Potholes

Winter has not been kind on the roads here. There are potholes everywhere. They say that over 250,000 have already been patched but driving is like playing dodgem. They added 6 more crews so they can now patch 7,000 per day. I have replaced over 12 tires due to blow-outs from hitting potholes.

We had 4 zones conferences this week; one every day except for Monday. This meant we got to see and be with every one of the 212 young missionaries and many of the 22 senior missionaries. It is such a joy to be around them and to feel of their spirit and love. We were spiritually lifted and physically fed some yummy lunches.

These conferences meant we did much driving. I thoroughly enjoy being in the car with my companion because of the time it gives us to talk. We also enjoyed seeing the countryside in Valparaiso, Indiana on the South and Lake Villa, Illinois on the North. But that also meant we had to deal with the busyness and traffic of the city. We noticed evidence that Spring just may come. The trees are starting to bud which amazes me with the crazy winter we have had. Most of the snow has melted even though we received another 4 inches last Monday. That puts us close to 80 inches of snow right here in the city this year and none of it was capable of being made. To a snowman because it has been so blasted cold.

With the help of my sweet companion, we inspected 72 mission cars in 4 days. Tuesday was warm enough in Indiana that I only needed my suit jacket on. Wednesday & Thursday we almost froze even with heavy coats and scarves on because of blowing snow and gusting winds. Lest you think inspecting the cars is simply looking them over for scratches, etc., here is what is required on every car. Check for scratches & dents, is the car clean on the outside and inside, what is the tread depth on each tire, what are the fluid levels, what is the tire pressure, is the trunk neat and supplies organized, do all of the lights and horn work and do they have the registration, insurance info and accident packet in the glove box? Oh and what is the mileage?

I gave out candy awards for those cars that were the cleanest, etc. (thanks Linda G). Sadly I had to stretch on some of them to find cars on each day to commend; I didn't award any on one of those days because none of them appeared to have been cleaned. The Bruce side of me really wanted to tell most of the missionaries that if they were my kids, based on how they how they treated a car, I would take their keys away. I did tell a few missionaries who made very light of their responsibility to treat the car as if they had bought it with their own money or better yet with sacred funds that I expected they would walk until they had taken time to clean their car.

If any of you have experience with identity theft, please let me know what you did to correct it. I found out this week that someone had opened a Pay Pal account using my personal info and had charged over $900 in my name. I also was told by my tax guy that they couldn't e-file my tax return because someone else had already filed a return using my social security number. S this week I get to make time to find out how bad it is and just what I can do to correct everything. I already alerted all 3 of the major credit-reporting agencies and they have out a fraud alert on my info. Oh, for the days of being able to shake hands and know that your word was as good as any contract, etc.

We love and miss you and pray for your health and happiness.

Elder Taggart