My Family Past, Present, and Future By Taylor Thayne

I haven't mentioned in my writings, at this point, my favorite topic which is my family. When I speak of my family, I feel that I'm treading on sacred ground. Hopefully, as I treat this subject, you will forgive me if I tend to expose some of the feelings of my heart. I honor and respect all of my family members who have been such a part of my entire life.

I remember my grandparents well. I, being the first born grandson on both sides of my family, was able to have the opportunity to experience their love. I learned the importance of values, faith, and honor from their examples. I lived in harmony with their children...my aunts and uncles. Knowing them and their standards have helped me to want to be like them. My hope is that I bring no shame to them. They are my stalwart examples and my foundation.

My parents came from those families and incorporated their great strength into our family. I was raised with 3 brothers and 6 sisters. We were blessed with the attention of these two good people. I was planted in fertile soil. It has been my responsibility to grow tall and straight. Sometimes I did okay and other times I fell short, but I always had the support of this great family.

My extended family has been the community that I grew up in. I’ve eaten at their tables and slept in their beds. I’ve been served by this community and hopefully I’ve served them as well. As I have lived among them, I have felt as close to them as my own brothers and sisters.

Then came the crowning experience of my life. God must love me. I’m sure He had a hand in getting me in the right place at the right time to meet my special wife. She has been the frosting on my cake. I love and respect her to no end. She has been my supporter and my companion for 50 years….Thanks God! Together we have raised 8 children, 3 sons and 5 daughters. My dear wife has left her valuable imprint on each of them. I am a blessed man.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel far and to work with many people. I cherish the relationships I have made. My new experience of meeting friends in the social media are bringing me a great deal of joy. I like hearing the stories of your lives. It seems we have each come from different walks of life. Some haven’t had the kind of support that I have had. I think we have one thing for sure in common…we have need for one another. We respect one another and in that, we can be friends. Call on me…if I can be of help, I’ll be there.

Upper Stillwater Dam By Taylor Thayne

 The night the entire Universe worked together for a Common Goal

In the 1980's I worked on the Upper Still Water dam project. This dam is located in a high mountainous area. Extreme working conditions were not uncommon. Dangerous , steep mountain terrain resisted our efforts every day.For three years those of us who worked there, faced and fought that unfriendly environment.

Today this huge concrete wall greets it's visitors as a monument to hundreds of men who struggled to construct it. This massive structure became my schoolroom for life's lessons.

The first order of business was to remove the trees from the area to make the footprint of the dam. Then came the process of removing all of the rocks and loose material down to sheer bedrock. We excavated high on the steep mountain slopes and the deep mud through the valley bottoms. Every day was a struggle and the struggles were met with human mindset and determination. Eventually, determination won out and progress towards filling the massive excavation with hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete began.

This dam was the first dam in the United States to be constructed with rolled concrete material. The technology of rolled concrete was very unforgiving. The moisture content was very low and the temperature had to be exact. This material was carried from the batch plant to the dam site on conveyor belts. Each batch on the belt had to be exactly one truckload, no more or no less. Every part of the operation had to be perfect. Timed spacing between batches had to be such as to allow the next truck to pull under the belt.

You can see that any deviation in scheduling could cause a big mess, shutting down the entire operation for cleanup. I'm touching on a few of the  troubles that could interfere with the operation. Besides the things I have spoken of, there are many other troublesome  situations that could and did take place.

During this stage of building the dam, I was working as project foreman, overseeing the rock quarry and the crushing of the rock materials. My shift went from 8:00 o'clock p.m. to 6:00 o'clock a.m. I never saw the light of day while on the job. I hope I've manifested the improbability of anything ever going all right on the job for any period of time.

During the summertime of the last year of construction, I was called into the office. I was given the responsibility of filling in for the project manager during his vacation time. My job was to keep things together until he returned. As I went about getting to know some of my new responsibilities, I became impressed by the knowledge and abilities of the different division foremen. We quickly became friends and worked very well together.

Someone came up with the idea of putting together a perfect shift. The question arose, "What could we accomplish if we had a perfect shift?" I said, "Let's see if we can make it happen in the next two weeks." The challenge was on and the planning began.

First we got all the maintenance on the equipment caught up. Then we stockpiled plenty of sand and gravel close to the hoppers. We filled the huge bins with ice to cool the concrete. We made sure all the computers were working properly. We planned a new rotating system for the haul trucks and shortened the spaces between the batches on the conveyor belt.

