Thanksgivings past and present

I recall Thanksgivings from my youth with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  And watching football on TV and playing it in the yard.  As a freshman at BYU I got a ride home to Riverside, CA, unexpectedly, and enjoyed a warm holiday.  As a missionary in Germany we Americans cooked up our own feast at the church.  As a sophomore at BYU I stayed in Provo for a quiet Thanksgiving and snowstorm.

I have scattered memories of Thanksgivings with our young family. 

 
In 1979 we hosted Barry's family in Meridian, and there was a snowstorm on the day they drove back to Utah.

I used to borrow from work an HP desktop computer to play games on during the extended Thanksgiving weekend (1982).

Glade visited us from BYU once or twice (1982).

Kevin visited us just prior to leaving for Japan on his mission (1983, or early 1984, not sure this was actually at Thanksgiving).

We hosted the Juhasz family in 1983 (and in a subsequent year we drove from Oregon to Idaho and visited them).

Here we are in 1987.

Our family began to grow with grandkids arriving (2003, 2005, 2008).

In 2009 Suzanne had just had a foot operation, so we had a low key Thanksgiving.  Two years ago we hosted Ken's family from Eugene.

This year the Blairs are busy moving into their new house, and they will eat at the Jordans.  Bridget and family are in the UAE, Teresa and girls in Idaho, Steven and Kristi in Provo.  So it is just Daniel, Suzanne, and me.

Such pleasant memories.  And Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Staying Put

My previous new jobs had required moving to a different state--Utah to California, then to Idaho, and finally to Oregon.  I loved my job at Sequent here in Beaverton, and worked hard.  I felt I was making a significant contribution through the start-up phase, then profitability, and public stock offering.  It was pretty exciting stuff (until the stock market dip in 1990 and company stock dropped to 25 cents on the dollar).

Sequent was a special place, with high morale and great working environment.  It was the Camelot of companies.  We did go through some hard times, including 1991 when nearly half of engineering was laid off.  But I survived all that and was still at Sequent 16 years later when IBM bought the company.  We were all pretty excited and optimistic about that.  We assumed we'd have increased job security and that IBM would be able to invest more in our product development and sales.

Well, things with IBM didn't work out too well.  The IBM executive who spearheaded the purchase retired soon after, and it seems we lost our advocate within IBM.  We began to die a slow death, and within two years almost everyone had been laid off, including me in May 2002.  Work had become a drag, so I wasn't all that disappointed to leave.

Fortunately, a relatively new company based in Houston, TX, decided to open a Hillsboro, OR, branch to take advantage of all the available ex-Sequent employees.  So I went to work for RLX Technologies, with a dozen or so others from Sequent, and felt right at home doing the same kind of work I had been doing.  This went fine for two and a half years while RLX tried to make a go of things, but couldn't.  A week before Christmas, 2004, the Oregon branch was closed and we all lost our jobs.  Fortunately, that same afternoon a couple of Intel managers came in and gave us a pitch to persuade us to come to Intel as an intact team to continue work on a similar product development.  So about twenty of us did so, starting with Intel Corporation in January, 2005.

Intel was always a dominant hi-tech employer in Oregon, and not always admired, at least from an employee standpoint.  They had a reputation of working employees to the bone in a cut-throat environment.  Many of us from Sequent thought of it as going to the "dark side".  But, to my delight, I found Intel a wonderful company to work for.  Sure, it didn't have the nimble, start-up atmosphere of a Sequent or RLX, but our development team was pretty tight and able to work efficiently.  The "big company" aspects gave us security and benefits, and our development team had a great environment.

When I started with Intel I negotiated to work 4 day weeks at 80% pay, so I really enjoyed my situation.  I figured if I got two good years out of Intel that would be bonus.  I never figured, for instance, I would be there long enough to earn my 8-week paid sabbatical after 7 years.  But here I am, almost 8 years later, and feeling so fortunate.  In recent years I have decided I would continue working at this job for as long as I enjoyed the work.  The pay and benefits and working environment and company are marvelous.

