We’re spending this Christmas at our daughter’s home in North Salt Lake. We got here mid-day yesterday and will stay until mid-day Saturday. We’ve had a really fun time being here.

Yesterday evening was the traditional Christmas Eve activities, including delivering secret Santa things to people in the area, a delicious dinner, doing the Nativity program, and opening up a gift before heading to bed. I crashed about eleven p.m. and Nina came to bed sometime that evening. They rousted me out of bed at 7 this morning to open presents.

All of our kids have been very nice to us this year. We’ve had a delightful Christmas. The weather outside has been fairly warm, but tonight it’s getting quite windy and some serious winter weather is supposedly on it’s way. Hopefully it’ll be finished and cleared off the roads before we leave on Saturday.

Spending Christmas with family is always very special! Following are some more pictures from the day. Clicking on the picture brings up some info about the picture. Clicking again on the picture opens up a larger picture.

The Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center is a three-hundred bed State of Idaho prison for female offenders located high on the west bench in Pocatello. The Christmas season is a difficult time for the women at the prison as they are separated from family, children, and all the trappings that make up this time of the year. Consequently, it also becomes a difficult time for prison officials as depression takes over some of the inmates, others act out in strange ways, and the number of attempted suicides increases. To help combat those problems the prison encourages volunteer groups during December to provide programs and activities for the inmates and also encourages the inmates to participate in those programs.

During most of the year the inmates “earn” the privilege of attending programs or participating in activities. However, in December all but the most recalcitrant inmates are allowed to attend and participate. Since the prison is located in an area where the predominant religion is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), the LDS Church has programs and activities for the women at the prison almost every evening of the week. My wife Nina is the Relief Society President at the LDS Branch serving the prison and she spends every Sunday morning and every Thursday evening there providing religious activities for the women inmates.

One of the LDS Church activities offered to the women who are interested is to sing in a choir. They practice on Sunday evenings and between thirty and forty women actively participate in the choir. On the Sunday before Christmas the PWCC Women’s Choir puts on a Christmas program for the other inmates. Tonight was the program and we’ve just gotten back home from a wonderful evening.

Some of the women in the choir sing very well. But, like many church choirs, most are there just because they want to sing, not necessarily because of any particular ability. They put on two programs a year, one in the spring and one at Christmas.

The program is open to the other inmates and to the LDS volunteers and spouses. I truly enjoy going there and have to say, this is my favorite Christmas program each year. They are so happy to be able to perform. They sing from their hearts and just beam when the audience claps and cheers for them. Most of the time they are prisoners … locked in their units and cells. They have little freedom which can be quickly taken away for almost any infraction. Most have almost nothing. Some have been written off or abandoned by their families. Many have families so dysfunctional that it’s no wonder that they ended up in prison.

But this evening they were the stars. They earned the applause which was loud and long. They brightened our day and added to the Christmas Spirit. It was a very good evening. Thank you to the women at the prison in Pocatello. Merry Christmas!

The snow was forecast to begin before midnight and put five inches or more on the ground by tonight. So far it hasn’t quite lived up to the hype, but we do have a snowstorm going on here. There was maybe a half-inch of snow on the ground as we got up this morning. There was some wind this morning which died down during the afternoon and we had some periods of sunshine. Tonight when we came of of The Nutcracker, a light snow was falling and looks to be a fairly steady snow. We may get another inch by tomorrow morning. So, winter has indeed arrived.

The Nutcracker was delightful. The venue was Frazier Hall on the ISU campus. This aging facility was for many years the best Pocatello had to offer. Now with the Performing Arts Center, Frazier Hall has a lot less activity. Tonight was the first time that Nina and I have been in the facility. The performance was spirited and well done. I had no idea there was so much ballet talent in this little town. Tonight’s performance was the last of three this weekend. Next week the program will be presented up the road in Blackfoot.

