A groupie for Mormon celebrities

At the convention mentioned below we hired a couple of singers to perform a new theme song that we will be featuring for the next couple of years. Sam Cardon (local arranger) wrote the music and lyrics for "A Season of Sunshine", and it was performed by Jenny Frogley and David Osmond. I picked up both of them at the airport and it was fun to get to know them. David Osmond had just been booted from American Idol (he said he had laryngitis). I was most anxious to visit Jenny Frogley who has been singing on Mormon productions for years and who has a really interesting quality to her voice.

They did really well and it helped make our opening night more interesting. Here's a little background on Jenny:

"She has opened for Ray Charles, filled-in for Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, and has recorded on more than 100 albums. She has performed at the 2002 Winter Olympic torch lighting ceremony and as a guest soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She toured Europe with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed at Radio City Music Hall. Jenny has recorded everyting from commercials for CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, and Disney to film soundtracks as well as classical, pop, and inspirational albums."

The indulgent backstage photo op

A return to my first home

We had a company convention in Los Angeles recently and it's always a little interesting to return to my old stomping grounds. It was held at the Marriott Hotel just east of LAX which is in the community of Westchester, my home time. I haven't lived there for 38 years, but I know every street like the back of my hand from countless bike rides, paper routes, etc. Unlike the children of today, we rode our bikes everywhere--having your mom take you somewhere was for "little kids". Boy, have things changed! A lot of things have changed, of course, but Westchester remains a tidy community in a sprawling metropolis. As a person who loves the outdoors I love living in Utah, but I miss the beach and it seems I get cabin fever every year about this time. When visiting California I get excited twice--first, upon feeling the buzz of a big city, and second, when I see an open stretch of desert on the way out.

I now live in "Pond Town" (Salem) If I had had this little fishing hole nearby as a kid I would have been there every day.