Meanwhile, for some years now we have felt our roots are too deep in Oregon to consider moving again.  We have been fortunate to experience two (or three, counting the IBM stint) more job changes and continue living in our house.  I don't see any motive on the horizon to tempt us to move--we really enjoy Oregon, with its mild weather and gorgeous scenery, with such a variety of outdoor opportunities.

So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I acknowledge my tremendous good fortune, both past and present.  I feel like I live such a charmed life, and raise thanks to my God.  And I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who reads this blog.

On the Oregon Trail

We really enjoyed living in Meridian, Idaho, for just over five years.  The job at HP was great, the neighborhood wonderful--we seemed totally plugged into life there.  But an exciting job opportunity came up that I just had to consider.

A couple of years earlier I had passed on a chance to join a start-up company with a college buddy.  And this kind of nagged at me, so when the next chance came, with Sequent Computer Systems in Beaverton, Oregon, I decided to give it a serious look.

On the interview trip in February, 1984, we left a snowy Boise and landed in a mild, if wet, Portland.  Everything was so green and beautiful.  The job seemed exciting and the near ground floor opportunity with stock offerings was very enticing.  It was a very difficult decision to uproot from Idaho, but we decided to go for it.

I started in late March, and we moved into a rental while we did house hunting.  We ended up finding a home lot we liked with a builder willing to modify a plan to our liking.  We watched the construction through the summer and fall, finally moving in on our anniversary, Dec. 19, 1984.  At the time we considered this our dream house, even though we did compromise on various points to save expense.

We  had so much to explore in this beautiful state--the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Forest Park, and Cannon Beach, to name just a few.

A new house meant yard projects...again.

And before long, we added our fourth child.  But that is another thread.  However, I love this photo, so wanted to sneak it in.

Impulse is your enemy, time your friend

Through the 1980's, and especially into the 1990's, I was diligent about putting savings away for retirement via 401K and IRA's, as well as taxable accounts.  Knowing that over the long term stock market equities returned 10% to 12% on average this is where I placed the bulk of our investments.  I researched mutual funds and narrowed my choices to those with low fees and good track records.  I also invested in individual stocks.

I survived the 1987 market crash just fine, staying invested and reaping the gains that followed right away in 1988.  The market drop in 1990 was pretty discouraging as well--I think it was about this time that I came across the quote that titles this post, and tried to stay upbeat about the market.  In other words, I didn't give up and sell my stocks at the market bottom.  Indeed, the great bull market that persisted the following decade was remarkable, and a boon to our net worth.  I was convinced that I was a stock picking genius.  I don't know if I realized that a monkey picking stocks randomly could so as well in such a market.

The next significant bear market began in 2000 with the dot com bust.  Suddenly I wasn't such a genius anymore, and tried to remember that impulse was my enemy.  I had to stay patient through the next decade, a tough time for the market, including the terrible recession and market drop beginning in 2008.

In retrospect, I have weathered all these stock market ups and downs, never giving up hope, staying invested, and doing just fine, thank you.  I have stayed diversified and avoided wild speculations.  As I approach retirement I have modified my asset allocation to be more conservative, at least for the amount of funds I would need for the first several years of retirement.

"Impulse is your enemy, time your friend."  This applies to more than just stock investing.  I think it is wise counsel for many aspects of our lives.  Not only does time even out the bumps in the stock market, and lead towards historical positive returns, but time heals wounds and broken relationships.  It erases or tempers unpleasant memories.  Have you ever done something very hard, and declared afterwards you would never do that again, only to find yourself a few months later remembering the experience fondly, and planning for the next time?  Speaking or acting impulsively can have so many negative and lasting consequences.  Time is such a blessing in our lives.

Quiet Waters

My wife wrote a great blog post last year about Quiet Waters Outreach.  Our son, Daniel, spends several weekends there each year, including this past weekend.  Each weekend has a theme, with activities associated with the theme.  It might be the county or state fair, or pizza (they went to Papa's Pizza this time), or Portland Rose Festival, or pet weekend, or firestation, etc.

The home where Daniel goes is called Martha's place.  I took a few pictures and had Daniel give a guided tour on video.

