The Personal Journals of
Jordan Rex Jensen
1987
Thursday, January 1, 1987
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| Annual School Picture Mesa, Arizona September 1987 Age 8 |
Friday, January 2, 1987
NOTE: I shared a room with my older brother, Joe, eight (8) years my elder. The dramatic and immediate improvement of my spelling beginning January 2nd was directly due to Joe's assistance. We had matching desks that each faced the south wall of our bedroom. While working at our desks, I would ask Joe when I did not know how to spell a word, and he would kindly spell it for me. Some days I had more help from Joe than others, as the ensuing entries show. I also gradually improved over time.
Today Jessie Woke us up and she wanted to play Monopoly So me and Marshnl got the game out and we started to play the game I one after that We had breakfast and Marshnl's sister called and we had to go home. Wen Marshnl left my mom and Dad were pudding down the Christam's stuff after that I Had a nap after my nap I put sum more pages In my day Planner than my mom gave me it was about 520 David and Wayne and Jody plus my grandma and grandpa got home and we oll came and we had dinner then Joe and mothr a book
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| Our family in our front yard in Mesa in late 1986 or early 1987 before Paul left on his mission to South Korea. Picture taken by Dad. |
Wednesday, January 14, 1987
Mama's 41st birthday
today we woke up at 5"00 to fics mother breakfast I was glad when I came home from school My frend Eric [Driggs] came to play with me We had fun we playd war it was fun Today it was mothers birthday
trsday, January 15, 1987
today when I was in school we had a substitute for music me and Eric could'nt wait until he cood sleep on Friday
Friday, January 16, 1987
Today me and Eric could'nt wait until that night he was staying night when he came over we play'd and then we studied then we watched a movie.
Saturday, January 17, 1987
today I got a little cold. Me and Eric played until his mom came to pick him up. I had a nap at night I wrote in my journal.
Sunday, January 18, 1987
today at 12:00 we went to church When I got home I had dinner When we were still at church Craig Galbisini farewertl [missionary farewell] today When I was home I wrote a letter to Paul
Monday, January 19, 1987
today at 2"00 I had a nap when I got up I was mad becus Joe was watching t.v. at abet 5"30 I playd with Marshall then I read the Book of Mormon it was fun.
tuesday, January 20, 1987
today I realey didn't do anything today I felt good at school Wwe went to the library and chect out a Book.
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| Doing "Trigonometry" on the back porch of our Mesa home. |
today at School I playd Food ball [football] it was really fun we one when I got home I studyd with David and Wayne chemistry and trig it was fun and then I helpt my mom pout sum Books on the Selff
thursday, January 22, 1987
today I got up at 5"30 and read my Books to Joe and Mother then I went to School before I came in it was a little bit cold when I came home I watchec t.v. at 6"00 I wrote in My Jounal
Friday, January 23, 1987
today my Dad came home from MoticLo it ws really nice.
Saturday, January 24, 1987
today I got my 100th collction for school tonight I sleep't in Wayns room befor I went to bed I study'd chemistry after I went to bed I got woke't up by David and Wayne
Sunday, January 25, 1987
today we went to church and When we came home I really didin't really do anything Mt. (note: the Mountain View Stake created on this day).
Monday, January 26, 1987
today my tooth came out We had Family night nothing neat hapend today but is was still really fun at Family night we talk about whats most important in life it was really fun
tuesday, January 27, 1987
today at School I checked out a Book when I got home from school me and my mom went to Joes game but they lost it was still fun
Wedseday, Janury 28, 1987
today after school I bot sum ice creme at school then I went home then I went to Jump with Jody and played foot ball I was pretty happy today
thursday, January 29, 1987
today at school We had music it was really fun We played a storm with a drum and bells it was really fun when I came home I rode my bike it was really fun my cousin marshall gave it to me it was really nice of him he gave me it was to little for him he has a biggr bike is't red is't about as big as a ten spede
Friday, January 30, 1987
today I went to Joe's game he one by 21 points it was 61-38 it was really fun then I came home and rode my bike then I eat dinner when David and wayne got home I wost them eat then Me and Joe played ball
Saturday, January 31, 1987
today I came in with mother and fixed breakfast it was really nicz we went to get are fingers printed it was fun to clene it we got really greasy after I did that I played ball
February
Sunday, February 1, 1987
Today I got up and got my church close on and went to chruch we fixed a nice good dinner so when we came home it was fun at chruch soon we came home and eat dinner we went to see Grandma and Grandpa and visited them.
