McKay Coppins: Good Writer, Decent Article in the Atlantic Monthly, But:

I will only focus and harp on two things; okay three:

 

Critique # 1. Mormon, mormon, MOrmon, MORMON, mormon, Mormon, Mormonism, ... 

Mormon much? You do it too much, buddy.

I appreciated how you slipped Latter-day Saint in there a time or two, and the full name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was eventually mentioned, for measure of accuracy. But the President of the Church, that you admit, or agree with is the spokesperson for God on earth, (and who granted you an interview, a very generous one, it seems!) has specifically asked us members to give more attention to the Reason for the Season, the official name of the Church, and the Being in whom we posit our devotion and worship: Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Handl quoting Isaiah tells us more in his master work "The Messiah", as in the Counselor, the Prince of Peace, etc. Endless are His names. But you refer to us as the stereotype and at times denigration of a nickname, which granted is complicated, because we usually try to wear it with pride, and many life long members still use it too much. I get the shortness and ease of it. In Spanish and Arabic it is easy, too. Practically the same pronunciation in the languages of hundreds millions. In Spanish we can make it agree in gender as "Mormona". We all can call our Grandpa Papa or abuelo, or whatever cute cultural nickname we have for that guy. But I do think our living prophet makes a big point about nomenclature, and I am trying to stick with it. Then again, I am not writing for the Atlantic Monthly and I am simply an obscure blogger.

But you Mr. Coppins (a young Mister to me, a newly turned 50 year-old writing from my family den on a cold snowy day), reduced this faith of you and me and few more millions to the over-used trope "Mormon". Typical journalism, I suppose. And, sadly, you do not mention who that character of the unique identity-making book is: Mormon was a general, and editor, and a prophet of God. Yeah, that Mormon.

Oh, well. You can't have everything, McKay. Nice first name, too, named after a powerful earlier leader of the faith of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. I am not sure that you mentioned Restoration, either, but you did sum up the key points of many parts of Church history, albeit with a more recent slant on politics... It was a really good article, however, and I appreciate your points of view and I like your writing and reporting.

LDS was not used, the short acronym, which has been a standard go-to when avoiding the "M" word (yes, Tre Parker and Matt Stone: Mormon! Like as featured in your racist Broadway play, fashionably monikered the Book of Mormon! Wake up, woke nation post-George Floyd: Parker and Stone: bigots...). I digress...

Anyway, Mckay, you chose your name and you stuck with it. And overdid it, to the consternation of me and maybe the Prophet President Nelson (possibly more disappointment in his case), and maybe to the chagrin of the Son of God Himself, the Savior. Who is to say? It is very possible that the Lord of All Humanity is not chagrined by anything. So, maybe no harm, no foul. He of all, will forgive us our potential trespasses.

Okay, felt good getting that out there. Getting over it. (Not really, but it feels good to be honest).

Beef # 2. Hardships in the mission, but the mission was to do what ... For whom?

You personalized your article by mentioning your Church mission, how you had romantic fantasies about going abroad and roughing it with thatched roofs in the jungle beforehand (I wanted a dangerous mission, where I learned a foreign tongue; that sounded romantic and cool to me), and instead you were called to Texas, and how in Texas there were personal privations and struggles to be different, and that helped forge your character and faith. But what was the intent of the mission? Not just to pass out the pamphlets and be a good person and improve the brand name of the faith, which you amply discuss, and "sowing seeds", but to bring the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ into the lives of potential converts. Anyone else affected by your faith in the Lone Star State?

Did this happen? Boiled down, this is the crux of a mission for a participant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yes, a lot of the conversion and growth is about you, the actor, but what about them? Did your efforts lead anyone to Christ, as we say, formally or informally? Did they not have to join and be baptized to the religion, but were they moved, even a slight King Agrippa moment? Paul had tons of trials and great stories during his missions, but he brought thousands into the fold. That was the endgame of the mission, not just building his own character and identity.

Nada? 

Again, I know that this article cannot and should not be all things to all people, but you, as I, were called to be a representative or emissary of the Lord Jesus for two years, and that was meant to be a vehicle for others to see and possibly follow. So, I feel like you are talking around the subject more than actually discussing the hearts changed, moved, or affected, perhaps for the longer term, outside of yourself. Full disclosure: my parents are converts, perhaps unlike yours, and the conversion process and growth and identity of the faith is part and parcel to what I know and I have witnessed in this belief system. This Gospel, as we refer to it, the Gathering of Israel is another reference, is more about Jesus and others than it is about us. But, I get it. This article ends up having to be about "us".

I feel like you described a night out at a dinner but left some important things off the table, metaphorically. Nice analogy, huh? Even though my criticism may be misguided and wrong... I am not beyond criticism myself. I missed some good eats from your mission, I suppose I am trying to say. Unless there truly were none, which I find hard to believe.

Criticism # 3 Politics. Neutrality.

It's 2020; is hard to believe that we can separate our identities from our political, and let me say, domestic or CONUS (Continental United States) lives and cultures, as opposed to OCONUS (Outside the Continental 48 States and the District of Colombia).

I know that our current and most Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ have been U.S. citizens; their understanding and points of view, their culture and mentality has been largely informed by the country of their origin, plainly. However, most of them have lived abroad and visited non-U.S. places, and they all purport to be prophets, seers, and revelators for the whole world. 

McKay does an ample job of discussing U.S. perceptions of the Church (of Jesus Christ, not Mormon, not Moses) within the States by Americans. And yes, the actual title of the piece is the "Most American Religion". But I think that a lot of the point of this faith lies outside the confines of CONUS, and therefore Mr. Coppins is missing a large part of the mark.

Yes, Joseph Smith was an American man (white, non-slave owner, grew up pretty poor), and the subsequent leaders have all been American born minus John Taylor, of England and later Canada, but many of them are more than only Americans: they are world figures, they think of themselves as international, they speak multiple languages and consider dozens and dozens of other countries and cultures when considering and determining Church policies and how doctrines are taught, disseminated, and applied. So, what point am I making? While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, UT,🅡) is based in the United States, and is largely composed of US citizens and is "American" in many senses of the word, and even weighs in on U.S. standards and laws and debates, like gay marriage or MX missiles or other topics which it considers non-partisan and moral more than political, the status of the Church is not simply an American thing.

Well over a million members in Mexico. Closer to 1.5 million in Brazil. Going on a million in Philippines. Millions throughout the rest of Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa is exploding.

As much as Mitt Romney, or the Winter Olympics, or a few others have either defined or highlighted the faith in the grand ole U.S. of A., this faith is bigger than a presidential candidate or a sports event in Utah. The faith is definitely more than Utah, or North America, or the Western Hemisphere.

As American as the faith of the Mormons (yes, shout out to us, you, them, ease of the printed word) is, the Church of Jesus Christ is more than just an American religion.

It is a world faith. And more importantly to those who believe in its teachings, doctrine, authority, and destiny, it is the vehicle that is meant to fill the earth in the last days.

