Dear Friends:
I received an invitation to Lake Powell last weekend. I accepted, of course! The weather was
fantastic, the winds were calm, and the fish were biting. If every weekend was like this past one,
we’d have to make reservations years in advance to get on the lake.
We each have a lifetime’s worth of accumulated memories, both good and bad. I generally try to
dwell on the good ones, but occasionally a memory or two pops up that reminds me of times that
challenged my resourcefulness and my love of mankind. Tough times are needed to really
appreciate the good times. If everybody was always kind, loving and patient, we probably
wouldn’t appreciate them the way we should.
For me, Lake Powell has a mixed bag of memories. There have been times at the lake when the
wind has blown nonstop, resulting in sand in our food, our eyes and every possible nook and
cranny.
We’ve had boat troubles there. Once, I even forgot to put in the boat plug. After parking the
truck and walking back down the boat ramp, I observed my wife and children bailing water with
anything they could find. Realizing my stupidity, I sprinted up the ramp, retrieved the truck,
raced back to the boat, and arrived just as the aft end was disappearing under the water. Fellow
boaters were laughing. Now we laugh too, but that day it wasn’t so funny.
I have run out of gas, food and patience at Lake Powell. I even ran out or air while learning to
scuba dive. I’ve had my truck stuck in the sand with no help (or hope) in sight. I’ve had air
mattresses with not-so-tiny leaks. And I have arrived at the lake without pillows, soda pop and
sunscreen.
I relate my misadventures at Lake Powell to make a point. Without our challenges and
disappointments at Lake Powell, we wouldn’t have appreciated the good times; and there have
been many. In fact, the more adversity we’ve seen, the more content we are. And so it is with
life. I’ll have more on this thought in a future column. In the meantime, keep on living and
loving. Heaven is cheering us on!
Mayor David Ogden
