Lillian

I have some memories of Lillian as a baby learning to walk, etc.  She has the lightest skin of my siblings which means that she also had the most freckles.  She always got sun burns, and sometimes these were so bad as to develop into huge blisters.  Ouch!
   We lived next door to Uncle George and Aunt Joy.  Their youngest child, Alan, was close to Lillian in age and they spent a lot of time together.  Alan was a mischievous child, and Lillian was often involved in the mischief.  I don't remember any particular stories, but I'm sure she could tell you some.  Alan went off the deep end following his mission.  The last time I saw him, we were living in Pleasant Grove and he stopped by to visit for the night.  He was suffering from drug addiction which to my knowledge has not changed, but then I haven't had any updates on Alan in over twenty years.
   Lillian is a gifted reading.  As a child, and as a young adult she read, read, read.  I remember Mom having to scold her to put the book down and finish her chores--on a regular basis.
   I remember Lill being along on many of the fishing and camping trips we took as a family.
   Lill had a reputation for a negative attitude as a child and was nicknamed, "Poison Lill."  I don't remember the negativity , perhaps because I saw her differently.  I was never the one who had to scold her for anything.  When I returned from my mission, Lill was a grown young woman--very beautiful and intelligent.  She was attending BYU and working in the Harold B Lee Library where she met your Uncle Doug.  At one time my father had worried about Lillian's bookish behavior and warned her that if she spent too much time in her studies she wouldn't be attractive to a man.  This, of course, is a very old prejudice of my father's time.  Lill did just fine.
   Uncle Doug helped me get a job at the Prove Temple Laundry where he was working.  It paid better than most student jobs, so it was a blessing to us.  Plus, I could attend classes in the mornings and early afternoons, and then work at the Temple until 10:00 p.m.  Doug and I didn't work the same shift often, but from time to time.
   Doug continued his work at the temple, eventually becoming Temple Recorder, which he had done at a hand full of temples now.  The Church is one of the best employers you could have.  When I compare how the Church treats employees and how other professions do the same, there are few who measure up.
   Mother and I sometimes would babysit for Doug and Lill.  I must say that I never minded changing my own children's messing diapers, but your cousin Seth and the diapers of death.  (Don't tell him I said that.)  Seth is one of the most gracious people you will ever know.
   Lill and I have taken very different paths politically.  Lill is stanch in whatever she does, and that is also her politics.  So, of late we have had some difficulties on that score.  As you know, I don't buy into the rumors and innuendoes about Hilary Clinton having murdered everyone who had dirt on her. I have more faith in our justice system.  I do not claim that Hilary was an innocent candidate.  She did plenty of wrong headed things as a candidate.  But the rumors are false.  Lill, on the other hand, believes the rumors, and decided that it would be a good thing to bring one of them up in the middle of a card game at a recent family reunion in Utah.  At the time I had been feeling particular angst over the spreading of fake news, so I called her on it with a simple, "BS."  She didn't like that one little bit.  I could see that this would go south in a hurry, and I got up to leave the room and repeated my "BS" as I did so.  She continued with a deepening rant, so I shouted, "Bull S***" as I left the cabin.
   I did the right thing in leaving when the discussion turned political.  I wish I could have done that and not resorted to shouting and profanity.  Though I still feel that Lill's remarks had no place at a family reunion card game, I must admit that my display of temper also had no place there.  I will forever be remembered by many of your cousins once removed (my great nieces and nephews) as the foul mouthed, angry uncle.  I sat outside the cabin with my head in my hands.  Uncle Doug approached and I apologized and asked him to share that with Lill.  At the time I thought it would be unwise for me to speak to her directly.  It was a long time before I felt comfortable around her.
   Word to the wise: school your tongues.  Teach yourself to remove from a situation rather than loose your angry tongue.  I don't know if Lill and I can learn to respectfully disagree on politics, but I can say that I learned that politics don't matter where siblings are concerned.  Don't let things come between you.  Family is the place where we prepare for Celestial glory, and that requires learning to love rather than to become a vessel of wrath.