March and April 1986

Insert: picture missing / caption:

This is a picture of Rick & me in our tuxedos at the reception in Medford, Oregon.  On Sat., March 1, Norma & I drove with Rick & Laurie to Medford for their reception.  I was able to attend, but still not well.

Norma & I were most impressed with Laurie and her family who feel very grateful that Rick has become their son-in-law.

Insert: series of four pictures of Kirk J. Anderson in leisure, tuxedo, and suit attire / caption:

A pleasant experience _ when Norma & I were walking through Nordstrom’s store on our way from the genealogical library to eat our lunch – we were in Salt Lake – Norma says: “Kirk there is a Madras jacket that you would enjoy very much”.  Spontaneously we went about purchasing it.  I had not even noticed it, but Norma’s eye had caught it and in her consideration for me she made the suggestion I buy it.  I am grateful for her and for the jacket.

I put this picture of me in my journal to remind me of certain feelings I had about tuxedos and how we must listen to the feelings of others.  I truly dislike wearing a tuxedo and think I’m only had one  on at the receptions of our children’s weddings, as well as, at a couple of medical meetings.  In my own heat I was very resistant to wearing a tuxedo at Rick and Laurie’s reception, but kept my mouth shut and honored their feelings.  After I got the tux on I rather enjoyed it and realized how important it was for one of the 3 major events in their lives.

Insert: article “Human Factors Workshop” Aviation Safety March 1, 1986 / caption: Some of the fallacies in aeronautical training & accidents that relate to life

March 28, 1986

Tonight Norma and I had a very traumatic experience.  Several weeks ago I had a call from one of my previous patients who state that he wanted to know more about our church.  I invited him to our home.  He then asked if he could bring a friend and I said “of course”.

We were hardly seated when I realized that “the friend” was a disciple of Lucifer.  He was obviously a student and tried to be most impressive with his diatribe about the great Alexanderum scholars and the Jewish Rabbis – I asked him why he has desired to come into our home.  He said, because he wanted to “save us”.

He was invasive, obtrusive, and a smug sophist of the first order.  The only thing Norma & I could do was to bear our testimonies, but I made at clear we recognized the nature of his spirit.  The utter gall of such a person who would gain entrance into the sanctity of our home and then be so rude was unbelievable.  

After they left we recognized that he was undoubtedly a Sherem – an excommunicated apostate-

Insert: 3 live shot pictures of ducks / caption: I placed these pictures of my friends the mallard ducks in my journal so I could refer to them when carving and painting my models.

Insert: picture / caption: (on the picture) overcast, cowling of 828ID (under picture) This is a familiar scene very dear to my heart that I have witnessed many times.  We are returning to Seattle in 828ID, our plane.  Below are the Cascade Mtn’s.  We have just passed Mt. Rainier on our left and ahead is an overcast at 8000’ that is just beginning to break up.  We have just been cleared to 8000’.

Insert: picture (labeled 1-9) / caption:

We are now established on the ILS – the instrument guidance system which aligns the plane with the runway at Boeing field and guides the plane as to the correct rate of descent to the runway.

The time is 16 minutes after 1PM (1). We are in the overcast with the altimeter reading 1000’. (2) The HIS shows the wings level and 1 breath below the horizon (3) which with the gear (landing gear) in the down position (4) allows the plane to descent at 500’ /minute (5) with an airspeed of 100 knots (6) as indicated on the airspeed indicator.  

The STEC autopilot (7) is locked onto both the localizer and glide slope radio signals being transmitted from the airport. The plane is right on the localizer as indicated by the centered indicator (8) and, also, right on the glide slope as indicated by the pegged glide slope indicator (9).  With all systems looking good we were supposed to reach the runway at 3 minutes 40 seconds.  We passed over the threshold at 3’ 43”

Insert: picture / caption (labeled on the picture) overcast, West Seattle, Harbor Island, 8281D Cowling (under picture) 8281D is just breaking out of the overcast.  We are about 4 miles from the airport and still can’t make out the runway of Boeing field because of fog and mist.

