JJ's Journal: 1982

   From the Personal Journals of My Father

Rex Buckley Jensen 

1982

Sunday, January 17, 1982

Annual School Picture
Monticello, Utah
September 1982
Age 3

Left about 10:00 this morning. Had breakfast in Provo. Shopped a little at Grand Central and headed for home. Got home about 5:30. House was spotless and the kids seemed to have weathered our absence in fine fashion. Mother had come over and taken Jordan and Jody to her house for the weekend. She looked beat when I picked them up. It was sweet of her, but not necessary. The boys are very responsible and capable, and we really do not worry much about leaving them alone anymore. GOOD kids. It was good to see them all again. 

Wednesday, January 27, 1982

Pauline came to visit with Jordan after school. Jordan had fallen off the bar today while assisting in the breadmaking and had a shiner on his left eye. That kid is a Linous, [sic] if there ever was one. Everywhere he goes lately he has his blanket slung over his shoulder and his finger in his mouth. He is also capable of more mischief and is far more bull-headed than any of other other Jensen's. Hope that does not portend of things to come. 

Thursday, January 28, 1982

Dirty, wet, weeping, & tousled hair JJ.

After school I went home, changed into my jogging suit and went to the grade school to coach the pee-wee basketballers. Stayed after and played for an hour with Joe and Paul. 

When I got home Jordan was nowhere to be found. Pauline was gone with Jessie, and I was sure that Jordan was with her, but since he has recently learned to open the outside doors, and since David said that he heard Pauline tell Jody to watch Jordan, I had visions of Jordan out in the snow. It started snowing quite heavily about dark.  

Note: Dad never mentioned when or how I eventually turned up.

Monday, February 8, 1982

JJ on the kitchen counter making 
cookies with Mama.

Shakespeare all day at school and then work on the letter that will go out on the Reunion of the class of '62 until 5:30. Home for supper, and then an evening at the apartments getting people signed up. I have everyone signed up now except Virginia Archuletta. 

Sure like Frieda Reck. She is quite a Lady. I am loaning her some money, and to partially repay me, she said she wouldn't mind tending Jordan. That would surely be a good thing for us both. 

Monday, February 15, 1982

JJ in Grandma Smith's backyard in Centerville, UT.
We kids spent many hours in this old tire swing.

Left Grandma Smith's about nine this morning. Drove with the kids down and had a look at BYU's new stadium. They let the contract last week and are going ahead with all 66,000 seats. Is that going to be cool? They were working on the site today and I drove the van in and let the kids look around. ...

The house was an ice burg [sic] when we got home. Turned the heat on in my bedroom and let the kids sleep there. Planned the week, i.e. who would fix the meals, tend Jordan, etc. and we all slept together. Paul is a bit under the weather. 

Tuesday, February 16, 1982

Went home and built a fire for Paul and Jordan. It has been foggy all day, and while the temperature is not too cold, it sure feels cold. 

In Grandma Smith's 
backyard.

Was my turn to fix supper tonight. Fed the troops a steak (venison) dinner with trimmings.

Wednesday, February 17, 1982

Took Jordan to Frieda Reck's today. [He] seemed to be unconcerned about it. Went at Noon just as he was coming out of a nap, and he seemed happy enough with his state of affairs. ...

Called my Sweetheart and talked for about 15 minutes. She really wants to stay up for another week, and I think I will see if I can't let her do it. She deserves a respite from Jordan. 

Thursday, February 18, 1982

Wrote Pauline a letter after school. Also sent an article and a letter along to Aunt Ida. Miss my woman. I would have a hard time living alone. 

Delivered some checks, ran some errands, checked Sheri Mosher's apartment (she moved out recently) picked up Jordan and went home. All the kids are in their own rooms tonight and I slept a lot better without all their sleep-mutterings, sleepwalkings etc. 

