From Dad

October 18, 2015

Re: Letter 46 of 3

Dear Riley:

I hope you enjoyed conference as much as we did. Something I think is going to catch fire is “ponderize”. I believe this has the capacity to transform the membership of the Church and keep their minds centered on the word, but also keep them ever ready to share the reason for the hope within them. Something a little unfortunate about this whole ponderize movement was the fact that the son of Devin Durrant went out and purchased a ponderize domain name for people to gather and network but also to sell ponderize merchandise. It just looked really bad, like the talk just happened to coincide with a money making scheme. Detractors were calling it insider priestcraft and Elder Durrant came out and apologized for the whole appearance and acknowledged the inappropriateness of it. Accordingly, the website was taken down, though tee shirts are still available for sale at the BYU bookstore. Notwithstanding, I still think it’s a great concept and it hasn’t diminished our enthusiasm to incorporate this into our day to day lives. Too bad it was somewhat tainted by a little thoughtlessness on account of a few.

How about that priesthood choir? I was so impressed with the strength and quality of their singing. Parker loved the experience and I hope seeing him on the screen warmed your heart.

The kids have been enjoying fall break and still have one more day of it. For me it passed without fanfare, as I still needed to report for work. However, yesterday your mother organized a family hike up to the Y, so the break wasn’t entirely lost for family interaction. Josie was such a hoot! She was fiercely independent and walked the entire way (carrying her backpack with snacks and water for all but a few minutes.) She conversed with numerous individuals and warmed dozens of hearts with her pleasant personality and generosity. We topped the hike off with a trip to the creamery for ice-cream and French fries and subsequently destroyed all prospects for more wholesome food for lunch.

Later yesterday afternoon we went to the High School to test a new concept for an air rocket. The body was nearly four feet long and made of poly carbonate tube. Uncle J had 3D printed some plastic pieces for fins, the nosecone, and payload compartment which I assembled into a functional rocket. The parachute deployment was designed to be passive release at apogee with a 24” canopy to bring it safely back to earth. Coming in at precisely 100 grams and based on past tests with the heavier PVC model, I expected it to possibly reach 600 feet and had high expectations for several successful flights. The weather turned rainy but failed to dampen our enthusiasm and we got quite wet before it was all over. Unfortunately, success was not in the cards. As a precaution, we had installed an inner guide ring half way down the tube to ensure proper alignment as the rocket came off the launch tube. This ring was quite tightly wedged into the tube, so we never considered the need to have it securely fastened into place. However, when the solenoid was released at 100 psi, the guide ring broke free from its position and slammed into the base of the rocket, shattering the body and fins as it ejected out the side. The rocket propelled upwards but slowed quickly from the drag created by the catastrophic failure in the lower region. With something like an airbrake in effect, the nosecone lifted from the body pulling the parachute with it which deployed at high speed and caused extensive damage to the top of the rocket body. What remained of the entire assembly settled gently to earth from an elevation of around 100 feet. Surprisingly, the parachute was in great shape with only a small tear in the canopy and all strings intact. All this happened within a few seconds with a loud report and pieces flying through the air. It was all very funny, but a little disappointing. We had a good laugh, and headed back to the drawing board.

Your mom is gradually recovering from her bicycle accident and has substantial bruising on one knee, her ankle, and her ego. She’s gradually gaining the use of her hand with the dislocated and chipped bone finger. Over Conference weekend we had an auto bicycle accident nearby. A couple was hit by a distracted driver who ran a red light. The woman was killed and the husband hospitalized in critical condition. Things of this nature strike closer to home now that we’re biking a lot more so we were already affected by the accident. I didn’t know until a week later that these people were good friends of R and KB and had just come back from an 800 mile motorbike trip the end of September. So sad! A moment of carelessness can shatter lives and lead to decades of regret. I feel sorry for all individuals involved and have been more cautious in my own driving and bicycling since.

Well, P just arrived for a visit, so I need to go. We sure love and miss you and pray for your success and safety daily. Work hard and stay the course.

Love,

Dad