That global concept and presence, to me, goes beyond politics in our fine nation. Beyond Democrat, Independent, or Republican, beyond pro-unification with China in Taiwan, beyond the disputes between the European Union or the United Nations and the Israeli and Palestinians, but this Church is bigger than all those things.

Look to the One in charge, the Master in the tempest.

But I could be wrong.

One last note, simply reviewing the title in the link below: you do a good job of figuring out and laying forth a lot of the history, identity, and struggle of the faith in our country and as American Latter-day Saints. Thanks for the good work.

Blog it. Blog on. Stay in the fight.

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Cited below is the original article referred to by McKay, and a response to it below that, by Hal Boyd.

How Mormons Became American - The Atlantic

Hal Boyd: The Atlantic interviewed the prophet. Here’s what it got right - Deseret News

 China Talks to Russia --Usually in English

I write this conversation --that I dare you to read!-- in this language because it is my native and best one. I can converse adequately in a few other languages, that I have felt good about because of the sheer number of countries and peoples where they are spoken, and the mental and emotional effort that I have put into trying to acquire them . I earned my first college degree in Spanish, which was relatively easy to do in the United States after working on that language six consecutive years, including two in South America. But I still put effort into it; I had to try to understand, conceptualize, retain and memorize things in Spanish. There is a lot to the Spanish world. The grammar tests, the literature and poetry quizzes and tests, the history and culture tests, preceded by the books, lectures, dialogs, travels, and the mess ups and travails.

It's humbling, still is.

 

Also, a couple years ago I did a computation of how many countries and territories were in the world and how many different dialogs could occur between individuals from them. Around 56,800 or something like that. I did 4 or so, so far. But they were individual fictitious characters whereas these following characters will be the embodiments of the two countries in question. (Perhaps this is a bit like a Bertolt Brecht play I read back in college, I think to myself as I re-read this a few days later).

As big and bad and bold as the United States is in the 21th century, China and Russia are giant proud behemoth nations with arguably much longer histories. I say arguably, because people still discount the fact the United States still has a few million native Americans as part of the country, and they have always played an integral part of who we are.

Anyway, enough said.

Россия;  俄羅斯 (é luó sī): We are the largest country in the world, even without the former Soviet Republics, some of which we control anyways; the oceans are more open to us than to any other government or world Naval force. We are the pioneers (cosmonauts) of outer space; our culture and language is superior to all others, for many reasons will be verified over the course of time.

中國 (zhōng guó); Китай (yitai) : Yes, mother Russia, we recognize your vastness and power, but we have more land and sea that we have developed better in a shorter amount of time. Our population is not only massive but we transformed our citizenry into healthier, bigger, stronger, than ever before. Our multi-thousand year civilization has brought more to the world than anyone else. We are older than the Jews or Christians; the decadent capitalism of the West is surely the solution for allowing the common people to wallow in the mire while the earth founders in its own filth. We have the best solutions to improve the entire human race. We know what works and we are doing it.

Россия: We understand your point of view, ancient and modern China, but you do not possess enough true mineral and oceanic resources to really control the planet as we can. We share a common border and we appreciate the trade that you provide for us; your human development has been very well implemented due to the Marxist principles that you implemented in the past and how thy may still assist you economically and structurally. Speaking of Marx: he was a smart innovator that our early Russian pioneer revolutionaries were inspired, such as your Mao, but we currently have the right leadership to truly make things for the best. We appreciate your cooperation in these matters, helping the entire world develop as it should, with the sound principles that we have espoused and advanced across the globe for decades.

 
中國: China is poised in the world today like no other nation or people. We have our influence in every continent and corner of the globe, including the seas and into outer space. We are helping more starving, destitute, and economically stressed peoples in more nations that any other single country.

We are good at developing and growing, and we will continue to do so.

Not to be too insulting, but factually the Russian population has dropped because of health and diet issues, and the population is not regenerating as it should.

Россия: Yes, we understand your point of view. We have struggles in national health from the time of break up of the U.S.S.R. (1990-1991), and there have  been difficult transitions to compose our strongest version of our ourselves. It has taken a while for our leadership to coalesce as it is now constituted. We have made our biggest gains since our greatest leader, Putin, like your Mao, has put the proper policies into effect.

中國: We respectfully see the successes and triumphs of your ways, but we are convinced that the world will come further and further under Chinese influence and power. As we mentioned, we are trading and developing with partnerships all over the world. There are millions of people who otherwise would be jobless and starving without our industry and planning, in places where the so-called democratic nations are afraid to go. We are the true People's Republic, and we are the answer for the worst of the world's ills, including greed and corruption, that allow the common person to die forgotten. We know this was at the hear of Marx and Trotsky, Lenin and early Soviet leaders, which was brought to its highest fruition in Commander Mao here in China. We Chinese know what it is like to be occupied and exploited by the Western capitalist powers. They have always controlled and manipulated their colonized victims through drugs and violence, the same way the Western Hemisphere was stolen from the natives there. They tried it here, the British, the Portuguese, the Germans, the Dutch; almost all of them. The United States would have done the same after the Japanese War but gratefully Mao Zedong was in place to thwart them and establish our monumental government as now structured.

Россия: Bravo to you and your people for overcoming those oppressors and bullies. They persist still, and we are in similar situations as those countries strong enough to stand up to them. We share large regions of shared border, and we share in our history a mutual competition and antipathy with Japan. We need to stay friends and allies in order to go forward in our shared goals.

 

 
中國: Yes, there is room enough on the planet and beyond into space for both of our visions and trajectories. We both will continue to out-produce and outwork our more decadent competitors and the upstart insurgents, such as the extremist Muslims that we have had to face. We will sanitize and clean up our environments, scientifically, and according to best social science practices. We will bring prosperity to all as envisioned by our forbears.

Россия: We can agree to get along and become co-inheritors of the power and cultures that we share. As in the Soviet film technique of finding the true dialectic between the thesis and antithesis, we people-based nations and governments will discover the true paths for our humanity to share. We know it does not lie in the fanatical Islam or the misdirected democracies of the West, but in the true secular and Christian golden rule of do unto others as they would do unto you. Christ may not have been any divine being, but like Confucius or the Tao he was a wise counselor.

Dos vedanya, great Китай (yitai)

 

中國: Zai zhen, mother 俄羅斯 (é luó sī).

 

 

 Speaking Truth to Power

Discussions of marriage and family, powers and controls, economics, authorities

People come and go, some persons being the methods of disseminating truths and messages that help others to know things that benefit them. Most of us would like to be part of this group, yes? See something, say something (for the good of all). Look out and help your neighbor. There are others that believe that they need to cover or suppress the truth. Many individuals and groups have reasons for doing that. Some of those reasons are more nefarious than others. Sometimes it is to take advantage or exploit others, to cheat and get unlawful gain. Others are simply embarrassed by reporting things that they consider very personal or private. Suppressing needed truths that should be known by all can have disastrously dire consequences.

 

Spread the wealth, sharing is caring, go forth and do good: a number of mantras could be applied to sharing truth and spreading the word of help and aid for the mutual benefit of all.

