The Writings of the Author as a Young Woman

Actual home of my Jensen great-great-grandparents in Brigham City. It's supposed to be the house in the book, but... let's just say I took liberties with when it was built.

When I was 13, I lived in Utah during its centennial. One of our class projects for my fabulous English/history class was to write a story about Utah history (preferably about our own ancestors). While unpacking boxes in my office tonight, I found my book and thought it'd be fun to transcribe the text. Kind of a fun stroll down memory lane. The fact that the book is dedicated to my grandma, who is one of my favorite folks in the world and who won't be here much longer, makes it all the more tender. 

The story's not perfect by any means -- the ending is pretty rushed, the likely result of perpetual Christa procrastination, and the development needs work -- but it's not half bad! Makes me wonder what I could've accomplished if I'd pursued writing more. "But Christa," you say, "you are a writer. Professionally. For a decade now, hon." To which I say... sure... but... as a trade. Not for creativity's sake. We've discussed this before. There's a difference. Still... time to finally write that book, methinks.

To let you in on a little running gag... my grandmother is descended from two lines of Jensens. So the guy that Emma's family keeps trying to push at her is actually another one of my ancestors, too, just on the other side. 

Also, fun fact: researching this book was the first time I ever went on the interwebs!!! I distinctly remember the librarian taking me to a small computer lab and showing me this newfangled World Wide Web circa 1996. In fact, I still remember how the webpage about the Brigham City Co-op looked!

And now, without further adieu... in unedited, 13-year-old Christa prose...

Emma

by Christa Jeanne [Last Name]

I dedicate this book to my wonderful grandmother, Doris Elaine Jensen [Last Name], who helped me so much with ideas and took me on a historical tour for illustrations. Thanks for the fun day!

*   *   *

"Emma! Eh-maah!" The exasperated cry rang throughout the newly built brick house. "Emma Lovisa Jensen, come here right now!"

The wedding bells that were ringing in Emma's mind quickly faded as her daydream stopped soddenly. "Coming, Mother," she replied. An embroidery needle pricked her index finger as she hastily set the white handkerchief down. "Ow!" Emma cried out in pain as she hurried to get a bandage of some sort. She wrapped a strip of tan linen around the bleeding fingertip. "Yes, mama?"

"Emma," Valana Jensen asked her daughter, "would you please go to the general store and buy a pound of sugar?" As soon as Em's mouth opened in protest, Lana hurried on. "We're having company for tea. Elder Snow and Sister Snow will be here, so I was planning to fix kringle, but there is no more sugar. Ask that Isaac Jensen to carry them home for you. He is so nice," she barely finished. Emma rolled her eyes. Lana just handed her daughter a dollar bill. "Oh, Em, could you pick up a newspaper? Your father wants to see who the new President is. Good ol' U.S. Grant was running." Sighing, she entered the kitchen. The smell of sweet cake dough and chopped nuts filled the air. "Emma just isn't interested in getting married like Belana, is she, Abby?" she asked the golden retriever. Abby just wagged her golden-gray tail sympathetically.

*   *   *

Emma sighed as she bought the pound of sugar. Why didn't Mother think that she couldn't find someone to marry. Besides, she was only sixteen and Brigham City was full of guys. Anyway, everyone knew that Isaac liked Lenora Hansen. Just because Belana was getting married didn't mean that Emma was ready to get married. She paid for the sugar and left the store. Oh, well. Emma began humming the wedding march as she exited. If only she could find the right guy --

"Ugh!" Emma pushed her reddish-brown hair out of her face and looked up from the pavement. The sugar was safe and sound in its bag. Next tot he bad was one hand. Emma followed the arm that was connected to the hand.

Another hand was extended to her. She took the hand and rose. Rising, Emma, followed the hand to an arm and then to a face. A handsome face. 

"I'm sorry," the person said apologetically. "My name is Brigham. Brigham Andersen."

"Hello. I am Emma Jensen," she said softly. Her heart fluttered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jensen," Brigham said politely. He picked up the bag of sugar and walked, following Emma's lead. She walked up the street, blushing. Her blue eyes met his. She was so busy watching Brigham instead of the street that she walked straight into Aunt Mary Maria, affectionately known as Aunt Ryer.