Insert: picture / caption (labeled on the picture) overcast (under picture) Runway 13R (outlined and arrow) is now identifiable straight ahead.

Insert: picture / caption (labeled on the picture) 1 & 2 (under picture) Now prepared & cleared for landing.  Runway 13R straight ahead (1) and freeway I5 is to the left. (2)

Insert: picture / caption (labveled on the picture) McCall runway (under picture) Flight over McCall, Idaho in March, 1986

Insert: picture(s)

• Airplane mechanic (no caption)
• Kirk J. Anderson with grandkids painting (labeled on the picture) Scotty paints Courtney holds
• Carved duck (labeled on the picture) Bufflehead duck decoy painted by Courtney, Scotty & myself

April 5, 1986

Teaching grandchildren Courtney and Scotty Biddle how to paint a Bufflehead duck decoy.

Insert: picture of Kirk J. Anderson / caption: This is my walking & golfing suit.  Since retirement Jan 1, 86 I have been able to walk with Norma regularly & play golf 2x weekly with a loss of 20 lbs!

Insert: picture of Kirk J. Anderson golfing / caption

About 25 years ago I took golf lessons from my good friend, Ray Bennett, and bought new clubs with the idea that I would probably join a golf club.  That idea was terminated when the Farmer children came to live with us.  Now, after retirement I started playing again & enjoy it tremendously.

Insert: picture of Kirk J. Anderson golfing / caption

My other golfing buddy, Ray Tame.

How I enjoy these righteous men.  They are great fun; sessions about their golf, and marvelous company Ray was married 2 days after Norma & me in the Salt Lake Temple.  We came to know one another in the 1^st Ward and subsequently the 8^th Ward.  Our friendship has always had great depth.

Insert: picture of Gene Conger in golf cart / caption:

My golf buddy, Gene Conger.  He, along with Ray Tame got me started playing golf again.  He was our first bishop in the 1^st Ward of the Seattle Stake.  His wife got Norma started in the Primary, which brought us back into activity.  Our paths did not cross for many years until the Seattle Temple was built.  He was a member of the Temple Presidency and now we share duty as sealers in the Temple.

Insert: picture of Kirk J. Anderson & Duncan Biddle (no caption)

Insert: picture of tulips

April 6, 1986

This day Norma & I took Carol & Duncan to the Columbia Gorge hotel in Hood River, Oregon to celebrate her birthday.  It was magnificent weather and the setting was also.

Insert: picture of Duncan & Carol Biddle surrounded by spring flowers

Insert: picture(s)

• Kirk & Norma Anderson in doorway of Marquam Manor (apartments)
• Kirk J. Anderson in front of University Hospital North
• Kirk J. Anderson in front of University of Oregon Medical School

April 6, 1986

On the way home from Columbia Gorge hotel we stopped in Portland and showed Carol & Duncan the University of Oregon Medical School which I attended 45 years ago.  We alos chowed them Marquam Manor which was the first home (really an apartment) for Norma and me when we were married in 1942. 

April 12, 1986

Today while bathing I received a crystal clear impression that all my thinking and planning for a mission has been on my terms – my time limit – not the Lord’s.  This is not my mission!!  It is the Lord’s errand or mission.

Norma and I knelt in prayer and covenanted with the Lord that we would do anything He calls us to do.  We asked only in return that we might be assured that our family would be cared for and that their problems would be eased and resolved while we served.  Also, that our own minds and hearts might be freed of worry.

