Dad, Tell Me About the Time (73)

Monday, September 22, 2025

List the people who have had the most significant impact on your life (family members, coaches, mentors, leaders, friends, etc.) Why?

How am I supposed to answer this question? It would take a book. I know I will miss a lot of people, but I’ll give it a shot.

Grandpa Leavitt – He was the perfect example of a man who worked hard but loved his family. He had the perfect balance between work and family.

My Dad – My Dad said few words, but he had a way of making those words count. I can only remember a handful of times when we sat down and talked, but I worked with him so often, that we had hours of what felt like very casual conversation, but in reality it shaped my entire life. We talked about morality, doctrine, goals and life. My only regret is that I didn’t ask him for details of his early life and his mission to New Zealand.

My Mom – Mom and I didn’t really talk much. I wish we had, but unlike dad, we spent little time together. My strongest memories of my mom are us just cuddling together. As I got older we didn’t cuddle so much, but I always felt loved and safe when she was around.

Blaine Leavitt – There were actually several school teachers who taught me critical thinking. Some of them are Alma Sommerfeldt (math teacher) and Keith Shaw (biology teacher) but the Blaine Leavitt stands out. He was my automechanic teacher. He is the one who made me think through a problem and figure out for myself what the problem was or how something worked.

Norbert Elsner – Norb was the owner of Hi-Z and the man who hired me. He was my mentor and taught me much of what I know in thermoelectrics. He gave me the opportunity to manage dozens of projects for many government agencies and major companies.

Lisa Shaw – If we are talking about people who had a significant impact on my life, how could I not mention Lisa. She is my life. No one has had a greater impact on my life than her. She is the mother of my children and my eternal companion.

What advice would you give to those who have made bad decisions in their lives?

My advice would be to “move on”. If there is something you can do to make things better, then do that, but otherwise there is only heart ache and sadness in dwelling on past mistakes. What is done is done and it is time learn from your mistakes so you don’t repeat them and then start your new life.

Share one challenging problem you have faced and how you overcame it.

While I loved working at Hi-Z, I underestimated the cost of the living in San Diego. We realized early on that I was not making nearly enough money to live here, but we got along for several years. As the kids got older and our expenses grew, I knew that something had to change.

In the short term I took a night job throwing newspapers to help cover some costs (like Bens braces) and at the same time I sat down with Norb and explained my problem. In his mind I was making an income that was in line with my education and experience and he didn’t feel that a raise was in order.

The stress of being underwater like that was overhwhelming and affecting every part of my life. I prayed like I had never prayed before and started looking around for other work. The Lord isn’t always quick answering prayers, and I remained in this difficult situation for more than a year but He does ease our burdens. I remember one night when I was throwing papers, I was in a neighborhood with a lot of town houses so it was just easier to load up a bag with papers and walk the neighborhood.

It was a beautiful night and the night birds were singing and the weather was warm and the air was peaceful and full of the smell of flowers and I decided to pray. Instantly an overwhelming peace came over me and Heavenly Father told me to stop worrying because he was watching over me. I knew that everything would be alright. I needed to keep working and job hunting but everything would be ok. I never worried again.

I only threw papers for a year to cover Bens teeth but shortly after that I started graduate school. While I was in graduate school met a girl who worked at Qualcomm. I asked her if there were any openings there and she put me in touch with the right people. Within a couple of months my income increased 50%. That is a rather major change in ones lifestyle.

Norb was of course very distraught and offered to match my wage but I’ve learned that after making a decision like that it is hard to go back. I would resent him for forcing me to leave and he would resent me for forcing his hand. I was smart enough not to burn any bridges and I continued to support them in any way I could. I helped write proposals and acted as an advisor on projects that they were working on.

Dad, Tell Me About the Time (72)

Friday, September 19, 2025

A few of my favorite things.

Candy                              Eatmore
Fragrance                        Vanilla
Movie                             The Count of Monti Christo
Sports to participate in    Ragnar Relay
Sports to watch               Gymnastics
Song                                Dreams, 

                                        Dirty Paws, 

                                        Home, 

                                        Sound of Silence, 

                                        Thunder, 

                                        Wellerman
Animal                            Cat
Outside Activity             Running
Day of the week             Saturday
Soda                               Cream Soda
Book                              Guns, Germs, & Steel
Meal                              Roast beef, potatoes and gravy
Food to cook                 Fried Potatoes and eggs
Local Place to Go         The Beach

                                      PQ Canyon
Place to Shop               Amazon
Person to spend time with      Lisa
Actor/Actress              I have no idea
Season of the year      Spring
Fruit & Vegetable       Peach & Asparagus
Food to eat                  Barbecue beef
Drink                          Chocolate Milk
Way to relax               Reading
Vacation Spot             My back yard
Car/Truck                   F-150
Cartoon                      Calvin & Hobbs
TV Show                   Star Trek
Soda                          Roor Beer (a repeat so I gave a different answer)
Flower                      Calla Lilly
Hymn                       Condsider the Lilly’s
                                 Come Thou Fount
                                 Song of Ruth
Pet                            Sheba
Color                        Yellow, Green (floresent)
Book                        The Kingdom and the Crown (a repeat so I gave a different answer)
Fast food restaurant In-N-Out
Fine Dining restaurant The Crab Catcher

Which charitable organization have you supported?

Over the years I have tried to support every worthy group that came to my door, I finally decided that I had no way to vet these groups. I eventually made the decision to pay a generous fast offering to the church, and let them support whatever cause they felt needed it. My donation might go to some local family going through a hard time, or it might support a struggling hospital in Africa. Through the “Giving Machine” we even bought chickens for an African family to start a business selling eggs.

Do you remember a time when you helped someone less fortunate? What happened?

There have been several situations like this but there is one that comes to mind. A good friend was going through a nasty divorce, and she was afraid that her husband might harm her. A group of men from her ward moved her out of the house while he was gone and she moved in with us for several months until she got her feet on the ground.

To make a long story short, this woman is now happily married and living the good life that she deserves.

Dad, Tell Me About the Time (71)

 Thursday, September 18, 2025

Share something you are afraid of and why?

I am not afraid of anything. Nothing really bothers me and I really try to live by my creed, “If I have a problem and something can be done about it, then do it; if nothing can be done about it, then don’t worry about it. I’m pretty good at doing that.

When I was a child, I was kind of scared of the dark. Not just the dark but the unknown dark. The light in our basement could only be turned on from in the basement, on a wall opposite the stairs. That would mean I would have to go down the stairs, walk across the room and then find the light switch in the dark and turn it on. There were no windows in that room, so it was always very dark.

While I was afraid, I forced myself to do it and eventually it didn’t scare me anymore.

While it may not scare me too much, the scariest thing for me as an adult is probably the prospect of losing my job. Perhaps I should reword that; the scariest thing for me as an adult is the prospect that I won’t be able to care for my family. That did happen in 2019 when I was laid off from Kyocera, but since I went straight to Hi-Z it wasn’t really a problem. It did play a huge part in my reluctance to leave Hi-Z when they started declining and I took several pay cuts before I worked up the guts to just leave them and start my own company.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

I think I may have told this story already, but I will tell it again. When I was in first grade we still lived on the farm, and I had to take the bus to school. The kids on the bus mostly ignored me, but a few of them loved to give me a hard time. It wasn’t a mean teasing, but a fun teasing but it wasn’t fun for me.

One day on our way home from school, I had to defecate. It got worse until I finally pooped my pants. No one said a word about the smell or anything, but to my horror, when our stop came and I stood up to get off the bus, I saw a piece of poop fall out of my pantleg onto the floor of the bus. I surreptitiously nudged it under the seat and quickly exited the bus. I never heard a word about it.

 

Dad, Tell Me About the Time (70)

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

What is something you have done that you regret?

There are a few things that I have done, and I regret having done them, but they are all too embarrassing for me to record anywhere. I have to have the attitude that what is done is done and I learn from my experience and move on. Let me be clear though, none of the things that I regret are serious transgressions of any kind. They are only things that may have hurt other people’s feelings or in some cases may have even hurt their well-being.

What is an interesting fact most people wouldn’t know about you?

I have no secrets. I guess, just to put an answer down here, I will repeat my answer to a previous question I answered. I have travelled to twenty-two countries.

Which item do you own or possess that is of greatest value to you?

I guess I don’t own or possess my wife and kids so I can’t count them. I will go with my house and my new backyard. I love my house, and I really love how my back yard is shaping up. 

What is something that you collect that is meaningful to you?

There are a few things that I collect that are meaningful to me. I have an element collection. I have a collection of medals from the various races I’ve entered. I have a collection of Belgian stamps that came out during the two years that I served there. I have a few bottles of sand from some of the more significant beaches that Lisa and I have been to. I have a collection of Louis L’Amour books. I really love my Star Trek Starship Christmas tree ornaments. It isn’t really a collection yet, but I love my four belt buckles, and I wouldn’t mind a few more. I love my dad’s coin collection but mostly because it was my dad’s.

Wow, that is more collections than I expected. If I had to pick one that is most meaningful, I think I would go with the starships but the element collection is a very close second.

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?

There have been very few times in my life where I thought I might die but there is one that stands out in my mind. There are a few other experiences where I should have been scared but I wasn’t and there have been times when I was scared but I didn’t need to be. I will give one example from each of these.

One time Lester and I decided that it would be boring to hike down Bears Hump after just hiking up, so we decided to scale down the face of Bears Hump. There were times that we were clinging to a small ledge that was only a few inches wide, and we had a sheer cliff down and a sheer cliff up. At one point the ledge disappeared but carried on again a foot or two further along. We had to take a long step and a small hop to reach the other ledge. If we’d fallen, we would have surely died, but we were teenagers and invincible. Stupid is a word some would use.

Just a couple of weeks ago we were floating down the Salt River with Ben and Justin and Justin wanted to go cliff jumping. That sounded like good fun to me. I’ve always avoided cliff jumping in the past because without my glasses I am blind and cliff jumping seems like an activity where you would want to see where you’re going.

This time I had my contacts in, so I had no excuses. Once we got up on the cliff, I was terrified. That is dumb because people cliff jump from much higher heights and have no problems. I finally swallowed my fear, made sure I was perfectly vertical with my arms tucked in and I jumped. It was a ton of fun and completely harmless. I will not be scared the next time.

The only time I can remember where I thought I might die was when I was around ten or twelve years old. We were picnicking at the bottom of the St Mary’s dam. I went exploring and was climbing the hill next to the spill way. The hill was very steep and sloped directly down to the spill way. The spill way has been modified since I was there, but at the time the hill sloped directly to the spill way and there was no safety rail or wall. The hill was loose gravel, and I started sliding towards the spillway. I tried to stop myself or grab onto a weed or something, but I couldn’t stop. Finally, I was able to get a grip on something and stop myself, but for a while there I thought I was going right into the spillway.