Yesterday, and indeed the past week, have just been a brutal time. I normally don't like to bring the news of the world up here but I feel with all going on we just have to do something.
I live about 100 miles north of Salt Lake City. Five of our adult children live in Salt Lake and two of my daughters specifically work in downtown Salt Lake. As things got worse on Friday I messaged my kids late that night warning them of riots scheduled for Saturday (I read about them on Twitter). Both of my girls were scheduled to work Saturday.
By the time things got started Saturday morning the workplace of one daughter -- a store at the large downtown mall called City Creek -- had decided it would be best not to open. She ended up staying at home with my eldest daughter, who has a place right there in downtown.
But my other daughter had to work -- she's a server at The Cheesecake Factory, also at City Creek.
As things took a turn in the afternoon I texted her at work, something I never do, asking her to leave.
It put her into a terrible position with her boss, who for some inexplicable reason did not see any danger in the situation. By 5pm the city was announcing a curfew and on Twitter the rumors of the protesters moving on City Creek were widespread.
Long story short, my daughter was finally released from her job in time to rush out of work as the looters were rushing in.
She was quite traumatized.
She too has an apartment near downtown, some six blocks away. Even though she was escorted home in a car of a co-worker it took her 90 harrowing minutes to get home.
For the three hours of this high drama -- Mom and I on the phones, the TV, on Twitter and other social media -- trying to see her home, keep everyone calm and just SICK over all we were witnessing -- I can remember many times thinking back to my many years and connection to the downtown area.
I first arrived there and had my first job in Utah on those very streets. I worked until 2010 in an office right there where two of my children work now.
The violence, the destruction -- the abuse we were seeing the police in Salt Lake take -- were all so very hard to take, despite the message behind the people so upset.
I was up all night Friday night, watching the world burn. Then when it hit home in Salt Lake on Saturday I was up another night, just heartsick about it all.
What can we do? How to we recover from this? How do we move forward? Where is the hope to be found?
There are a million answers to this. I am a firm believer that there are mostly good people in the world. Where else do we see more evidence of that than right here?
We're not going to fix the world on MMC. But we can do our part.
After hours and hours of angst and soul searching I have determined that the message and peace of Christmas is more needed now than ever and that we are in a position to help spread that peace.
As we clean up the mess, as we reach out to heal hearts, as we try to find sense from the senseless, we can do more to spread Christmas and the peace it brings.
I am asking that we do just that by celebrating Christmas. I am hoping you will participate in the things planned in the months ahead and that you will share them with your friends. I am hoping that we will work together in talking the things of peace, joy and goodwill right here. I am hoping that we can share photos of our trees, our children and grandchildren and tell the stories of our families.
I am hoping that we can put out there what we are doing to decorate our homes, to reach out to our neighbors, and to share in all the little things we do wherever we are to bask in the light of the season.
We need a demonstration of joy. We need a riot of goodwill. We need to shout the messages of the Prince of Peace. We need to put on our Santa hats, say our ho-ho-ho's, and watch for Santa to come.
It's approaching June 1st. And we need these things.
I will do all I can to promote these things. They won't solve the problems but they will help those feeling the affects of the real world right now. They will remind folks who are so inflamed in their politics and worries and troubles of what perhaps is really most important.
The opposite of faith is fear. The opposite of peace is war. We need faith and peace. We need Christmas.
I ask you: What more can we do than we are doing to promote the peace of the season? How can we bring others to our merry celebrations? How can we better share what we enjoy with each other?
This is my hope for the next year (or two). I want to bring peace. I want to bring joy. I want to see healing in the hearts of those who are hurting at this time.
I live about 100 miles north of Salt Lake City. Five of our adult children live in Salt Lake and two of my daughters specifically work in downtown Salt Lake. As things got worse on Friday I messaged my kids late that night warning them of riots scheduled for Saturday (I read about them on Twitter). Both of my girls were scheduled to work Saturday.
By the time things got started Saturday morning the workplace of one daughter -- a store at the large downtown mall called City Creek -- had decided it would be best not to open. She ended up staying at home with my eldest daughter, who has a place right there in downtown.
But my other daughter had to work -- she's a server at The Cheesecake Factory, also at City Creek.
As things took a turn in the afternoon I texted her at work, something I never do, asking her to leave.
It put her into a terrible position with her boss, who for some inexplicable reason did not see any danger in the situation. By 5pm the city was announcing a curfew and on Twitter the rumors of the protesters moving on City Creek were widespread.
Long story short, my daughter was finally released from her job in time to rush out of work as the looters were rushing in.
She was quite traumatized.
She too has an apartment near downtown, some six blocks away. Even though she was escorted home in a car of a co-worker it took her 90 harrowing minutes to get home.
For the three hours of this high drama -- Mom and I on the phones, the TV, on Twitter and other social media -- trying to see her home, keep everyone calm and just SICK over all we were witnessing -- I can remember many times thinking back to my many years and connection to the downtown area.
I first arrived there and had my first job in Utah on those very streets. I worked until 2010 in an office right there where two of my children work now.
The violence, the destruction -- the abuse we were seeing the police in Salt Lake take -- were all so very hard to take, despite the message behind the people so upset.
I was up all night Friday night, watching the world burn. Then when it hit home in Salt Lake on Saturday I was up another night, just heartsick about it all.
What can we do? How to we recover from this? How do we move forward? Where is the hope to be found?
There are a million answers to this. I am a firm believer that there are mostly good people in the world. Where else do we see more evidence of that than right here?
We're not going to fix the world on MMC. But we can do our part.
After hours and hours of angst and soul searching I have determined that the message and peace of Christmas is more needed now than ever and that we are in a position to help spread that peace.
As we clean up the mess, as we reach out to heal hearts, as we try to find sense from the senseless, we can do more to spread Christmas and the peace it brings.
I am asking that we do just that by celebrating Christmas. I am hoping you will participate in the things planned in the months ahead and that you will share them with your friends. I am hoping that we will work together in talking the things of peace, joy and goodwill right here. I am hoping that we can share photos of our trees, our children and grandchildren and tell the stories of our families.
I am hoping that we can put out there what we are doing to decorate our homes, to reach out to our neighbors, and to share in all the little things we do wherever we are to bask in the light of the season.
We need a demonstration of joy. We need a riot of goodwill. We need to shout the messages of the Prince of Peace. We need to put on our Santa hats, say our ho-ho-ho's, and watch for Santa to come.
It's approaching June 1st. And we need these things.
I will do all I can to promote these things. They won't solve the problems but they will help those feeling the affects of the real world right now. They will remind folks who are so inflamed in their politics and worries and troubles of what perhaps is really most important.
The opposite of faith is fear. The opposite of peace is war. We need faith and peace. We need Christmas.
I ask you: What more can we do than we are doing to promote the peace of the season? How can we bring others to our merry celebrations? How can we better share what we enjoy with each other?
This is my hope for the next year (or two). I want to bring peace. I want to bring joy. I want to see healing in the hearts of those who are hurting at this time.
