Traces of Time . . . March 1-7, 2021

 TRACES OF TIME...                                                          {To see last week: Scroll to end, click "Older Posts" at bottom right.} 

THIS WEEK 

            MARCH 1, 2021                             TO                                       MARCH 7, 2021

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021                                  Family is Everything...                                                           

Today Sunrise: 7:02 a.m. Sunset: 6:18 p.m.

This is for March 1, 2021

I sent this in an e-mail to

my family and friends:

"Today I have been diagnosed with

Macular degeneration

It is also called AMD

"Advanced-age Macular Degeneration"

An eye disease that causes vision loss.

Macular degeneration causes loss in the center of the field of vision. 

In dry macular degeneration, the center of the retina deteriorates. 

With wet macular degeneration, leaky blood vessels grow under the retina.

Blurred vision is a key symptom.

A special combination of vitamins and minerals (AREDS formula) 

may reduce disease progression. Surgery may also be an option.

There is no cure,

but...

         ...The Good News

It can be treated with injections that

will keep me from going blind.

I received my first eye injection today.

(It was not as bad as I expected. My eye

 was numbed and there was no pain. It took 

  less than 2 seconds.)

David--Dr. Petersen--saw a spot on my retina

when he did an eye exam on me Jan. 28.  

He had me make an appointment with the

retina specialists who are in the same 

medical building as his office at Rocky

Mountain Eye Care.

Today Gary drove me to my appointment.

Thank you, Gary, for taking all that time.

I was there from 1:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.--

3 1/2 hours.

 Dr. Mitchell J. Goff made the diagnosis,

confirmed the diagnosis, and gave me an

eye injection.

He said it is good that this has been diagnosed

in its very early stage. Thank you, David, for 

discovering this in your thorough eye exam you

did for me four weeks ago.

My left eye has dry macular degeneration and he

will keep a close watch on it in case it turns into

wet macular degeneration.

I am thankful for doctors who have taken so much

time, study, and work to know how to diagnose and

treat these diseases.

And I am thankful for the medicine that can treat

these diseases.

I am thankful for your prayers that have helped me

and will continue to help me.

My Grandfather Huffaker was nearly blind from

macular degeneration when he died at age 90.

My Uncle Don Huffaker has it now, he is age 92.

My sister, Janice, age 71, has had it since 2010--

11 years now, and has been given eye injections

since then. She did have a time when she could go without injections, but then had to have them monthly, then every two months. Tomorrow Dr. Faber (in the same office as Dr. Goff) will determine if she can go every three months.

So you sons and daughters--and grandchildren-- need to tell your eye doctor that macular degeneration runs in our family and should

be closely watched for.

Love,

 Mom / Grama Petersen / Eileen"

Thank you, Gary, for driving me to this appointment in Murray

at the Rocky Mountain Retina Specialists.

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021                                  Family is Everyhing...                                                                              I worked most of the day on my blog.

I took one photo trying to show how

dead the grass looks. Hopefully,

it soon will be turning green.

I did do some catch-up reading for

 Come, Follow Me

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021                      Family is Everyhing...                                                                         We had Ladies' Lunch at

Village Baker in Lehi out in

Traverse Mountain area,

3330 Digital Drive, Lehi.

at 11:45.

Sharon responded:

"Hope to join you soon,

enjoy!"

and then answered Judy's

question of how she was feeling:

"Getting stronger everyday!"

with a smily face emoji.

Then several replied that we

were all happy to hear that

you are getting stronger.

I texted:

"Sharon, please know we

have all been praying for you--

Ladies' Lunch sisters united!

We love you and love that

you are getting stronger

every day."

We have missed you!

*** *** ***
(Sharon had a stroke on

January 18)

Village Baker has a lot on their

menu to choose from.

Sue and Kathie. Some chose soup and salad... 

Tammy and Jeanie. Some chose 1/2 soup 'n 1/2 sandwich...

Kaye and Sue. Some chose just salad...

