Random observations from Salt Lake City

• The streets in Salt Lake City, to this average pedestrian, seem unusually wide, so much so that I decided to count how many steps it takes to cross one. The result of my count: thirty-nine. I know my son will dismiss this unscientific test; after all, his pet name for me is "Shorty." Regardless. These streets are really, REALLY wide. It turns out, city planners (here in Zion) wanted to insure there was adequate space to U-turn a full yoke of oxen.
  
• Here in the city of saints -- of the latter day variety -- Halloween is a really big deal: the LDS library and museum closed early, there were costumed adults to be found all over the city, in bookstores, in restaurants, on the train/trolley/tram (a debate waged in my forthcoming video), and even here at the hotel where a party for local youngsters rocks on. The seeming obsession with a pagan-rooted tradition seems counter-intuitive in a settlement built on faithfully following the principles of Christ.
  
• Becky and I walked to a nearby cemetery to visit the grave of a woman I knew when the kids were young. Since Becky, walks faster than I, she reached to grave before I did. I heard her gasp ahead of me and then call out: Jacko, you're not going to believe this. When I reached the grave, I paused. There, engraved in the granite, was my friend's potato salad recipe. Becky asked: What the h...? I can't believe it, I said. Sally always said the only way people would get this recipe was over her dead body. She wasn't kidding.