More Wisdom from Yoda

With the release of "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" this coming Tuesday, I thought I would draw again upon the wisdom of Master Yoda.

Before I continue, though, I will make the following disclaimer: I am well aware that Yoda is a fictional character created by George Lucas. This fact does not make his words any less viable. Many historical figures including Shakespeare, Twain, and even Christ himself occasionally shared truth through the use of fictional characters. "Star Wars" has become a cultural icon because we identify with the nuggets of truth interwoven in its saga. That being stated:

We were first introduced to the Jedi Master Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back". It was on the planet Dagobah that the young Luke Skywalker trained to become a Jedi. One of the tasks that young Skywalker was charged with was to use the Force to extract his crashed X-Wing fighter from the swamp. Luke closed his eyes and concentrated. The craft shuddered and shook, appearing briefly to be coming out of the water. Suddenly it changed direction and began to sink deeper into the bog. Luke, discouraged by this turned to Yoda and stated, "You ask the impossible."

Yoda, unfazed by this, closed his eyes. The bog-ridden X-wing slowly begins to ascend out of the marsh. Alerted by the excited beeps and whirs of R2-D2, Luke turns around to see his spacecraft floating above him. "I... I don't believe it," exclaims Skywalker once Yoda sets the craft on drier ground. Yoda's response was short, but succinct. "That is why you fail."

We citizens of Ogden have been placed with a seemingly impossible task- to help our city revitalize itself. Many look at the task- particularly the present ideas for the success of the gondola and rec center- and, like young Luke Skywalker, exclaim that it is impossible. The truth of the matter is that if we don't believe such a task will succeed, it won't even (pun intended) get off the ground. In the Bible, Paul says that faith is "the evidence of things not seen". Many naysayers ask for proof. They want it shown without a doubt that this project cannot fail. Yet, as was pointed out by "Sons of Ogden" on the "Good in Ogden" blog, would that proof even be enough?

Ogden is on the verge of success, we can do what has been envisioned. Are we up to the task? Do we believe? Or will we simply sit on the side of the swamp and say, "You ask the impossible"? The answers, dear padawans, lie within each of you.

May the Force be with us all!!

Narrowing the Paintbrush

As I have read comments on the Ogden blogs, I find it interesting to see how much "lumping together" people do. It seems that if someone is against eminent domain, they are immediately placed in the "Anti-Godfrey" camp. If they are pro-Wal-Mart in Ogden, they are instantly seizing peoples' property. Again, those who might feel that we are putting the cart before the horse with talk of a gondola are deemed against any type of improved transportation in Ogden while those who have a vision of a gondola system are accused of having pie in the sky wishes (as well as being Godfrey's "rubber stamp").
Reading posts on WCForum and The Good in Ogden (as well as the very few posts I receive here), I notice that people are quick to paint others with a broad brush. Names like "facists", "Neocons", "socialists", and "anarchists" are used freely along with "obstructionist" and "lemming." I have been guilty of it myself, though not extremely proud of it. For some reason, we tend to use broad terms when speaking with others. The thing we often forget is that seldom does someone agree with everything that another proposes.
To illustrate my point, I wish to take some moments to write a brief open letter to Mayor Godfrey, highlighting two points where I feel he has (or is currently) making a judgement error(though I was beat to the point in this morning's Standard-Examiner's Letters to the Editor). In doing so, perhaps this may show that, while myself (and others) may agree with the mayor on many points, few, if any, are actually agreeing 100% with him:

Dear Mayor Godfrey,
I want you to know that, while I agree with you on many of your issues, I do have two items of concern that I wish to address.
The first of these issues is in regards to Stuart Reid's severance pay. I have followed your comments on this issue and recognize that, indeed you may have been well within your legal rights and obligations to provide Mr. Reid with his exorbitant pay. That, however does not make it right. What makes this issue an even greater travesty was the way that your office has handled this situation. Granted, what is done, is done. But an apology and acknowledgement that this was perhaps not the wisest course of action would have been much appreciated by your constituents. Admitting a mistake or poor judgement is far greater reaching to win the hearts of Ogdenites, than sweeping the situation under the rug by an explanation to justify the actions.
I fear that the second issue may be of greater consequence. This is in regards to the Episcopal Church's request to purchase additional property on the mall site. Denying this request is poor public relations. Many, unfortunately, look at the possibilty of this denial as being partisan towards one church over the other. I have heard many comment that this shows favortism to the LDS church. While this may not be the case, granting the church the opportunity to purchase more property is an olive branch to those who are getting a poor taste in their mouths. It helps to beautify the property along 24th Street and I feel will enhance and improve the character of the mall site as well as one of the gateways into Ogden.
Thanks for all you are doing for our wonderful city,
Sincerely,
Ogden's Optimist

