Wow! Where to begin?! What an unusual year!
During the winter, after Jade went back to Lewiston, Idaho to continue college, Marya and I traveled to Oregon to spend two months of the winter in a town called Sutherlin. We stayed at an RV park called Timber Valley. It was a wonderful experience. We were surrounded by lovely green grass and trees. It rained regular but not so often we felt trapped inside. The entire time we were there it only got cold enough once to freeze the hose coming to the trailer. There were deer, turkey, and rabbits that also called this RV park home. We met some wonderful people. We played games in our neighbor, Daphnie’s, trailer, and at the club house. We participated in other activities at the club house also: pot-luck socials, exercises, morning get togethers over doughnuts, among other things.
Together we visited the Oregon coast regularly. My favorite place was Shore Acres State Park. It had a wonderful variety of rocks and cliffs for the waves to crash on, a small, secluded, sandy beach, and a botanical garden. We also hiked to water falls at Silver Falls State Park, and along the North Umpqua River. That is until we reached about four thousand feet above sea level, and snow prevented our access to some water falls. We also were able to visit Kenny and Bonnie Coombs, my uncle and aunt, in Florence, Oregon.
It wasn’t all fun and games. I did continue to work while in Oregon. Most days I would work at the club house. Meagan Spaulding did most of the paperwork data entry back in Idaho. If there was something we could not resolve about the paperwork over computer or phone connection she would mail me the documents. Caleb also mailed me documents from home.
While in Oregon, my dad, Albert Reed Moosman, needed hospitalization. He developed an infection in his toes that was not only making him very sick, but also threatened to cause some toes to be amputated. With all his other health challenges: diabetes, heart issues, and a failing liver it looked like he might not make it. I drove from Oregon to be with him, my brother Wade, sister Julie, and my daughter Sapphire so we could unitedly support each other through what ever was going to happen next. Dad was transferred from the hospital in Preston, to Pocatello where pain and nausea caused him to be so weak, that for awhile it did look like the end. His kidneys took a beating during all this and he began dialysis while in Pocatello. After about a week, he started on the mend. We decided to have him transferred to Logan to a care facility so he could be closer to home, and to where Julie, Wade, and Sapphire lived. Once I felt like the situation was, for the most part, under control, I left to be with Marya back in Oregon again.
The Covid-19 virus hit the United States while we were in Oregon. Before heading back to Idaho we were hoping to visit the northern coast of Oregon one more time, but all the state parks were closed. Originally, we had hoped Jade would be able to get a ride home for her college spring break, and we would just drive straight from Oregon to Driggs. But, no. Out of caution with covid-19 being declared a pandemic the college was being closed to all on campus courses. The students were sent home to finish the semester, so we went to Lewiston, Idaho to pick her up.
Once we arrived back in Idaho, I did not spend much time in Driggs. I had stayed in touch with my brother and sister regarding my dad’s health. Kidney dialysis would now be a permanent part of his life three times a week, and other doctor’s appointments were occupying much of the rest of the week. Wade had taken on the role as primary care giver and companion to my dad. Julie had taken over the financial part. We decided it was time to move him permanently to an apartment at the Williamsburg Senior Center where he was closer to the dialysis treatment, other medical services, and didn’t have to worry about his yard. This was a very tough time. I moved the RV down to dad and mom’s property in Preston, Idaho. Dad didn’t want to go. I think he felt in some way by moving that he was failing in his ability to provide for himself. We gathered in a park on a sunny day in Logan to share with Dad what we felt was the best course of action. He didn’t fight the step, but he cried, and we cried. After that meeting I took on the task of cleaning out the house and shop in preparation to sell the property. Sapphire was still living there. She had moved in just before grandma, Gail, had passed away. There were several little miracles that took place through this process of settling the property. Sapphire found a place to live near Logan, Utah and closer to her work. A friend of Trevor, Julie’s son, recommended that we try using an auction service in Pocatello, Idaho to sell much of dad’s shop items, and many house hold things rather than have a garage sale. We followed that advice and made, what I feel, was a good amount of money for dad even after they took their commission. It was WAY easier than trying to do our own garage sale.
Dad’s neighbor across the road, the Crookstons, had always helped my aging parents with snow removal and other things. While I was there I informed him we were preparing to sell. Within 24 hours he had talked to someone in the ward he knew was looking for a home. We ended up selling the property without ever having to put in on the market. As I said, there were several small miracles. But, the thing that I was most touched by was the way I, Wade, and Julie communicated and cooperated to get things done during this difficult time. There was no arguing, or fighting about possessions. There was communication, kindness, and understanding. Hard choices had to be made where love prevailed. I was so very grateful for that. Marya joined me during the last few weeks and helped a great deal on the final clean out. Besides what sold, I took ten loads to the dump in my truck, and we took some to donate to the local thrift store. My mother had saved A LOT of things to use again and repurpose.
