It’s a nice, quiet evening in Pocatello. It’s also cold with haze and fog. The days are getting a little longer as I now can leave work and drive home in daylight (if not twilight) rather than in the dark. The weatherman thinks we may get some snow over the coming weekend which is a good thing. Spring isn’t all that far away. Just for the record, it’s 22 degrees outside with a wind chill of 21 degrees, humidity of 91%, and a dew point of 20 degrees. The wind is calm. As I said, a nice, quiet evening.

I spent an hour in the dental hygenist’s chair this afternoon. The company’s dental plans offer Willamette Dental as an option. They are primarily oriented towards preventative care and do a pretty good job of that. The office never seems to be overly busy. This afternoon only the hygenist and the receptionist were there. It actually turned out to be an OK visit. I don’t enjoy being at the dentist office (who does?) but because there was no hustle or bustle, and particularly no other dental office noises such as drills and saliva evacuators or whatever they’re called, it didn’t seem very much like being at the dentist. They hygenist was very pleasant and just prattled on about life and things as she poked and pried around my mouth. Nothing that I needed to respond to or answer. I just sprawled in the chair, closed my eyes, and tried to drift off into la-la land. An hour later and I was on my way back to the office.

The week has also been full of political news both at home and internationally. President Bush delivered his State of the Union address last night. Last Sunday elections were held in Iraq and despite major threats of violence, more than 55% of eligible Iraqi’s voted. A political cartoon in paper today showed a fellow watching someone on TV going to vote in Iraq while dodging bullets and suicide bombers. The TV-watcher said, “Remind me of this the next time we have elections!”

There always seem to be very loud voices proclaiming that “it can’t be done!” and the elections in Iraq are a typical case in point. For months naysayers have been proclaiming that elections couldn’t be held, it was too soon, not enough preparation, too many people would be killed trying to vote, no one would turn out to vote, and on and on and on. Goverment officials are derided for trying to stay the course. Horrendous predictions are made about the outcome and strident voices shout that the elections must be postponed. I’m pleased that neither our government nor the Iraqi’s listened to the doomsayers and proceeded to plan and hold elections on schedule and as promised. The Iraqi people certainly made a statement to those who were sure the election could not be held and if it was, would be a failure. Congratulations to the people of Iraq who have proved once again that people truly want a say in their future.

We’ve had a visitor here for the past week. A good friend, in her mid-80’s, who worked with us at the Denver Temple came over last Saturday and will fly back home on this coming Saturday. She’s been widowed for several years and works faithfully two days a week in the temple. She’s been fun to have around for the week and I hope that she’s enjoyed being here. I’m sure we’ve also worn her out! I hope to be that spry and healthy when I’m her age. Life continues to be good!

Getting home to my own place and my own bed is always quite satisfying. I’ve been out of town for the better part of three weeks and should now be at home for the next month of so. Except, of course, that we’re planning to possibly take a short trip around President’s Day to Arizona to warm up the bones and play with the grandkids. That isn’t really being gone — just like a vacation isn’t really being gone. Only business trips count in the “being gone” category!

And there is still a lot of snow on the ground. This morning the temperatures are right at freezing. Snow is both melting and falling from the sky. The weather maps indicate some heavier precipitation west of Pocatello and a little bit south. We’re headed to the Salt Lake Airport in a few minutes to pick up a friend of ours who is flying in from Denver to spend a week. Helen lives in Castle Rock, about twenty minutes south of the Denver Temple. We picked her up each week on our way to the temple and took her home after our shift working at the temple and become good friends. She’s in her mid-80’s and very spry and adventuresome and we’re quite delighted to have her come over for a week. The Denver Temple is closed for winter vacation this week making her time available to visit with us. We’ll probably drive through some snow on our way to the airport, I think. If there’s any weather around, it’ll show up as we drive over Malad Pass and into the Great Salt Lake Valley. Snow is a good thing, however. The water is very important!

What an experience! As part of the Lotusphere Conference, one of the business partners salesplace.com had their launch party at Epcot Center last night. As part of the party we were treated to a ride or two on Mission Space, a new attraction in Epcot. I can only describe the experience as “stupendous.” Folks who have difficulty with tight, cramped spaces, spinning, and some disorientation probably need to stay away from the ride. I was able to get two rides in and would have gone several more times had the opportunity been there. Two thumbs up — four stars — V for victory — however it can be said, this is one awesome experience.