Kathie and Eileen. It was all delicious!

Linda, Judy, Kaye, Sue...

Eight were able to come today: Left--Linda, Judy, Kaye, Sue.

Right: Jeanie, Tammy, Eileen, Kathie.

Jeanie gets to go somewhere...

We had the serendipity of seeing some friends there,

who are also from our ward: Vickie, Roberta.

Roberta took this photo of us. L-R:Judy, Vickie, Jeanie,

Eileen, Sue, Kathie. (Tammy, Kaye, Linda had gone outside.)

Then I took a photo with Roberta in it.

L-R:  Vickie, Sue, Jeanie, Kathie, Roberta, Judy.

I got a photo of Linda, Sue, and Kathie with the

mountains behind them. Thanks, Kathie, for driving us.

I thought I got a photo of Tammy by her car, but 

I guess I didn't hit the right button. It's hard to see

my screen out in the sunshine.

What a nice day--got to 62 degrees!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wednesday night movie with Gary:

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"

xxxxxxx

This movie premiered in New York City

in July 1954 at Radio City Music Hall.

Walt saw it there in August 1954

with other missionaries.

They had taken a train from Salt Lake City

to there to get their visas for going on 

via ship to Montevideo, Uruguay,

to begin their missions. In those days

an Elder had to be 20 years old before 

he could go on a mission.

It's one of the great musicals from

the 1950s. Four of the brothers were

played by professional dancers.

"Ephraim (dark green shirt): Jacques d'Amboise, 

was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. 

In 2006, American Film Institute named 

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as one of 

the best American musical films ever made."

--Info from Wikipedia

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021                          Family is Everyhing...                                                                             Today I had some dental work done

at the Utah Valley Oral and

Maxillofacial Surgery in

Saratoga Springs.

Dr. Burton had to get one

of the implants out of my

upper right gum.

It didn't take too long,

but it was quite intense.

He said that area is so tender that

he did a double deadening.

(I remember thinking: "This is worse

than the injection in my eye on Monday.")

This is in preparation for getting my

bridge in after the teeth pulled

in early November when my old

bridge (of 70 years) was taken out.

Here's where I turn to go home...

Port Road and Parkway Boulevard.

Waiting in line at the pharmacy,

I liked this view of Mt. Timp in

my rear-view mirror.

The lines were long today, and I had

to go three times--once before I went to the 

dentist to get Metformin. Then the dentist

ordered a special mouthwash

 and Amoxicillin. They didn't

have the mouthwash Rx ready so I

had to go back later.
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021                                  Family is Everyhing...                                                                         The sunshine and warm weather

beckons the kids outside...

So fun to see them flock outside in March

after a long, sometimes-cold winter.

Janice sent me our Mom's recipe for

Saucy Pork Chops that Jen wanted.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021                                  Family is Everyhing...                                                                      Today was the funeral for Kelly's father.  Rich Baker was

an amazing person and it's so sad that he was taken at the young age of 67.  Kelly is married to our grandson, Daniel Fisher.

Here is Rich's obituary.

Obituary for Richard L. Baker

Rich Baker Obituary
April 3, 1953 - March 2, 2021

Richard Louis Baker, “Rich,” 67, of Belmont, Massachusetts, Founder of Glance Networks, Inc; avid backpacker and astronomer; loving father, husband and brother; died Tuesday morning, March 2, 2021, following a year-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Rich was born April 3, 1953, in Los Angeles, California, to Ariel Rufus Baker (“Bake”), and Mabel Pamp Baker. Rich’s older brother, Vince, helped cultivate a love of classical music in Rich, and was a role model for him in entering the field of electrical engineering. His sister, Cheryl, in spite of friendly childhood efforts to get Rich to display his temper, has always been one of his closest allies, most recently acting as his “trail angel” during his last hike through Washington State.

As a boy, Rich and his father raised and raced pigeons, which led to Rich’s interest in creating his first invention, a “birdwatcher” designed to clock when pigeons returned to the roost. Rich remembers the moment when he realized that with hard work he could excel academically, and he worked hard to earn straight As, which helped him earn a coveted spot at CalTech for his undergraduate education.