"Hello, I mean, good morning, Aunt Mary Maria," Emma said timidly.

"You needn't be so formal, Emma. We are not at a formal affair, are we?" Aunt Ryer said crisply. "Should not you be hurrying along. Elder and Sister Snow are joining us for tea. So is Brother M.C. Jensen. I hear that he has a fine son, Isaac." Emma laughed, in spite of herself. Aunt Ryer left as they approached Emma's house. Brigham stepped inside at Emma's invitation. His curly brown hair was tangled from the breeze outside.

"May I call on you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Umm, uh, sure," Emma dreamily whispered. His brown eyes twinkled as he left. She went back inside and ran to her room to change for tea. As Emma raced up the stairs, she nearly tripped over Abby. She just looked up at Emma. Emma smiled, scratched behind Abby's ear, and went to Belana's room. Belana was sitting on her bed, monogramming her trousseau. Her brown curls fell down her back. "Bel," asked Emma, "can I borrow your midnight blue satin?"

"Mm-hmm," Belana answered dreamily. Emma was amazed. Bel never let anyone touch that dress. Emma just grabbed the dress and hurried before Bel could change her mind. After she changed, she pulled up her hair and sighed. Brigham was so sweet, but did he like her? Maybe. If only they could go to some sort of a--

"An ice cream social!" exclaimed Elder Snow. Lorenzo Snow was a short man with wire-framed glasses that always slipped down his nose. "That's a magnificent idea, Brother Jensen. What do you think, M.C.?" he asked. One wiry white hair stuck straight up from his head. When they saw Emma, the men were very secretive about the social. Hmmm, thought Emma. A social! That's just the thing. But how to get him to ask? That was the question. Emma hurried to help her mother in the kitchen. The traditional Danish kringle was finished. The house smelled of cinnamon and spice. Emma cut the kringle and dished it up. As she served it to her brothers and sisters, she laughed. Her brothers were dressed in their Sunday clothes, which they all despised. The eldest brother, Thomas, who was twelve, had his unruly black hair slicked back. Little Andrew, who was only two, had his messy blond hair parted down the middle. He beamed angelically. Little Hiram Jr. was wearing shoes that were two sizes  too big, but no one would notice. It was hilarious!

After tea, six of the nine children ran outside to play with Aunt Ryer in hot pursuit. The men went into the study to discuss plans for "a secret." Mother, Belana, and Susanna, the fourteen-year-old, went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Emma went outside to the porch and sat on the porchswing that Father had built with Thomas the summer before. The sunset lit up the sky and set clouds on fire. Emma just sat there and smiled. It was wonderful. It reminded her of Brigham.

*   *   *

Emma took her hair out from the curlers that Belana had put in her hair. She was just barely finished when Abby ran into the room and tugged at Emma's dress. A wave of fear washed over her. "What's wrong, girl?" she gently asked. Abby dragged her downstairs to the kitchen. Mother was just lying there, lifeless. Emma screamed a blood-curdling scream. "Belana! Aunt Ryer! Susie! Somebody, HELP!!"

Emma ran down the street, hair flying, as she ran to Doc Marten's house and pounded on the door. When the doctor answered, she grabbed his arm and ran back home. She led Doc to her mother's body. Little Andrew was crying with Lena, the four-year-old. Doc just sat there, trying to figure out what had happened.

Doc Marten said that she had had a stroke. That now Mama's left side would be partially paralyzed. She could walk, with a cane. Doc said that we were lucky she wasn't badly hurt. Lucky, huh. "I don't think we're all that lucky," grumbled William, the six-year-old.

"Me too," whined Hannah, the eight-year-old. Emma just sighed. Now what, she wondered. Mama was okay, but she couldn't go to the social now. Not with mother in the bad shape she was in. Belana had gone to the social with George. How shallow. What a lack of emotion! Brigham would be here any --

Knock, knock! Now Brig was here. What should she tell him? She opened the door. There was Brigham, holding a dozen daisies. "Well, Cinderella, shall we go to the ball?" he asked. She looked down and blushed. Her feet were bare and she was wearing an old gray wool dress.

