Heber Valley Life

Author: Ryan Bunnell

  • The Aerialist Stag & The Conscientious Truth Seeker

    The Aerialist Stag & The Conscientious Truth Seeker

    I saw a fully mature mule deer buck jumping on a trampoline, captured by what appeared to be someone’s backyard security camera. After several bounces, the deer intensified his bounce, executed a near-perfect front flip, and dismounted with a flawless landing onto the lawn. He then casually strolled away, seemingly minding his own business.

    The caption said, “They are getting good at this.” Initially, one might suspect that the commentator was referring to the deer population and their gymnastic and aerobatic skills. However, after further reflection, the technology that created the illusion was, in all likelihood, the actual focus of the comment. It is challenging to distinguish fact from fiction these days.

    As we wrap up 2025, the theater surrounding readily available media and the technology that enables it will be among the historical milestones we reflect on in the future.

    The game has changed. On a positive note, the conspiracies surrounding media agendas, spin, and misinformation campaigns have been repeatedly validated. Less than two decades ago, the common belief was that if it was published, it was probably true. This is no longer the case in the mind of a discerning citizen. The downside of media sources promoting the agendas of their owners, financial backers, and advertisers is that the same discerning citizen faces tough choices when seeking to be informed about actual events.

    At an early age, I was taught the adage commonly attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This concept has resonated with me and served as a driving force in both my personal and public policy-making.

    In my own eclectic thought process, I connect this ‘action’ philosophy to the often-modified statement by George Bernard Shaw, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” which originates from his 1903 play “Man and Superman.” My favorite variation is carried on by [not Woody Allen, but] Douglas Preston, which is “Those who can’t do, teach, and those who can’t teach, critique.”

    During my tenure as a university-level fine arts student, I found it natural to despise those who criticized without being skilled enough to replicate the task being cited or offering an implementable solution to the critiqued dilemma. I vowed not to exhibit such weakness or cowardly behavior in my own life at that pivotal moment in my education.

    The net result of internalizing these two philosophies is an understanding that individuals forego their rights and deliberations when they choose to abstain from action. Apathy when action is required is a choice to become an accomplice to evil. In the context of Thomas Paine’s statement, “lead, follow or get out of the way”— through inactivity, you have removed yourself from the fight, and your thoughts and opinions should no longer be considered of consequence.

    Furthermore, it is a weak and cowardly practice to criticize without offering a solution to partner with the critique. Providing a viable, implementable solution to a problematic situation is statistically improbable without being genuinely informed and having thoroughly researched the topic. To be a respectable leader, teacher, or critic, one must dedicate oneself to becoming a subject matter expert (do the work) and provide feedback that can be fact-checked and replicated. Thomas Sowell once stated:

    “The beauty of doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly. Only when you do something is it almost impossible to do it without mistakes.

    Therefore, people who are contributing nothing to society, except their constant criticisms, can feel both intellectually and morally superior.”

    Often, I see critics and influencers, particularly on social media platforms, who generate viewership and fan followings through critical commentary on those who are attempting to lead. These statements are often subjective and primarily based on partial truths, mingled with opinion. This massive collective of critics and their messaging should be treated judiciously. Suppose the content originator has not offered a basis of auditable facts and is not offering a legal and implementable solution to the problem cited. In that case, their opinion loses its significance, and the source should be flagged if the receiver’s overall goal is to discern the truth.

    Now, back to the aerialist stag and the conscientious truth seeker: how do you navigate these minefields of misinformation and personal agendas in modern media?

    The first stage is to understand that every media outlet, platform, and influencer has incentives. These incentives may include, but are not limited to, financial, political, ideological, or algorithmic motivations. The journalistic purist is not well-suited to this environment, and independents seeking objectivity tend not to win in any of the categories mentioned above, thereby making them invisible and short-tenured in the profession. When evaluating your source, consider its ownership, funding, associated advertisers, and any known partisan or philosophical alignments. Nikola Tesla stated:

    “When you understand every opinion is a vision loaded with personal history, you will start to understand that all judgment is a confession.”

    Follow the money trail or potential for the originator to find some manner of personal gain (which could be as petty as attention or perceived popularity). Doing so will generate a filter that reveals the histories, and the confession will come into focus.

    Secondly, seek out the primary source. The overwhelming majority of viral outrage collapses when the original source is brought into focus. This fact is accentuated when considering official documents, transcripts, studies, and bills. Read the actual government staff reports, watch the meetings, and listen to the debates or conferences. When you do the work and become a person of action, you begin to follow the path of liberty, self-reliance, and critical thought analysis. Independent thinkers are challenging to fool, but it takes work to reach that status.

    Another trick is to consider multiple angles. Read the original report, then a left-leaning take, a right-leaning take, and an independent take. The common threads in all four will likely point to the factual truth.

    It is advantageous to learn the common tricks and traps. These may include headline clickbait that doesn’t match the article, selective video editing, AI-generated content, anonymous sources with no corroboration, incomplete or unsubstantiated statistics or datasets, and photos from a different event or date. The presence of any of these elements should raise suspicion about the source and their motives.

    Over time, if you put in the work, you will build a network of sources that you favor as ‘factual.’ Please remember that all sources are fallible; treat them as trusted but verify. If, at any point, you find yourself feeling immediate outrage or a sense of victorious vindication, you may assume you have been manipulated. Generating a powerful and polarizing emotional response is the primary goal of modern media.