Rich’s CalTech years provided him many unique opportunities, including playing on both the varsity college basketball and baseball teams in spite of his whopping 5’7” stature, becoming President of his dorm (Ruddock House), and participating in many of the traditions and adventures that occur when bright young students collide with mischievous impulses.

After college and an LDS mission to Argentina (where he learned to speak Spanish), Rich continued his education while working at Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton, California. Hughes Aircraft paid for Rich’s Master’s degree in EE from USC and a PhD from Stanford University. As a member of the Hughes Advanced projects team, Rich contributed to projects in spread spectrum communications, HF radar, and image and speech processing, enhancement, recognition and compression. Using his considerable technical skills, Rich was able to save Hughes thousands of dollars by automating processes used to detect military aircraft flight patterns.

Rich dreamed of being an entrepreneur and longed to create value in the world by starting his own company, but his desire to support his wife, Robin, led him to put those dreams temporarily aside while Robin pursued graduate degrees. While Robin studied for her Master’s degree at BYU, Rich taught in BYU’s electrical engineering department, where he accomplished the herculean task of completing his dissertation for Stanford, while also teaching five different engineering courses. When Robin chose UCLA for her PhD, Rich was conveniently offered an assistant professor position at UCLA where he mentored a talented research team of students who went on to make important contributions in video technologies such as data compression, vector quantization and coding standards. While Rich tolerated research and approached it with painstaking care, his true love was for teaching, and he consistently earned top teaching ratings while at UCLA.

In 1990, Rich was successfully lured away from UCLA to work as the Director of Research at PictureTel in the Boston area. He and Robin assumed their time in Boston would be short, but instead they wound up making Boston their home for the next thirty years. Rich eventually became Chief Scientist and the acting VP of Engineering, helping PictureTel transition from a company of 150 to 1500 during his tenure. He also chaired the Corporate Networks Conferencing Activity Group from 1995-97, launching the industry process which created the global ITU H.323 standard for Internet and LAN-based videoconferencing in record time.

In 2000, Rich partnered with Taylor Kew to create Glance Networks, a company that broke ground in the area of screen sharing using specialized video compression techniques. Rich and Taylor bootstrapped the company, creating a strong culture of careful financial decision-making, commitment to technical excellence, simplicity in design, and fast and easy reliability for their service. The company that Rich and others built now serves thousands of client companies with easily recognizable names. Rich admired his colleagues, respected their technical competence and greatly appreciated their innate goodness. He eventually trusted his colleague, Tom Martin, to take over as CEO, which freed him up to pursue the work he most loved as Chief Technology Officer at Glance. He was proud of the culture of hard work and respect that he worked hard to foster at Glance.

In his final weeks, Rich had a burst of creative energy, and was able to use his considerable technical expertise, his laser focus on simplicity, and his calming teamwork skills to help Glance solve some thorny technical challenges. He was gratified to learn before he passed away that this work was summarized in the 38th patent which Rich was involved in generating and filing while at Glance.

Rich believed strongly in doing good in the world, and he continually reached out to help others. He was always the “go to guy” for technology at church, and he was often seen taping wires, adjusting mikes, setting up cameras and trouble-shooting tech problems for church broadcasts. He was tapped to serve in leadership roles in local units of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as counselor to three different bishops: 1) Bob Rees in the Los Angeles First Ward, 2) Paul Dredge in the Lynn, MA Asian Branch, and 3) Doug John in the Belmont, MA First Ward. In 2012, Rich was asked to serve as the President of the Cambridge 3rd congregation of Spanish-speaking members, and he was acutely aware that his role as the “outsider gringo” was to tap into the wisdom of this community rather than assuming his own expertise. Members of this branch remember his quiet service in pulling in and strengthening youth, and encouraging them to attend college and go on missions.