Ogden Loses a Champion

For nearly a week now, I have been trying to piece together the right words to say regarding Len Allen. We all have memories of when we first heard that golden voice. Mine was as a child when Ogden had its own television station, KOOG Channel 30. At that time, I only recognized the voice of Len Allen as the man who did the station identification between cartoons in the afternoon. It wasn't until years later that I personally met Len. I felt honored to actually get to meet this man, but it was he who acted honored to meet me. A year ago, I again had the honor of rubbing shoulders with this fine man. I had known his wife, Dena, through some programs in which she had been involved and he was supporting her in that effort. Again, though it had been about five years since we had last met, "Mr. Ogden" treated me as though we were old friends. I am a relatively new to Ogden and unlike many, did not grow up listening to KLO, but the love this man exuded was beyond description. The feelings I feel about Len Allen were best summarized last week in the Opinion section of the Standard-Examiner:
Friday, October 14, 2005
If Ogden had a mascot, it would be Len Allen.
The voice of Ogden, and for more than 50 years the rest of the Top of Utah, passed away Thursday -- after cheating death so many times most of his friends and family had long since lost count.
The story goes that just a few months ago he was back in the hospital and fading fast. The doctors advised his family to assemble and prepare for the worst, and so they did. Hours into the vigil, Len woke up, looked around the room full of his closest loved ones and asked, "What're all you people doing here?"
Classic Len, that -- always with the smile, the laughter and the absolutely positive attitude. Kids loved him. One family member we know said every Christmas they'd gather at Len's home, and he'd greet them with something like, "Hey, kids. Can I get you a drink? What would you like: juice, milk, Scotch?"
You know how some people have dark clouds hanging over them all the time? Len took bright sunlight with him everywhere he went.
He began work at KLO-AM in 1947, when Ogden was a hopping rail town like no other, and home to an increasing military presence. He did celebrity interviews, play-by-play sports -- he even had a wooden gavel he'd use to simulate the crack of a bat during baseball games -- spun records and delved deep into local, state and national issues with all sorts of newsmakers.
Most of all, though, Len Allen was a guy who loved his adopted town. He was Junction City's chief promoter and fiercest defender. He was the public face of the city for more than five decades.
If you wanted to know what was going on in Ogden, all you had to do was listen to his show every morning. He'd point out the big stories in that day's Standard-Examiner, take phone calls and generally keep his audience in the loop. As we wrote in this space in 1997, on the occasion of his 50th anniversary on the airwaves, it was almost as if the people who had grown up listening to him had their radio dials welded onto KLO 1430.
But he also spent countless hours off the air in service to the community. For decades he was the Ogden Pioneer Days parade announcer at 25th Street and Washington Boulevard, the host for too many civic events to count and a guy who would lend his name and support to any worthwhile cause.
Indeed, during one of his recent stays in the hospital, he still had a sketchpad in front of him, toying with ideas to revitalize Ogden's economy.
Fortunately, Len passed away knowing what he had meant to the community. The Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce presented him with its Wall of Fame award in 2003. During his acceptance speech, Len paraphrased the great Lou Gehrig by telling the hundreds assembled that he felt that night like the luckiest man in Ogden.
There was no luck involved. Len Allen earned every bit of that respect and admiration with his work ethic, tireless support of his community and jubilant personality. The man was a gem, a real one of a kind.
We're the lucky ones, for having known him.

So long, Len. Thanks for making Ogden your life.

Footsteps to a Better Ogden

I was fortunate last evening to attend Your Community Connection's (YCC) annual "Footsteps to Light" Empowerment Walk against domestic violence. The march, which began at 23rd and Adams, held up traffic on Washington Blvd. for about 15 minutes while all 500 or so participants walked across the street en route to the rally being held at the Ogden Amphitheater. Various local groups and agencies, such as Weber State clubs, ABATE (a local biker club), the girl scouts, etc., participated in this night out against domestic violence. This event was held in conjunction with a whole month full of DV awareness activites around the country as October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Once at the amphitheater, Mayor Godfrey gave a few short remarks and audience members participated in a balloon launch in rememberance of the Utah children who had lost their lives to domestic violence. That moment was particularly poignant when recognizing some of the names that have made local headlines, like "Baby" Hacking and the D'Agnillo baby (who died as a result of the murder suicide in South Ogden in early September).
The mood was lightened for a while with entertainment by Alex Boye and local acappella group, T-Minus Five. These guys showed their true colors at giving their time to care about domestic violence.
Guest speaker, Rebecca Doxey spoke of her struggle as a survivor of domestic violence, some of which occurred just over a year ago. Her story was one of heartache and pain. It was also one of survival against great odds.
The evening concluded with a candlelight vigil. The vigil included the singing (and playing) of "Amazing Grace" by the guest entertainers as well as the Ben Lomond High Bagpipers. The names of all who had lost their lives to domestic violence were projected on the screen above the stage. Sister Stephanie of Ogden Regional Hospital gave a prayer for peace and the candles were extinguished.
Such events as these help put into perspective that aside from all of the debating, etc. that we might do to try and make Ogden aesthetically better, perhaps the first thing we could do, is to work at making it better from within the walls of each of its homes.