Some people see religions in general as established structures that purposely try to cover up and suppress the truth of things, and things are exacerbated negatively when used or exploited by pernicious governments or communities, resulting in that things grow worse. Lies are spread, in other words.

Where does power lie? In money, in economic organizations that have freedom to use their influence as they choose, but bottom line within the family unit.  Power and influence beyond the nuclear family and kin is controlled by companies, syndicates, governments, gangs, clans, institutions, organized religions, clubs, teams: the money and power run together to create their own systems and flows of influence.

In India the caste system was the thing for millennia that controlled their millions. It still has its aftermath today. In China there was a stratus of rule, and it exists today, probably more than ever under the Chinese Communist Party, to the dismay of many. In the United States and much of the West we have our own ways of letting some rule and others control, either being subjugated by powers or allowing people their freedoms. Every society has its own methods and modes of control and power. Money, finance, and economics is usually the bottom line.

The institution and practice of marriage has been a source of power, control, standard of living, stability, or basis of normalcy and norms in almost every society ever.

In the United States and elsewhere the legality of marriage has been challenged and changed more recently, but it has also battled against the long time principle or implementation of plural marriage. It allows intimate interactions between consenting adults, and cohabitation, with little or no interference, except when separation occurs and custody and property rights are involved when non-married parents decide to split up, regardless of the paper designating them as a couple (common law).

The Catholic Church based in Rome has had a large part in the tradition of marriage of its members, the maintenance of celibate priesthood, and non-married nuns for centuries. It has certainly had its effects on many other nations and world events as well since 330 A.D., adopted in central Europe by the Emperor Constantine. Much of the rest of the world has reacted to the policies and practices, doctrines and dictates, of this great power ever since. Whole nations and religions have come to being in wake of the rulings of Rome.

In the fall of 1991 or so, not long after her precipitous rise to fame, and after I had lived in a transforming but traditional Catholic country in South America, the Irish rocker Sinead O'Connor performed on Saturday Night Live, then infamously after her song pulled a picture out which showed the very popular Pope John Paul II; she shred the photo in half to an awkward, dead silence in front of the studio audience and the rest of the televised world.

What did it mean? Authority as the West and the majority of humanity was dead? Icons of power or traditional virtue were to be torn up and destroyed? Yes, all of that, I would aRock and roll and the newer generations since the avant guardists of the turn of the 20th century had been pushing and climbing for this moment: to tear down traditional authority and let "freedom" and whatever the hippies of the sixties wanted. Freedom of love, expression, freedom to alter their minds through drugs, freedom to resist the governments and their patriarchies and wars, and it was against the mores of religion, at least the Western ones.

In the current age most of the freedoms and traditions of the West have been established. Republics, taxes, democratic representatives, rules or law locally, nationally, internationally. Economics and trade, science and innovation.

Now marriage in many societies has been allowed to permit same sex unions, and for decades these societies have allowed many other definitions of non-traditional marriage and sexual practices, while many of those same lands prohibit plural marriage, polygamy which has usually been where one many has multiple wives. Seemingly antiquated and not fair to the women involved, or the poor men who cannot afford the lifestyle, which has its merits in the Western, advanced mind.

People should be free to act and live sexually as they choose, but not when it comes to polygamy. In many modern people's eyes one man or one woman could have hundreds of sexual partners, freely, but no social compact is expected. Anything formalized is strictly verboten.

Such confines would be uncivilized, too confining, too controlling. Monogamy is considered an okay institution but it is not the only rule of family or procreation.

Sex is an adult right to be done when wanted, or however it is deemed legal. The forbidden list includes, no sexual contact with minors, no coercion, in most cases not paid for services, but sexual actions are free to practice with multiple partners with no apparent ramifications. This is wrong, by the way.

So, what is the truth that we should speak to power when it comes to the modern day regarding marriage and its Western legal definitions? Is it a free act, limited by egregious acts, as mentioned, and any type of person may enact it as consenting adults?

What is the truth about marriage? Is it one of many options for procreation, for example? Legally yes, but morally and ethically, no. Children deserve to have multiple adults that raise them and support them. Society deserves this.

 

Back to the Catholic faith:

 

Is celibacy a requirement that is truthful to being a true steward to God and our fellow human kind?

Does it matter?

 

My answers:

 

Marriage is the fundamental basis of power and control in the world.

 

Men and women should come together and be married and procreate and raise children together.

 

Men and women of God should not be required to be celibate all their lives. That is anathema to God's power and will, in my opinion.

Should it be only one to one, monogamy of marriage? Sounds fair. Too much power given to one spouse with many others does not seem right. Patriarchal or matriarchal dominance is not good. There has to be balance and equality, a division of labors between the parents. No one partner can dominate the relationship, which is what polygamy seems to do. Too stilted. In the past (and today in some parts), the economic necessity or viability of polygamous relationships has had their effects. The Koran of Islam specifically defines a polygamous relationship as acceptable, depending on circumstances. However, in the modern world, we hold to one man, one woman, spouses as co-equals: that is the equitable way. 

Same gender and other legally married partnerships are accepted by the modern 21st century world. I think that they are not traditional marriages and should be called civil unions, but the couples should be granted the economic and civic rights and privileges of male/female marriages. This is semantics, but hopefully the distinction is noted and the power of same gender couples is still in effect.

Power and control is acquired by and maintained by those that create and raise children. (There are couples that never have children that still follow the basic family model, and they are still families). In the United States the government has a lot of this power, too much of it, because too many illegitimate children become wards of the state. Our taxes and programs raise them more than their parents, in many ways. And sadly, we fail them. The government monies fail our young kids when it becomes the primary source of control and power. This leads to bad results: a welfare state and criminal enterprises. This is not a racially slanted view, it is the sad state or reality of power and control for youngsters.

Parents, males and females, aunts and uncles, grandparents or whichever guardians have to maintain power, control, and good influence over their children. When too much power is given to the state in the sustenance and over-watch of children, things devolve too often. Babies, boys and girls, need more direct parenting and guidance than government subsidies and programs to raise them. Too often the government incentivizes people to do the wrong thing. Was it President Johnson who headed up the welfare initiative for single mothers? Huge backfire. Millions of children raised the wrong ways, with improper starts and many times finishes in life. Millions of dead beat dads, left off the hook by Big Government.

Race comes up a lot with disparities of income and even marriage. Different racial backgrounds and ethnic differences will always be pointed to as dividers and discriminators. Ideally, this would not be so. But in the former times this had to with power and control. Marriage and family was key to keeping the money and standards of living within the grasp of those involved.

There was a time when inter-racial and inter-religious marriages were frowned upon and discriminated against. This has mostly died away, but there are still reasons why the opposition to inter-mixing marriages exist. Socio-economic differences can still be contentious, too. Understandably so.

Money and stability, or the lack thereof, is a constant concern. Differences in lifestyle or income brings these issues to bear. I believe that the U.S. government has abdicated too much moral responsibility in creating and raising youths, while shelling out untold billions to help remedy the problems of these under-parented youths.

