Month: September 2016

What the heck? We worked on the book all day and plan on working well into the night, so we went outside and did some YoChi.  Yes, some people stopped and watched, and B. got eaten by mosquitoes, but we persevered.   

Before getting too hunkered down in words and technology, I had to take a moment to share…We were greeted by this gentleman tonight as we checked in at our hotel.  When he asked about our stay, I told him we were here write a book.  Curious, he asked us about the topic and we shared a little about Colorado City and Warren Jeffs.  We took a selfie with him and then I looked at his name tag. 

His name was Warren.  What a coincidence!

 My earliest memory of wanting to publish/illustrate comes from when I was in first grade.  My parents placed a set of beautiful, brand-new encyclopedias within my reach.  Besides the cool pictures, I noticed in the front of each of those regal books was an untouched, blank piece of paper, begging to be covered.  I proceeded to put my mark in the very, very expensive books…needless to say, that didn’t go over well.

Another memory is from fourth or fifth grade. Our class performed a musical written by Mr. Hyde, our music teacher. It was titled, “George Washington, The Father of Our Country.” There was a contest to design the program cover and I won.  That was huge for me.  It was my first real published piece of art.  I held onto it for a long time.  It was proof that I had what it took to make my dreams come true.  Of course when I looked at it in later years, I noticed that old George didn’t have a top lip, but hey, the judges saw something.

B. and I are going away for a focused work time this weekend.  We are leaving behind all of our responsibilities to dive into the book once again. It’s a lot of work, but we are ready. Rest assured, we will not be defacing any encyclopedias…and hopefully, with our amazing editors, we will avoid any blaring mistakes like a lip-less George.

Wish us luck!  And come back to see our progress.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A memorial service has been planned later this month for the one-year anniversary of fatal flash floods that ravaged a polygamous community on the Utah-Arizona border, killing at least a dozen people. Musser, a member of a community group planning the event, said people will talk about their experiences during the flooding then walk to a nearby bridge for a candlelight vigil, the Spectrum newspaper in St. George reported.  Three women and 13 children were returning from a park when they stopped at a flooded crossing on a gravel road north of the towns to watch the gushing waters. ..

A year ago B. and I watched as this tragic event unfolded.  B. even received text videos from people living at the Crick, showing her the severity of the flood.  Our hearts were pierced when we learned of a van carrying 13 children and 3 women had been swept away by the roaring waters.  Later we learned that only 3 of those passengers had survived.

*The photo shown above was taken by Rick Bowmer. It gracefully captures the beauty of the Crick that is so divided by the pursuit to be “worthy” and the denial of the truth.  

Source: Polygamous town plans memorial for 2015 flash flood victims – Times Union