"Um, Brigham, I can't go." He looked crestfallen. The daisies hung limply from his hand. My mother had a stroke and so I really need to stay with her." Emma lightly put a hand on his arm. "Maybe we can go to see the joining of the rails. It's in two weeks. I'm sorry."

Brigham looked up and forced a disappointed smile. "That's okay," he said as he handed Emma the flowers. "I'm sorry too."

*   *   *

"Wow," Hiram Jr. cried excitedly as the golden spike was tapped into the laurelwood tie. Brigham and Emma just smiled at each other. Now Mother knew that Emma wanted to get married. Father hugged Mother as she hobbled forward on her cane. Emma smiled. Things can turn out well, with a little sugar.

About the Author

Christa Jeanne [Last Name] was born on 30 August 1982, in La Crescenta, California. She grew up in Glendale and La Crescenta, both in California. At age 13, she moved. She currently lives in Provo, Utah, with her father, step-mother, 15-year-old brother, and three cats: Anita, Maria, and Angus. Christa is a bookworm and an avid photographer. She loves cats, dogs, and the Beatles. She hopes to write another book soon.

Presidential Truthiness

Do we love how Washington had his dollar-bill head even as a boy? Kinda creepy, Grant Wood. Kinda creepy. 

Happy birthday to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln! While I don't think that all U.S. presidents merit celebrating today (Harding? Hayes? Carter?), these two are definitely winners. I was pondering these two great men earlier today, and you know what I realized they both have in common (besides February birthdays)?

Honesty.

Think about it. "Honest Abe." George Washington and that whole cherry-tree legend (which, ironically, is actually not true of itself - made up by Parson Weems and all... but still, I'm sure G-Dub was plenty honest himself).

This makes me wonder - is honesty so rare in politicians that it became a defining trait for two of our nation's finest?

(Need I even ask that question? Is the Pope Catholic? Does, as my friend Mike so delicately puts it, a bear crap in the woods?)

So, in the spirit of good, ol'-fashioned American honesty, I wanted to share some fun--and true--presidential factoids, courtesy The Mental Floss History of the United States (and my own trivial knowledge gained as an American studies major / American Heritage TA):

• George Washington was the only president who lacked a political party--and, in fact, he warned against them in his farewell address. I wonder if that correlates with how he seems to be the only president who escaped snarky nicknames. Dirty political name-calling: an American tradition since 1798.
• Washington was also the Founding Father to free his slaves.
• John Adams and his family got lost in the woods around the White House when moving in. Whoops!
• My personal favorite, James Madison, was our shortest president ever at 5'4 (which has long saddened my tall heart. Ah, Jemmy. We were never to be!).
• John Quincy Adams had a habit of swimming nekked in the Potomac each morning, a fact which journalist Anne Royall exploited: she sat on his clothes until he agreed to grant her an interview!
• Andrew Jackson survived an assassination attempt when the would-be assailant's two guns both misfired, after which Jackson beat the culprit senseless.
• The shortest presidency honor goes to William Henry Harrison, who caught a cold after delivering the longest inauguration speech ever and died just barely over two months later.
• Abraham Lincoln gained respect as a formidable wrestler during his days as a flatboat ferrier on the Mississippi. He was also the tallest president at 6'4. (Swoon!)
• Andrew Johnson was buried with his head resting on a copy of the Constitution. 
• Ulysses S. Grant was not the president's real name. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but the congressman nominating him to the Military Academy got his name wrong, and Grant went with it.
• There were a few wifeless presidents, either from being bachelors or widowers. The only one to wed while in office, however, was Grover Cleveland -- and to a woman less than half his age at that! (She was 21; he was 49. Ewwwww. Creeper!)
• William Howard Taft was the largest president to occupy the Oval Office. In fact, on more than a few occasions he actually got stuck in the White House bathtub!
• Lyndon B. Johnson liked Fresca so much that it was on tap at the White House.
• Richard M. Nixon funded his first congressional campaign with wartime poker winnings.
• Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
• George H.W. Bush is distantly related to fellow presidents Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gerald Ford, as well as to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