Under-parented youths. Like an under-governed country. Things have gone wrong.

Where is the power and control? Who is speaking truth to this power?

I am trying to do so.

The Catholic Church would do better for allowing their priests and nuns to be married.

However, my personal faith and dozens of others have been bucking their (Rome's) authorities for centuries. And now we have all the secular, non-religious, "nones" who do not care about those authorities anyway. Science and empiricism is the new authority of the day. Not to mention the plain old atheists.

Who needs Rome? Not Sinead O'Connor, who designated herself as a priest back in the day. Not sure now, some 25 years later. I know she has voiced some mental health concerns as of late, but that is nothing new for artistic or religious types.

Control, power, marriage, money, finances, hierarchy, law, patriarchy, race, ethnic background, taxes.

Parenting and raising kids.

Let us speak our truth to power. A lot of systems and practices can be well intended, like life-long celibacy or letting our government subsidize our youth's upbringings, but that does not make them right. Call what's wrong, wrong. Polygamy. Wrong? Okay, speak it. Gay marriage or civil union. Right? Speak it.

What do you know? What truth do you wish to speak to power?

 

 

 Abdullah Abdullah

 Mr. Abdullah was considered old in his village at age 50. He felt his years, but he also felt vibrant and alive, with a good future. His health was good, thanks be to God. Despite only having a fifth grade education he had sound understanding of many things in the world. Abdullah the father and goat herder and garden grower, also known as Sayed Ifi (EE-FEE) to close friends and cohorts, liked to unravel the riddles of God, his village, his world, and the nature of weather. The celestial orbs and points of light were pretty window dressing above, but he could wrap his mind around heat, wind, rain, sand, and snow. That which interfaced with the earth. And that was enough for him; the skies ended where the giant planes flew overhead. The space men were for others to contemplate. Abdullah had enough to deal with here on terra firma.

Abdullah, like most of his village, district, province, and region, and Afghans writ large, had lived through many struggles in his life. Living under the Taliban was hard, because he felt it was unfair that women and girls could not learn to read and write. Most boys and men were limited in learning, too. He had seen in times before when the women and girls were allowed to read, to recite poetry, and be part of the group that was considered smart. Even to sing! What beauty! Abdullah did not approve of the thugs who proclaimed that only males should be as the literate, and those allowed in public. Most of them, these overbearing zealots, were heavy handed and unfair to the common workers and children, too. Not right.

Abdullah had seen many things in his lifetime, he had learned much from his parents, uncles and aunts, and even seemed to have gained knowledge from those before them. Tales and stories of the past remembered always had value.

 

I know that the world is a place where God allows us to make choices and build relationships and patterns that either help us or hurt us. We are all made by God, but there are those who believe in Him differently. Some Soviets, and later I learned some Americans and some of New Zealand, a former British colony island, do not believe in God. But most of the English speakers believe in God. There are even Muslims among them; he has seen them and prayed with them. Allah be praised. They truly worshiped Allah.

 

Okay, the Soviets claimed that they were kufir, infidels, bound for hell fire, but he was told many of them secretly believed in God, but the bosses of Moscow did not allow it. Meanwhile, in the United States, there were the Christian believers as presidents like Carter and Bush, the son, both believers and Christian, yes, but they claimed that their faith in Christ allowed them to love all, their Muslims were brothers, even such as I. I know that they did not lie to me, and we prayed together as well.

 

Hmmm.

 

Yes, the world is more complicated than the Taliban and the local imams would have us villagers in this far off part of the world would believe. And of course the Arab clerics and other traveling religious men, some from Chechnya or Uzbekistan, he even recalls one from Morocco --their versions of the true religion and submission to God did not seem right. I want to talk to one of them, he always thought, to see if Chechnya or the Muslim north of the Amu Darya or parts of Africa could be so strict and confined as they preached.

No, the average Muslim is like me. He loves his wife and children, he does not want to kill his neighbors, even those who disagree in the everyday or special beliefs of Islam. No, Muslims are all brothers and sisters. Those who hate and subjugate the women? Also wrong, most definitely.

Abdullah was kind to his wife. She had born him 9 children, six surviving. He knew that God had provided him with such a companion; she was special, and so were his kids. Even the dead ones were special, now with God again in the heavens. God had them all covered eventually, and for now he needed to focus his attentions on the ground. Abdullah had stewardship, responsibility, for that which he could touch, observe, feel, and sway. This was a world that he shared with many others, so many others, seemingly endless...

 

I am aware of the people that I can affect; I must show mercy upon them as much as possible. God is and will be that way with me eternally. I know some of my family and villagers within my valley that are harsher and stricter in their ways of interacting, and treat their women, children, and other men in cruel and awful ways. Many of the men treat their animals better. Not me. My wife and children and fellow man are extensions of my own flesh. I cannot harm them as much as I would not disfigure my own face or limbs. The soldiers, the freedom fighters, and many so-called terrorists, and their drug kingpins and runners are usually desperate and mean, they fight and live like barbarians, marauders,

Abdullah's father was killed in the anti-Soviet insurgency in 1985 when he was was 15 years old, his dad was about 35. Qari Abdullah, his father, was not actively fighting the Soviet occupiers when he met his demise, but a wayward missile hit him on the way home from the market in town, late that day after an honest day's work. Kind passers by were kind enough to gather all the money that his dad had earned that day, selling fruits, vegetables, and fattened goat during the course of the day. His mother married his brother maintained as much of her family as she could, but at that point Abdullah was old enough to work and make money so he became independent. He found his wife three years later in 1988.

 

I am blessed to have six surviving children: all of them have had children, and none of the grandchildren have died. Some of them are very promising, smart, industrious.  I believe that the new technologies and the new living standards, with more modern medicines and vaccines will make us all better, healthier, happier. I believe in the future, I believe in God.

 

The Soviets were bad and mean, but there were always the normal good ones. He learned that some were Russians, which was what they required all their soldiers to speak, but among them were many Ukrainians, who had their preferred way of speaking. Some of them seemed to be more religious, and even pious, too. Some Russian men, and on occasion he saw their women, were not evil, but very human like everyone else. Abdullah's father and more some uncles would get involved with some clandestine Americans, or maybe some were British, or perhaps there was that funny maple leaf type, those of Canada... Most tried to nice to the Afghans, promising them hope and liberation from the Soviets.

 

The Soviets lost too many troops, especially the Ukrainians, and they left by the time Abdullah was 19. They took his dad away, tragically, and many other villagers. And many more fled the country to Pakistan and beyond, Iran, Europe, the West.

Surely my country was best when I was a small child, because the time of the U.S.S.R was terrible, like their leader known as Ivan. Very Terrible like him.

But when they left, the Taliban and the Northern Alliance and others went to and fro and killed even more at times, indiscriminately. These were bad times... We could eke out a peaceful life most years. But the schooling and medicine stopped, and only those with huge sums of wealth could afford anything. Those who preached no drugs versus those who sold it for exorbitant prices. Crazy money. And violence always with it.

Al-Qaida grew, and attacked the United States, and the U.S. troops and others came. Life was not like under the Soviets, but all the violence of chaos came still.

