Public Servants

Today my grandson, Rudy, managed to insert his chubby eight year old body into a public park toddler swing in the wrong direction.  He was firmly stuck and somewhat upset.  His sixteen year old sister and I lacked the strength to remove him and his legs began to swell with the constriction.  I tried to cut away the rubber seat that constrained him but found it was covering steel.  I finally called the police department and after a brief stop at the wrong end of the park, an officer arrived and used bolt cutters to release the seat from the hefty chain.  Rudy still wore the steel and rubber swing seat but I had him lay down to let his legs get less swollen.  Soon a van with fire and rescue people arrived and with two on the legs and two on the upper body and another working near the groin to ease the passage of his legs out of the constriction he was free of the constraint.  It took nearly an hour in all to accomplish his freedom.  Today I felt quite friendly toward men in uniform.

Good Habits

I woke up with a sense of still having lung congestion but I decided to go to the temple and exercise breath control.  I was relatively successful during the endowment session but I didn't stay for sealings as is my usual practice.  I am grateful that I have pretty much mastered a set of habits which help me start the day productively.  Tomorrow I will go up to Tisha's home to be with Rudy for eight hours or so.  I think it is helpful for him as well as Hannah. 

Getting Better

I have chosen not to attend church or temple while I was often coughing.  I hope I will be enough improved tomorrow morning to keep my usual Thursday schedule.  I hope I will get up on time and get into my normal routine.

Editing and Eating

Today I decided to edit the pictures and text in my miniature copy of the Golden Plates in order to get the most from a maple plank that will yield a 2.75" width for each half if cut in two, which would mean 16 wooden blanks, versus only 8 if I stay with a width of 3.18.  Strangely this also resulted in easier editing of the text portion since it comes out even in spacing on an 8.5" x 11" page.  I also ate very much outside the lines I have tried to establish.  I plan to do a water fast tomorrow which will be easier to do when I am away from home for the morning.

Speaking at Sela's Baptism

My granddaughter, Sela, was baptized yesterday and I was asked to give the talk on Baptism.  I read the authorized procedure, as given by Christ to Nephi and his other disciples in the New World which is recorded in 3 Nephi 11:18, 21–22.  I told her to watch and see that there would be two people witnessing the baptism and that they would make sure she was completely covered in the water with not one hair or toe excepted.  As it happened the person baptizing her held her hand in such a way that part of it remained above the water and she had to be immersed again.  I'm glad I warned her of the possibility.  I also spoke about the need to keep the covenant by renewing it each Sunday when she took the sacrament. 

Launch

I put together an initial concept presentation for the wall mural.  I am hoping it fails.  I can use the graphics I created to make a family map of my own that I can post on my website.  As it happened, the client for the mural was clearly expecting to have something done that couldn't be accomplished.  He wanted to keep the mural general and simple and not provide a key, yet he wanted quite a bit of information to be given.  He made a reference to simplicity being the ultimate in elegance, but that only carries so far.  I am relieved the situation has been ended.

Pulling Through

I was able to put together a miniature replica of the Golden Plates for Sela's baptism on Saturday as well as finding a good copy of the coloring book I made several years ago.  I also finished making the map for the concept presentation for Matt Bowman.  I have mixed feelings about the project.  It would be a compliment to have my suggestions accepted, but the job could be a challenge because of the height.