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| Family Wedding Shower |
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| These are only some of my cute nieces, yes I have more. |
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| Two of my best friends |
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| Me and my step-daughter Melanie |
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| Some of the women in my family |
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| Me and my momma! |
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| Ben and Me |
The next several pictures are from the shower in my home town of Delta on 3/27/10. This shower was organized by my mom and sisters and was attended by many friends and neighbors.
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| High School Friends |
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| ME! |
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| Freinds, Family, and neighbors. |
These next pictures are from a wedding shower that my work organized (date unknown - before 4/6/10). I work with an amazing group of people who are extremely supportive and giving. We had a lot of fun!
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| Part of the Northern Utah Pediatric Group |
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| Mmmmmm Lemonaid |
***Miss Beckwith was an incredibly tough teacher. She expected more of her students and demanded that we work hard to meet our potential. She recently retired and several of her past students wrote a tribute her. Mine is below. She had a profound influence on my life and I am thankful for hers.
Join me in a Jane Beckwith class . . .
Arriving for 3rd period
Sitting in the 2nd row, 3rd seat
Reading a tale told by an idiot
Researching “Where the grapes of wrath are stored . . .”
Soaring in “Outdoor School”
Living with Shakespeare
Preferring not to with Bartleby
Floating down the Mississippi with Huck and Jim
Writing a rough draft
Using spell check
Rewriting
Rewriting
Rewriting
Hearing a whispered, “wow”
My first English Professor at USU asked an extra credit question, “Name this Poem,
‘I grow old. . . I grow old. . .
I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each
I do not think they will sing to me.’”
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” I answered with incredible confidence for a College Freshmen. The Professor looked impressed and I silently thanked Miss Beckwith for my increase in grade and status.
There was a transformation in the classroom when Miss Beckwith read aloud. One time it was a literal transformation from our classroom to the mighty Mississippi River. It included a large wooden raft, a hand drawn village landscape, and soothing water sounds. There we would sit on the raft with Huck and Jim reading and discussing the Twain classic, completely submerged in it's subtext. The transition didn’t have to be literal. Many times we found ourselves transported into the bright colors or dark plots of many texts held by our teacher. My favorite was Shakespeare. She could unravel Shakespeare making each character and their desires sharpen into an exciting focus.
She did many things to inspire us. One of her more brilliant ideas, in my opinion, was “Outdoor School”. It was held during the first part of the summer and we traveled to several different locations to write and discuss ideas. One moment I will never forget occurred on the Sand Dunes. I was feeling especially inspired that morning and the words flowed from my pen. I volunteered to read mine aloud, when I had finished there was silence and then I heard a whispered, “wow.”
Miss Beckwith, I appreciate you and every experience I had in your class and on the Mississippi River and in Old England and on the Sand Dunes. I took these experiences and graduated from USU in Logan, taught English in China, graduated from Medical School in Arizona, finished a Pediatric Residency in Pennsylvania and am confidently practicing Pediatric Medicine in Ogden, Utah. You were a big part of what helped me gain the confidence I needed to meet my potential. Congratulations on a career well done!
Thank you,
Jana Murdock
