The Buzz about the Bees

Donning my new bee suit, I helped Sarah
place a new box on the hive!

A number of years ago, while serving on the City Council in Salt Lake City, I initiated a change to the ordinances that allowed for the keeping of bees in most areas of the City.  Prior to that, it actually was illegal, oddly enough, even in the agricultural zones (yes there are some in Salt Lake City). There were many who had hives already and there is a need to have them throughout the city.  Many of our plants are dependent on their activity, not to mention the benefits of the honey that comes from them.  I started out without much knowledge but one of my colleagues was very interested and a staff member had kept a hive in his hometown of Kaysville.  We looked at how you place them to minimize impacts on neighbors and how to register them responsibly.  We ended up just allowing the State Department of Agriculture being the only thing required, but referenced it by ordinance.  You can register for about $10 a year, and it simply allows them to know placement, etc so they can be inspected and more importantly identify you, in case there are problems in the area.  I believe in the end, it actually was a pretty good ordinance with some common sense criteria.

A number of years ago, a friend in the neighborhood wanted a hive but felt his yard was too small.  I wanted a hive, but didn't want to maintain it.  A perfect match and he kept the hive in our yard for a couple of years and we benefited from having the honey.  The hive ultimately died and he pulled it from our yard.  In the meantime, our daughter Sarah learned bee keeping at the school she was attending, Salt Lake Center for Science Education.  Her teacher Cavett Eaton was great with the kids, Sarah learned a lot and we decided to do our own hive.  Our friend wasn't using his boxes and graciously allowed us to use it, Cavett helped us acquire some bees (he was getting some himself) and we were off.  Our friend let us use his bee suit and he was much smaller than me, so it only fit Sarah!  I was elated.  It allowed me to observe from a distance, claim some right to having a hive in the yard but without having to face the reality of working with the bees.  It was a great set up and I consistently documented Sarah's work in the hive!

We have some great neighbors who also keep hives and they were always generous with their time when we had questions.  Well this year a very traumatic event took place.  One Saturday, Cathy and the girls came home and announced a shocking and terrifying news to me.  They had been to Jones Bees to pick up some tools for the hive and announced to me that Jones Bees carried a size 6XL in a bee suit!   To top it off, they purchased it without even asking me.  What, a bee suit!  I can't even find clothes in my size when I wanted them to fit!  What legitimate excuse would I have, how could I tell Sarah I can't.  I was going to have to participate in the process and do more than talk...this was horrible news!  Well the time came, I suited up and low and behold I survived.  Bees have large eyes by the way and starring them down when they sit on your chest is an amazing and crazy experience.  Sarah had me add a box a few weeks ago and showed me how to work in the hive.  Wasn't this suppose to be the other way around?  I guess it was time for me to "man-up" and participate.

Something seems contradictory when you
wear a bee suit, yet wear shorts and
flip-flops...

On a side note, a few months ago, I was introduced by some young children in our LDS Stake to the children's show, "The Hive".  Sarah and I have become slightly addicted to the series, much to the chagrin of Cathy.  It's available on Netflix, and worth watching when you get  a chance. Here is a sample.  I guess that's what all the buzz is about!

Supporting Ralph Becker for Mayor - An invitation to join us for an evening together in Rose Park

Dear Friends,

Cathy & I are pleased to support our friend, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker in his re-election efforts this November.  I worked with Mayor Becker for the last six years of my 16 years of service on the Salt Lake City Council and found Mayor Becker to be collaborate and supportive of not only of Salt Lake City’s west side, but in numerous important initiatives that strengthened Salt Lake City and helped make it one of America’s truly great cities.

 

Mayor Becker was instrumental in a number of circumstances to bring together diverse viewpoints and have us work together for a solution that would work well for as many people as possible.  It took courage and initiative to move a number of efforts including the rebuilding of Salt Lake City’s Airport, reconstruction of North Temple and completion of the Sports Complex on the City’s west side.  In addition we worked together on a number of issues to improve our infrastructure and keeping the city strong during some of our country’s most difficult economic circumstances.

Cathy and I are hosting a special gathering of our friends at our home, 810 N 1500 W on Wednesday, May 27^, 2015 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.  We hope you can join us and have an opportunity to talk with Mayor Becker one on one and enjoy some food and great company.  We know it may be a busy evening for you, but if you could stop by even for a few minutes, we would be grateful to have you come.  If you can drop us an email at carlton.rsvp@gmail.com that would be helpful, but please still come either way.  We look forward to seeing you! 

Daughters and Dogs put Dad at a Disadvantage!

Sarah gets to hold her new Guide Dog 

puppy, Orchard

Ok, I'm willing to admit, I'm just a a Dad who likes his things just so, and generally, even though their cute, a dog isn't usually isn't high on my list.  However when you throw daughters into that mix, I am at a real disadvantage in the negotiations!  When our oldest daughter Jessica was young, she wanted a dog and of course promised to maintain it and help pay for it, and well you know the story.  I'm actually allergic to dogs and cats, so the thought of having them in the house, just wasn't high on my list.  We negotiated an outside option and our Daisy came into our lives.  Daisy was there for nine years until cancer took her from us, but she did have a great impact in my girls lives.  I wrote a blog about Daisy's passing and it was an emotional time for our family.  The pitches for a new dog came and I pushed back.  Our girls were getting older and Cathy and I ended up walking her more and more in those later years.