August 21, 1974 – more info needed

Today another spiritual occasion in our family prompts me to write of its nature. It is a sequel and another manifestation of that which I recorded on page 56 (*** add entry date as p. #'s will be lost***). This morning after breakfast, Carol, Jane, Chris and myself were reading the scriptures in front of the fire – each of us reading in silence and in our own way. Then Norma suggested that she wanted to play for us a tape from Br. Richard Cown (BYU) on the Doctrine and Covenants. 15 of us then gathered together to earnestly learn together. How can I ever thank the Lord enough for this rich blessing and spiritual atmosphere of learning that our family enjoys. He is truly leading us by the hand. My confidence waxes strong in giving blessings and using the power of the priesthood in our home because I know that as long as we are righteous our prayers will be answered as they have in the past.

PG 107 [No Date Provided] – This letter is a sequel to my notes on page 98 (see Aug. 12th entry regarding his visit with his father). I wrote to Pres. Ezra Taft Benson and told him how much his gesture of friendship to my father meant to our family and to the generations to come. I also told him how I sustain him as an Apostle of the Lord because I have a testimony of what and who he really is.

[The letter is dated Sept 3, 1974 and reads:]

            Dear Dr. Anderson:

            For your very thoughtful and generous letter of August 12, I am deeply grateful. It was a real joy and inspiration to see your father at the funeral of Aunt Carmen. It called to mind many memories, all of them pleasant, of my association with your father and mother, and you and your brother as boys of the Aaronic Priesthood. I have no doubt that your father is might proud of you.

            God bless you in all the days to come. Thank you so much for sending the letter. It gave a great uplift to Sister Benson and me.

            With prayerful wishes for your welfare.

            Faithfully your friend and brother,

                        Signed Ezra Taft Benson

August 12, 1974

Kirk James and I spent a wonderful day with Dad, one of the finest visits ever. He is now 84 years of age and very sharp mentally as well as physically. His ability to work is unbelievable. He arises at 3:30 AM and works from 4:30 AM until noon. He has 8 people working for him. My sister Ruth directs the office force. He told us that he paid $135,000 in income for last year. His contributions to the Church are also larger. He indicated that his contribution to the ward budget alone was over $12,000 last year. If his longevity is any indication then I may be living quite a while yet.

            After we had attended church Dad told us some events in his life that bear recording and will be interesting and edifying for those who read about him in my journal.

            Dad told us that he attended the funeral of Carmen Smith in the past few weeks. Ezra Taft Benson, who is President of the Quorum of the Twelve and one who may become the next President and Prophet of the Church; also a nephew to Carmen Smith spoke at her funeral and he asked to see Leland David Anderson (my father) as soon as possible. When Dad sought him out Pres Benson greeted him with outstretched arms and indicated his high respect for my father. He asked Dad if there was anything he could do for him. Dad replied – “When you become President of the Church then call me to be your 1st Counselor”. Pres Benson replied – “There isn’t a better man that I could find.” Then he said: “Do you remember the Weiser incident?” and Dad said yes, he surely did. When President Benson was President of the Stake MIA in Boise Dad was called as one of his counselors. A man had absconded with $260 which had been raised for an MIA function. Pres Benson sent Dad to Weiser to recover the funds. A Bishop told Dad in a meeting the destitute circumstances of the involved person and how he would be unable to repay the money. All of a sudden, Dad saw red and told the Bishop – “Bishop, I want you to get the Go*-Da** SOB in my office with that money on Monday or he will go to jail”. The following day, Pres Benson called Dad and said “What happened in Weiser?” and “What about your language?” Dad replied: “I guess in my anger I called on the Lord in a forceful way”. The next day, Pres Benson received a check for $260. [See Aug 21, 1974 entry for a follow-on to this story/entry]

[editor note: this entry was shortened]

Nov 4, 1973

This has been such a special day. I feel such gratitude to be able to partake of the Lord’s Sabbath. I have a Bishop – Edward Filleny – who is a prime example of LDS leadership to me – He is truly humble, without guile, and has the Bishop’s mantle about him. I am grateful in sharing in love and mutual respect with him that gives me peace to know he will be my judge in passing the “test” for eternal life.

