A (belated) Holiday Poem

For this week's post, I want to share a poem I wrote. I hope you enjoy it.

T'was the Evening of Christmas by Evan Joseph

T'was the evening of Christmas and all through the house,

There were tons of new gadgets: a new keyboard and mouse.

The Blu-Ray was open, and so was the Wii,

Each one hooked up to a sep’rate TV.

The children were setting iphones by their beds

With earbuds from ipods plugged into their heads.

And Ma with her Kindle and I with my Nook,

Were each settled in with a digital book.

Grandma was typing, all tippity-tap

On the notebook computer that sat on her lap,

Googling and asking, “Now, what’s all this hype,

With Twitter, and Myspace, and Facebook, and Skype?”

And none of us noticed, all snuggly and warm

The weather outside was beginning to storm.

The clear sky was turning all cloudy and foul;

The wind was a-whipping and starting to howl.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

I paused the Tivo to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The wind had ripped off of the sycamore tree

An oversized branch just as quick as can be.

It hit a transformer, whose sparkling glow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

The box blew apart with a bright flash of spark.

The whole house got suddenly quiet and dark.

Little Timmy ran in and he cried with a shout,

“The internet’s down and the power’s gone out!”

Then Suzy chimed in with a terrible cry,

“If I can’t check my email I think I’ll just die.”

We sat in the dark for a minute or two,

None of us knowing just what we should do.

But then I thought back to when I was a kid

And remembered a wonderful thing that we did.

I got out a candle, a long yellow taper,

And a book that was made up of actual paper.

I gathered my wondering fam’ly around,

Folks on the sofa and kids on the ground.

I opened the cover and found the right spot:

A story I knew from when I was a tot.

Before I could read them the very first line,

Timmy said, “Dad, will this take too much time?”

And Suzy was certain the whole thing would stink,

“We’re too old for stories, Dad, wouldn’t you think?”

I told them to wait and to give it a shot

Before they decide it was worth it or not.

They grumbled a little, a moment or so,

Then finally decided to give it a go.

They sat and they listened, and after a while,

That frowny complexion turned into a smile.

They sat a bit taller and inched ‘cross the floor

As if they were trying to hear even more.

And as we were nearing the very best part,

The lights flickered on, we all jumped with a start.  

Without even thinking, not missing a beat.

Timmy hopped up to his quick little feet.

“Let’s finish!” he said with a grin on his lip,

Then ran to the light switch and gave it a flip.

We finished our tale by the soft candlelight,

Reading together well into the night.

Then Timmy and Suzy got ready for bed;

I tucked each one in with a kiss on the head.

To each child I said as I turned out the light,

“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

Taking offense

            Years ago, I read an article in a college newspaper. They were interviewing a black athlete who attended a college with very few black students. They asked if people ever said anything to him that was offensive. I’ve always remembered his response. He replied that sometimes people had said some things that were offensive, but he knew they didn’t mean to give offense, so he wasn’t bothered by it.

            As I thought about his response, it dawned on me that when someone “says something offensive,” there are two possible reasons. First, they didn’t mean anything by it, so it would silly to take offense when none was given. (It might even be considered stealing, taking something that was not given.) The second alternative is that they meant it, but to let someone so rude “offend you” would be giving them too much power over your emotions, so it would be silly to let them. Either way, it makes no sense to be offended. On one side you’re being hyper-sensitive, which isn’t healthy, and on the other side you’re allowing a mean person a great deal of power and influence over your emotional well-being, which also isn’t healthy.

            Offense is like really bad advice: just because someone offers it doesn’t mean you need to take it. 

@%#$?&!

            I am among those in society who dislike hearing strong language. As an author, a user of carefully selected words, I dislike the term “strong language.” There’s a connotation attached, an implication that such words are imbued with extra strength. I completely disagree. They're generally pretty weak words, a last resort for lapses in creativity or a small vocabulary.

            I realize that the term “strong language” is just a euphemism, like describing a trip to the toilet as “powdering one's nose” or “visiting the little boy’s room”, but it’s a complete misnomer. Truly strong language carries its own power and needs no vulgar slaps to get your attention. If you agree or disagree, feel free to leave a comment, but please, no “strong language.”

             

Crossing off #15

Welcome. This is my first post. I'm warning you now, the whole thing is pretty long. I just finished my degree and I thought for my first post, I'd share an excerpted version of my final paper. I cut about half of it out, but it's still reeeeeaaaally long. So for those of you who have somewhere else to be, this is it. Thanks for stopping by. I'll post something super short next time; I promise.