I think The Nutcracker was the first ballet that Nina and I saw. Nina had been given tickets by a friend when we were living in Chardon, Ohio, and after attending we were hooked. For the next several years we bought season tickets to the Cleveland Ballet (which no longer exists). Then we moved to Utah and became aquainted with Ballet West. They put on performances both in Salt Lake City and in Ogden. We were season ticket holders there as well. Then we moved to Japan and haven’t been to the ballet since. The wonder has been reawakened. It’s time to start going to the ballet again. I wonder what the schedule is for Ballet West? Do they still exist? (They do … and The Nutcracker is playing until December 27th.)

As we left the Stephens Performing Arts Center tonight on our way home from the Christmas Pops concert, Nina remarked, “It’s just amazing the difference that one man can make.” She was referring to Chung Park, the new Music Director of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. The difference from last year to this year is phenomenal … and one man made the difference.

The hall was packed tonight and people were standing around the edges to watch and participate in the program. This is their third concert of the season and each one has been significantly better than the previous performance. While I was watching, listening, and singing (in the middle of the program the audience joined in singing four Christmas carols) I was reminded of a video I had seen a bit ago from a PopTech conference. The presenter was Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. In the presentation, he brings up a fifteen-year-old cellist and works with him. The youngster has an wonderful talent and after playing a Bach tune he receives a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd of about 400 people in the room. Then Maestro Zander goes to work with the young man and pulls out of him a virtuoso performance that brings tears to peoples eyes (mine included). What a difference one person can make! The video of Mr. Zander and the cellist is here. It’s thirty minutes long and well worth the time whether one likes Bach or not. It’ll pull you to the edge of your seat and teach a whole new way of looking at possibilities and mistakes.

Tonight was the first in a string of concerts and events and the Idaho State Civic Symphony started it off with a bang! Tomorrow night we’ll be at a performance of The Nutcracker. Sunday evening is the annual Messiah Sing. Next Wednesday night is Kurt Bestor’s Christmas Program. Thursday night is a performance of The Christmas Carol. I’m loving the Christmas season!

We like to, when possible, attend functions where our grandkids are performing. A couple of weeks ago our daughter Heather gave us a list of possible events. We decided to go down this past week on Wednesday and stay through Saturday evening. That way we were able to go to the Salt Lake Festival of Trees to see Michael perform with his dance group. I went to the monthly CTO Breakfast in Provo on Friday morning. On Saturday we went to two indoor soccer games where Danielle was playing, and then go to her International Children’s Choir Holiday Concert on Saturday evening.

So we drove down Wednesday afternoon. Nina had to be at the prison in Pocatello on Thursday evening, so I stayed in Provo while she came home, did her job at the prison, and then drove back down to North Salt Lake on Friday.

We had a nice time at Heather’s house. That is a very busy family and it’s fun to watch all the activity. Our lives are so much more quiet and laid back than theirs are!

We didn’t get home until after midnight last night (or rather this morning) and we both had fairly normal Sunday schedules today. It’s getting to be bedtime, though! I’m out of here for today.

One of those pithy sayings from my youth was to say that something was “better than a poke in the eye!” That kind of meant getting poked in the eye was the worst possible thing to happen. Well, today’s activities included a trip to the eye doctor with dad and mother. Dad is being treated for wet macular degeneration. The treatment consists of regularly getting a shot of an anti-VEGF drug directly into the eyeball. These drugs are also used for treatment of colon cancer but have become a primary treatment for wet macular degeneration. The drug shrinks the blood vessels that have gone wild on the retina and dries up the blood that they leak.

For dad this treatment has been reasonably effective in maintaining what eyesight he has. He went through the initial series of injections in both eyes, but the problem has returned in his left eye. As a result the doctor has put him on an extended series of injections for both eyes.

I do not like hypodermic needles. Actually, one can say that I am afraid of them and unexpectedly encountering one is a bad thing. A couple of years ago my admin, who was diabetic, jabbed herself in the thigh, right through her jeans, as I was walking by. I fainted dead away onto the floor for a few seconds. It took quite a bit of persuasion not to get transported to the hospital. So, in this case, I put my iPhone between me and the doctor so I could get the picture without having to watch the procedure. It worked nicely.

