A Good Prison Day

Another good day was had at the Soledad Branch.  Four Priesthood brethren, President Romero, Sam Bailey, David Shipley and Rodney Evans, were in attendance.  President and brother Evans conducted the morning CTF North Yard meeting and 20 inmates were present.  Brothers Shipley and Bailey conducted the Salinas Valley Prison meeting and 4 inmates attended there.  4 inmates were either ill or in quarantine due to a flu outbreak in one of the buildings-cell blocs.  A good discussion was had at SVSP regarding Jacob chapter 5--The Allegory of the Tame and Wild Olive Branches.  Two of the inmates actually took the reading assignment from last week and prepared!  It was most refreshing.  President Manson's Sunday Am October Conference talk was also viewed and all enjoyed his wonderful spirit.  This was the first 'Prophetic' encounter for Martin Solorzano, a non-member who has recently joined our meetings.  Martin had taken an interest in the Church while incarcerated in Corcoran.  He has studied much and is genuinely interested in the doctrines of the Church.  

     Four inmates attended CTF Central afternoon meeting.  Our resident question askerer Robert Pike sparked a lively and very good discussion regarding the lineage of Jesus and of the Abrahamic covenant and the origin of the 'Jews'-Tribe of Judah.  A concerted effort is going to be made to reconnect with other inmates at Central who have either stopped coming or 'dropped off the radar'.  Not too long ago attendance at Central was ten or more on average.

     Brother's Bailey and Shipley returned home and President and Brother Evan's continued on to South Yard to meet with the inmates there.

     Jan is returning from a 4 day trek to 'Road to California' Quilt Show in Ontario.  She has had a good break from the routine here at home.  Uncle Bob arrived yesterday and has been visiting with Nana.  He is a 'good son'.

     I don't believe I have mentioned a couple of things.  I am able to play racquetball once again.  My shoulders have decided to stop hurting for which I am thankful.  I might even try to play a round of golf in the near future.  It has been over two and a half years since I last played.  I am also in the last throe's of going into business with another member of the church and his wife, John and Cathy Hanson.  I work with them on the Wednesday night Temple shift and he recently approached me about a Monterey based vending' business-D&L Vending.  John has a current vending business that he and Cathy run out of their home in San Juan Bautista.  He knew that I was in the payphone business and thought to ask me if I would be interested in becoming partners.  D&L is an ongoing business with annual revenues exceeding half a million dollars. The present owner has taken ill and has decided to sell.  We will know by the end of this coming week if the purchase is a go.  I am hoping it will be as the payphone business is fading into the distant past.  D&L will not provide an enormous amount of additional income, but enough to make it interesting.

     I had my 6 month heart checkup on Thursday and all is well from the doctor's standpoint.  I still have the recurring 'burn' symptoms with a bit a sickening feeling that definitely gets my attention.  Dr. Mustoe repeated that if these symptoms occurred during workout sessions, there would be a problem, but, I have had none, so....   My next appointment is in June and I am thinking of utilizing a thallium stress test procedure, where they inject a radioactive dye into my system and then take pictures of my heart at rest and then during a 'stress test run' on the treadmill.  Any blood restrictions to the heart muscle can thus be detected.  Dr. Mustoe has not previously mentioned this procedure as I have had no 'stress' symptoms but he said that it is a more effective way of seeing into the heart short of an angioplasty.  These symptoms have been decreasing in intensity and have come in doses of 3 or 4 in a day and then nothing for two or more weeks.  So....Other than that, I am good.

     I will join the Valparaiso Singers for the Good Friday Concert this spring and then will probably call it quits.  It has been a great run and I have truly loved singing with this talented group, made so by the conducting of Judith Stewart and the accompaniment of James Welch.

     I am also preparing for one more run of Ariel's production of 'The Emperors' New Clothes'.  It is hard to believe that 19 years have gone by since the first production when son Jamie and friend Brian Higginbotham were seniors in high school and played the parts of Weaver's.  This is the fourth time for me, so maybe I will get it right this time.  Again, this will probably be my last 'acting' run.  Ariel may close it's doors soon as Gail's health is in decline.  My voice is also showing the signs of age.  But not to be morose.  I am truly thankful for the talents given and have tried to turn those talents into blessings for those around me.