For those adventurous enough to continue, here is my paper:

            In the summer of 1996, I wrote a list of things I wanted to accomplish in life. The items included feats of physical accomplishment, like finishing a marathon, and musical aspirations, such as learning certain favorite songs on the piano or guitar. Other goals revolved around spiritual growth, such as memorizing various scriptural passages. There were also intellectual goals like reading classic books and becoming adept at foreign languages. Included in this category was number 15, which read, “Graduate from BYU.” At the time, this seemed like a slam dunk as they say, an accomplishment that was almost certain as I was already enrolled and had completed most of my General Education courses. But not long after, due to frustrations over choices of major and personal difficulties, I dropped out of college.

            It felt then like this item would never be checked off, and with that thought came a realization that it was probably the single most important item on my list. Mentally, I moved it up to first place, my highest priority goal, and made it a matter of prayer. Years later I heard about the BGS program, and my hope returned.

            At the time, I was not really concerned about the Aims of a BYU Education or how the BGS program would help me develop in those areas, I just wanted to meet goal number 15. As I would come to realize, the list I had made all those years before was really a list of my Aims, and in general, they fit nicely with the Aims of BYU and the BGS program. I have also come to realize that the Lord was using this opportunity in my life to stretch me, to give me the opportunity to grow beyond the simple aims I had set for myself. He wanted me to see further, to aim higher, and accomplish more than I had thought possible.

            I’d like to share with you some examples of the opportunities I have been provided through the BGS program that have helped me to do more than just cross off number 15. These experiences have helped me to grow spiritually and intellectually, and have led me to develop my character more deeply so that I can be of more service to my family, my God, and my world.

                        As much as any lecture, test, or assignment, my personal character and moral commitment were strengthened by the eight-year time limit of the BGS program. When I made the commitment to return to school, I was working a steady job for my father-in-law, and had a pretty simple church calling in the primary, and I was able to complete the courses at a slow, convenient pace. One day my father-in-law informed me that I was being “laid off”, and wouldn’t work for him anymore. Instead, he gave me the opportunity to be self-employed, running a small portion of his business. While this was a great opportunity, I had to juggle my time, finances, and priorities more efficiently than I had in the past. Soon after that, I was called to be the president of a quorum, a rather time-consuming calling, and from there I was asked to teach early morning seminary, a calling that would stretch me even more.

            During this time, my classes moved to the back burner, as I focused on other aspects of my life. When I was released from seminary and able to return to my studies, I realized that the slow pace I had been making earlier wasn’t going to cut it anymore. I recommitted myself to finishing and created a new schedule. The classes that had once been planned in months were now figured in weeks. No longer was I counting how many hours I needed to study in a week, but how many I would study each day. The Lord stretched me, and my character grew.

            When I was at BYU full time, one of the main reasons I didn’t finish was because I could never choose a major. I bounced through several, but I couldn’t put my heart into any of them. Years later, when I started the BGS program, I had a career path in mind, but I eventually came to see that it wouldn’t work out either. At that point I made a decision; I would pick an emphasis that could help me in whatever path I chose, and I settled on Management, knowing that the leadership, communication, and problem solving skills would be useful in whatever field I chose.

            When I first saw the syllabus for one class, I was disheartened upon reading the requirement that I was to write more than 40 essays, each one between 400 and 800 words long. I’m sure the professor saw this as an opportunity to expand the breadth of my education, one of the Aims, but I came to see it differently. At this time in my life, thanks to my wife, I was becoming very involved in the world of writing and was considering it as a potential career. Rather than feeling discouraged at the prospect of writing so many essays, I made the decision to use this as an opportunity to strengthen this talent. Though they were time consuming, I found myself enjoying the writing experiences. Ironically, I thought I couldn’t earn a degree until I knew what I wanted to do, but instead, I found out what I wanted to do by finishing something completely different.

            The opportunity to finish my degree has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I have truly grown spiritually, morally, and intellectually. The self-discipline and moral character I have acquired and the knowledge and skills I have gained will benefit not only me but those who I serve throughout my life. I’m almost ready to cross number 15 off my list. Looking at it now, I think that if I hadn’t finished this one item, I would have given up on the whole list. I’m going to keep crossing things off my list, and adding new ones as well. Maybe I’ll work on number 30 next: Write a book.