More important than trivia (is there such a thing?) are these wise words from the past -- truthiness, indeed! -- that our current leaders should heed:

• "The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." -- John Adams
• "The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for the general prosperity." -- Martin van Buren
• "I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free." -- William Henry Harrison
• "Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters." -- Grover Cleveland (a wise creeper, apparently)
• "We Americans have no commission from God to police the world." -- Benjamin Harrison
• "Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the supreme law." -- William McKinley
• "The world is not going to be saved by legislation." -- William Howard Taft
• "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." -- Ronald Reagan

Beating the Winter Blues

Remember how I used to blog?

*sigh*

Me too, friends. Me too. The last couple of months have been packed with adventures new and old: skiing lessons at Alta (ohhhh, such a story of the epic fail of my first one), voice lessons (yesterday's master class was fabulous!), an editing class that's making an even more nitpicky editor at work (as if such a thing were even possible, for reals), Sundance screenings, snowshoeing, cooking, crafting, and trying in general to just get on top of things (yay, chore chart for grownups!), all while trying to beat the winter blues.

Ah, yes. The winter blues. Does anyone else get sidelined by these? I just attributed them to the snow the last couple of years here in Utah, but this winter they feel more brutal than usual - and there's nary any snow to scapegoat this time around. What is the deal? Getting up in the morning is the biggest battle I face all day, all I want are comfort foods and sweets, my self-control is weakened... and overall, I just feel blah. Which is no fun. I miss my bubbly, chipper self.

Any suggestions for beating the winter blues? I'm going to just have to step up the self-control (ahem, next week, of course) and get on top of all the things I know I ought to do to feel better - avoiding sugars and starches like the plague, totally cutting the caffeine (although I am drinking less Diet Pepsi than my former normal), working out every day, etc. All the things that I know will make me feel better... even though all I want to do is to curl up in bed with a good book and a cookie.

(Which is delightful, I might add.)

In other news, I'm "reading" (i.e. audiobooking) the most fascinating find! Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy - heard of it?

It's seven sessions in which Jackie Kennedy sat down with White House historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and talked about JFK's political (and personal) life four months after his assassination as part of a massive oral history Schlesinger compiled on the president. It is absolutely captivating!!! According to Jackie's wishes, the tapes sat sealed for half a century, released recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of JFK taking office. It's one thing to read about the Kennedy presidency or all of the things that took place during that administration - Bay of Pigs invasion, the space race, fighting Communism, Asian tensions that led into the Vietnam War, etc. - and something entirely different to listen to the First Lady discuss it in her charming, softspoken, ladylike voice. I have nothing but admiration for Jacqueline Kennedy, the strength and grace she showed in dealing with her husband's murder and providing her family with some sense of normalcy while living within the fishbowl of the White House. She speaks of the kind of wife she was - creating a joyful, stress-free space for Jack, not picking his brains about policy and politics, unlike other first ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, and the like.

Anyways. Fascinating. Makes me long for the world of the late '50s/early '60s, when some things were considered sacred, when being a lady was admirable and expected. I wish I could be more like that!

A Thankful Heart

Oh, Thanksgiving.

I love, love, love Thanksgiving! What a wonderful thought - a day devoted to focusing on our blessings, expressing gratitude and sharing delicious food with the ones dearest to our hearts. Seriously, what's not to love?!

Well, I have much, much, much for which I'm grateful: a nice roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear (and cute ones at that, or so I'd like to think), the privilege of living in the greatest nation on God's green earth, amazing friends who deeply enrich my life, a wonderful family - especially my dad and stepmom, who are such fantastic examples to me! - and, above all, a knowledge that God lives and that His son Jesus Christ gave His life that we might live with Him forever, and the agency to make the decisions that will dictate how my life goes, for better or worse. Mostly for better, I'd like to think!

Anyways... I'd feel so remiss to not do a good Thanksgiving post, but words are coming up short for truly expressing the feelings of my heart.

Uh, I'm a professional writer - this is a rare feeling for me!

