Wednesday evening I was invited to speak to Elder and Sister
Simmons’ Self Reliance business course, about the twists and turns of my
business career. The premise was that
despite good planning on a career course to pursue, unexpected circumstances
arise which require flexibility and course corrections. I enjoyed speaking about my legal career,
real estate career, and finally about my political career, and the class students
(mainly working adults returning to get an education) seemed to appreciate it.
Saturday was a free day. It was a typical warm and sunny summer day. So Alisa and I drove over to Muriwai beach to visit the gannet (albatross)
colony there. We last visited that
location several months ago, when the gannets were just arriving and building
their nests. I’ve been wanting to return
to check out the progress. Since our
last visit the eggs have been laid and hatched, and now there are fluffy gannet
chicks everywhere. Per the visitor’s
signs, both the father and mother help to hatch the eggs and take care of the
young. The young are covered with white
fluff instead of feathers. When they get
a little older, they will experience their first flight, which will be to
Australia, 1200 miles away! After
viewing the gannets on the cliff tops, we hiked down to the beach and walked barefoot
in the tide along the shore line. The
water was surprisingly warm, and many of the locals were frolicking in the ocean.
I also dug up and saved a little of the black magnetized sand there to send to
grandson Dodge. Spent the rest of the
day cleaning the apartment, jogging, watching an old John Wayne movie, and
reading my historical book about Captain Cook and the Pacific.
At work, I continue to work on real property and operations
and maintenance issues. I even got a project
working on some lease issues with the newly announced Neiafu Tongo temple.