A few years ago, Sarah took a class on raising guide dogs for the blind.  She loved the course and not really known to me at the time, one of the potential outcomes, is you qualify to be able to raise a guide dog puppy of your own.  Of course as a guide dog puppy, there was no being outside. They are puppies and do what puppies do and it requires a great deal more discipline on top of it.  After a series of long and mediated negotiations between Sarah and Dad, her mom convinced me it would be in our daughter's best interest.  I will admit that Sarah has worked hard, does much of the work, but I still help nearly every day in feeding him breakfast and giving him his early morning potty break.  Dennis has been kind enough to lick my bare feet, even when I don't want it.  He frequently brushes up next to me, licks my feet, my arms, my hands, and then moves.  A few minutes later, he repeats.  Dennis has made a great deal of progress and is a few months from returning back to do some more advanced training before hopefully being assigned to someone who is blind.

Sarah with Dennis and her new guide dog puppy "Orchard"

A few months ago, we felt we had done our time, when Sarah proposed that she do it again.  This was a very challenging discussion and with the help of her teacher at Innovations Early College High, who agreed to raise the puppy until August, in which case we would take over the mostly trained puppy and those early potty training experiences, that included some long nights.  Sarah has a busy summer ahead and this ultimately seemed like a fair compromise.  Both she and her teacher were elated, I once again decided I needed to bring in a higher priced negotiator in the future.

That brings us today.  When Sarah got to greet her new puppy Orchard.  When you see the happiness it brings to her, somehow you look past the fact your skin is itching, repair of the dents caused by Dennis in the family room wall could be postponed and somehow we got use to hair all over the place despite frequent vacuuming.  All I can say is that daughters with dogs put Dad at a disadvantage!

Celebrating 25 years from our first date

Carlton and Cathy- Attending Sundance in Park City

On February 10, 1990 I went on a blind date with Cathleen Nielsen.  What I probably would not have guessed at that time, is what a change for the better would happen in my life.  I was 24 years old, serving as the Elders Quorum President of the Rose Park Ninth Ward and attending the University of Utah.  We had a Valentines Dinner for Quorum members and their spouses/guest and when I announced to my counselors that I had intended to bring my mother, drew a rash of criticism and ridicule that I knew it was no longer an option.  I was a little gun shy after having another girl I thought I liked, indicate she had no interest in me.  I had resolved the fact that I was going to be single for a while, so I even purchased a large snow blower knowing I would be at my mom's home for a few years more!

A week or so prior, Marianne Jensen, who worked the front office in my brother Elliott's work, came up to me with a slip of paper that had a girl's name and phone number written on it.  Marianne had just had lunch with Cathy, because her husband worked in Cathy's office at the Church Office Building.  I decided to just give it a shot, what did I have to lose.  When I called, much to my surprise, she said sure.  She reported to me the other day, that I sounded a little monotone (ok, I do) and a lack of inflection in the old voice.   Despite what she thought could have been Ferris Buehler's teacher, she said yes.  As I drove out to Layton to pick her up, passing a lot of farm land at the time, thought, gee, this is the last time I'm going out with this girl, she lives too far away.

When I drove up, her father was working in the yard with her brother and had a chain saw.  Left a strong impression that I was not to mess with this girl.  She was cute, good form, if you know what I mean, and blue mascara.  Ok, I think it was trendy at the time.  Not quite sure what impression she had of me, but she did get in the car.  I enjoyed her candor, interest in me and as we returned to the Church, I put her right to work getting ready for the dinner.  She was in the kitchen working, when our Bishop's wife came up and confronted me and asked, "Who is that girl in the kitchen?" to which I replied, "Cathleen Nielsen, I think, I just met her 40 minutes ago".  Dixie Martinson then replied, "You're lying, you've been hiding her."  Well I wasn't, and 40 minutes on a first date and putting her to work was a good sign that she was committed to the gospel, if not to me!  We had a nice evening together and as I took her home, thought I needed to go out with her again.

A few days later it was Valentines Day.  I wanted to send her flowers, but wondered if that was too pushy after one date.  When I went to the florist, I struggled with the thought do I get her red roses, or is that too strong.  I found a small set of miniature pink roses.  I wrote her a note, spelled Cathy "Kathy", which still gets done on occasion by my family and had them delivered.  I called later that day or the next to ask her out and to see if she received the flowers.  Timing was perfect, the other guys in the scene had not sent anything, mine were nice but not to pushy and yes, I got a second date out of it.

Long story short, we were engaged six weeks later, I've made the trip to Layton many times, and I can't think of a better soul mate in my life, than Cathleen Nielsen Christensen.  Just a good reminder, that a little persecution and ridicule in one's life makes you do some of the things you should, but not might want to do!