They arrested me at age 35 for being a spy or a Talib or some such nonsense.

I went to Bagram to the unknown to me central province where it is colder. But I did not see much of those beautiful mountains in that valley, just a couple of times. I was not outside much. They kept me and many others penned up in stalls, like horses or donkeys. We ate well, and the toilets were clean. Hard, modern toilets. I got used to those... They brought many people to interview me, but I certainly learned more from them than they of me. I was not involved in any violent nonsense, nor even poppies and their cultivation or trade. So found out I was not a threat. But I helped them, as an asset against the bullies that I disdain.

I am an honest worker and I do not cheat my fellow man. God has blessed me and will bless me forever, because He is all Good and completely Just.

 

 Abdalluh was locked up in the U.S.-ISAF Detention Center in Bagram, Parwan Province, for seven months from 2005 to 2006. It was a cold winter there but he was mostly inside and he ate well; he learned a lot. He enjoyed talking to the foreign guards and interrogators, because he knew he himself was not guilty of anything, and the men and some women offered so much to his intellectual curiosity to observe and understand in new ways, that Abdullah came closer to God, and realized the the further blessings of his family, his station, the wonder and wonders of life.

 

I spoke to many people in the Detention Facility, with those that tried to extract information from me, and their interpreters,  some of the medical and military police, and some soldiers and a few security and food/sanitation workers there. Once they figured out that I did not get involved in terrorism or drug cultivation, and that I added many details to all I know, which was a lot... I trusted them, and they ended up trusting me. I like them, and I think that they liked me. They saw that I am a good Muslim, not a zealous idiot. I do not want to hurt others, but let God work through me. They saw that. As long as I they promised that no one would know what information that I shared, I provided much information and details. Any actions or movements or tactics that they used.

I don't need all those thugs coming around, killing our kids, making us terrified of everything. They talk to me like a dog or donkey sometimes, even the young ones. They think that they invented piety, that the new way of living and worshiping is the way to please God. Fools. We have always been good, solid Muslims. God knows my heart.

With the Americans I saw goodness and compassion. Some of them were forceful and impertinent, but most of them showed me respect. They showed me the same humanity, but in most cases better humanity, than I see in my village and district. I met Americans that were Muslim. They talked to me about the goodness of God. I saw Afghan interpreters that had lived in the United States; they confided in me that it was a good place of freedom. There was a Christian soldier who offered to make the call to prayer, and he recited the fatihah; he warmed my heart in the coldest and darkest days of the prison.

I prayed as much as I wanted; I was amazed at the understanding of my captors. I believed me when they told me, that like me, they were separated from their families far away and that only wanted to do what is right and return to them and be happy.

That is what they did: they were not hypocrites; they released me in May and I was free to come home with my increased knowledge. I did not like the being locked up, but I very much enjoyed the exposure to humanity and my brothers from all lands. The Russians and Ukrainians have their ways, and the Americans are even bolder but nicer, warmer.

There are some that are colder and try to be rigid and mean, but even many of those spoke to me in soft tones when they realized that I was a good man and I was helping them.

I am Abdullah Abdullah, and I wish to live to see my children and grandchildren flourish.

I have hopes that they will.

Abdullah Abdullah is a man from a small village in Afghanistan, where he speaks Pashto and Dari. Much of his village conversation is a mix between the two. He is not formally educated, but he is wise and virtuous and hopeful. Some care if he is Pashtun or Tajik, Uzbek or Hazara. 

 

Many care about the differences.

 

Many of us choose to see what we have in common. We love and root for Abdullah Abdullah, and all those like him. He cares about his family and community, he chooses to strengthen others rather than tearing them down.

Many bad and tragic things have transpired in the valleys and mountains of Afghanistan for many years.

 

Foreigners have influenced us in many ways; they have pushed us this way and that for all my life.

I have faith that the future of my people and those that surround me will improve.

We need to be brothers and sisters, and respect all that is good.

 

Clinch Christmas Letter 2020

(Kwaanza and Channukah and Earth Day/Solstice and Boxing Day included).

 

I am not sure that I have ever written a family Christmas letter before, but here is this one starting Thursday, the 3rd of December, the "year of the pandemic", aka the "Wuhan flu" (some of us voted for neither The Donald nor Pepe Biden, so we recognize all nicknames of the Biblical plague). A neighbor wrote a rather robust Christmas letter that we received just a couple hours ago, and I believe it inspired me. I can do better than that! Here goes!

 

We are starting with the youngest Clinch. She is younger than even the 10-12 pound dog that we acquired two years ago. And, you will definitely see more about that little life form in the paragraphs below, so don't you worry, gentle reader! Happy Holidays and enjoy!

Belen, age 9

 

Our youngest daughter turned nine in March, coming to the end of her third grade year at her new elementary school Meadowland.  Belen (which has an accent on the second "e" in proper Spanish) had been attending our kids' elementary school from our old house, over a mile away, Sugar Land. She had been going there since kindergarten when in the previous October (2019) she and mother Jennifer left rather abruptly because Jennifer relocated as a teacher to Park View High School. More on that later. Belen adjusted well and soon made new friends, seeing a few children she knew from church. Belen enjoys playing certain games on line, like Roblox and Minecraft; she is a good artist, drawing on whiteboards, papers, or whatever media that she gets her hands on. She has taken some ukulele lessons, and plays some nice songs on it and has a beautiful singing voice.

At any time of day or night the angelic or soulful voice of Belen can be heard bellowing, floating, emanating through the rafters and beams of our abode, echoing the joyous strains or mournful dirges of fantasy and delight. Belen loves our Chinese import white with black tinges Bella. Sometimes her Dad wishes that his daughter would understand the language of Bella a bit faster, like why she might whimper, bark, jump and wag her tail, but you can't have everything. Belen also has learned to tickle the ivories of the piano this year, much of it with her oldest sister.

Belen visited the beach numerous times this year, as far off as Florida, both coasts, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and this past Thanksgiving in Virginia Beach. She was able to visit a lot with cousins in the summer, especially Elise.

Belen had to finish school virtually and start up this fourth grade year at home on her school laptop, and she is doing pretty well. Her teachers like her, she likes the classes pretty well, and starting this week of December she is attending twice a week in person. Belen is sometimes hard to get up in the morning but once she is going, she is a ball of enthusiastic energy and we love her. Even the dog.

 

Oh, yeah. She knows that she is beloved among her cousins, aunts and uncles all across the country, grandparents in at least three states, her school and church friends, including teachers, and her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and all the brethren and sisters of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Kaleel, age 12

 

Kaleel is a pretty cool cat. He turned 12 in September and was the oldest one on his fall baseball team, which had a lot of extremely young players who made them weaker than most, so even with his contributions they did not win many games. However at the end of the season he pitched them into the semi-finals, which qualified them for the championship game where they lost, partially because he wasn't allowed to pitch, due to his stellar work the game before to get them there in the first place. He did play catcher quite a bit, which is an admirable position to play. And, the pitcher that he was required to catch for was a fire thrower, an oversized boy for his age and grade.