Finely came the night when everything was ready.I announced over the radios, "Gentlemen, start your engines!"....and the movement was on its way. Everyone was focused and manning their posts. Our planned organization was carried out to a tee. The night  shift finished without a flaw. Records were smashed as hundreds of tons of concrete was placed on the dam. We were so pumped that we went for it again the 2nd night and even exceeded our previous night's tally.

Yes, the moon gave us light and the stars in the Heavens watched as men's minds and efforts excelled to greatness. The lessons I learned that night were, if you give men an opportunity and unite them with a common goal and then set them free, there's no end to what they can accomplish.

My Mentor, My Moral Strength, My Mother by Taylor Thayne

 My Mentor, My Moral Strength, My Mother

Mother has provided everything in my life that has to do with tender. I have my mother’s conscience and at times I’ve wished that it wasn’t so. Any offence I may have committed, no matter how big or how small, harrowed up my soul. My most often used lament was, “Why Mother, are you doing this to me?"

She had such a commitment to living a good, honorable, and pursuit of right over wrong life. She instilled those values into her children’s souls. We knew when we were treading on dangerous ground. Our hearts and consciences told us so. I never wanted to act in a way that she wouldn’t approve of. If for some reason I got out of line and she was forced to scold me, my heart would ache until I slept that night. By the next morning, everything was good again and I went about life happy once more.

When I was a teenager, I felt that my mother had cursed me with that tender feeling of conscience. As I grew older and more mature, I understood that those feelings were a blessing to me. I found that I could use those feelings as a compass to guide my life for good. I learned that if I, without thinking, offended someone, those feelings would tap on my soul and reminded me that maybe an apology was in order. What a great blessing from my mom!

My mother had so many great values that I admired. Her life was filled with hardships and sorrow. Many sad, heartbreaking events tried to bring her down, but she fought back and became stronger each time.

Three of my sisters died in tragic deaths. The first died of food poisoning. On this occasion, several others in the family became very ill. The second died in a car accident along with three children. The third died at the hands of a gunman after she was abducted from a store where she worked.

These tragedies along with many other heart rendering experiences should have shook her from her foundation. Her strong faith and her never ending campaign for good kept bringing her back from heartache and despair. The example of my parents hanging on together strengthened my resolve to be like them.

My life would have surely been different without my mother’s guiding hand. ” Mom, I hope I will always feel that tender, uncomfortable feeling that you planted in my heart. If I should stray from the direction that you taught me…may I receive your tender reminder with thanksgiving. Thanks, Mom, for always being with me.”

Both Challenges and Blessings by: Taylor Thayne

 Both Challenges and Blessings

The summer has been hot and dry. The weather environment has not been kind to farmers and ranchers in our area. Every day hope for rain was met with  dry, hot, wind, causing the grass and crops to wither on the stem.

A lack of snow in the mountains promised a short irrigation season. Worried minds of the farmers and ranchers wondered,”What are we going to do?” The hay is not growing. Irrigation water can’t keep up with the needs of the crops.

Herds of cattle are running low on feed in the pastures. Notices were sent out from the water manager’s office. Water would be shut  out of the canal on the 28th of July. Hope of having a fruitful summer was almost lost.

Humbled by life struggles, all that anyone could do was look Heavenward and call upon a higher power than themselves.

Our water was shut out of the canal on July 28th… the rain came on July 29th. Worry and despair  was replaced with joy and thanksgiving. New hope was born again. Grass and crops shed their yellow, dry look. Lush green filled the country side.

The picture of cattle trailing in dust clouds changed to cattle lazily chewing their cud on green hillsides. Music seemed to be ringing through the air as neighbors smiled and greeted each other with a slap on the back.

I called my farm partner brother on the cell phone and when he answered “hello”,  I said,”Thank you Bro for living good…I think we are going to get a 3rd crop of hay!”

How can things going so bad, turn out so good in one season? I think the change happened the day everyone looked Heavenward. In our journey through life’s struggles, it is so important to look around us.

We need to know and recognize that we are such a small part of the happenings that go on in this big world. We are really quite insignificant when you think about it. We become significant when we humble ourselves and join hands with our fellow travelers. It’s so important to look away from ourselves and out to our neighbors.

Who are our neighbors? It’s everyone that we can reach out to and we can reach out a long way. We become significant when we reach out with a helping hand…with a desire to do good. If enough of us take hold of hands, we become a force and a force for good can change the world.