Comfortably Nestled Between Two Vacations
Life is hard, you'll all agree
its filled with work and grief you see
now work can be fulfilling
and grief helps us grow
but a break from both can be good you know
We work and work to pay the bills
To repair our roads and fix social ills
and just for a few days we step back and say
what is it that I want to do today
a new sort of living becomes our reward
for a few days we dance to a more pleasant chord
its easy to think... what if life were this good?
and what if I threw out the book of "I Should..."?
to live without deadline, or meetings, or bounds
just footloose and fancy to agreeable sounds
ah but who are we kidding, were too sharp you see
A life that simple is not for me
Now its certain to me what life needn't be
full of endless setbacks and drudgery
but conflict and hard work sure have their place
they stretch us and bring us to a better place
They say a clear conscience is the softest bed
and of a hard worker's vacation the same could be said
You've earned your reward, not just after 5
our society challenges being ALIVE
so go to the mountains, the lakes and abroad
give the non-working YOU the consensual nod
stay up late at night and eat good food
you needn't be reckless, unpleasant or lewd
Its just a time for you to see
that GOD is pleased with our humanity
life's not a vacation its not just for kicks
but enjoy it and remember its part of the Mix!

Family Moment

I am much excited about heading down to Utah this weekend for the Callister Family reunion. Summer has begun, and many are gathering up the chicks and heading for adventure. There has been much talk recently of "simplifying" vacations. Many are having to "downgrade" to more local vacation spots, and simpler accommodations..... sounds like a Callister family summer trip! Thankfully, we grew up in a spot that was within a few days drive of many of the coolest places in the world (Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, San Diego, San Fransisco, Victoria BC). The truth is we only left the state of Utah on rare occasions. Between those adventures and many I've had since, I am blessed with a rich memory of nearly every corner of the state. One particular trip stands out to me right now: It is today's great moment:

Colorado River float: June 1998.
I was about to leave on my mission and this trip was to be one of the last I would have with the family for a long time. We busted out the family raft and a few cheap floating appendages, headed to our favorite stretch of River (about 30 miles northeast of the City of Moab). This location is nothing short of stunning. High red cliffs frame your view, and occasion breaks in the canyon provide views of the snow capped La Sal mountains, and an occasional rock formation. This section of the Colorado River is more akin to a lazy river than the turbulent rapids that prevail further south. There is, however, enough whitewater to keep adventure seekers satisfied.

This trip was a mix of floating face up next to the raft in the refreshing (albeit incredibly dirty) water of the River, cliff jumping from the lower bluffs adjacent to the river, singing songs around the campfire, water fights, and sharing funny memories of summer trips past. This specific trip was also seasoned with drama and limited hardship. At one point the wind was blowing so hard that we had to row DOWNSTREAM for about an hour... that was less fun. And when we made the ill-fated decision to entertain ourselves by bouncing off of a rock, which ended up trapping us in the full torrent of the Colorado River and pinning my Dad's leg under a rope between two rafts..... we wondered if we would have fond memories of the trip... but after surviving with only shallow physical and emotional scars we got over it quick.

What a great time! Here's to the float trips of the future!

Jake

WELL Done Annie!

Annie does well... as most of you know. She cooks well, she designs well, she gets along well with others. I would like to point out two things she has done well recently that should not go unnoticed.

1. Annie made my birthday very special and fun! I was waiting on pictures to report on this one... and I am sorry I don't have them, but this shouldn't wait (perhaps I will add them later (they are good). Annie surprised me on my birthday and took me to a local vineyard "King Estates." It is south of Eugene about 20 miles. To get there you drive through gorgeous meadows and farms, and the vineyard itself is unbelievably scenic. I cant believe we hadn't been there yet. We had a wonderful lunch (incredible Crab cakes), drank some wonderful wine.... just kidding, and Annie gave me her present. She got me a GPS unit! I have long wanted one but it has always been just a little too far down the wishlist, and a little too expensive. I was very surprised and very happy. She had geo-cached my other present (a wedding ring to replace the one I lost about two years ago). She really went all out! It was so much fun, and it was a great way to celebrate my day!