 

Kaleel, like his little sister, likes many of the same games on line. He has a good habit in writing in his journal is his church Family Search account, and he, like the rest of us, has watched a lot of streamed T.V shows during the pandemic: Psych, The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, Merlin, Star Trek, and a few more. Plus, all the video games and YouTube shows. What a great world of entertainment we live in. I encourage him to read actual paper and script documents, and he does knock out some magazine articles from the Friend and the New Era. I see some books laying on the night shelves by his bed; not sure on the status of those. But as far as audible learning, he seems to be fine.

 

Kaleel's transition from 6th grade to 7th grade has been challenging like with all the kids who have been exiled from their classrooms this year of the pandemic, but he has dealt with the adaptations pretty well. He has been happy on our family vacations, from what we can tell, and he has been fun to be around before and after vacations, from what we can tell. He has gotten better at ping pong, has played a lot with the Kruse twins, has been good at passing sacrament as a new deacon, and is helpful and lovable in and around the house. He even walks the dog sometimes!

 

I have played some basketball with him a little, and some real tennis, but not enough. We have done some good food deliveries a couple of times for those that need it, and baseball was pretty fun as much as I could be there. We love having Kaleel in our family and he is a good citizen, a funny guy, and a loyal deacon of the church. One of the best journal writers of our family!

Edmund, age 14

 

Of all the Clinch kids, the transition during quarantine and virtual classes has been pretty hard on this guy. He is doing okay, and many times he is totally in his groove, and super helpful and on point; but finishing up 8th grade and starting up freshman year on a laptop away from school has not been really thrilling or helpful for Edmund.

Participating in most of the activities with the family, I would say the year has definitely not been a total loss for this young man. Edmund was a huge force in helping stand up a back yard pool, which we were able to purchase and buy a second, which we made a tidy profit on (about 600 bucks - not bad). Edmund was incredibly creative, showed impressive ingenuity, and demonstrated perspicaciousness in this endeavor, which ended up benefiting dozens and dozens of us during this socially isolated and physically restrained summer of closed-up public pools and general kibosh on fun. Even Church online, to include Young Men's activities (not to mention that our faith pulled away from the Boy Scouts) became somewhat of a drag.

Edmund did become a legend of Zelda himself this year, I must stay ( I only saw 1/500th of the levels accomplished, goblets vanquished, monsters engaged and spat upon, villagers annoyed or terrorized; hills, rivers, mountains, and valleys traversed, weapons hoarded, food stuffs packed away... Edmund stayed up late reading some genuine old fashioned books, which I consider fed his brain, (better than some of his siblings, although life is not a competition, but then again in the scheme of things we are competing against 7 billion other souls on the planet, plus some other life forms and Artificial Intelligence, so reading things and knowing and understanding words and concepts is kind of a big deal). On the down side, staying up late reading or streaming media and other 2020 non-sense, including late night ping pong or cousin related shenanigans, made it harder for him to arise the next day. Edmund has stayed in bed a bit too much this year, which reminds me of Joseph Smith Jr. collapsing on a fence from exhaustion, but that did include multiple visits by an angel during the night portending to the final dispensation of humankind, not chilling and goofing off with cousins Lance, Cade, McCabe, and Lowen. Plus Soli, you were around, too! And Jacinda... More on those last two cousins later...

Edmund, Kaleel, and I had a really fun trip up to Ticonderoga New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (plus Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Long Island on the way home) in August. We climbed a really tough mountain called Double Top, which was amazing and hard, but fun; we saw and recorded otters cavorting and freestyle canterwheeling with their cute snorts, chirps, and grunts, a true unexpected National Geographic moment; we canoed and kayaked, camped out, had dinners and deserts by campfire, swam with the beautiful call of loons across massive ponds that were big enough to have islands in them, and generally did not irritate each other too much, except for that one gas stop swinging back through New Hampshire when I had to take a break and took a walk around a Big J or some such membership food and merchandise store popular in that great state of granite. Culture. Learning all the time: thanks Edmund. You have added so much to my life.

Edmund started seminary this fall, but it has been a chore at such early hours, online, only twice a week synchronously but with all the other classes it adds up to a lot to do and accomplish, even with his mom being one of the teachers. Edmund has participated pretty well in most of our family Book of Mormon studies, and has done some research on the virtues and vicissitudes of historical and religious figures like the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successor, Brigham Young.

Edmund has been a teacher in the Aaronic priesthood, so he has been good about preparing the sacrament at church, but this has been curtailed because of the pandemic. We did get to do it a month ago, very sanitized and safe. Likewise as a ministering visitor, he was helpful as my new companion but it has been harder because of the ban of personal visits, which were cut off in March. He has made a few call up status calls for a family or two, which is appreciated, and we all recognize that the year has been hard to be a teen and and young man, and an ex-Boy Scout and enrolled in third year German. Third year German?! He has not lived in Austria or Germany like some young ladies we know... Might be time to pull that plug...

At the end of the day and the end of this inauspicious year, Edmund has made it and done some excellent things. But we all admit, next year may be much better. The future is bright.

Oh, one more thing. Edmund, like Kaleel, played on his baseball team this fall and probably added a good 3-4 runs of benefit to his team per game. They made it to the final game, Edmund contributing in fielding, hitting, and pitching to win most of their games, and lost the last one, 4 to 9. Many teammates had less than stellar days but they had a pretty good year. He was close to being MVP of his team, and with a few breaks the last day they were almost champions... not too shabby. And, I had almost forgotten, Kaleel and Edmund played on some local basketball teams at the beginning of the year 2020, and they had some fun times and contributed. As mentioned, us guys (and a few girls sometimes) played some casual round ball a few times this year, and my boys are taking steps on the old man... 

Ah, basketball. Us Hoosiers hold a certain reverence towards the game... 2020 has been hard on us viewers and fans, but that is more about me than Edmund and Kaleel , or the others.

Edmund is a keeper, and we love him, athletic ability or not. He's gotten really good at table tennis, too, which is my best sport. Soon enough he will surpass me in that. Edmund turned 14 in June, we had good times with cousins from Texas and Utah.

Madhya, age 16

 

Madhya, Madhya, Madhya: where to start? 

She is my favorite child. Just kidding! We don't do that as parents! But I must say, Madhya makes it easy to be a parent, by and large, which does not go unnoticed. Although, one more note about nieces and favorites: I think I have seven or eight (and possibly more coming) nieces, not to mention nephews, who live in Utah, the Beehive State; one of them messaged me this year and said that she was my favorite niece, or I was her favorite uncle, and such flattery goes a long way... Just saying. 

But no, all the children are our favorites, just not the Chinese bred dog... For the record.

Madhya finished up her sophomore year at Dominion much better than her freshman year, which was great to see, despite the ragin' contagion and a class-wide sickness that ravaged her class mates before the shutdown, the lock down, the quarantine, the "social distancing", the "new normal" and the end of of a certain presidency... 2020: who knew? Did you see the coded subtexts in the Bible? Some did...