The doctor heard the shutter sound (there isn’t a shutter on these digital cameras, so Apple added the shutter sound as feedback that a picture has been taken) and invited me to come closer and watch (I declined). He then said he wanted to get a video of the procedure to show patients, but didn’t have the equipment plus he was the one doing the procedure and didn’t know how to video and do at the same time.

Dad will come back to Pocatello on the 23rd of December for another shot in the left eye and once again on January 6th for the next one in the right eye. I expect I’ll have more several opportunities to not watch the procedure. Not watching is definitely better than a poke in the eye….

Twelve people gathered around the table this afternoon for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious and there was plenty of food for everyone. There is still plenty of food for everyone….

As we were eating, our daughter Heather went around the table for each one to say something that they were thankful for. The answers ranged from family to flush toilets. All of the answers were very good and thoughtful. We are very blessed and have so very much to be thankful for.

I stopped at the barbershop on Tuesday after dad’s eye doctor appointment. One of the hair dressers there is from the Ukraine and we talked a little bit about holidays there and here. She said that there was no holiday in the Ukraine like our Thanksgiving and she felt it was a very good tradition to have a day specifically to be thankful. She was quite eloquent about her thanks at being able to come to the United States and to have a good job and a good husband.

I’m coming to the end of this day of thanksgiving and feeling very good about the day, the good conversation, the great food, and most of all being able to spend some time with family. In the end, all that will matter is family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Overnight in Mumbai (aka Bombay), India a group of extremists launched a series of shooting rampages in the southern part of the city. One target in particular was the Taj Mahal Palace, a luxury hotel frequented by businessmen and government officials. The news reports are still quite confused and the details of fatalities, wounded, and possible hostages changes rapidly. It’s a very serious, very sad situation.

The group claiming responsible has launched other attacks, but nothing to date on this scale. Their tactic is to load themselves up with guns and ammunition, go someplace and start firing indescriminately until they run out of ammunition or are killed by the police. If still alive, they then attempt to escape so they can strike again another day.

In my last job I had the opportunity to make several business trips to the Philippines. Muslim separatists have on a couple of occasions launched attacks against hotels and businesses. As a result, armed guards are deployed at the entrances to malls, banks, and hotels where packages are checked and people are screened for guns and explosives. I’m sure that these guards know that if an attack is going to happen, they will take the first bullets. Fortunately that hasn’t happened, yet. However, these kinds of incidents have a tendency to escalate. The next group will learn from this incident and the next one will be more severe.

Years ago when I was working for TRW Automotive Group, I was part of a group establishing a plant in Pamplona, Spain and over an eighteen month period made a dozen or more business trips to Pamplona. At that time the Basque separatist group ETA was quite active in that region. Terrorist activity takes money and their primary fund raising activity was to kidnap foreign businessmen and hold them for ransom. To make sure that the employers knew that the ETA was serious, they usually included a body part (a finger or a toe or an ear) from the hostage in the ransom demand. Consequently, TRW felt it very important to train their business travelers on how to avoid being kidnapped and how to protect themselves if their hotel was invaded.

Some of that training was pretty graphic. For about a year before each business trip to Spain I had to go through an hour’s refresher training. It must have been effective, because no TRW businessmen were kidnapped, either in Spain or in Italy where another group was emplying the same tactic. That training is still quite fresh in my memory.

However, it didn’t address completely what happened in Mumbai last night. A gunmen came into the lobby of the hotel through one entrance and began firing. Those in the lobby began moving (quickly and in a panic) towards the other entrance / exit whereupon another gunman came in that door and began firing. Complete confusion and panic ensued and many more people became fatalities as a result.

I wonder if I would react better than that? Would I go where the crowd wasn’t going?

My thoughts and prayers are with those in Mumbai and their families. It is a serious tragedy which will change life there further constraining what innocent, normal people can do and where they can be. It will aslo surely result in innocent people being railroaded, as happened to Star Simpson at Boston’s Logan Airport a year ago. Craziness reigns supreme on all sides. Sometimes I think you and I are the only sane people around (and sometimes I worry about you…).