Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Big Game


One of Marty's birthday presents was a couple of tickets to the BYU-Utah football game. I had the weekend off and before I knew it the whole family was making the trek north with Marty and I to the Wasatch Front. The girls had shopping malls in mind with it's bigger and better selections (everything I need can be found at Outdoor Outlet). Sheri had obtained 4 tickets to the game through the student association at the University of Utah. She generously gave up her spot to Eric and so it was Marty, Eric, Peter and myself who departed SLC on Saturday morning 2 hours before kickoff. We arrived in our seats about one minute before it started. Yea, lots of traffic. The game was great. The packed stadium (65,000 people) was impressive and the crowd was enthusiastic and mostly dressed in blue. We were surrounded by several hundred fans dressed in red and obviously rooting for Utah. This didn't deter Marty with his blue sweatshirt. It was an exciting game and the overtime series played out right in front of us in the North endzone. One of the best college football games played in a long time. We then headed up to Midway and had dinner at the Homestead with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen. Sunday morning we went to church in Midway and had the extra pleasure of sitting in on Grandma's Sunday school lesson. We enjoyed playing with Mollies puppies before making the long drive home.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

A Day Off

I finally got a day off, but instead of enjoying it, I had to go to court and testify. Zach put on his suit and gave me moral support and some good advice and accompanied me into the courtroom. I had to give testimony in a child abuse case. It is uncomfortable to look across the courtroom into the face of the accused. The prosecuting and defending attornies questioned me for 25 minutes. It was a nerve racking thing for someone who is totally unfamiliar with court rooms and trial law. Zach loved it. After I testified, I jumped into my truck and headed out into the mountains west of St. George and rock climbed until dark. I joined up with the Perkin brothers. They had me doing laps on a 5.13a I am so sore today, I can hardly move. The sunset from the western slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains was spectacular! And just as the sun went down, the full moon came up over the cliffs in the east. The air was perfectly still and crisp as we hiked back to our trucks. I took Mookie with us and he was running around with a dog grin on his face.
Eric played very well in his football game on Saturday. He played center and outside linebacker. His team was the Dixie 3rd grade team and played against Snow Canyon for the championship. They lost 13 - 0 . He loves football and already understands the game. Looking forward to seeing most everybody at Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Night Shift in the ER

I am still learning how this blog thing works. I haven't posted any photos yet, but will be doing so soon. It is 1:30 am and I'm seeing patients with various problems. I have three night shifts in a row this week. After a decade of taking care of people, I am amazed at what I see especially after midnight in the ED. There are strange, odd and just plain stupid people amongst us. I don't mind taking care of the truly needful person, such as a bona fide heart attack or appendicitis or a broken arm, but those patients are the minority. I guess my view is skewed because I do see the worst of society.
Enough of that. Tomorrow is Marty's birthday, but with school and basketball tryouts and Young Men activity, we won't get to see much of him. Hope he enjoys his gifts.

Friday, November 04, 2005

A Day In Zion


I finally had a day off after a long stretch of work shifts at the hospital. The weather forecast was good and I had no other commitments all day long. I was hoping to either climb a multiple pitch route or do a canyon in Zion. I contacted John Tully (the PA that works with me in the ED) and convinced him to join me. We decided to hike through Spry Canyon. Most people take 6 to 8 hours to get through this canyon, but Marty and I had done it in 3 hours before. We didn't exactly get an early start, but by 10 am we were well on our way up and over the slickrock pass that heralds the beginning of the drainage between Mount Spry and Mountain of the Sun. It was a warm day for the 2nd of November. Once we dropped into the slot and began to rappel we did put on our wet suits and neoprene gloves. It had rained just last week and most of the pools were still full of water. It took us 4 1/2 hours this time through the canyon. This left us with some time to rock climb. We drove to the end of the road at the Temple of Sinawava where the Narrows comes out and parked the truck. There is a 100 foot climb up a crack called "Tourist Crack" right above the parking area. We spent the rest of daylight climbing this crack and made it back to the truck after dark using our headlamps. The next stop was at the Zion Pizza and Noodle (in the old Mormon chapel) in Springdale. The spicy pasta dish hit the spot! Although I was physically tired when I arrived home, I felt rejuvenated.