Friday, February 26, 1982

I took Wayne (Hyrum W. Smith) to the airport and had a short visit with him. Things are not going as well for him as he would like to have them go, but everyone has their trials, and I guess he is having his. Poor guy. Even so, he is now linked with a Mr. Hobbs who has a successful corporate motivation program, and Wayne feels good about the possibilities there. In any event, I am convinced that he is going to be a great financial success when he finally finds his niche. ...

Pauline and I ran some errands, i.e. picked up my chainsaw (which cost me $40 to get a tack out which Jordan had put in) picked up our Kirby Vacuum, and bought Pauline a pair of new shoes. 

Later, we had a nice visit with Mother Ruth and Lucille Reading, and then I took Pauline to a lovely dinner at Bratton's in Bountiful. So good to be with my Love again. 

Wednesday, March 3, 1982

Spent the evening at the house. Fixed the toilet that has been plugged in the kids upstairs bathroom. Turned out to be Jordan's plastic urinal guard that was the culprit. No, Jordan was the culprit, no doubt, for throwing it down the toilet. It took me an hour to take the toilet up, drain it, and pull that guard out with pliers and then put the toilet back, clean up the bathroom and shower. That kid has caused me a lot of expense and trouble the last week, what with the $40 bill for the tack in the chain-saw and now the toilet.

Tuesday, March 23, 1982

Had band day at the school today. Pauline came down twice; once for the twins; once for Paul. Jordan loves to wander. 

Tuesday, March 30, 1982

After a long day at school ... I went home, played with Jordan (he is sooo CUTE!) repaired the fence that blew over on the north side of the sand pile, thought about what we plan to do with the place this summer, took a ride on the Honda (started with the first kick!) and then spent the evening in the study working on taxes. Taxes are an exercise in ambivalence for me. Love to hate them, but quite enjoy it once I get going.

Sunday, April 4, 1982

Church membership passed five million recently. A great milestone. Just the beginning of things to come. It is great to belong to THE CHURCH!

Tuesday, June 1, 1982

When I got home I ate, had a nap, and then took Jordan for a ride on the motorcycle. He really likes to ride with Dad on the bike. He drives his mother crazy, what with being constantly into things, or disappeared. I crave the little "Mutt." I think he is going to be a whiz if we can just channel all that energy into the right direction.  

Saturday, June 16, 1982

Wayne and Gail have had a very hard year since leaving the mission. ... [They] moved to Centerville from California, and are moving into a new home today. They have really been tested since being released, and I hope they will find a little more security and solidarity in their new home. 

Thursday, July 1, 1982

Took Jordan on a long Bike ride after the nap. He asked to go home in the end, which he has never done before. Didn't think that kid would ever tire of riding the motorcycle. 

Saturday, July 3, 1982

At four this afternoon I took Paul and Jordan and the Jeep and we went up on the land so Paul could practice his driving. He is crazy to drive and Pauline has been teaching him down on the Church Parking Lot. 

Tuesday, June 1, 1982

My 3rd birthday party, shared with my cousin,  
Preston Bunker, celebrating his 1st birthday party.
Perhaps my earliest memory was of this white cake 
with green frosting that my dear Aunt Nedra
had baked for the occasion.

When we got home, the kids, even Jessie were on the stairs to greet us. They had the house spotless. What a bunch of kids.

Wednesday, July 28, 1982

Had a nice ride to Salt Lake. David and Wayne helped tend Jordan and Jessie and we had a nice visit; my Love and I. 

Friday, August 6, 1982

Drove home with Jordan and Jessie and Jody and Pauline today. It was a long trip with the little ones and were very glad to get home. 

Monday, September 20, 1982

Toy car and dump truck received
for my 3rd birthday.

Worked in the office until about noon and then took Jordan and went up to the Mountain in the Jeep to have a look at the wood situation. Found several good spots and enjoyed Jordan as I hiked around looking. He is such a precious spirit and he is so crazy about his Dad. I have a very large tender spot in my heart for that little boy. I am so sorry now that I missed so much with the other boys.     

