Whit and I were invited to fly up to Montana to speak for a tri-stake youth conference. It was a nice, short flight but we got there early to film me getting through the airport security (see my new video series at http://www.megjohnsonspeaks.com/watch-videos.html). It was a total hassle because they didn't want me to film it - at all. The one manager lady was so mad I would even ask. I asked her if it was illegal and you would have thought I threw sand in her face.
I understand her concern - I mean, so many people are out to make others look bad. I saw a video of a 6-year-old getting patted down at an airport and it was a huge youtube sensation but the security people are just doing what they have to do to keep us safe on our flight. I just wanted to show what it takes for someone in a wheelchair to geton board!
Well, we got the clearance. Filmed the video. and flew to beautiful Montana!
Where it really is the Big Sky Country.
I am unsure how the sky can look any bigger, but it does.
At the conference, I spoke every day - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was way fun. The other keynote speaker was this guy - Dane Iorg. He is a retired pro baseball player - and a Mormon. Coolest guy ever. He is one of those guys who shakes your hand with his whole body and pats you on the back at the same time with a massive teddy-bear paw. It made me lose my balance, but his handshake grip kept me grounded. He is totally solid.
He told some really funny stories about playing major league baseball. He kept saying that pitchers are crazy. His team was playing another team where another Mormon played and Dane and the other Mormon always ate dinner together when their teams played. During the game, Dane's pitcher had pitched a no-hit inning (maybe the whole game had been a no-hit, I don't remember...) but the other Mormon from the other team got up to bat and hit it clean out of the park.
In the locker room, Dane was attacked from behind and slammed to the ground and choked by his own pitcher who kept saying that Dane told the other Mormon what pitch he was going to throw. He kept saying that "all you Mormons stick together!"
We stayed with Bob and Delis Olsen at their beautiful home. They were so nice and kind and everything was wonderful. They drove us around and told us all about the history of the little town we were in. They even let us ride their 4-wheeler around the streets (its legal to ride them on the streets there). So we did!
The air felt so good. The sky was so big (no joke). The grass was so green. The trees were so pretty. The cows were so fat. It was awesome. I thought several times that if God lived on earth, He'd live in Montana.
It seems that sometimes - just sometimes - my hair goes curly when I go into the mountains. I don't know if MT is higher in elevation than UT but something is different. My hair likes the mountains.
After the conference, we got a beautiful book about Montana, giant chocolates bigger than my face, and this awesome poster signed by the kids from the conference. They are really good kids. Check out the great service project they did during the conference:
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_ee524eec-bcd9-11e1-80c1-001a4bcf887a.html?fb_ref=.T-fR-zljf84.like&fb_source=timeline
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