2. Annie is also the REGIONAL "Employee of the Month" for Pottery Barn! The region is the Pacific Northwest. Yah! Awesome huh? I mean Sales at Pottery Barn is obviously something else Annie does well. It combines both her love for Pottery and her love for Barns.

Anyway once again... Well Done Annie!!!

I just thought the picture was funny, and Annie has an affinity for Asians.. so I figured she would appreciate their endorsement as well.

Jake

One more day in my twenties...

I won't suggest that I am not excited about my upcoming birthday. I mean... its my day.. let me put it this way: its a day I can ask my wife for a massage and expect it to last more than 30 seconds... that is special. But I must say that there is a very real sadness about leaving my twenties. Perhaps its just the newness of the sensation, the first time you desire to NOT get older. My brain has been wired to want to be 8 years old so I can get baptized, to want to be 12 so I can go to scout camps, to be 16 so I can drive, to be 18 so that I am finally an adult, to be 21 to.... know that I could drink if I wanted to, then it subtly becomes less exciting every year: yay I am turning 26 now I get to...rent a car by myself.... or yippee I cant wait to turn 30 so that I can.... pay a little less for car insurance... Oh man! And who reflects fondly on their thirties? Even if they weren't that bad, nobody ignores the twenties and starts talking about how wonderful and adventurous their thirties were.
Think about it, for a few more hours, I am in the same category as that bright eyed, dream-filled, optimistic college sophomore, and in a few hours I will be in the same broad category as folks who are on the verge of midlife crisis, who have children in high school!!... No offense to you 39 years olds out there, and in all fairness, there is certainly a young man turning twenty out there who is so absorbed by the fact that he is closer to twenty one that he is not thinking about the fact that he is briefly in the same category as me, an 8 to 5er who has stopped playing basketball daily because his knees hurt, and who gets an enormous kick out of doing yard work.
Here is the long and short of it: My twenties have been fantastic! They had drama, sadness, and frustration, but they were packed with adventure, love, accomplishment, learning, and jubilation. Our human calendar makes me think that somehow that is over. I guess I should be celebrating the dawning of a new era. An era that will build on the previous decade's success. Ok.... lets go ahead and do it. Bring it on 30!!!

Right of Passage Moment

It is that time of the year again when young 17 and 18 year old seniors engage in the rite of passage that is high school graduation. Perhaps it is becuase I work with the youth in our church, but this year's graduating class seems very on my mind. I am taken back to that moment in my own life. For many it is the exitement of a sea of empty agendas, the opportunity to leave home, or the end of youth and the beginning of adulthood.
I graduated in 1997. I knew I would be going to Snow College in the fall. Still there was a very serious sense of change and, quite frankly, of accomplishment. I made some decisions in the weeks after I graduated from high school that made possible where I am today. Much of that was formulated on a ritualistic pilgrimage I took with my friend Ryan. This was our senior trip. No not 12 rowdy teenagers in San Diego, just me and Ryan in the mountains. Thats how we liked it. It had taken us a long time to find someone who liked the things we did, and we weren't going to mess around with inviting someone else along just to ruin it. The trip was to a little place called Aspen! It was my Mecca in those days. I had dreamed about going for years. Now I was all grown up, and I was going to do it!
It was the kind of trip I probably couldn't take now. No AC, the only radio was a battery operated boombox which you could barely hear over the wind, and the batteries only lasted until about Soldiers Summit when Bill Cosby's tape just stopped. We camped the entire time, ate alot of fast food, but also made some of our food (which I am sure was atrocious). We had no REAL plan, just wandered around the continental divide. We looked for Starwood in ASpen (where John Denver lived). THe locals were not terribly forthcoming, and we concluded that they had all made a pact to look confused and stupid when people inquired about the most famous neighborhood in Aspen. That wasn't so important though.
The greatest were the Maroon Bells! We roamed around the lake for a few hours. It was stunning. And there weren't many people there.
It was a great trip. It sealed what was already a very strong freindship between Ryan and I. It also sealed some goals and aspirations I had. I remember one morning while Ryan was still sleeping, I got up and was playing the guitar in a camp chair just thinking. I remember being impressed by the hinge point I was at in life and thinking at that moment, that I was going to prepare myself to serve an LDS mission and I was going to make something of my life. I have thought about that moment often since then. It wasn't extraordinary in any other way, just that I committed to myself that it was "time to grow up." I am grateful for that moment. As I look at the young men I work with I always hope that they will have similiar moments of clarity. It has certainly seemed like a gift, every time I have reflected on it.
A great moment.

