Happy Easter 2010!!

Easter holds a variety of memories for me. The earliest ones include laying out my new shoes and socks at the foot of my bed on Saturday night so I could put them on first thing in the morning.

Other memories include the smell of vinegar as we dyed eggs.We didn't do Easter egg hunts - not sure why - it just wasn't something we did. But there was a basket at the foot of our beds too - a basket with jelly beans and yellow peeps - I never saw a See's chocolate butter egg until I was an adult! The chocolate in our baskets was found in chocolate marshmellow eggs that came in a box that looked like an egg carton!

I really don't recall when I first understood that Easter was about the crucifixion and the resurrection. I do recall being in a small hotel room in Genoa, Italy on Easter Sunday in 1966. I was on a BYU Study Abroad tour that was part of my semester in Grenoble, France. There was no branch of the church in Genoa then, so we crowded into Dr. Gledhill's hotel room, where we partook of the Sacrament and bore our testimonies to one another. I do remember feeling strongly that there was much for me to learn. And I felt eager to learn it.

This photo was taken on Easter Sunday, 1965. My mom had made and sent me the dress and matching babushka tied jauntily on my head!! It was pink linen - and a fave of mine for the next couple of years. Joy's mom had mailed her the blouse and skirt. We were pretty convinced we were haute couture!!


Fashions have changed, time has passed. I'm still "in school" but I'm on the other end of the chalkboard. I've seen quite a few Easter Sundays come and go. I've made my share of Easter dresses and filled my share of Easter baskets. We "do" Easter egg hunts and we make sure to have See's chocolate butter eggs. My mom still makes me smile as I feel her love for me. Joy is still my BFF and expresses that love often.

Most importantly however, Easter is still the greatest gift of all. Celebrating that great event - and watching conference at the same time - seems like the icing on the cake!

Long ago and far away!!

A few months ago I was posting something about my BYU days and mentioned a young man we knew there named John Johnson. And I knew I had a photo of him - in fact, I knew just what the photo looked like!! But I couldn't find the photo.

John Johnson, Barb Clayton, Janet Jackson, Joy Jensen
I cleaned out a hall cupboard this afternoon, planning to make room for sheets and towels. And as I was clearing stuff out, I discovered a pile of 10 or 15 posters I had made when I was YW President. Some were of events like Youth Conference or Girls' Camp. Some were for lessons on friendship - as in "College Friends Then and Now." (I am so catchy and original!!)

And there was the photo of John Johnson - November 3, 1963, BYU Homecoming. I remember thinking Homecoming was a strange kind of event - since I went to a brand new high school - it opened the day I started - I'd never heard of Homecoming. (I tend to still think it's a kind of overrated event.)

John was the young man who was from Virginia. He was a superb dancer, very snappy dresser, knew so much about popular culture that I'd never even thought about or heard of, and he's the young man who introduced me to Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and the whole peace/anti-war scene.

And I've often wondered about where he is now. (The photo simply does not do him justice - but it's the only one I have.) I'm pretty sure he didn't go on a mission. He was also the one I took a history class with - and our seat mate was D.Todd Christopherson - they knew each other from "the east coast!"

All this info - from cleaning off a shelf. I may tackle more shelves!!