Monday, February 2, 1987
today my mom woke us up and we went to school at school we had a substitute today she was really nice her name was Mrs. Ellis the workshop was a little bit Different today We got a new student today his name is Jefferey when I got home I called Marshall over to Do home work it was fun when Wayne came home I played Football then I studied and then wrote in my Journal
tuesday, February 3, 1987
today after school I played with Marshall then we were dun we went to Joe's game it was so exciteing people were Jumping up and down it was so exciting they one it was really exciting. When I got home I study'd with David and Wayne.
Wednesday, February 4, 1987
today it was the very last day Mother wood be here She was going to Italy we all seid good-by and went to school at morning we chaste the Girls it was fun when I got home I study d with David and Wayne
thursday, February 5, 1987
today I really didn't do enything
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| With little sister, Jessie, in front yard of Mesa home. |
today after school at about 8"00 me and Jody and Joe and Jessie and my Dad went Down to the Stor we play'd game's it was really fun. when we were playing The games we ate ice creme it was good we had a grate time.
Satrday, February 7, 1987
today I went out to play ball David and Wayne were gon so we had the house to ore self me and my Dad and Jody went out and had a bike ride it was really fun I did trig and play'd with Marshall and Eric and Lisa and Jody at night at about 10"30 David and Wayne came home from skiing they were very very very sun bured so so so so bad befor I went to bed I did math with wayne
Sunday, February 8, 1987
today I got up and went to church it wasan't very fun with out mother when I got home I study'd with wayne and David
monday, February 9, 1987
today I went to a show all the boys went Just paul didn't go becose he was in The MTC [Missionary Training Center].
tuesday , February 10, 1987
today I (chect out a Book at [crossed out]) and my class were happy when I came home from School I play'd with Jody and Jessie and Eric and Lisa at 8"30 I wrote in my Journal
Wendesday, February 11, 1987
thursday, February 12, 1987
Friday, February 13, 1987 [crossed out]
Friday, February 13, 1987
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| With family in front of Mesa house sans Jody and Paul. |
Satrday, February 14, 1987
today me and Joe played a little ball it was really fun Joe and my Dad were going to look at some propertay they said they were not going to get back until about 8"00 me and Jody and Jessie had a grate time We went over t Lisa's and Eric's house and played Foot ball I helped ther Dad a little bit then I went home and had a little nap after my nap I went and played with marshall and Jody and Jessie and Jenny and her sister We had a grate time marshall was going to stay it was really going to be fun
Sunday, February 15, 1987
today befor I went to church I wrote in my Journal it was fun. Soon we went t church I sat by Kevin in Church when I got home wrote and study'd and stuff
Monday, February 16, 1987
today when I got up me and Wayne made some breakfust for the kids. I played some ball with Joe. Soon I had a nap when I got up I wished we went to school it was really suny
tusday, Janue [crossed out] February 18, 1987
Wendesday, February 18, 1987
today we were going to the /zoo with are clast. It isint very fun. when we came home I went to Eric house a play'd
thurseday, February 19, 1987
today when I got home from school my Dad had a introvuh [interview] with me it was really fun. Jody fixed a nice dinner for us it was good
Friday, February 20, 1987
today ?? when I went to school I was glad so the nexed day we get off. After school I played with Marshall and jumped with him it was fun when David and Wayne left for ther game I study'd
Saterday Jannua [crossed out] February 21, 1987
nocer
Sunday, February 22, 1987 [crossed out]
no cere [crossed out]
Monday, February 23, 1987 [crossed out]
no care [crossed out]
tuesday, February, 1987 [crossed out]
no care [crossed out]
Wendesday Febrary 2 [crossed out
************************** End of 1987 Personal Journal **************************
The Personal Journals of
Rex Buckley Jensen
1987
Friday, May 15, 1987
This afternoon the four boys and I prepared and drove up to a place called Lynx Lake just East of Prescott for the Ward Father and Son's outing. ...
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| With David and Wayne in their Junior Prom tuxedos. |
Friday, July 3, 1987
Took Jordan and Joe on a Jeep Trip today. We went East to Superior and Miami and Globe and were impressed with all the evidence of the old Copper glory days in that area. Not much there now. Very sad.