Goodness knows I ALWAYS have something to say, right? ;)

So, let me share with you the words of one faaaaaaar wiser than myself: the incomparable George Washington. My brilliant stepmom shared this at dinner tonight, and I wanted to pass along this great piece of our history. Enjoy!

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

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Religion and America: A Prop. 8 History Lesson

During my days at BYU, I TA'ed for American Heritage, a US history / political science / economics / current events GE, for three years, so between taking it once and then teaching it six times, I've pretty much got the class indelibly drilled into me forever.

One of the things that we discussed was the widening circle of rights, and how eventually, if you stretch those circles far enough, one person's right will inevitably butt up against another's. It's precisely what's happening right now!

It is absolutely harrowing to me to see that what my professors said was down the road is right before my eyes.

And for those of you who hated on American Heritage... well, I told you so! ;)

It was probably the most important class we took in college, regardless of major. People just don't know their history! They don't know what they're talking about! I'm so sick of hearing about a "Constitutional right" to marry. So I sat down last night and reread the Constitution, something I think every American should do from time to time. Most of it is about how the government is set up to function, until you get to the Bill of Rights, or the first 10 amendments. Let's review the First Amendment, shall we?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I think it's worth noting that the original wording of the First Amendment proposed by the Senate on March 9, 1789, is that "Congress shall not make any law establishing any religious denomination." The second version stated "Congress shall make no law establishing any particular denomination." Notice the nuanced difference. For the Founders, the terms "religion" and "denomination" are interchangeable. As a writer, I can appreciate why they would leave one and not both. It would have been redundant in their eyes to have both!

Fisher Ames, the Founding Father who offered the version we now know as the First Amendment, wrote in an 1801 magazine article that he was concerned that the Bible might eventually take a backseat in the classroom: "Why then, if these new books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book?"

And he's the one who finalized that Congress shall not make a ruling on religion!

I respect the protestors' First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly - but their argument should be directed to the government, not the Church. And even then, the people. voted. twice. on. this. Against every odd they stacked against us. Their reaction is so irrational!

Now, an oft-ignored fact by those who shout about a "separation of church and state" is that, first of all, that phrase is NOWHERE to be found in any of our Founding documents. The concept came from the personal writings of Thomas Jefferson, in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, a group that constituted a religious minority in Connecticut:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

The place where religion is addressed explicitly in the Constitution is in the last clause of Article IV of the Constitution, which stipulates that "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

As Dr. Frank Fox (my academic idol!) wrote:

While a few of the Framers were religious skeptics, most were committed churchmen - and even the skeptics appreciated religion's power to promote civic virtue. The question was, how to bring such power to bear? Some delegates argued for a mild religious test, requiring officeholders to embrace mainstream Christianity.

Experience had shown, however, that religious tests, however mild, had the effect of cementing an official tie between church and state. Several of the Framers regarded such a tie as desirable. No republican society, they argued, could succeed without some official religion. But most of the delegates took the opposite view. Official religion worked two kinds of mischief, they said. It opened the way for the official church to corrupt the political system, and conversely opened the way for the political system to corrupt the official church. Those delegates representing states where a religious establishment still persisted could testify to the baneful effects.

By prohibiting a religious test, the Framers aimed not to destroy the influence of religion on politics but to purify it. The theory went something like this. All believers, now lacking any official capacity, were welcome to exert their influence on govermnet in any way they saw fit - just as any citizens were. And since no denomination stood to gain by the way of patronage, the motives of all must be relatively pure. The only real message a church might have under the Constitution would be to urge integrity, responsibility and a sacralized civic virtue.

And thus we see that the Founding Fathers merely wanted to keep America from facing the issues of a state religion that they had seen in England. They were not men against religion. Some were more devout than others, but that isn't to say they were all secular men, as is so often taught in schools these days. One has only to read George Washington's farewell address to see his view of the importance of religion in America:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

There is much more I could say on the issue, but I'll end with that for today.

Well, one more thought.

Do you know what the first public school law was in America?

"The Old Deluder Satan Act," passed in 1642. It began "It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former times..."

I'm just sayin'.