I cried. The last 24 hours was hard. I don’t get attached to things, not usually. This was the home that dad and mom brought me home to after I was born, and where I lived until I graduated high school and ventured out into the world on my own. So many memories in its walls, and in the yard and garden. When I did the final walk through before leaving, the rooms were empty. Goodbye…my Preston home…it will never be the same again.
By this time the covid-19 pandemic was causing upheavals across the nation and the world. Large gatherings were being discourage and in some places considered unlawful. The Church of Jesus Christ suspended all Sunday worship service meetings, all temples closed, and most foreign missionaries returned home or were reassigned. Businesses suffered because they could not operate normally. What was interesting is businesses associated with outdoor recreation began to see double and triple the sales. Boats, bikes, RVs, four-wheelers were hard to keep in stock because people were getting out into nature as opposed to staying cooped up indoors. Travel abroad became very restricted, so vacations stayed local.
Covid-19 caused sever symptoms similar to the flu but with greater intensity. Initially, because the health care profession was sure how to treat it thousands were dying weekly. Overtime treatments became more effective and the death rate subsided. The elderly and those with other health problems were at the greatest risks. When public places did open back up, most of them required face masks and had hand sanitizer available for more frequent use by customers and employees.
This situation was made even more severe by the way many governments and media handled the situation. Challenging times allows fear to become more predominate in people’s lives, and some intentionally use fear to influence people so more control and power can be gained.
This year was also the presidential election between the current President, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden who had served as Vice President under Barrack Obama. It was a circus. There is a big difference between good politics and good government, and our country is lacking in the latter. The two main political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, spend more time jockeying and manipulating for power and position than they do striving to serve the people. I have listened and observed enough about both sides to come to the conclusion there is subversiveness, power, and greed in high places. It is just a matter of your view point where you think it is.
I am so grateful for the stability the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Several months before the covid pandemic the church began to emphasize a home centered church supported by the church organization. This heaven-inspired direction helped immeasurably during this time. We held sacrament meetings in our home. We invited and felt the spirit. We remembered, and renewed covenants. It wasn’t the same as meeting with our ward brothers and sisters, but we still felt close to God. It was during this time that the Church came out with the new official church symbol of Jesus Christ in an arch symbolizing the resurrection from the tomb, and the name of the church in a rectangle symbolizing Jesus as the foundation and chief cornerstone of worship.
In connection with world conditions the work in the oilfields of North Dakota slowed way down. During some months my client’s trucks were doing half of what they hauling before covid and other factors hit. Because my income in connected to a percentage of the work, my oilfield income also dropped. But, more blessings came. Stephen Grover had bought a six-thousand square foot home, with six bedrooms, and four and half bathrooms, on five acres with the intention of remodeling, modernizing, and reselling it. I offered to help and he accepted.
For the summer I moved my RV onto the property of this home. (Yes, during 2020 I lived in our RV much more than I did the walls of our home.) I still continued to do the oilfield computer work, but helped Stephen about twenty hours a week on the house, and then went home to Driggs on the weekend. I really enjoyed working with Stephen and his nephew Melvin. (Melvin has a disability, and Stephen has him help him two days a week, so he just doesn’t sit at home.) I got to know Stephen, his wife Diana, and their family well. They were kind enough to feed me a lot. By the end of the summer I felt like one of the family. When the colder weather hit, Josh Grover, Stephen’s son, and another client of mine let me stay in an apartment in a shop he built.
Not only did I enjoy working with Stephen, but I enjoyed watching the house evolve with his craftmanship. The tasks I did were physically challenging but rewarding. I did a wide variety of things. I cleared trees and branches from around the house. I hauled in topsoil. I put in window wells. Using a metal bender I framed windows, and wrapped decked posts. I helped with decking and installed rails. We changed the roof line to cover a porch. We installed tile, and cabinetry, and flooring, baseboard, and trim work. Many a day I was sore and worn out, but it was a very satisfying soreness.
During this time, my friend Chris Harris, was having some significant marriage challenges. As a result he needed to move out of the house. I owned an older RV and he moved down to Idaho Falls to live in it for a while. However, he was still working in Driggs, and would spend the nights in between his work shift in the log part of our home. As time moved on I became worried about him being alone and cooped up in that trailer alone during the winter. Marya and I talked it over and decided to build a wall for more privacy in the log part of our home and create a small study apartment space for Chris there. He moved in with us in September.
What other things happened? Oh a lot. But here are just a few more things….
In the fall, Marya and I took a trip to see Crystal who was working in Rocky Mountain national park. She had been on a study abroad trip in New Zealand when the covid pandemic hit. She was required to come back early. When she started working for the summer, she decided not to return to college for the semester because her school was only taking a very limited number of on campus students, so she worked until the end of the season in October.
Scott and Crystal Hansen added a new son to their home…Ranger Scott Hansen. Truly a bundle of joy.
In December bought an acre of ground in Madison County, Idaho as investment property. I will talk more about that in another chapter. But, I will say it was the result of six months of searching, and it was the cheapest acre of ground in the county.