They have a Christian slant, as can be seen by this wall decoration.

And here is an exceptional video produced by Quiet Waters, and features Daniel and Suzanne.




I am moved every time I watch this video.  We are grateful and pleased that Daniel has the opportunity to visit Martha's place, and he enjoys it a lot.

Idaho Potatoes

In the summer of 1978 I connected with an old college buddy who was working for IBM and was motivated to interview for a job with them (in Tucson, AZ).  While I was at it, I also interviewed with HP in Boise, ID, and with Bentley Nevada in Minden.  We decided to uproot and accept the job offer with HP, and moved up there in December.  Would you move to a state with license plates that said "Famous Potatoes"?  Well, it didn't stop us.

We found a 1/2 acre subdivision in Meridian and contracted to buy a new home to be built.

Another new house, and big yard projects.

We had a marvelous large garden in our backyard.

HP was the premier company for electrical engineers to work at.  In Boise I worked in the Disc Memory Division, initially working on servo design for the 7908 disc drive.  I thoroughly enjoyed my work and the company.  Benefits were great and employees were treated so well.  I carpooled the five miles to work with two other employees from my neighborhood.

The Poor Among Us

I thought this post and this post by my wife were so thought provoking.  They have also dovetailed into further discussions we've had regarding the presidential election and comparisons between rich vs. middle class vs. poor.

I confess that, absent my opportunities of service related to my church, my life's personal experiences would remain solidly in my middle class cocoon.  I still  have had very little exposure to the truly rich, but I have had many occasions to interact with the indigent.  Here are some of my thoughts regarding that.

For one thing, I have had several experiences seeing the criminal justice system at work.  I have visited inmates, I have seen the havoc wreaked on the families left behind.  Thankfully, the vast majority of the population has not developed life skills having to do with bailing someone out of jail, or interacting with public defenders, or figuring out jail visiting rules.

One thing that still perplexes me--how does someone with poor credit history, no assets, and is un- or under-employed qualify to rent an apartment?  I'm aware of many cases where the Church has stepped in to help with temporary motel lodging, or up front deposits to get a family into an apartment.  Or to pay the rent to avoid someone getting evicted and ending up unable to find a new place.  I'm aware there are government subsidies and helps, but it seems every case I was involved with the waiting lists were years long for such assistance.  (I suspect many "lifers" consume the available resources.)  What does someone do without the help of a church, or some other benefactor?

I have had extensive experience trying to help people get back on their feet financially and be self sufficient.  This is always the goal.  As bishop I was spread too thin to deal with all the nuts and bolts of every case--in one case I worked closely with a very competent and experienced home teacher to help an indigent single person to manage his money better--create a budget, map out future income and expenses, etc.  This was a person with past history of using payday loans, gambling, and giving money to his daughter.  As a condition of continued church help he needed to cooperate and impose self discipline, and even turned his checkbook over to his home teacher to pay the bills.

It was pretty rough going. and it took several stops and starts to finally achieve some success.  I sometimes find that those in financial distress have a poor grasp of financial basics.  Specifically, everything is "now", and there is no notion of future--limited grasp of budgeting, no need to economize, spend the money in hand and don't worry about tomorrow's bills.  I wonder whether this is a cause or effect.  Is financial distress caused by these poor money management skills, or does the condition of financial distress cause a frame of mind to feel hopeless about the future, so might as well spend now?

Another thing I found is that bad things come in multiples.  In other words, someone loses their job and also wrecked their car.  Or they get an eviction notice and their car was impounded due to illegal parking.  Or the husband was thrown in jail and the kid has a bad illness.

Some of these misfortunes come as a consequence of bad choices, and sometimes they just happen as a natural part of human experience.  When due to bad choices, we teach and encourage repentance, and how to change behaviors.  The engineer in me would tend to get discouraged, because I would want to fix things.  But often I was powerless to do so, and it required action by the afflicted party, and it was distressing when they wouldn't follow through.  And sometimes, in those cases, you just have to let the consequences result, difficult as they might be.