Daniel James

My brother Dan is turning...?26? this year…. Good grief! We have been pretty close throughout the years. We shared a room for forever. I remember one night when I was probably 12 and he was like 8, we spent no less than 3 hours roll playing an interview between an American and Brittan. I just remember giddy laughter throughout the whole thing, as the Brit (myself) became increasingly agitated at the probing questions of the American (Dan). It was in complete darkness mind you. We also used to roll play the spiders in our room talking to each other: Spider #1 (the bumbling idiot): "Hey man you think they're asleep, yet?", Spider #2: "Shut up man, shut up, would you SHUT UP!" This was always done in Ebonics of course. I would give anything for audio recordings of those nights. Anyway, there were some years where Dan was less into being goofy, or maybe it was just that our lives drifted apart a little, but anytime we get back in that mood, I swear I have never met a wittier person.

I am grateful for the time I have been able to spend with this cool guy! He has helped me understand myself a little better, taught me that silence is sometimes appropriate, been a great example of hard work, and has been a very supportive brother. Dan just graduated from Utah State, and I am incredibly proud of him. He will do great things.

Love ya Dan

Happy Birthday!

Lokal Weekend

Annie and I had a fantastic weekend. The only thing that could have made it better is if we had spent it together. She was (and still is) in Maryland, and I was in Utah. She will have to report on the fun and awesome things she was able to do, I will report on my adventures in the Rocky Mountains.

I went down to Utah for a wedding gig with lokalgrown. It was whirlwind. We also did a public concert on Friday night which we don’t do often. The concert was great! Like a big reunion. We were able to see a lot of old friends, and family members of band mates that we hadn’t seen in a long time. The wedding was a blast too. This all reminded of another GREAT MOMENT:

In the Spring of 2003, lokalgrown was just finishing our second album “A Thousand Times Yes.” We were contemplating how we would kick-off the release of our CD. The idea came up to play at Logan’s premiere venue, the Ellen Eccles Theater on Main Street. There are often two factions in the band, those who are a little more conservative, and those who think big. Some of us thought that was a ridiculous idea. Is there a more embarrassing thing than only filling a fourth of the seats in 1,200 seat theater? Not for a band. After some convincing we decided that if we were ever going to fill a hall, now was the time.

We worked our cans off, producing the show ourselves. We went to local businesses, got sponsorships, made posters, made flyers, built and painted A-frames, spent HOURS delivering flyers, and posting posters. We bought radio time and made a radio commercial. After all of this… we (or at least I) were scared out of our minds that this was not only going to be embarrassing, but also very expensive (a bad combination). We knew our friends and family would be there but that would only fill a fourth of the place.

That night people started trickling in. We waited back stage and nervously poked our heads out every now and again. The seats were filling. By the time the opening act was done the place was brimming! We were ecstatic! What ensued was one of the most fulfilling and amazing moments of my life thus far. We put on a great show and had SO much fun. I think I have never before felt so validated. Everyone has a buddy in a band, and it’s pretty easy to blow it off. For this one night, we weren’t just the “buddies” in a band. We were the real thing. We had a packed hall, a huge sound system, great and well rehearsed music. Perhaps the climax of the evening was a portion of Country Roads where we all stop playing and sing the chorus accapella. The rush I experienced while leading 1,200 people in a beautiful chorus of that tune is something I had never felt before and have felt only a few times since. Few things bring me more joy and fulfillment than facilitating a powerful shared experience through music.

This last weekend was an extension of that sensation, and I hope that opportunities like this will continue! Here’s to great musical moments of the future!