mormons

check it: greg & i have moved to the ridge of mt. maria. it is also known as "mormon hill."

there is a little placard to that affect just to the north of us. apparently, mormon missionaries arrived here in the early 20th century, assumedly to convert the sinful gold miners and prospectors.

well, today, as i trucked my recycling into the car, i stumbled upon 2 very nicely dressed young men. they asked to help me with the recycling and then asked, "have you ever talked with missionaries?"

i nodded, smiled, and said yes, thank you. big smiles the whole time. i got in my car, drove away as they meandered over to the placard, reading about their predecessors.

i do think its gutzy what those kids do...two years on the road, trying to convert strangers. all the while wearing suits & ties. dang. i spent 2 months on the streets of minneapolis pan-handling for greenpeace...that was enough for me. and i got to wear whatever i wanted, as long as it didn't include sunglasses (no one wants to give their credit card number to someone whose eyes they can't see...).

perhaps relatedly, i have moved onto jon krakauer's under the banner of heaven, a story of fundamentalist mormonism in america (to which, of course, the LDSers are decidedly not associated).

gotta love religion in america!

Mt. Juneau, 3,576 feet, Juneau, Alaska. The avalanche originated at the top of the streak of white running down the mountain right of center. Mt. Maria is the foothill to the right. Picture taken February 4, 2005 by O. Richard Kent. http://westjuneau.com/weather/jan_19_1972.htm