Madhya started working at Jersey Mikes, which has been refreshing, and she has invested well in technology shares, which is impressive, and has done well in her classes, which is awesome. Madhya likes to help people, is loyal to her friends, has been a good ministering visitor, but I need to share a little dirt on her though...

Because Madhya --who is named after a state in central India-- who had her birthday in early June of this year, turning sweet 16, lives in the most cave-like part of our house of the basement, with no windows, sometimes Madhya seems to be a bit like a vampiress or a ground burrowing hermit creature, far away from the light of day and the rest of the family. Because her older sister lived outside the house much of the last scholastic year, there were times when Madhya seemed to have her own lair largely unbeknownst to the rest of the upstairs dwellers, and sometimes she was her own entity and master, which admittedly is good a for a mid-age teenager, learning to drive, learning to date, learning to make a regular pay check.

 

We love Madhya a lot;  there is more that I can say about her this year: how much we appreciate her and that she contributes to and for the family and others. She, like the rest of us, has had good family trips to the beaches, and I have left out multiple nice voyages to Harrsisonburg and the mountains, Washington D.C., and other local journeys to parks and neighborhoods. Madhya has nice circles of family friends, (cousins near and far, aunts and uncles and grandparents), highs school and church friends, work mates, and others that she conducts herself admirably with. Madhya is gifted musically and has artistic talents, to include dance and gymnastics; it appears she is now taller than Mom. 

 

She is an impressive reader too, which makes me feel good. She has passed college level courses, which saves time and money in the long run, but also fortifies her mind. It helps her be a better writer, and thinker, which is awesome.

She is quite the young lady, and she is weathering 2020 very well.

Journay, age 19

 

Journay! The firstborn in the wilderness! 

 

Journay is our pioneer, and from what I know it is not easy being the eldest in the family. When I think of my family, and my wife's family, and quite a few other families across time and space in our shared history, it is hard being the first, no matter the efforts of the parents. That is my observation of being the youngest of three.

Journay has had a good and a trying year; I will let her explain more of it to you through her writing and her conversation and postings, but as a parent I wanted to give some highlights and information regarding 2020 for her, a cool person who turned 19 in June. She has been on my radar since 2000, when Jen started carrying her, and she has made a huge difference in my life ever since.

Journay started living with a group of young ladies in an apartment off-campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in August 2019, attending Blue Ridge Community College nearby in order to knock out some college requisites and save money at the same time while preparing to transfer to the four year school, JMU. This carried over into 2020. Journay looked at some local cafes and restaurants for part time work, but ended up working for a family to assist their autistic teenage girl, which was rewarding for Journay but eventually became onerous; she enjoyed the experience and associations at that home but by the end of  the summer 2020 and into the next school year it seemed like a year of work there was enough. 

 

Journay began school at JMU, first in person as she opted this past fall and then went virtual as COVID-19 became more of a threat campus wide. At a certain point Journay knew that these full time and then part time courses were not working for her, so she withdrew and moved in with us in Sterling for most of the end of the year 2020. She decided to sub-lease her apartment in Harrisonburg for the 2021 year, transfer from James Madison to another Virginia school, acquire Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) qualifications over the winter, and do part time uber eats food delivery to make some money. We love having her back in the house with us, which also helps us put off getting a fourth family car for our household, since Madhya now is a licensed driver since November, last month.

Journay and I both enjoy reading and writing and investigating/analyzing ideas and new things, (and old things), and we know we are linked intellectually, spiritually, psychologically. She enjoys great relations with her mother and all her siblings, and she is wonderful help to some of us depending on our needs. As noted, she is gifted in music and has taught Belen piano lessons, has assisted Edmund with Geometry and other virtual class difficulties, and is a part of our spiritual lessons and church attendance.

 

There is a lot more to tell about Journay in 2020, but suffice to say that she has grown and learned a lot; college and being grown up has progressed for her as it must for all of us. There are no rules, per se, in how to be a "big person", how to become educated (side note to a cool book that we both shared and read, by Tara Westover) but there are errors that are hard to erase or overcome and so far Journay seems to have avoided those pitfalls.

Not to be a negative Nancy, but I see a lot of silver linings in Journay's life now and in the past year, and while 2020 may have been one of the hardest for personal and general reasons, I think this year was good for her and us. We love her and appreciate all her efforts and contributions, and look forward to this next year and many years down the road. Her friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and other associations casual, community, and professional very much appreciate her and I personally look forward to books, music, and memories from Nay's 2020, and before and after, in the months and years to come.

As I speak (today December 6, Sunday) she is in her Harrisonburg apartment, doing her last actions and making her last amends there before moving on to the next places and chapters of her life.

Nay Nay: she will always be our baby but is a formidable individual in her own right, and please talk to her about all the great things going on, and some that already happened.

Jennifer, age 46

 

No matter the year, Jen usually comes out better for the wear. I have known her twenty years, and I cannot think of a bad one for her. This year 2020 has been a hard year for everyone, in many senses, but Jennifer spent much of it working full time as a English as a Second Language high school teacher in math, much of the time learning the content to teach and explain as she went. Very adaptable. At the same time she was always the full time mom, which in many ways became more complicated with pandemic and the lock down, because the teaching online was more nuanced and frustrating, and the students in the house were also the same (see many of the above children cited); I wasn't always a dream housemate, either. 

 

In the summer of 2020 Jennfer was called as a new seminary teacher for our ward, which filled much of her summer time with studying and new classes and technologies to be proficient as a virtual teacher, which ended up benefiting her high school skills and the teachers that she co-taught with at Park View.

Jen had a few bigger plans for 2020 before the pandemic kicked in hard in March. Knowing that we (the husband and wife duo) were celebrating the 20th year of our marriage, and that yours truly was turning 50 years old later in the year, and that for many years (like 18?) the only U.S. state that I have not been to was Alaska, Jennifer put some thought and planning into a very cool Alaskan cruise that we were to embark on in May. Did. Not. Happen. 

As you may know, cruise ships became death traps and everything stopped moving and was shut down by March or so. Air flights were cancelled left and right, let alone ocean liners, so we saved our tickets and payments for some future date. Still pending, we will let you know.

Jen loves to do many things, which obviously includes time for herself, which she does not have a lot of in general. But, she mercifully makes do with what she has. Occasionally she gets down time for a nap, or a nice outing, or meal, or show. She loves to read, among other things, and got some spiffy eyeglasses this year that work for her specific needs, instead of only using the generic magnifying eye wear that she would buy in bulk from the grocery store or Walmart. 

She managed to cater to the eye, teeth, medical, food, logistical, academic, and many other needs of the children and husband (and at times friends and family) through out this year. As usual, but with newer challenges. She made a lot of money, but more importantly worked hard keeping everybody happy, at times at her own expense. She is the coolest person I know in that regard. She has appreciated some extra home time and loves being dedicated to her children and family.

Jen made it to some new sites and beaches this year, has done her share of building, refitting, moving, furniture and other household items. She loves to sleep at night, but sometimes other things come first.

