Honorable Judge B. Lynn Winmill
United States District Court
550 W. Fort Street
Boise, ID 83724
My name is Brian Davidson. I am Randy Davidson’s brother, just a few years older than him. I live in Ammon, Idaho, and just marked by 20th year working as a technical writer with the Idaho Cleanup Project, currently with the Idaho Cleanup Project. I also teach an online English course at Brigham Young University-Idaho.
I’m writing this letter to express my love and support for Randy. He was my best friend growing up. I recall many adventures on our bicycles, exploring our neighborhood, the vacant lot in the industrial park near the home where we grew up, and through our involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and the Young Mens’ program in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Though he is younger than I am, I look up to him a lot. He reminds me a lot of our Dad: Studious, quiet, intelligent, and hard-working. I never felt a sense of competition with him; we just worked through things together. When he wanted to go with his other friends, I understood and mostly held back – he’s much more outgoing and courageous than I am.
We have common interests, from reading about World War II – Dad was a civilian in the Netherlands during the war – LEGOs, books, games, and other interests. When Randy comes home, we could certainly pick up on those pursuits again, and offer each other mutual support as we grapple with the challenges that life throws our way.
Randy is a humble person who knows and owns the mistakes he’s made. He’s worked hard to combat the addiction and demons that beset him. And he, like Dad, knuckled down at his jobs, even when he was treated with derision and hostility by his co-workers and supervisors because of his record. This world can be cruel to people who’ve made mistakes like Randy has, but he never ran from them. He never hid them. He owned his past and did the best he could do to not let it control the present. Though he has longed to reconned with his children, he respects their wishes to remain distant, though it hurts.
I appreciate the closeness he grew to have with our sister Maaike when he returned home. She was better positioned to be the best help for him, but please know he has an extensive and willing help and social network when he does come home. We have a large family and though at times we’re not exactly close, we do band together particularly when a family member is suffering. We recognize the godly requirement to love all and to work to remove the beams in our eyes rather than rail against the motes in the eyes of others.
My fondest memories of Randy came when my wife and I bought a house in the early 2000s and discovered the sprinkler system it came with was nonfunctional. He had experience in working on sprinklers, so came over and worked with me to see what we could do with the system we had. We dug a few trenches, found many broken components, and discovered a few functioning sprinkler heads, but nothing in the way that would water our lawn efficiently. I remember him, a week into the project, saying something along the lines of “We can either keep digging and following the lines and fixing the problems we discover along the way, or we can start fresh with a new system.” In a way that’s how he’s led his life since his troubles arrived, recognizing that some aspects were beyond repair and opting to start again. His resilience in the face of his own demons is awe inspiring.
When I think of my family, but of Randy particularly, I’m reminded of the song by The Hollies:
The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
Sincerely,
Brian Davidson
Started reading "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith - author of "101 Dalmatians," which is why I picked this book up.
Kinda glad I started reading it before I saw the trailer for the movie based on the book, because it's a bit soppy:
Also just found out the movie has an R rating, so maybe this won't be one I finish.
This is why, if AI is to be believed:
In a few ways it reminds me of "Little, Big," by John Crowley, another book I started but didn't finish. Like that one, thusfar Castle has been nearly plotless, though at this point it has had more of a plot than Little. While the lack of a plot was a reason to bail on Little, it was the rapes that really sealed the deal. People try to tell me Crowley wrote an epic modern fantasy; I just don't see it. And Castle isn't that far behind.
But I couldn't, because the site put up an ad I had to watch and click out of it before I could read.
Irony is dead.
First of all, first person. Not my favorite point of view for a book. I’m hard-wired a bit to avoid that.
Second of all, the voice. Very scattered. Very slow to come to the point.
But I suppose, after finishing the book, that was the point.
The protagonist is, of course, young. And while versed in many things related to dragons, not really versed in writing.
So the longer I read, the more the point of view and the voice fit. Yes, at times, it was like trying to read one of my younger students’ essays, typical stream of consciousness garble that they usually are. They wear me out. Sometimes you have to read a paragraph, or a series of paragraphs, over and over again to get the gist, and even then you’re not really sure.
That’s what this book felt like, start to finish. Not necessarily how I would have done it, but clearly McKinley made a choice and she stuck with it. It certainly lent her character a unique voice.
I worried at times, however, that the voice got in the way of the story. I can be a demanding reader, and this story demanded a bit more than I actually got.
Remembering the main character’s name? Really hard to do. I got it in the last 40 or so pages.
Being able to tell but a few characters apart? Not really. That was hard, but as the POV is written from kind of an egocentric point of view, maybe that’s mission accomplished.
I’ve read a few other McKinley books and will stick with those. This one tells a good story, but the approach to it was a bit too grating for me to get into it.
Don't get me wrong: This is a good story, telling an interesting tale. McKinley is a strong writer, rich in dragon lore that's historic and contemporary and a bit of her own invention. I just had a hard time with the approach, that's all.
The Salt Lake Tribune recently published an article claiming some in the LDS Church have "Pope envy," in which they ask why our church leadership isn't speaking out against war, like Pope Leo.
In all due respect, it's clear these were not paying attention during April Conference.
So many talks about peacemakers and finding peace in Christ.
Our leaders don't have to specifically point out "this war," or "this action" is bad; that is baked ino the gospel of Christ.
This from President Oaks, said just a few weeks ago, suffices for me:
"Truly, Jesus Christ is the way to peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come. He knows and loves each of us perfectly and invites us to walk with Him, abide in Him, and follow His example of ministering to others one by one in charity and love. . . May we all demonstrate the pure love of Christ in our families, in our communities, and in all of our interactions with God’s children."
And he wasn't the only one.
This from Elder Eyring:
"The world today seems to be in commotion. There are wars and rumors of wars. The economies of whole continents seem to be faltering. Prophesied wickedness seems to be accelerating as the Savior’s return draws nearer.
"Yet despite turmoil and difficulty, faithful Latter-day Saints in hardship across the world have flooded heaven with prayers. In public and in private, they are petitioning the Lord for help, for comfort, for direction, and for personal peace for those they love."
I'm often confused by folks who criticize religion for mixing with politics, but then get upset when religion doesn't mix with politics in the way and in the time they think it should.
War is bad. It is rarely justifiable. The messages of peace that I hear again and again from church leaders affirms that to me
I applaud Pope Leo for speaking out as he did. I ask those who think our leaders should do likewise to pay attention to what they've been saying all along.
They're Isaac's wisdom teeth, extracted this week. Yes, the same week he had to have surgery. It's been a tough week for him.
