these even more than Caramel Apple Sugar Babies and Candy Cane Tootsie Roll Pops.

 Jimmy also sat on my computer again. He made a very long Facebook post and then posted it, and as he was typing, he watched the cursor roll across the screen. He even turned my screen sideways and zoomed way out.

After an interview on Friday, I stopped at RubySnap Cookies in Salt Lake. I had never been, because their menu online shows no seasonal cookies. But then I found out last month that they do have seasonal ones, so I got their lime cookie. I love mint, but it doesn't need to be the only green flavor at this time of the year.

Two years ago, I bought some material for a St. Paddy's Day pillowcase, but I didn't make it until now. I still don't have any pillowcases for Valentine's Day, Easter, or Pioneer Day.

Here's the thing. I know four-leaf clovers are not an Irish symbol. But I'm an American, and in America, we celebrate St. Paddy's Day with four-leaf clovers.

As I think about those Tongan kids who struggle with basic math, and a friend who is currently going through a very difficult time after living a very difficult life, I realized how privileged and blessed I have been. I almost feel guilty. So I try to help where I can. But maybe I don't do enough. I do have a good life, though.

Top of the Morgan

I was able to cross a few more items off my bucket list this week.

My default winter run has been the eleven miles to and from the Bountiful Temple, but that can get a little difficult and repetitive, so I thought I would change it up this week. I knew that last summer, North Salt Lake put a launching area on the Jordan River, so I thought I would check it out. I didn't particularly care for running down Center Street, because I had to stop at three stoplights, and the sidewalk kept switching sides. But I made it down to Porter's Landing. That was the first time I've been on the shores of the Jordan River. (This run was only 6.6 miles, but it saved the hard part for the end.)

Since I want to go to all 29 counties while I'm 29, I realized that while I am unemployed, it would be super easy to knock off Morgan County. So up I drove through Weber Canyon to go to Morgan. I stopped for lunch in a burger joint. Then I thought, "I'm only twelve miles away from East Canyon State Park. Why not go there?" So I did!

I pulled up to the toll booth (well, it was more of a building than a booth) and stopped to pay the fee. But no one was there. It was $10 to get into the park, but I only had $1 with me, so I put it in an envelope and drove in. But I don't feel bad about it, because I didn't use any of the park's facilities--everything was closed, though there were a few random cars there, and the roads had obviously been plowed. There was really nothing to do there, but I was glad I made it there.

I drove to the other end of the park/reservoir, where there was a resort, but again, there was nothing to do at the resort. It would have been quicker to head home by going south and through Salt Lake, but the road was closed in that direction, so I had to go back through Morgan. I stopped at another burger joint and got a mint shake. Then I headed home.

Thursday was March 1, St. David's Day, the national holiday of Wales. St. David's Day really came on my radar last year, when I was researching Dan Jones and nineteenth-century Wales. I thought I would celebrate it this year, though it's a little hard to do so when you're the only person who even knows what it is. (It has often puzzled me that St. Patrick's Day is the only national holiday besides our own that we really celebrate in the United States.) Our furnace went out that day, so I was happy to wear my red sweater in the house. I listened to some Welsh Celtic music, and I cooked a few things. 

First I made caramelized leeks with quinoa. That is definitely not Welsh food, but leeks are one of Wales's national symbols. It was decent. I wasn't looking forward to the leftovers, but they were fine mixed with leftover beet burritos.

I also made Welsh cakes, which are like a cross between sugar cookies and pancakes, with currants mixed in. (I was really disappointed I forgot to add nutmeg, because I love cooking with nutmeg.) They were quite tasty. I might have to make them next year. (I found an Americanized recipe, because most of the recipes were too British for me to understand.)

Also this week, the book At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women, which came out last year, was released online for free. I went all through that book before it was published and saw all the behind-the-scenes stuff. Footnote 28 of chapter 43 is one I greatly contributed to (though I was later embarrassed about some factual discrepancies that another editor pointed out before publication). I posted a screenshot with my name on Facebook shortly before I went to bed. 

That night, I dreamed that my post was somehow public, but Facebook wouldn't let me change the settings of the post to make it private. And in the dream I got all sorts of snarky comments from anti-Mormon hecklers who hadn't even read the book. Because, unfortunately, in real life the internet is not a safe place to be religious. That's why in my review of Peeps Mystery Flavors, I framed my scriptural quotation in the context of academia--not in the context of a religious practitioner.