I was in the offices of the new Kirtland Temple Visitor Center last Thursday when the call came through. According to the mayor’s office, Bill Clinton was coming to Kirtland on Saturday — to hold a rally and to tour the Temple. This would make Clinton the first US President to tour the Temple since James Garfield. The Temple staffmembers were excited, but skeptical. If Clinton were coming, wouldn’t they have heard from the secret service directly?
I always thought the midlife crisis was just a cliché. But now I’m 41, and I’m finding myself in the midst of an all-too-real midlife phase of questioning myself, my identity, and my place in life, with accompanying feelings of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment. Nearly all these feelings focus on my career situation. I’m ten years into a wonderful second marriage, so that’s not affected. But I sense the crisis spilling over somewhat into my religion/faith. For this post, I thought I would do a bit of self-inventory in the spirit of “I’ll show you mine if you’ll show...
Continuing the disclosure of my musical hobbies, I enjoy playing the piano. I haven’t taken lessons for several years, but I’ve got a nice little Yamaha keyboard in my room, and I often load up an iTunes playlist and jam along. So when it comes to contemporary music, I tend to have a soft spot for artists who successfully use the piano as their lead instrument—the obvious examples being Billy Joel and Elton John. There has been a quiet alternative movement in the contemporary music scene that has developed into what is termed “piano rock,” led by such artists...
