Seeing Idaho!

We moved to Idaho in 1988 - 32 years ago.  Of those 32 years, we lived 5 years in Barcelona and 8 years in Portland but still that's 24 years living in Boise.  Well my census job has taken me to places in this beautiful state that I had never seen before.  In August, I saw much of northern Idaho.  This last week I've explored closer to home in two counties right by us, Elmore and Camas Counties and I've gone places that I've never gone before.  

For 3 days, I was Fairfield population around 500.  Even though it is a lot smaller than Lonoke, where I grew up, it still made me feel nostalgic for small towns.  People were super friendly and helpful and knew a lot about their neighbors.  That makes census work a lot easier.  By the 3rd day I felt like I had made friends all over town.

Saturday I drove for two hours to an even smaller town called Prairie.  The drive was spectacular as it follows the Boise River Canyon. 

I didn't take this beautiful photo. 

It was smoky from the nearby fires when I drove up there so my views were more like this...

On this little dirt road, the sign that said, "Watch for Stock" was necessary.  This cow was very interested in me.  Some of his friends were standing right on the road, so I am glad I was 'watching out'.

 

I finally got a photo of some of the wild turkeys.

Yesterday I went to Pine and Featherville, two more small towns.  The drive was also beautiful!

There were fires in the area but actually I think it was smokier in Boise than where I was.

The fire was about 6 miles from the towns I visited.  Before I headed up there, I stopped at the corral which was right at the turn off, to get advice from the cowboys.  They assured me that where I was going was perfectly safe.  You have to trust an Idaho cowboy! And they were right.  I had no trouble at all.

I did see the fire fighter base.

And I found the 'Church in the Valley by the Wildwood' that I had sung about when I was a child.

I enjoyed lunch at this beautiful spot.  While I was eating I noticed a large bald eagle and watched him swoop down and catch a fish right out of the river!

Idaho is close to finished with the 2020 Census.  We might be there first state in the nation to finish!  Yeah Idaho!  Louisiana and West Virginia are not far behind though, so it is back out on the road tomorrow to try and finish up Elmore County.  We really hope to be #1 in the USA to complete the count.  Every time I get frustrated with some of the organization and bureaucracy of the Census Bureau, I remind myself that getting an accurate count of 330 million people is no small feat!

100 Years

 Today is my mother's 100th birthday!  I decided to use some of the words from her funeral sermon by Emmet Powers, her minister, to honor her on this day.

"September 10, 1920, Bessie Jane Boyle bounced into this world.  Her years spanned such incredible eras in our nation's history, most that radically affected her culture here (Lonoke, Arkansas) where she was raised and later came back home to live.  Somewhere along the way she resolved to live out her changing times with energy and optimism.  Maybe it was born of her years as a navy wife, living in Boston or Providence, Rhode Island or Brooklyn.

Or maybe it came from her years living in Sicily.

Or maybe it was something just born in her to engage her life actively one day at a time.  That stands as a model for our own ways of doing whatever it is that gives us fulfillment in life.

She worked for the late Jack Walls and later in the office of attorney Mike Stewart for 45 years, from 1961 - 2006.  She retired at age 85 - just 3 years before her death.

We looked up to her as a positive model in so many ways, but especially comes to mind her physical abilities at such a late age.  So many have said to me how they hope that by their later years they, too, will have such endurance. How many of us would still like to be driving, mowing our own grass, and keeping a busy social calendar at age 88?

Some of us walked with Mrs. Bessie not long ago when her dear friend and sister-in-law Mary passed away.  They were inseparable, you know, each one giving the other comfort and company.  Rarely a day went by that they were not together.  Mary's going home was so very difficult for Bessie.  Only once in the 7 years I knew her did she seem burdened.  I asked her a few weeks afterwards about how she was working through her grief.  "It's been hard, Emmett, I'll tell you." and that was all she would say.  We find comfort and even joy knowing that they have been reunited in God's own way of bringing peace - reunited not only with Mary, but all those whom she loved throughout her life who proceeded her in death. 

 Our first thought when she was not here at church, which was hardly ever, was not that she might be sick.  On the contrary, we figured she was traveling somewhere and would be back the next week.  She is older than most of us in this church by a generation. She was our hero, as one person put it.  Our thoughts today are much like others in this community, "How will we ever get along without her presence with us?"  

For that we trust in God."

Thankful for HOME 💜

I have continued to work for the 2020 Census since my adventures in northern Idaho.  Our state will be one of the first to be completely finished with the census.  The cases that are left are the particularly difficult ones.  Sometimes I am assigned a home that has refused to do the census multiple times.  Now we just ask for a count of how many people live there and call it good.  Other cases are in luxury apartment buildings with restricted access.  We are calling apartment managers and real estate agents, hoping to get at least a count of how many people live at the address.  With all the concerns about privacy these days, even getting that much is a challenge.

On my way home after a particularly challenging day when I was hot, tired, and hungry, I happened to notice a man crossing the road who appeared to be down on his luck and possibly homeless. My heart ached for him.

Next I got a rush of such gratitude. I was going home to a cool house.  There was food for dinner and a comfortable bed to sleep in.  And best of all, someone who loved me was waiting there.

I have had these blessings for all of my life and yet so often I take them for granted.  

I am a lucky woman and I should never forget that.

"It's not happiness that brings us gratitude; it is gratitude that brings us happiness."

The fortune cookie I got the next day after this experience said. "Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness"