Catfishin' with Aunt Helga

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this summer. I guess a lot has happened since then. But we won't get into that right now. Right now I'm kicking off a mini-series of anecdotes and trips down memory lane that should lead up to my reunion. If anyone reading the series has any related or competing recollections, I'd love to hear about them.

So, Monday night we were driving through Leeds by way of I-15, and I was reminded of our adventures with Catfish Charlie's. Ok, this story is actually post-high school. That's ok, I think of anything pre-mission (can somebody please set me straight on the proper use of hyphens?) as a high school memory. Back to the story. One day I was in Leeds, probably accompanying my family as they indulged their yard sale fetish, when I saw a small restaurant called "Catfish Charlie's." Slowly, a mania grew within me. I had to eat at Catfish Charlie's. I had never eaten catfish. I wanted to try it.

I summoned the posse (in this case that would be Seth Gubler, Alex Gubler, Kelcey Loveland, Danny Frost, Cole Blair, Dalyon Ruesch...am I missing anyone?) who collaborated with me on a racquetball/Catfish Charlie's outing. The racquetball was fun, and Catfish Charlie's was quite an experience. Once we got in there we couldn't speak normally. Some force settled upon us, forcing us to speak like hillbillies. Somewhere between the hush puppies and the Louisiana Sauce tales of an unforgettable character began flowing from the warped minds of Seth Gubler and Nathan Reeve. Her name was Aunt Helga, and she had...issues. The entire ride home and the subsequent weeks were filled with tales of the incredible Aunt Helga. We had to keep her in whenever the moon was out. The bears were scared of her. She went a courtin' from time to time--beaus beware.

I think we visited Catfish Charlie's once more before I left on my mission. They did have good catfish and hush puppies, though I got reports as time went on that the gang was getting disenchanted with the place.

Catfish Charlie's is long gone, but the memories live on.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Six best years of my life ago, I woke up, got ready, grabbed my temple bag and got married.
That was an amazing day, spring had sprung out just for us. There were some blossoms out and the air was warm with new sunlight. I'm sure they must have taken us aside and tried to give us some advice, but neither Meridy nor I can remember a word of it. I still remember the way the celestial room looked with the sunlight shining in on friends and family assembled to witness something special happen. Magic, the atmosphere was absolute magic. I had never been so high. The Sealer actually began to tremble and quake as he performed the ceremony. I remember them showing us the corridor to the exit. They left us to ourselves for a time. There was a mirror we looked at for a while; something about that moment was very special for me. Then we opened the temple doors to find friends and family awaiting us, supporting us.

Thanks for making me so happy Meridy and for always being my vision. Thanks friends and family for continuing to support us. Thank God for such a mysterious, holy and joyous institution.