My Life in Theater: Brigadoon

This production was produced by the Utah State University Extension in Roosevelt and Vernal.  We performed at both Union and Uintah High Schools.  This would have been 1986.  Natalia was a baby.  I portrayed the part of Andrew McClaren, the father of Jeannie, who is getting married, and Fiona, who during the course of the production falls in love with Tommy Allbright, who with his companion are two weary hunters who have lost there way in Scotland, and come upon a 200 year old village in the high land mist.  This village is frozen in time, but only if everyone stays.  Tension is created as Harry Beaton also loves Fiona.  He is determined to leave, which will destroy everyone. 

Kathy Tucker director

Doug Barlow as Charlie who is marrying Jeannie

Tommy's side kick

town leader

Jeannie

Meg, Uintah high school drama teacher

Harry Beaton

Taunia Wheeler as Fiona

Russell Griffin as Tommy

Nels Carlson: producer

Me the Roofer

The summer before I graduated form USU, 1980, I went to Salt Lake to work with my Dad. school, my dad hired me to help him with his roof.  He was remodeling his home in Salt Lake City, and I spent much of he summer with him, when I wasn't busy with work in Hyrum. 
I had never done anything like this, but my Dad showed me how to use the shingling hammer, and move the supports as I needed to. 

 My Dad put in that front window, but the first window was defective, so he and I had to exchange it and put in another window.  We also remodeled inside, enlarging the bathroom, and moving the kitchen to make another bedroom.

That is me way up there

Utah State Graduation 1981

I graduated from Utah State in 1981.  I had a double major in Social Work and Spanish with a minor in Journalism.  Knowing Spanish I received a BA.  Our college, Humanities Arts and Social Sciences, organized in the auditorium of Old Main, and from there we marched to the Spectrum for the ceremony.  My dad took lots of pictures.

Mission Call 1976

I received my call early September.  I was called to serve in the Buenos Aires North Mission.  The call was signed by President Spencer Kimball. 

Because of the difficulty with getting visas, there was a period of several months between getting my call and my going to the LTM.  In face so much time that I was able to attend an extra quarter of school.  I wasn't planning on attending, but I got the call with time to enroll, and didn't leave until like a week before the end of the quarter.  I just had to arrange to take my finals a week early.  I remember taking a couple philosophy courses, and that is where I learned some visual jokes, and how to think so logically (that is satire about myself).  I also took music theory, and embarrassed myself rewriting a Beatles song. 

That bag didn't make the trip with me.  I used my brief case.

Finally I headed for the LTM in December, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

USU Social Work School: Community Organization; Geriatric Awareness

As I watched the movie "The Mailbox" today, I was reminded of my community solutions class my senior year at USU.  Being a community organization class, we had an assignment to do a community project, something that would leave things better.  We had a fairly large group.  I remember Darlene Henry and Marsha Leigh were part of the group, students who went with me to graduate school.  Darlene was pursuing a career in gerontology social work, and that may be why we decided on our particular project.  We had two goals, to increase awareness of the blight of older citizens, and to raise money for a van for the geriatric community.  I don't know how we did towards raising money, but we were able to spilt up into several groups, and attend local high schools to talk about the lives of the elderly.  We did this by showing the movie "The Mailbox."  It was very effective.  This movie gets everyone thinking, whether about their grandparents or older parents.  Our group went to Sky View, and spent the day in either a social studies or health class, and taught all the classes that day as we had a successful day increasing awareness.  I am sure the teacher appreciated a less active day.
http://billywardlefamily.blogspot.com/2013/08/mormon-movie-review-mail-box.html

USU Certificate in Psephology

He was younger when I took his class in 1975

My freshman year in college I had some interest in political science and politics.  I took Dr. Dan Jones basic political science class and did well. Dr. Jones was often on the news talking about his polls and who he thought would win an election.  I followed up by taking his psephology course. Basically psephology is a big name for survey taking.  As part of this course, we actually were survey takers for a study he was doing of the attitudes of local residents in Cache Valley.  We helped put the survey together, and debated which questions might be weighted one way or another.  How the wording of a question might effect the result.  We also talked about targeted surveying and how to have a random sample.  In the survey we conducted, we randomly picked the blocks we were suppose to survey, and then the actual house.  We also had a random type of approach if the person wasn't home and we had to select a different home.  I canvased in Providence. 
It was a fun course.  When we completed it, Dr. Jones awarded us all a certificate in psephology.  I misplaced mine someplace.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56032083-90/jones-honored-utah-breakfast.html.csp

USU Placement: State Hospital South, Blackfoot, Idaho

The Summer before my last year at Utah State University, 1982, I completed my field placement at Idaho State Hospital South in Blackfoot, Idaho.  They had a place for us to sleep, fed us lunch, and let us develop our social work skills.  I actually had had a few cases and got to do the normal paperwork someone would do.  It was actually my first experience actually doing this.  I wrote social work assessments, interacted with residents in the therapeutic community, accompanied staff for field trips, including the movie and picnics.  Steve Weatherspoon was my immediate supervisor, and Lynn Crockett was the lead clinician on our unit.  Carol Mohar was a psychiatric nurse that worked with us.  I drove up from Cache Valley each week with Mary Ellen Spackman (from Sky View) and Blair Garner who were also doing their social work placements.

I had many experiences.  On one occasion a resident was threatening everyone with a brook.  Another resident snuck up behind him, and grabbed the broom holding it against him.  That was the end of his threat as he dropped the broom.  A girl on the unit on one occasion grabbed a fork, and was holding it to her wrist threatening to do damage to herself.  I was able to grab her wrist and get the fork away from her. 

