I hope you enjoy my column for this week. I am trying to get to work on finishing some of the novels that have been sitting half-finished in "the pile." Some of these characters, like my kindred dead, have been waiting a while to see how their lives turn out. I know that many of you are waiting for "Heaven Help Us!" and this week's column is an excerpt from that novel, something that jumped out at me while I was browsing and organizing my current writing projects, which are many. It is no coincidence that my first published novel was called "Unfinished Business."

http://meridianmagazine.com/beacon/070306rock.html

I try to give those of you in the inner circle a little something extra from time to time, so here goes. When Bishop Parley alludes to a story about Mr. McLelland's new hearing aid, the story is that his wife had found it buried in the kitty litter box. Mr. M, being the thrifty sort, brushed it off and reinserted it. Credit for the inspiration rightly belongs to my parents, because my mother told me that when my father got a hearing aid, the doctor told him not to leave it lying around if they had cats because it emitted a sound annoying to cats and they would find it and bury it. Sure enough, it wasn't long before it went missing and Mom found it buried under a load of laundry on the floor. But I thought it would be more amusing if Mr. M. found his buried somewhere else. I needed him to overhear Ted's remarks, and I figured I'd better introduce a hearing aid to make it believeable that a man his age would hear what he heard from a reasonable distance.

And now you know the rest of the story.

Yesterday at church they introduced a whole group of Cruisers (folks off the cruise ship) celebrating different denominations of anniversaries. I ended up playing tour guide to two couples after church. We had a great time touring around Hilo, up to Rainbow Falls, down Banyan Drive to see the plaque commemorating the Banyan tree planted by Heber J. Grant, past the King Kamehameha statue and down the four-mile scenic drive on the Hamakua Coast. So hello to Judy and Lisa and their husbands, Rob and Bob, or Ron and John or something like that. I forgot which one went with which. (Being a faithful married woman, I didn't pay too much attention to the men, as you can tell.)

Last time I did this I picked up some folks whose kids were frustrated that they were spending their sightseeing time in Hilo at the laundromat, where I just happened to be washing a couple of bedspreads. They were planning to take a taxi back to the boat, having missed out on the sightseeing tours that were offered through the cruise. (In crowded places sometimes you can't help but eavesdrop.) Anyway, at first they didn't think I was serious, but I piled them all in my Jeep and gave them my Hilo tour and got them back to the boat right on time. It beats folding the laundry.

If this makes any of you (especially those experiencing the tail-end of winter)long for a Hawaiian vacation, we would love to have you come visit us at Hale Hanai. Mention you heard it on here and get the Mormon discount (10%).

http://www.vrbo.com/109651

I am headed to Utah on March 15, and look forward to seeing some of you and meeting lots of new friends at the Relief Society Birthday Parties at which I will be speaking.

Spring is coming!

Susan