HISTORY

A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.

From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.

In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.

Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.

Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.

We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.

As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Yep. I went there.

So, I decided to take my chances and walk to the Inauguration.  
I'm really glad I did.  I had a nice stroll to and from DC, and I got to see history happen.  It was under 30 degrees all day, but we stayed warm with all the bodies on the Mall.  I hear there were around 2 million people there. But you know what?  It wasn't a mean crowd.  I only saw a few (passive) protesters wearing orange jumpsuits and holding signs about closing Guantanamo.  There was so much positive energy in the air.  I can't emphasize this enough: for DC, this is not normal.  Ever.  Say what you will about Barack Obama, but at least for the time being, he has brought hope and camaraderie to this city that is usually so cynical, impatient, and unfriendly.  

Being in that atmosphere, hearing him speak and watching the crowd react, really made me appreciate the significance of this day.  Especially given my own personal experiences with racism over the past couple years, I couldn't help getting just a little teary over this clear step of progression.  When I looked around at all the throngs of people eagerly hanging on to every word he said, I wished for him to be everything they believe he is.  I don't know what's going to happen over the next four or eight years, and I doubt I'll agree with all of it.  But I really hope he doesn't lose the hope that I saw in everyone's eyes today.

Here are my snapshots.  I just couldn't stop taking pictures of the masses.


Here are a few video clips I captured. This was the view I had pretty much the whole time. Even if you don't agree with Obama's political views, you have to admit that he is a phenomenal public speaker.

5 comments:

Gerald and Cathy said...

wow abby!!! i wish i could have been with you. what an experience. thanks for getting it posted to us so soon. xoxo mom

Crystal said...

I totally agree! I watched and was in tears for about 45 minutes. I can not think of anything he said that I did not agree with AND I know what the Spirit feels like, and I was feeling it from the time he walked out of the Capital until the closing song ( and especially during the benediction... and the yo yo ma song... and the speech). Those you saw today so excited... they are democrats. Not evil at all, eh? I am excited you got to go! You will sleep well tonight, I bet. I always do when I have been cold all day. What a day!!

David and Debby said...

Great report Abby. Nice to have our own resident reporter. You just needed to be a little taller for that video. I really hope for our sakes, he can come through. I'm afraid all the supporters and media, as well as the opportunists (hype salesmen) have deified him to the point though that expectations are pretty high. But, if he can keep the energy level up, maybe it will fly. Then he's got to get the economy to turn back around without spending us into oblivian. It will be interesting to watch it unfold. Pray for the best.
Dad (from Leslie's computer)

abbynormal said...

What I really needed, Dad, was for grey hat guy to be about a foot shorter.

The irony about the turning economy is that economists are predicting that it'll probably be turning around anyway in about 5 years. So, if he gets elected to a second term, he'll be praised and worshipped as the guy who saved our economy. The short-sighted media and public will just eat it up.

Jason and Dana said...

But maybe he will be the reason it turns around.