I consider Jennifer the solid pillar of the home; everything good happens based on her willingness to participate, plan, prepare, share, and give.

There are many other highlights to share about Jennifer this year 2020, and some challenges dealt with, but just letting you know that I am the luckiest, to quote Ben Folds, among others. She can sing like a pro, dance like a bopper, cook like a chef, and laugh like a buddy, and she even does most of the cleaning up and care for the dog, which is supposed to be the kids' thing. That had been a stipulation... But she does all that and most of our laundry, too. I wish I could afford a maid for her, but she saves the budget in that aspect, too. She makes and saves money all the time. Sometimes she splurges on fries at the local fast food joint... 

Ya gotta live, at the end of the day. She does. 2020 has been great for all those who know her. Or at least better than it would have been without her.

Dad/Ed/Eduardo, age 50

 

This is my Christmas letter, so I take most of the ownership of it. Thanks all in advance for sharing and possibly feeding back responses and interchange regarding it or other aspects in the lives of the Clinches.

The views, opinions, facts, jokes, lies, comments, details, insights, revelations, grand hyperboles, memories, analysis, reviews, assessments, and any other innuendo or implications of the above and below writings in this letter are mostly mine and mine alone. There is a strong possibility in many cases that things could be wrong. I might wake up in the middle of the night and it may come to my attention that I forgot an essential element of 2020 as per a Clinch person or the entire family. Look for addendum add ons and/or amendments in the future. This is not a dead document, as you may or may not know.

2020 has been good enough for me.

Most of all my essential people are alive and healthy, which I value above all else.

I do note that I (and we) lost a few friends this year, by name: Amarea W., Mary D., Lorraine K. , Derek S., Joyce D.. Also, due to church lock downs and the comings and going of life, some really nice people have moved away or moved on. Some others have entered into my life this year, which is nice. My civilian work, my military relations, and my church friendships have gone on in mostly good ways, and I truly value and appreciate all the people involved. There are many, too many to mention here. For example, a soldier and I have become pretty good friends since October or September, and that goes into my book of life and as a 2020 milestone or mark of significance. I have played and interacted with my basketball and baseball friends and cohorts, which is so good for me, because I have the capacity to sit down (or lie down) with a show or a game or a book and be good for hours and hours). I am pretty good at finding places for our typical Sunday walk excursions. Those are fun. Even with the Chinese bred dog.

I love having good experiences and times with my wife and family, and interaction with other family and friends; I feel I have had all of that this year. Despite the pandemic.

I have been gainfully employed and actively learning week to week, month to month, and relatively healthy, so I am very grateful for all these opportunities while others have suffered professionally or health-wise. My surviving father, step-mother, and step-dad have hung in there, the last of whom was married a couple months ago, and we welcome his bride Teresa into the family. I look forward to meeting her in person.

I am grateful for the relative peace of our land, the transition in democracy currently, kind family and friends across the globe, great bosses and colleagues, ample work and subject matter to engage.

I love certain sports teams, books, authors, periodicals, games (like chess), music, entertainment, and news sources, and I am eternally appreciative for all of them. I do not contribute to as much house hold chores and duties as much as my wife does, but I think I have been getting better than in years past.

I like serving in church and visiting and sharing when it comes to learning, worshiping, and fellowshiping. I love being a part of the law enforcement community, the military, my church, my priesthood organizations, helping coach the youth in baseball, being a proud alum of my universities and their representatives, which includes certain athletes and teams.

I love writing, blogging, sharing, interacting, and witnessing the good and bad of the planet, and I try to bring some more good from it.

2020 has been much harder on some; I am thankful and grateful for what I have and who I have.

That is my Christmas letter from me (us) to you this holiday season.

Enjoy the month and enjoy all that you can, of everything.

2020. Most of us made it. Then again, today is only Sunday the 6th and nothing is guaranteed.

Make the most of it. And take naps. If you have a dog, enjoy it despite the smelliness and the yap-yap-yap-yap...

Life is okay for the Clinches in 2020. Thanks for sharing it with us! We look forward to more shared times in the future.

Post -addendum: the dog passed in late winter / early spring of 2022. She had a good long life; she was loved by many and she loved us. We loved her. She was a good presence in our home, and we are grateful for her life. She made us laugh, and she could be pretty fun and comforting.

    See you in heaven, dear girl. 

 

 

 December Again

 "Happy December", I wished some of my co-workers today. It is Tuesday, but it is the first day of the last month of the year.

 

 December 2020.

This is quite a year. Many more Americans and worldwide citizens have died this year than normal because of the corona virus and some of the economic and social constraints that have resulted from the pandemic and the shutdowns.

Meanwhile others have died as normal: things move along with most of the world progressing, or perhaps in light of those ecologically minded, has continued warming up in relative peace . The U.S. has had a presidential election and despite some hard feelings and accusations, things seem to marching along.

Many of us are a year older, a year wiser, maybe a year wealthier. Others are not so lucky. We know people who have died unrelated to the pandemic or war or violence. Those left behind are surrounded by those that love them and their best wishes.

A short list of those that I know personally who have gone on to the next world in the last 24 months, three of them since the pandemic this year, but not from the virus: Steve, Amarea, Mary, Lorraine. All four left sweet families behind; their presence is sorely missed. Ages 41, 22, 56, 57. Cancer, domestic violence, heart problems, cancer.

Here is a new December without them.

We can reflect on past Decembers.

Do you recall the Decembers of your childhood? Were there happy, warm, memories? and lights and smiles and laughs? Were there nice presents and good cheer and solemn hymns of Christmas or other cheerful holiday tunes? Were sled rides and snow angels, or maybe trips to warmer climes and visits with family?

I recall snowy days, with a few blizzards, and sunny warmer ones, too. I recall a Christmas season in far off Newton, Massachusetts. I remember waking up sick on Christmas Day, wearing a Santa hat, and I remember many fond toys and few that got away. There were trips down to the Caribbean and Florida, and very warm and beach-filled times.

My first December as a missionary was spent within the confines of the Provo Missionary Training Center, but we did venture out to visit an old folks home, and to buy a few items at the Orem City Mall and the local Deseret Industries thrift store.

My second December I passed in the warm summer of Santa Juana, Chile, southern hemisphere. Very dry in a Mediterranean climate, and dusty and hot. We had a mission celebration of Christmas in Concepcion or somewhere nearby.

Decembers came and went between Utah and Indiana, then California and Indiana, and eventually Virginia and Indiana, and a few holidays in southern places like Florida again. There was most of a December in Afghanistan, and another part of one in Pennsylvania ...

Decembers are special, wrapping up a year and a time to reflect.

Sadness and regret can be a part of it, but we choose to be happier and brighter in our hearts as the days get darker and colder.

Enjoy the month, enjoy the life and the memories of it lived. Enjoy and dig deep into your souls in order to cherish all that the year is, all that your family, beliefs, community are, and all that life brings.

Joys, sorrows, and remembrance of good.

May this December be as good as it can be. In a time of reflection, celebration, and colder and darker days, may we come away better and more grateful.