Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Elections

The big school board election was yesterday and son Steven made a good showing, but fell about 65 votes short of winning. We're very proud of him for starting something like this and for doing as well as he did. He ended up second, getting over twice as many votes as the third place finisher. Along the way, he met a lot of nice people, got his name out there, became known as someone who does his homework and is willing to listen. I think he has caught the political bug. Look for him to do more in the future.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Weddings and Elections

Next week is a big week for the Chambers family. First, oldest son Steven has a big election on Tuesday, June 24. Back in March he decided to run for the new school board for the unnamed district created when the east side cities, Draper, Sandy, Midvale, Cottonwood Heights, voted to split from the Jordan School district. At the time, he viewed this as a long shot, but hard work, persistence and a little luck have made him one of the frontrunners among the seven candidates. His grandfather (my dad), who served as a city commissioner and mayor of Logan, and still serves as a member of the Fish Haven, Idaho, water and sewer board, couldn't be more excited if he was running himself.
Then, on Saturday, oldest daughter, Courtney, will be married in the Bountiful temple to her sweetheart Robert. They met last year at LDS Hospital where she works as an RN and he works as a CNA. He's in nursing school at Weber State. They are such a cute couple. We are looking forward to them living with us for a few months while the condo they bought in North Salt Lake is finished.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Writing

I've had some success getting published with nonfiction, at least as far as newspaper articles go. For several months I've been a regular monthly columnist for The Intermountain Commercial Record, writing on topical subject such as the subprime mortgage mess, bankruptcy and real estate investing. Last month an article I wrote was the feature story in TriHive, a quarterly publication for the triathlon community. The article, entitled Clydesdales and Athenas -- Setting Their Own Pace is a look at the problems faced by Clydesdale athletes, those who weigh over 200 lbs. for men and 150 lbs. for women. It seems to have gone over well. The newspaper was in the goodie bag of all the participants at the Salem Spring Triathlon (see post on "Triathlon", below).
But I remain unpublished in the fiction arena. I have one book completed and out to publishers. The Cain Covenant is Raiders of the Lost Ark for Mormons. Hopefully someone will pick up on it. I have two other books in the works, one a novel of the early 20th century and the other a nonfiction work about the value of Scouting for today's youth.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Triathlons

Last Saturday my two sons, one daughter-in-law and I did the Salem Spring Triathlon, only it ended up being the Salem Winter Aquathon. Rain and snow in the mountains cancelled the bike portion. At 9:00 a.m. they asked for volunteers to leave the 45 degree weather and test the water to see if it was safe for the swim. The word came back that the water was warmer than the air, so we all suited up in wetsuits and anxiously awaited the start. This was my first triathlon since Spudman 2005 where I thought I was going to drown (really). On the swim in the Snake River, I had an anxiety attack brought on by murky water, thrashing swimmers around me and the tightness of a wetsuit. I remember rolling over on my back and looking up at the white puffy clouds in the sky and thinking, this is a good day to die. But I floated through the swim and survived. So it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I entered the Salem Pond on Saturday and put my face in the water. After getting used to the cold and swimming a bit, I quickly found that a full wetsuit is kind of fun! You can almost float vertically, something like a cork bobbing up and down. The wetsuit was still constricting and made breathing a little difficult to where I had to stop and catch my breath, but it was fun. The run.....well, the run and I have never been friends. It goes back to P.E. in junior high. If you screwed up, you ran laps. Running has always been associated with punishment to me. Anyway, we all finished and, as they say, a good time was had by all.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

First Post

Welcome to my first post on this blog. We'll have to see what form and content it ends up with. There are a wide range of topics to look at, from politics to work to books to just about anything. So for this first post, I'll start with the current political situation. Hillary Clinton is finally out of the presidential race, though anyone who thinks the Clintons will go quietly into the night had better think again. Barack Obama plain scares me. After sixteen months of campaigning, we still don't have a clue who he is or what he stands for. We know that he has spent many years associated with hate-filled preachers who beseech God to damn America. Is that the kind of leader we want? For me, the answer has to be NO!