Thursday, September 23, 1982

I got packed ... and headed for Provo via Ephraim. Jordan cried his eyes out and wanted to go with Dad, as he always does. Really tore my heart out to leave him wailing on the sidewalk. Felt very alone. 

Was a long drive to Ephraim. Several times on the trip my eyes would mist up as I would think of Jordan standing crying on the steps as I drove away. What that little boy means to me is beyond description. I have never had a child so devoted as he and it is very difficult to leave him so often.  

Friday, October 15, 1982

Jordan was so excited that he didn't stop talking once all evening. What a kid; what energy; what a Joy!

Saturday, October 16, 1982

We took Jordan and Paul to the Parade. When I found Dad, he said that he had remembered where he had left the tickets and Pauline had gone back to the car to get them. I forgot myself and cussed. How ashamed I felt. I love Dad so. I am still so impatient. I felt bad about it and gave him my ticket and sent him into the stadium. Jordan and I waited outside until Pauline came with the tickets.  ...

Jordan slept under our feet for a time, and was something of a very cute little "pain" the rest of the time.

                                                                                                October 18, 1982

Dear Paul, David, Wayne, Joe, Jody, Jordan and Jessie: 

            I wish there was a way I could explain how much I have missed you all and how much I want to come home with you. I have never felt so alone in my life, and if I didn't have all of you to come home to, I am not sure what I would do. 

            Thanks for being such great kids. You will never know until you are mothers and fathers yourselves how utterly priceless it is to have good children.  

            When I called Mother today and she said that the house was spotless when she got home Saturday night, and that Jessie was well taken care of, I just wanted to hug and kiss every one of you. 

            I love your wonderful Mother more than words can express. The [recent past during my travels up to Northern Utah] has been a tough time for her. You will never know how much it has meant to me that each of you has tried to be helpful and considerate of her while I have been gone. It means so much to me that each of you are willing to cheerfully help in any way you can. It is pulling together when the going gets tough that makes great families, and I hope that we will be able to pull together and be very close all our lives. If we don't we will have missed the main purpose for Heavenly Father's sending us here on earth to be a family. 

            I am looking forward to coming home as soon as possible. I hope to be a much better father to each of you in the future than I have been in the past. I am so deeply grateful for each of you and for what you mean to me. 

            Please try to do the very best you can in everything you do. Please know that I love each one of you with every fibre of my being, and that I would do anything for you. 

 

                                           All my love,

                                            Dad

Friday, October 22, 1982

My beautiful wife and Jordan and Jessie were waiting at the airport for us. Jordan was almost hysterical with glee; Jessie much more reserved, and Pauline looked so beautiful and seemed so happy to see me. 

NOTE: Dad did not journal over the final two months of 1982—a very unusual occurrence given his dutiful journal writing for so many years both before and after this point in time. It was a very dark time in his career and involved a real estate investment turned sour that cost him a large amount of money. He was gone from home a lot in the months surrounding the incredibly stressful fiasco, and I suppose he just lost the heart to jot down his daily record of events until the dark cloud had begun to pass from his experience. 

...........................................................................

Sleeping with JimBob on the couch in
Grandma Smith's basement and
Library room I so cherished.

Additional Memories from 1982:

• Perhaps my earliest recollected memory was of my third birthday part in August 1982. My Aunt Nedra made a white cake with green borders (icing). My younger cousin, Preston, joined me and our two families for a double birthday party (Preston and I shared a birthday; he was exactly two years younger than me, being born on August 21, 1981). 
• I remember sitting on Santa Claus's (Grandpa Ned's) knee and asking for a "puppy dog" for Christmas. I had seen a picture of a stuffed puppy in one of my mom's Avon catalogues, and wanted it more than anything else. Santa did not disappoint. Of all the possessions of my childhood, few of them still exist. But perhaps the most salient and significant of these possessions is "JimBob the puppy dog," who sits in my office to this day. 

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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