The Payson Chronicle from Payson, Utah • 2

The Payson Chronicle July Local Folk Denises Doodles 1 1 by Denise Windley Two perfect roses joined in matrimony. Brought together by the reverent touch of my green hands. Ribbons of smoldering pink smoke swimming round and round, stopping at their centers, greeted by thorny extended stems. Captivating buds releasing suaveolent perfume, their candied summer fragrance floated gently within satiny winds that blew as the two stood united alongside a sometimes rolling irrigation ditch of bracing waters from Santaquin Canyon. Blessed by a strike from Mother Natures magic wand, I suppose, they stood valiantly against Ma Natures whipping stick she used to lash down hard on us in months past.

Like the December we experienced in April and the hail storm that trampled down like soldiers goose stepping in a military parade and the wicked winds that did nothing less than shred the haunted dying maple tree closeby, robbing us of a heaping portion of splendorous cool shade. My elegant and everlasting flowers could stomach any bowl of goulash She could dish up. Any kind. But they just couldnt withstand the hands of man (or woman, which is more apropos for our time). Hurriedly packing up my Toads for departure from our place of residence, my eyes were shocked by a shadow of nakedness that stood where one of my roses once had.

My beauty was gone. Stolen like a dollar bill on a high school hallway floor. Some thoughtless knifer knifed it; now its sitting lonely in an empty mayonnaise jar on some tacky green kitchen table, or squashed flat between the pages of a book like an unfortunate daddy-long-leg between the sole of a shoe and a concrete sidewalk. Scenes from the crime in action spun a story-telling web within my embittered head. A faceless culprit trampling heavily upon the grass, scissors in-hand, too ignorant to know that stealing flowers is, in fact, theft.

"Yes, yes," they said, "this will look quite lovely in an empty mayonnaise jar on my tacky green kitchen table." Theres probably not one possession you can keep out in the open nowadays without having it stolen. Before too long, we will all feel inclined to encase our flowers, locking them away from reach, just as we must do with our cars, houses, bikes, trikes, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, I hope that whoever stole my precious rose reads this, feels embarrassed, guilty or whatever. They probably wont. In that case, I just hope that when they stole my precious beauty, they were pricked by one of its thorns. And I hope that it hurt.

by Denise Windley At the bright young age of twenty, Helen Kester graduated from college. Soon after, she embarked on many ventures, including a tour of Europe and Israel which, according to Mrs. Kester, structured the rest of her life. Born and raised in Little Neck, Queens, New York, she moved to Santaquin in 1968 after marrying Santaquinite Jake Kester. (They met while she was engaged in the special services department of the U.S.

Army and Jake was serving as an Army Captain.) Helen states that after recuperating from culture shock, she became involved in various organizations in this area. She served as a Girl Scout leader, served on the Utah County Fair Board (5 years) and the Santaquin Planning Zoning Commission (3 years), reigned as president of the Santaquin American Legion Auxiliary (6 years), to name a few. To help fuel her voracious appetite for travel, she founded Beehive Bassets in 1 976 and showed her dogs all over the Western United States. Of her 26 dogs, 12 finished American Championships, and 1 is a Canadian Champion. After a brief 10-year-period, she retired from her canine career.

But, by looking at the display on her fireplace mantle, that short allotment of time enabled her to snag some awfully fancy trophies, ribbons, nick-knacks and so forth. Helen, and husband Jake, are the parents of three exquisitely unique daughters: Christine, Laura, and Joan the Bone. Although she probably wont admit, the most exciting time of her engrossing life was when she and husband Jake took Joan and me for a nighttime stroll down Hollywood Boulevard and a daytime jaunt around Venice Beach while visiting Southern California to see the Rose Bowl Parade. A wonderful culture shock experience was, well, experienced by all. The Payson Chronicle 12 South Main Payson Utah 465-9221 PublisherEditor: Michael Olson Office Manager: Denise Windley Typesetting: Nadine Alexander The Payson Chronicle CUSPS 424-160) is published each Wednesday at 12 South Maint Payson, Utah, Second class postage is paid at Payson Post Office 84651 and entered as second class mail.

Postmaster, send address changes to Payson Chronicle, 12 South Main, Payson, Utah 84651, Chronicle Deadlines: Friday Noon Preferred Monday Noon Final QUESTION DW: Do you think that we are living in a more violent, immoral, non-caring society today than we were ten years ago? ANSWER HK: I think I could write a college thesis on this one! But I bet you want a nice concise answer. As this is a three-part question. Ill attempt to answer one part at a time. I think American society as a whole is more caring now than it was ten years ago. We have made great strides in areas, such as child and spousal abuse, the rights of the handicapped, and to the homeless and the poor.

Americans have always been generous in giving to charities and helping during times of National and world disasters. The American spirit is, perhaps, the most generous in the world. Its what makes me proud to be an American. As for morality and violence, the two are related. Violence is the result of the lack of morality.

I definitely think we have more of both in society today. A persons morality is defined by his conscience, what he perceives to be right or wrong. Thus, the more permissive society becomes the less collective conscience considers to be wrong. For example, we need only turn on the T.V. to see the latest in gang warfare, a war somewhere in the world, murder, or someone being accused of corruption or sexual immorality.

Seeing these events repeatedly, whether they are real, as in the news, or fictional, as in entertainment, begins to dull the senses. We begin to think that these events are just a part of the norm and so we start to accept them. Morality starts to corrode and each successive generation becomes just a little more permissive. Those who speak out in favor of getting back to more traditional values are looked upon as being old-fashion, ill-formed, not liberal enough, or worse-prejudice. Add to this an economy that forces both parents to go to work just to make ends meet and we find the entire traditional family structure, which used to reinforce such values as respect, worship of God, personal responsibility and commitment, is gone, also.

Dont ask me about solutions to these problems-thats where the college thesis comes in. Unfortunately, even parents who are trying to raise their children with values have no control over what happens to their children once they leave home. You can only hope that the values you have instilled will served them well throughout their lives. Then you pray for them every day!.