Pray for a Friend

Many of you have come across Ogden's Optimist through links provided on The Good in Ogden blog. I became friends with Dustin Chapman (aka UTmorMAN) through these blogs. I was shocked to read his most recent post and learn about the hardships facing his young family. Agree with him or not, Dustin has done a lot for the fight to help Ogden move forward. He's young and has a lot of energy. One has to give due credit to someone who is so passionate about his community at such a young age. I also admire the example he is setting which shows that at the end of the day, these blogs are just a hobby. A way to get our emotions out for any who may be listening. But when it comes down to it, they are just smoke and mirrors compared to what really matters.
Good Luck, Dustin.
Our prayers are with you and your family.

A New Spin on an Old Topic

I have not had much opportunity to sit down and write a post, so I will take a quick moment here to defer to a letter I read in yesterday's Opinion page of the Standard-Examiner. I have never met John Armstong, but his opinion is a very rational point to pave the way for future traffic into a revitalized downtown.
His opinion is as follows:

Connecting Ogden, WSU and Snowbasin
Monday, October 10, 2005
Ogden's future prospects are an exciting topic for the editorial page. It's clear from the viewpoints expressed that everyone wants Ogden to be a dynamic, exciting place to live.
Ogden has exceptional potential, and yet, we have so much conflict over details!
Specific plans aside, there seems to be two goals: 1) Connect Weber State and downtown with rapid, effective transportation; and 2) enhance the connection between Ogden and Snowbasin.
While we wait for more information on gondola vs. trolley and figure out what properties are being developed, we can start a program today to meet these goals.
First, we should schedule a bus with two stops -- downtown and Weber State -- dramatically reducing the 20-minute, one-way trip of bus route 603. Call it the "Wildcat Express," and market it specifically for students to go downtown for lunch and for WSU arts/sports enthusiasts to have dinner downtown.
Second, this winter, the city should operate a ski bus to Snowbasin specifically designed to get riders efficiently from downtown Ogden to the resort. Utah Transit Authority in Salt Lake City already operates a similar ski bus.
If these two programs are successful, we can start drawing business downtown and connect Ogden and Snowbasin. A successful track record would also enhance the ability to fund further expansion (like a gondola) with private funds. If these aren't successful, they come at minimal cost, can be discontinued and would give us a chance to think twice about more-expensive options.
John Armstrong
Ogden

Thoughts?

Here's to the Losers

"Here's the last toast of the evening, here's to those who still believe
All the losers will be winners, all the givers shall receive
Here's to trouble-free tomorrows, may your sorrows all be small
Here's to the losers, Bless them all!"
-sung by Frank Sinatra

Well, the votes are in and the tallies have been taken. I'm sure that other pundits may give the winners their due, and in the coming month, we will have plenty of time to promote our favorite candidates. For the moment, though, I would like to concentrate on some of those who did not quite make the cut. Keep in mind, being a loser does have merits- the stress is over, no more pressure, no more fundraising. Even a local radio talk show glorifies losers of contests on their movie review show. With this in mind, I invite you to join me in toasting some of those who "also ran".

To Kori Munns: Congrats on being the most gracious of all the losers. Shortly after the final tallies were posted on the WCForum, Munns had already posted a comment congratulating the winners from the At-Large A seat and wishing them luck in the final elections- No mud-slinging, no stumping for one over the other, just an honest show of suppport for both.

To Mitch Moyes: For getting name recognition. In giving this toast, I am not debating whether or not the petition debaucle was an attempt to get that name recognition for this race, or if it was just a "perk" for that name recognition, but it worked. Many may say it was to your detriment, but your name got out there for taking a stand.
On a side note, don't just take your ball and go home. There are the seeds of some great ideas that you have pitched. Keep plugging them- just be sure to do it respectfully.

To Dave Berghout, James Carrell, Ron Hale, and Jeff LeFevre: You each get the "Red Lantern Award" for your respective races. It takes guts to run for public office and even more guts to receive the fewest votes.

To Steve Prisbrey: Running the tail end of your campaign in the wake of your uncle's passing couldn't have been easy. We feel for you and wish you the best in future endeavors.

To All Who Lost: Remember, Abe Lincoln lost far more elections than he won. Just by running, you've made a statement. Please stay active in Ogden's future- we need you.

Here's to the Losers! Bless them ALL!