The Lord has truly heard our pleas and is now showering us with blessings. Eric will be ordained an Elder this month. Kirk, Leland, and I will be able to lay our hands upon his head together. How could the Lord bless me so much as to let me live in the presence of these choice young men and influence them in regard to gospel living. My spiritual eyes have been opened such that I can see the future impact our family can and will have in the Lord’s work. I can hardly contain the enormous gratitude I feel when I see that we will be able to continue this relationship for eternity.

Our home rings with deep and concerned Gospel questions and thoughts 3-4 times a week. Since Shirlie and Leland Anderson (my nephew and his wife) have moved to Seattle along with Eric and his family, our lives have taken on a new dimension. Norma and I find ourselves in the role of teachers. We accept one another as we are and are truly concerned about each others growth and welfare. I pray with all my heart that it may always be so!!!

I find myself living in the midst of the most choice people in my family that I have ever known. In addition, we share a gospel relationship with some of the world’s choicest Spirits in the 8th ward of the Seattle North Stake.

Oct 26, 1973

We (Norma and I) are now in Provo. We have just been in San Diego attending the Western Orthopaedic Assoc WOA ( Meeting. This is the 9th time this year I have come to Salt Lake or Provo. The Lord has truly been good to us in allowing us to travel as we do. We have been able to see the children frequently – last Spring there were 6 of them in University study – Kirk (Univ of Utah law school), Kathy (graduated Magna cum laude – Univ of Utah), her husband Davis, Jim (graduated cum laude – Univ of Utah), his wife Peggy, and Jane. And now Tom – No. 7 is at BYU.

I feel a sense of urgency to see each of them whenever possible, to let them know of our love for them; to let them know how proud we are of them and their growth; and to develop a feeling of strong family Unity. How I rejoice that Eric and Chris and Eric II are close to us in Seattle and that Leland (my nephew) and his wife Shirli are attending school in Seattle. I know that God has answered our prayers and after much trial and tribulation has molded us and we are now in a period of harvest where we are truly enjoying His Spirit and guidance. I also know that He can and will use us as a family to accomplish the work in these last days.

When I attend a medical meeting I realize that the frontiers of knowledge are advancing rapidly. However, so much of it is irrelevant to the treatment and understanding of human disease and the human condition. Although many facts and trusts are presented, they are of dubious importance. And so – as I am now serving as one of the 2 Board of Directors of the WOA – the position is of little value because as medical men we are so steeped in tradition that we do not readily identify the “weightier truths”. We collect and stockpile data to become “learned” by the definition of the scriptures, but we fail to gain “wisdom” through properly distilling the acquired data. We understand to some degree the physical person as a medical man, but fail to understand the soul. The highlight of the meeting occurred when I met Ron Dykes (Representative for Richards Instrument Co) and learned that his wife had died 2 months ago from a brain stem injury riding a bicycle. She leaves 5 children who are strong in the Gospel. Ron is a non-committed Mormon – I was able to testify to him and offer my help in any way he desired me to help him in this hour of despair, decision, and compassionate understanding. Ron understood that he would have to embrace the Gospel “all the way” to please his children. It is evident to me that no matter what the circumstances may be that one can’t commit himself to the Gospel for someone else – it won’t work. It’s a completely personal thing – the commitment must be between Ron and his Father in Heaven. I had a strong feeling that his wife was taken from earth to do just that – to put Ron in a position where he would now, once and for all, have to make a decision whether he will make such a commitment. If he does than the true “issues of life” begin to reveal themselves, because he can then be sealed to his wife and children. Otherwise they are in limbo as it pertains to their relationship to their “physical” parents here on this earth.

And so, being able to confront one of the weightier issues of life, the meeting took an added enjoyment and value. I was also able to genuinely offer my sympathy to Harry Nash (an old associate in the Seattle Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic), whose oldest son had just become paralyzed when racing a motorcycle and whose youngest son had recently committed suicide because of an unhappy marriage.