It's Up to Us, New York, New York

That title could fit so many things, and in our case a couple of things. The major one was that the 5th Sunday in October arrived and in every ward and branch of the Lynbrook Stake, the video devotional was presented and signup sheets turned in. More about that later. The other "time has arrived" event was that our daughter Hannah, her husband Jeff, and children Laurel, Maisy, Norah and Oliver (the Stevensons) came for their promised visit. We tried to keep up with our missionary responsibilities and be with them as much as we could at the same time. I think we did OK. Upon coming into the apartment, they immediately saw the 50th anniversary quilt. We love that quilt! We took them to one of our favorite sites, Theodore Roosevelt's summer Whitehouse and farm. Fall at Sagamore Hill. We often see deer on the trek to Fire Island lighthouse, but this is the first we have seen one with a rack of antlers. There is a welcome center at the light- house that explains how the lenses...

 Like you, we have been shocked and sickened by the events in the Middle East. NYC has large populations of Jewish and Muslim people who seem to coexist quite well. But in an area with such a large  population, there are extremists we never see. When Hamas called for a day of rage on Friday, NYC was a little tense. Police had their vacations and days off canceled and patrolled sensitive areas, making a showing of force to discourage any such action. We drove through this area Friday evening, but it was too dark to get pictures of the flashing police car lights. We had to go back Saturday and got these pictures in a very Jewish area of Brooklyn. Police cars and even ambulances by subway stops and synagogues everywhere. We pray for the defeat of such hate and for the innocent lives lost and in many cases, brutally violated, as well. President Nelson's April conference talk, "Peacemakers Needed," certainly seems prescient at this point. Otherwise, we enjoyed a productive and...