Getting rid of the clutter in your life!

Campaign signs assembled but never used

In politics, the process of running is never easy, nor inexpensive.  You also are not sure from one term to the next, what you might do four years later.  For all intent and purposes, you leave your options open.  When I ran my last race in 2009, I ordered a number of signs because it's cheaper to do them at the same time, and assembled them all.  As the campaign progressed, I ended up not needing all of them, however even after winning that race, decided to not get rid of those assembled signs.  While I wasn't sure what I might do in 2013, I was pretty sure that was my last city council race.  However you keep your options open, and I kept my signs.  They've taken up a corner of my garage for 5 1/2 years now and even though of I've been out of office now for over a year, have "haunted" me for some time.  They were a burden if you will.

Moving forward!

Saturday, I decided to do something about it, tore them down, cut up the sticks for fire wood and redeemed a corner of my garage so that I could move on and use it for other things.  As I was cutting up the wood, I got thinking of how many burdens we so often carry with us, often for much longer than we really need to carry them.  I thought of my role as Stake President, when I meet with individuals who have carried a burden in their life or a mistake they once made and are ready to forsake and move forward.  It's probably one of the most sweet and tender experiences for me to watch the atonement work in their eyes and mind.  It often brings tears to my own.  I completed the task with the resolve that I needed to free myself more often, be a little more resolved to let things go and work a little harder to clean up those corners in my life.

Rosa Parks Blvd

Unveiling of Street signage for Rose Parks Blvd

Friday evening Cathy and I watched the new movie "Selma" about the efforts to create a Federal Voting Rights Act, eliminating much of the discrimination that prevented individuals from being able to register to vote, particularly the poor and those of color.  It was a telling and sobering movie that has reminded us of how far we've come, yet what short sighted things we sometimes still do today.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  I don't know enough about what movie critics are looking for in picking Oscars, but this is a well done movie and worth the ticket price and will be a keeper when it comes out for personal use.

Friday evening reminded me of my own participation in the honorary street naming of 200 E in Salt Lake City to Rosa Parks Blvd.  I've always had a deep respect for the civil rights movement and certainly studied it extensively in my collegiate pursuits in history.  However I was pleasantly surprised, when I was approached by the Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP a few years ago and their chapter president, Jeanetta Williams, who asked me what it would take to have a street named for Rose Parks and if I would be willing to take the lead.  We did some research among council staff and I had conversations with my colleagues at the time.  I felt like it should be a street that actually had buses on it, and it was also important that at some point, it intersected with 600 S - Martin Luther King Blvd and 500 S - Cesar Chavez Blvd.  Our rules required that the petitioner (in this case me) would have to bare the full cost of changing the street signs in addition to the council action required.  In an effort to address some of that cost, and to keep the change at a reasonable level, we decided to do the segment between South Temple and 600 S. My initial plan was to see if I could get a corporate partner to challenge match and then I would proceed to begin my fund raising effort.  My first stop was with my employer at the time, Zions Bank and I approached Scott Anderson, its President.  Scott asked me how much the total cost would be, and then wrote me a personal check for the entire amount.  I dare say, it was the easiest effort in raising funds that I've experienced, but I was so grateful for his person support.

Robert Rendon - Zions Bank, Mayor Rocky Anderson, myself, Gloria Wilkinson - Zions Bank
Jeanetta Williams - NAACP, Nancy Saxton, SLC Council and a representative of Youth City

Unfortunately the day of the unveiling, Scott was unable to join us but sent two friends from Zions Bank and we unveiled the signs in the Urban Room of the Salt Lake City Library.  Salt Lake City has since extended signage beyond 600 S and it always brings a feeling of pride and gratitude when I pass one of them.  I actually still have the one on the easel for my own personal memories.

I'm also grateful for Rose Parks.  My girls and I did some studying of her story so that we could better understand her sacrifice and the significance of the event.  Not only did it change history for those of color, but for women too.  The combination of those two things, often get overlooked and it was important for my girls to understand it.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr Day, I express my gratitude for the blessings of individuals, including Dr King who sacrificed much so we would be more tolerable, kinder and hold ourselves to a better standard.

He is the Gift - Greatest blessing in my life and a good reminder this time of the year

At this time of the year, with the heavy burdens we sometimes place upon ourselves in the hectic nature of Christmas, we sometimes look past the greatest gift of all, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is the reason, I have hope. He is the reason I can be forgiven and he is the reason I serve as Stake President of the Salt Lake Rose Park Stake.  I love everything about the birth of the Savior, his birth to a caring and virtuous mother, cared for by Joseph who soon learned his responsibility to the Christ child and his life of teaching and caring for those most in need.

In my role as lay clergy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I see on a regular basis the power of his atonement in the lives of others and witnessing that strength as individuals make changes in their lives, reminds me that the greatest gift I can give to others is to introduce them to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you haven't seen this video, I would encourage you to do so, and share the gift with others.  Merry Christmas to you and thank you for letting me be a small part in your life.