Karen
In keeping with my standard of writing a vignette of each of
my siblings, this one is for Karen. Karen comes after me as number 8 in the
family. My path and hers crossed many times over the years. From the time she
hit me on the head with a hammer to the time we lived across the street from
each other at BYU. The earliest time is the hammer incident. I was kneeling
down and like the Devil in the wind Karen came out of nowhere and there she was
and hit me on the head. The blood came rushing down my face but there was
nothing serious. Another time we were
staying at Grandma Hoyal’s and we were having soup for dinner. I never liked
soup so I didn’t eat the soup. Grandma told us that we could not leave the
table until the soup was gone. So when
no one was looking I began to put my soup into her bowel. She protested but to no avail. I got away
with it, so I still owe her an apology.
There was another time when Stephen was lost or so we thought. Karen and
I decided to go looking for him. We went down town, the river bed any place we
could think of to no avail. On our way home we stopped a policemen and told
him what we were doing. He took us home and caused some problems until he was
informed that Steve was OK and had fallen asleep in the back yard. When the Cop
left I got a spanking. I don’t remember if Karen did. A few of the incidents
where our paths crossed as children. One summer we lived with David and Lenora
and worked at the Hot Shoppe in Wheaten Plaza. It was so kind and gracious for
them to allow us to work and save for College.
This was another time our paths
crossed, this time as College Students. In High School, Karen had my track
coach as one of her English Teachers. He would talk to the class about his
track guys and mentioned me as a person who would never give up and that I was a
hard worker. Our paths crossed again, this time by reputation. I was not very fast but no one could get over
the hurdles quicker than I could. It helped me win many races that I couldn’t
win in a sprint. Karen has a degree in Music but she teaches special Ed. When
she went back to school, she had let her credential lapse so she had to start
over. This time she got her degree in Special Ed. And has been teaching for the
last 14 years. She has been recognized
for teaching excellence in her district with an award from the district.
Like Ralph, Karen is a music aficionado; she studied music
in high school and in collage. Voice was her instrument and she mastered it.
She was in the A Cappella choir in high school as well as other groups that
were considered elite. At BYU she was in the A Cappella as well, and was with
the choir when it won the Eisteddfod choir competition which is probably the
most prestigious competition in the world. She has studied voice with several
teachers. She has a most mellow and soothing Alto or Mezzo-Soprano voice. Her
voice has a clear and soul penetrating character that lends itself to a
reverence of feeling. Especially with religious songs she can bring out a
strange combination of melancholy and cheerful reverence that a clear and mild
vibrato suggests. While I consider her voice second to none, she is diffident,
being unable to see how good she really is. She always claims that she can’t
sing anymore or that her voice has gone. But when she and Ralph get together
and sing at Family functions, their voices blend and meld as if the celestial
Angels had programmed their voices to be used together. Her gift of voice is to
give joy and happiness and when the situation arises to allow sentimental tears
to flow when it is appropriate. She has always pursued vocal music wherever she
has been. When her Family moved back to Utah, she began looking for a choir to
join. Her old choir director, Dr Woodward had a chorale and she talked to him
about trying out . As a testament to the quality of her voice and her knowledge
of music, he told her “you don’t need to try out you’re in”. She sang in that
choir for a number of years until the director passed away. Although she is not
singing in a choir now, whenever she has an opportunity to sing, her voice is
still clear, serene, mellow and on long sustained notes those phrases can only
be described as beautiful. I marvel at her gift and wonder why she can’t see
it. Music important to her and I hope she can find an outlet for her
passion.
In keeping with my standard of writing a vignette of each of
my siblings, this one is for Karen. Karen comes after me as number 8 in the
family. My path and hers crossed many times over the years. From the time she
hit me on the head with a hammer to the time we lived across the street from
each other at BYU. The earliest time is the hammer incident. I was kneeling
down and like the Devil in the wind Karen came out of nowhere and there she was
and hit me on the head. The blood came rushing down my face but there was
nothing serious. Another time we were
staying at Grandma Hoyal’s and we were having soup for dinner. I never liked
soup so I didn’t eat the soup. Grandma told us that we could not leave the
table until the soup was gone. So when
no one was looking I began to put my soup into her bowel. She protested but to no avail. I got away
with it, so I still owe her an apology.
There was another time when Stephen was lost or so we thought. Karen and
I decided to go looking for him. We went down town, the river bed any place we
could think of to no avail. On our way home we stopped a policemen and told
him what we were doing. He took us home and caused some problems until he was
informed that Steve was OK and had fallen asleep in the back yard. When the Cop
left I got a spanking. I don’t remember if Karen did. A few of the incidents
where our paths crossed as children. One summer we lived with David and Lenora
and worked at the Hot Shoppe in Wheaten Plaza. It was so kind and gracious for
them to allow us to work and save for College. 
This was another time our paths
crossed, this time as College Students. In High School, Karen had my track
coach as one of her English Teachers. He would talk to the class about his
track guys and mentioned me as a person who would never give up and that I was a
hard worker. Our paths crossed again, this time by reputation. I was not very fast but no one could get over
the hurdles quicker than I could. It helped me win many races that I couldn’t
win in a sprint. Karen has a degree in Music but she teaches special Ed. When
she went back to school, she had let her credential lapse so she had to start
over. This time she got her degree in Special Ed. And has been teaching for the
last 14 years. She has been recognized
for teaching excellence in her district with an award from the district.
Like Ralph, Karen is a music aficionado; she studied music
in high school and in collage. Voice was her instrument and she mastered it.
She was in the A Cappella choir in high school as well as other groups that
were considered elite. At BYU she was in the A Cappella as well, and was with
the choir when it won the Eisteddfod choir competition which is probably the
most prestigious competition in the world. She has studied voice with several
teachers. She has a most mellow and soothing Alto or Mezzo-Soprano voice. Her
voice has a clear and soul penetrating character that lends itself to a
reverence of feeling. Especially with religious songs she can bring out a
strange combination of melancholy and cheerful reverence that a clear and mild
vibrato suggests. While I consider her voice second to none, she is diffident,
being unable to see how good she really is. She always claims that she can’t
sing anymore or that her voice has gone. But when she and Ralph get together
and sing at Family functions, their voices blend and meld as if the celestial
Angels had programmed their voices to be used together. Her gift of voice is to
give joy and happiness and when the situation arises to allow sentimental tears
to flow when it is appropriate. She has always pursued vocal music wherever she
has been. When her Family moved back to Utah, she began looking for a choir to
join. Her old choir director, Dr Woodward had a chorale and she talked to him
about trying out . As a testament to the quality of her voice and her knowledge
of music, he told her “you don’t need to try out you’re in”. She sang in that
choir for a number of years until the director passed away. Although she is not
singing in a choir now, whenever she has an opportunity to sing, her voice is
still clear, serene, mellow and on long sustained notes those phrases can only
be described as beautiful. I marvel at her gift and wonder why she can’t see
it. Music important to her and I hope she can find an outlet for her
passion. 