Honey Pott's Sunny Spot

January 20, 2009
I've reached another historical day....the day Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States of America.

There are a few momentous days I remember from my childhood. I remember being four years old. It was July 20, 1969, we were in the basement to escape the summer heat. My mother told me, "Sit down and watch this. A man is going to walk on the moon!" Our television shared a simple black and white image, a miracle. I watched a man in a funny white suit bounce in slow motion from the lunar lander and touch the ground. It seemed unreal to me then.

This was the same year that I was introduced to a new television show that was perfect for me: Sesame Street. I was the target audience--four years old. I have loved this show my whole life. It taught me about the energy of learning. As I grew older, I still loved watching it. I learned so many songs. I loved the puppets. They mesmerized me. Secretly, I've always wanted to be a writer for Sesame Street. In my career as a teacher I have tried to employ the energy of learning, the quick repetitive, fun segments, moments of reality, song, animation, story, color, and more.

The next year, still before my fifth birthday, I remember my mother encouraging me to watch on our television the funeral procession of our Prophet, David O. McKay. He died on January 18, 1970. He was a special person in my mother's life. Now, looking back, I'm surprised she didn't attend the funeral in person. I recall the black horsedrawn carriage that carried the coffin along the streets of Salt Lake City. I was too young to really know what was going on, but the image of my mother silently weeping has never left me.

The first time, and probably the only time I recall seeing my father cry was when we heard the news that President Harold B. Lee had died. It was December 27, 1973. We were living in Bloomington, Indiana during my father's sabbatical year from USU.


Another day I remember, August 9, 1974, was the day Richard Nixon resigned. For a nine-year-old, I had always liked Nixon's deep voice. Again, I didn't know much about my world. I knew he did some important things with China, but that was about it. During that day and those to follow, the news was all about Nixon and Ford. I immediately liked the new President Ford--he was a golfer and he had a very pretty wife. I liked her hair.

I recall a day, April 30, 1975, in my grandmother's breakfast nook. I was ten. Her little television was on and everyone stopped to hear the news. The War was officially over. War? Were we in a war? Vietnam was foreign to me and I was young enough that I had no knowledge of the turmoil the country had been living through. I realized that I wasn't very smart. I didn't know what was going on in the world.

Today is a day that I will remember. Will my kids remember this historical day? I hope so. I think America is in good hands.