Had lunch in a Burger King between Miami and Globe and then drove to Roosevelt Lake. I was so hot I found a little cove and took off all my clothes and went skinny-dipping for the first time in many, many years. I think Joe was really surprised. Jordan loved it, and we swam across the bay and back twice.
For the rest of the afternoon we survived by pouring water all over our clothes at regular intervals. It is too hot to really enjoy travel in an open vehicle this time of year. We explored many of the campground and lake areas along the Apache Trail on our way home. Was glad to get home and cool.
Everywhere we went today there were a zillion people trying to have a good time for the 4th. It is interesting what people think is fun. Personally, laying around in 110 degree heat, even if you are near a lake is not my idea of fun. Thank heaven for San Juan County in the Summer.
Saturday, September 26, 1987
We baptized Jordan tonight. Lovely ceremony. He is so cute. Took the kids to Pistol Pete's for pizza after. Watched the 2nd half of a BYU win over new Mexico: 45-25. Took Jordan to the Dairy Queen, just the two of us after, and did some "man-talking." Sure love that little boy.
Saturday, November 21, 1987
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| JJ the Clown Halloween 1987 Front Yard of Mesa, Arizona home |
I am always amazed at Jordan's intensity and love of building things. He was just cute today as he ordered Marshall around.
Wednesday, November 25, 1987
Drove to Alamogordo for Thanksgiving with Uncle Steve and Aunt Donna's family.
Thursday, November 26, 1987
Went to a zoo, had Thanksgiving dinner, and went to Whitesands.
Friday, November 27, 1987
Went to Carlsbad Caverns.
Saturday, November 28, 1987
Went to Holloman Air Force Base where Uncle Steve worked.
Saturday, December 12, 1987
Today was the big day. Dobson played Mountain View for the State Championship in football at Sun-Devil. David and Wayne went with their friends. I took Pauline, Jordan and Joe. Tow of Joe's friends (Todd and Brent) rode over with us. I sat on the Dobson side, and my children sat on the Mountain View side.
It was a great game. Dobson was clearly the better team and won by the score of 35-14. It will be good for Dobson to have a major sport championship. Mountain View needed humbling. They win so much they get a little cocky.
1987 Journal Index of Events
Sunday, March 1, 1987: Mother is called to be the Stake Primary President
Thursday, May 14, 1987: Dad hired to teach English at Dobson High School
Saturday, September 26, 1987: Dad baptizes me a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 933 E. Brown Road just west of Stapley Road in Mesa, Arizona.
Sunday, October 25, 1987: Hillcrest Ward is created. We had been in the Lehi 4th Ward previously.
Saturday, November 14, 1987: David and Wayne compete on Mountain View High School's State Championship-winning cross-country team for the 3A (largest) classification in the State of Arizona. Wayne finishes 14th place overall and 4th on his team. David runs as his team's alternate due to the loss of their second best runner (Donald Guess) who had experienced a collapsed lung at the regional meet, and likewise has a strong finish, albeit lower than Wayne. Mountain View unexpectedly beat the highly favored Trevor Browne High School (Phoenix)
Christopher "Chucky" Schurz from Westwood High School (Mesa) won the individual title, as expected. Trevor Browne dominated after that with a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finish. Mountain View's top runner, Charlie Armador, finished 5th, followed by Renee Acuna at 9th, someone else at 11th, Wayne at 14th and Glenn Thomas 15th. Trevor Browne had a runner trip and fall down near the end of the race and lost 15-20 places as a result of the fall, opening the door for Mountain View to steal the victory by a single point (54-55).
I am remembering these numbers from memory, so they may be off ever-so-slightly. Nevertheless, it was an incredible day and a BIG SURPRISE for Mountain View to come away with the top prize. Wayne helped the team a great deal by scoring inside the top 15 and David helped the team by knocking other team's scores up as the team's 7th runner. I forget their times, but they were good. I believe Wayne broke 16:00 minutes and David was around 16:30 for 3 miles.
The following month, on December 12, 1987, the AAA Arizona State Champion, Christopher "Chucky" Schurz competed at the Kinney National Cross Country Championships at Balboa Park in San Diego. This 5K race was won by future olympian Bob Kennedy in 14:59. Schurz finished 11th with a time of 15:21.