Community meetings were interesting, as this was where people would earn their levels.  Actually there had been prediscussion by the staff, so this was more an announcement of levels.  I played softball and other recreational activities with the residents.  I listened to their stories.  We had a group which Steve lead.  On a regular basis this included having lunch family style instead of in the cafeteria.

I attended a community organizing meeting of staff, as they were talking about putting a track and exercise equipment on campus for the community.  I drove by a few years later and noticed this had become a reality.

I went with the group, those who had earned the trip by their levels, to a state owned campsite close to Yellowstone.  It was very nice.  There was a small pond with fishing.  I actually caught a few fish (I am terrible at fishing.  One time I got a hook caught in the reeds, and as there were extra poles I just grabbed another one.  In the meantime a fish grabbed the first hook.  The fish wiggling freed the tangle and I brought the fish in.)  I went canoeing around the pond.  On one side was logging equipment.  We took a day trip to Yellowstone, and we saw a moose in a river.  It was cool.

I left with many good experiences, and I had my first experience working with people with mental illness.   I was able to observe the quick changes that could take place with medication when someone was in a manic state.  My supervisors praised the job I had did, and my ability to complete the paperwork and assessments.

I was the brunt of a couple of jokes.  I was sent to supply to get fallopian tubes and a left-handed monkey wrench.  I had enough trust in others to not realize it was a joke until I had sat around a couple hours waiting for supply.  Then the supply clerk looked at the order and said he couldn't help me.   I went with Carol to watch her son play little-league baseball one evening.  They lived just outside of Blackfoot in a little town called Moreland.

I enjoyed Blackfoot as a visitor.  I watched ball games, as during the years we (Hyrum) had played against Blackfoot in tournaments.  I took the bus (Greyhound) home one weekend, as no one else was driving.  It had a layover in Pocatello.  I also spent weekends by myself in Blackfoot.  It was a fun summer.  Did you know there are tunnels under the hospital that go from building to building.  They are not always used, but they are there. 

Jaime Cantarovici

Spanish Professor, Jaime Cantarovici

I have been looking at the books of poetry from my Latin American Literature professor.  The books are called "Desde Lejos" and "Flores Artificiales" "From Afar" and "Artificial 

Flowers".  Both published in Spain, 1975 and 1982.  In the first book Dr. Cantarovici explored aging, and lamented that he could not carry as much as when he was younger.  He explores the routine in our lives in the poem "Inevitable".  I identify with this poem, as I feel sort of like I'm stuck in a rut.  Home to work, work to home, home to work, work to home, and to be honest, work isn't very challenging lately.  I've been doing the same thing for many years, but don't dare make changes because of the income; it's hard to rock the boat.

 Inevitable

Knowing that we are all in a line

same as those before,

same as those behind

Always in a line towards…

How sad it is to wait!

How sad it is to not love!

A thought, a word, a sigh,

they are gone forever

forever forgetting.

It is I who cries the morning

because I know what will come

it is I who knows the pain

of those that are in line.

The same as before, today and later,

never looking back

the Man hopes that a voice tells him

—Come forward— for you it is done.


This poem shows Jaime's lighter side


Child of Four Years

You will go to hell.
The will put on you black wings
full of worms
and spiders.
The devils

will dance a dark dance
and the fire will be
eternal.

Or..............

You will go to heaven.
They will put on you great white wings
full of flowers
and perfumes.
The angels
will dance a celestial dance
and the music will be
eternal,

If you behave well
and take your soup
you will go to heaven
to play with the clouds.
If you behave poorly...

I WANT SOUP!


 A short passage about love

LOVE

Life is short and passing
but love is eternal
The spring is light
But summer an infernal.

Autumn is cold
as is the summer
life is short and passing
but love is eternal.

FIRST LOVE

My son was born
with the moon conquered.
The sleep of the centuries
doesn't cause surprise
before your eyes.

It's a thing of yesterday
--the tell me--
it's routine monotony of yesterday.

Papa...
I'm in love
with a girl...
                 cybernetic...

A poem dedicated to his wife

SAY IT WITH YOUR EYES
                                        to Graciela

 Don't pronounce your name
Your life quiet it in secret
I want to discover the enigma
that hides in your chest.

Do you love me? Adore me?

Don't Say it!
                        NO!

It will just be words
that the wind erases.
Tomorrow we will want to remember
the mind in rebellion,
mute and silent
you will cry before the forgetfulness.

Do you love me?  Adore me?

Don't say it!
                         No!

In your profound ees
sealed in mistery,
is the precious jewelry box
where you guard the secret.

With emotion and tenderness
our glance unites
I will tell you in silence
                               I love you!

And int the rush of your face
I will know that you love me too.

Do you love me?  Adore me?

Tell me with your eyes
as they're sincere.

I thought I would share a little bit of Jaime with you.  I really think in poetry, you lay your heart bear, as his is bared in this small sample.  Jaime was a friend.  He signed the copy of have of "Desde Lejos".   I took three or four classes from him, the writings of Pablo Neruda, and a couple about Latin American Literature.  I will share some of the poetry from those classes in later blogs.

Jaime and I had a dual relationship.  In addition to being my professor, he was also a competitive coach in soccer.  I coached the team form Hyrum, and he coached his son's team in the early days of soccer play in Cache Valley.  I remember one year both our teams made it to the finals in Brigham City.  We had some good times.

Jaime was taken from us too young.  He was born in Bolivia, but his family moved to Argentina when he was in high school.  While visiting his family in Argentina in 1986 he had a massive heart attack and passed away.  He was only 43 years old at the time.