One of Rich’s biggest contributions was to the scouting program in the Belmont, MA congregation, where he served as scoutmaster for seven years, encouraging many boys to obtain their Eagle Scout rank. During this time, Rich also introduced dozens of boys to the beauties and challenges of backpacking in the Sierra Mountains. Rich believed that the surest way to keep boys out of trouble was to wear them out, and the best way to keep them safe during these trips was to prepare. As a result, countless talks and college essays were written by young men who learned important life skills from Rich, and who discovered they could accomplish things they did not know they were capable of.

Rich had an intense and passionate love of learning. He rarely went anywhere without a podcast in his ear or a Scientific American or Astronomy magazine in his hand. He read multiple newspapers, and would often send interesting links to family members on a variety of topics. He had strong opinions about politics and spent what he called “too much time” reading about what was going on in the world. Rich was an avid amateur astronomer, and he loved dazzling any who would listen or look through his telescope with the wonders of the night sky.

Rich was also a creative teacher who loved explaining things, occasionally in more detail than people expected. He was a master at creative teaching moments, with one particular lesson that stands out—when he taught 10 wide eyed three year-olds in the church nursery how to light fires using flint and steel. The elementary school age kids at church also remember Rich using items such as an axe, a bear can, and raw eggs to illustrate concepts. While the kids may not have remembered the points of these lessons, they were always captivated by the display. Rich taught teens to build camp stoves out of cat food cans, and pack backpacks light enough so that they could actually carry them. He taught students to understand tricky engineering concepts, and he taught his children to be good people. Rich also spent hundreds of hours as a student of Mormon culture and thought, and in spite of his many doctrinal and policy questions, he was a deep believer in the value of the community as a way to connect, serve and love others.

Most people who knew Rich soon learned of his passion for backpacking, as most conversations with Rich inevitably steered towards this topic. Rich was the Pied Piper of backpacking, and he spearheaded many backpacking trips with not only scouts, but friends, colleagues, families, and his children, starting when they were as young as five. Rich dreamed of hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches 2,650 miles from the Canadian to the Mexican border. In the summer of 2018, Rich hiked his first 500-mile section of this trail, starting at the southern border of the state of Washington, stopping just a few miles shy of the Canadian border when the weather turned dangerously snowy. In the fall of 2020, when Rich’s Bone Marrow Transplant appeared to be offering him a cure, Rich had his next permit in hand, and was looking forward to hiking another 500 miles of the trail in the coming summer.

Rich’s partnership with Robin began when they met at church in the Stanford ward in 1980, where both of them quickly realized that they liked life much better together than alone. While they were direct opposites in some ways, Rich’s meticulous approach and Robin’s ability to dive right into projects was a healthy combination for getting things done both quickly and effectively. It is a testament to their ability to communicate and problem solve that Robin and Rich were able to work together at Glance for 8 ½ years. Rich stood behind Robin in everything she hoped to do with her life, and there was no one more ardently supportive of Robin’s return to school in her 50s to become a family therapist than Rich. Rich was just as delighted by Robin’s successes as his own, and this made marriage a haven for both of them.

Rich adored his children, and he was incredibly proud of them all. He loved being at every possible performance, which took him to places as far away as Carnegie Hall, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Canada, and England. Rich savored music and the arts, and especially enjoyed times when his children were performing. Rich relished his role as the “grand documenter” of their many artistic performances and important moments of their lives. It was a rare event when Rich did not have his camera at the ready to create lasting memories of these moments, and he left a legacy of over 300 videos featuring family members.

Rich’s sister-in-law, Diane Sampson Zenger, summarized Rich with the following: “Rich had the extraordinary ability to couple an intensity about things and ideas with a mildness about people and faults. He was unusually able to let situations mature before getting fractious or resentful, and to shrug off the ways the rest of us are annoying. The vibrant buoyancy and focus with which he attended new projects, skills, and ideas; his self-deprecating humor that never seemed to turn to self-doubt; his ability to make things not-about-him; his brilliancy that he didn't need to "prove" to anyone (oh, that remarkable brain); his faithful abiding confidence and pride in all of children—these traits of his are a profound legacy he is leaving to all of us. We are better humans and parents for having seen him in action. I am profoundly grateful for his influence in my life.”