I remember the State meet. It was very exciting, and certainly planted seeds of success for my own future, although I did not, at the time, harbor ambitions in cross-country, only basketball and track. I did not take interest in cross-country until my 8th grade year -- first year back in Monticello -- when my second cousin, Trisdan Boyle, suggested I join the team because I would be good at it. She was right; I knew it; and that tiny bit of encouragement from my cute and popular cousin is all it took! I joined the team, and the rest is history. I was beaten by Phillip Francom (grade younger than me) in my first race at Monticello Lake. That further lit a fire underneath me and I don't think Phillip ever beat me again despite his own successes as a member of our 1996 Championship team and his 3rd place finish overall in the 1998 championship meet his senior year.
Memories of First Grade in Gayle Dockery's class at Hale Elementary School
My first grade class was Room #12 on the far right side of Hale Elementary School. The following year, I would be in Room #14 right next door to the left in Cindy Muhleman's class.
Mrs. Dockery was an effective teacher and a sweet person. I enjoyed her class. I don't harbor too many memories from first grade, but here are a few that I will never forget...
- Sometime in February 1988, I remember sitting back in my desk, looking up at the calendar of months, and thinking about the future and what it might bring. I began counting the years up until I would be a Senior in high school. It seemed so far away! And in truth, it was a ways away; yet those far away days in early 1988 are nearly 40 years in the past as of this writing (5/28/26).
- Sometime during the school year, probably the second half of the school year, I was being silly and flirting with a cute blonde girl named Kimberly. Then, all of a sudden, I spontaneously kissed her on the top of the head. I'll never forget how flushed my cheeks were upon realizing what I had just done. I will also never forget the big, bright, SMILE that accompanied her mirthy laugh. Oh, the sweet innocence of YOUTH! I would very much like to watch a replay of this moment when I get to the other side. I'm quite certain the Good Lord can pull it up for me.
- Once, I was running down the hall after lunch and to my dismay and horror, I ran right into the Principal, Mrs. Julia Kelly! I could not believe my bad luck! It was against the rules to run in the hallways and I had just dashed into the petite (albeit large to me at the time) figure of our short and stern Principal. She did not laugh this off, but rather marched me down to her office and wrote me out a disciplinary "Ticket" for which I had to take home and have my parents sign and then return the next day. "Tickets" were considered to be a rather bad thing to receive — something that the bad kids received. It was the only ticket I would receive that school year, and I certainly learned my lesson about running in the halls — or at very least learned to pay better attention to what was going on all around me when I ran in the halls!
- I remember shopping at the school Christmas store for trinket-esque gifts for my parents and siblings.
- I remember being initially assigned to the middle (average) reading group in my class. My best friend, Eric Driggs, had qualified for the top (above average) reading group. This relegation was not lost on me and provided me with a lot of motivation to improve and move up to the higher reading group with Eric, which I eventually did after a few weeks or months.
- Later in the year, in the spring of 1988, I began to think ahead to my second grade year. Word on the street was that Mrs. Cindy Muhleman was by far the best (most popular and preferred) second grade teacher. Not wishing to leave our class selection entirely up to chance, I enlisted my pal, Eric Driggs, to accompany me to approach Mrs. Muhleman and ASK her if we could be placed in her class the following year. It took a lot of courage to do this and I remember talking my plans over at home the night before. The morning of our intended approach, I was very nervous. Nevertheless, I felt absolutely determined to go through with my plan, and succeeded! Mrs. Muhlman was very sweet and told us something to the effect of: "I'll see what I can do." To her credit (or perhaps it was just luck) Eric and I were both placed in her class the following year. Interestingly enough, Mrs. Muhlman noticed that the dynamic of Eric's and my friendship had begun to become strained toward the end of our second grade year, and she wisely suggested that perhaps it might be good if we were not in the same class the following year. Mrs. Muhlman must have had a lot of sway with the front office on both sides of the coin, because Eric and I were indeed split up the following year, with me going into Mrs. Salamone's class and Eric going into Mrs. Strub's class. I was a little disappointed at first. However, I soon realized the wisdom of Mrs. Muhleman's move, as my THIRD grade year ended up being better than either my first or second grade year, and part of it was that Eric and I were separated and I made new friends and had new, fresh experiences.
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—Dr. JJ
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