Rich is survived by wife, Robin, his children, Shannon, Scott (Katrina), Leslie (Taylor), and Kelly (Daniel) and siblings, Vince (Kay), and Cheryl (Steve) and grandchildren Sierra and Autumn. He will be sorely missed. We hope to remain connected to stories of Rich’s life, and we welcome anyone who would like to share greetings, memories, or stories of Rich to please send these to the following email: richbakermemories@gmail.com.

A memorial service for Rich Baker will be held Saturday, March 6 at 2 pm Eastern on zoom at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84153343491?pwd=TGtRT01samxuUnVoSG5obXI0c0VjZz09

In lieu of flowers, people may contribute to one of the following charities which were important to Rich:

• The Pacific Crest Trail Association: https://www.pcta.org/donate/#donate

• The Bone Marrow Registry - BeTheMatch.com: https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-financially/

• Bountiful Children’s Foundation: https://bountifulchildren.org/

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****                                        

Today was a ballroom competition in Spanish Fork...ALA "American Leadership Academy," headed by Shawn, Rick, and Terry. I had five grandchildren dancing there. So happy they get to do something they love to do.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2021                                  Family is Everyhing...                                                                    

  Today Maddie was set apart as 2nd counselor in 

her Young Women 14-15 year-old class presidency

by Michael Miller, the first counselor

in the Saratoga Springs 3rd ward bishopric.

I was privileged to be there with her.

Today in our Ward Fast and Testimony Meeting, 

nine shared their testimony. It was our Zoom day.

Then Vivien taught our Gospel Doctrine class online.

Come, Follow Me was "The Rise of the Church of Christ"

Doctrine and Covenants 20, 21, 22.

When I listened to "Tyler and Taylor" yesterday, I wrote

down: "We need a church to dispense the Gospel and

to bind us to Jesus Christ, the Rock...   It is a 

Restoration of Covenants."

President Nelson, our current Prophet also teaches

that the Restoration is still going on. 

I liked what

our nephew, Don Bunn, said in his e-mail to me

when I posted Monday how thankful I was for 

modern medicine that can keep me from going blind.

"...and because of all of the knowledge the Lord has poured out 

on this earth since the restoration of the gospel--the whole world 

has been blessed in medicine, travel, communication--all, in my 

opinion to spread the gospel--hopefully minimize for cure the 

problem and new advances are happening every day."

This is the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. 

It is the Last Dispensation for this earth before the

Second Coming of the Savior...when He comes in

Glory and Majesty as KING of KINGS and

LORD of LORDS.  How magnificent it will be!

Daily Scripture: The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. - Psalm 29:11

Daily Quote: God did not remove the Red Sea, He opened it; He will help us find a way through our problems as well. - Brad Wilcox

At the end of this March 7th,

I pray you have had a

restful , peaceful, and spiritual

Sabbath Day...

I share these truths as my testimony to you...

Heavenly Father lives and knows us each by name. He loves us and wants us to return to Him and Heavenly Mother when we leave this mortal existence.  He loves us just as we are at this very moment.

*** *** ***

Jesus Christ came to earth as The Only Begotten of the Father and fulfilled the Atonement. He is the Redeemer of all. 

*** *** ***

Joseph Smith was foreordained to be the Prophet of the Restoration.  He is the Restorer of all things.

*** *** ***

President Russell M. Nelson is the Living Prophet today for all the world. 

*** *** ***

The Bible is "the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly" and is a Testament of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

*** *** ***

The Book of Mormon is the Word of God and is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is the most correct book of any book on earth.

*** *** ***

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the True Church on the earth today.  

*** *** ***

Of these truths I testify in the Name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Eileen Petersen 

March 7, 2021