    With all of this in mind, why should you trust Heber Valley Life? Well, run us through the tests and see what you find. I have created a brand, fully aware of these trends, as a countermovement. Stay skeptical; we must earn your trust. I encourage you to read everything we publish and listen to our weekly podcasts. If we are doing our jobs over here, you should feel warm, uplifted, and more deeply connected to the fantastic community that we call home.

    I genuinely appreciate your ongoing support. It is needed. Have yourself a based and magical winter season in the Heber Valley.

  • Do you know who I am?

    Do you know who I am?

    When I first moved to town, one of the first jobs I secured was as a ski instructor at Deer Valley Resort. I had professional experience and industry certifications, and I enjoyed the fast-paced intensity of high-level skiing, coaching, and the guests who frequented the resort in that era. Despite my introverted tendencies, I had an innate ability to think on my feet and pace with the “New York minute,” which led to positive experiences and numerous amicable relationships. It became a job that I enjoyed for 18 consecutive ski seasons.

    Deer Valley was much smaller back then, by way of skiable acreage and guest capacity. However, the guests of that era were not stereotypically ‘small’ people in their lives back home. This ‘guest chemistry’ created a unique work environment. You see, for most of these visitors, they were the executive authority in their respective professional and social circles. They were accustomed to respect, exemptions, and special treatment due to the station of their everyday office. As staff, we were familiar with this reality and ran our guest hospitality models accordingly. The ability to service guests in this manner, as if it were a four-star hotel, was a core identity of the company as prescribed by its founder, Edgar Stern.

    Occasionally, situations would arise where ‘alpha’ guests clashed with each other. The problem in an ecosystem where everyone is a ‘someone’ is that being a ‘someone’ becomes average. Furthermore, nobody in that particular fish pond is willing to humble themselves or submit at any level because that gesture is foreign to a ‘winning’ mindset. Nevertheless, a guest’s tenure is short-term at a luxury resort, and with that inherent churn, battles are fought, but wars are generally averted.

    I like to do many of my downtown errands on foot. On one of these occasions, I was waiting at the crosswalk on the northwest corner of Main and Center in Heber City. My mind was elsewhere as I waited for the signal to change. My daydream was interrupted by a car horn aggressively and repeatedly blaring over the din of traffic. What I looked up to see was an event that saddened me, as it was a behavior that does not belong in our paradisical mountain valley.

    I witnessed a person in a Bentley using the horn, the vehicle, and non-verbal communication to bully another driver in an aged sedan through the left turn from Main onto eastbound Center Street. The lead driver was visibly intimidated by the speed and consistency of the oncoming traffic and was, subsequently, not as aggressive as the driver from behind would have preferred. The horn, engine revs, flashing high beams, crowding, and hand gestures coming from the tailing car added to the lead’s panic. The unchecked aggression was not light-hearted, and should not have stood, man. I felt immediate empathy for the driver being victimized by the shortsightedness and impatience of another.

    Eventually, the first driver cracked and was pushed through the light by the second, at which point, the lead yielded to the tail, who subsequently ran a test on how long it would take that supercar to go from 0-60 MPH in a 25 MPH residential zone.

    The Heber Valley has humble roots. Early settlers of the West endured legitimate hardships and were correspondingly grateful people when life got easier. Here in the HV, unpredictable weather in the shoulder seasons made it so we couldn’t grow much more than hay or alfalfa. Cattle and sheep were the predominant industry, occasionally supplemented by mining opportunities. One needed to work by the sweat of their brow to survive. The concept of a ‘recreational lifestyle’ would have been as intuitive as a foreign language. Death by disease, childbirth, complications of injury, exposure, and even malnutrition were reasonably common. Still, the trials and hardships the early settlers faced helped them appreciate the easier seasons of life, and they found happiness through humility and gratitude.

    Hardships make you humble. Humility, if coupled with grace and dignity, facilitates a service-minded outlook. Voluntarily serving others invites the spirit of gratitude, which in turn leads to shifts in perspective, feelings of abundance, and a reduction of fear and anxiety. People who gracefully endure hardships ultimately find joy. Without trials, one lacks a barometer or scale for measuring what is, in fact, difficult, a metric that, when not available, leads to impatient and shortsighted behavioral patterns.

    Sitting in prolonged positions of comfort or authority has the opposite effect on human beings than hardships. Arrogance, pride, condescension, and domineering attitudes tend to creep into even the most genuine of hearts when life’s difficulties are obstructed. The tendency to become ‘spoiled’ is an inherent human trait that can, interestingly enough, be observed in all ages, demographics, and locales.

    The remedy for this natural tendency begins with acknowledgement that falling into the trap of comfort and privilege is a real possibility and that you are indeed vulnerable. Secondly, one must want to avoid this destiny. With acceptance and desire established, the next step would be to make a conscious effort to implement precautions.

    What would these precautions look like? It could be any number of things that remind you to embrace humility as a daily exercise. In some cases, humility will come naturally as life finds a way to create struggle. If ‘life is good,’ one might need to generate reminders deliberately. Serving others, by way of whatever means you may possess, is a great place to start. Service helps human beings to look beyond themselves and build empathetic capacities. Some may relate to physical or material reminders. I know a local ecclesiastical leader who chose to keep the same white dress shirt from the day that he was extended a leadership assignment, which remained a physical reminder to him of where he started, even as it frayed and discolored over 10 years. There are many ways to find humility if one chooses to look. My experience has been that if I don’t actively seek it out, it will find me—and I prefer to choose my battles if at all possible.

    I am grateful for the fortunate life I lead in the Heber Valley. I hope that what we publish and promote is received as a positive force serving the community. I find joy in sharing our history and reminding our readers and listeners that the Heber Valley is the gem of the Wasatch, and our lives are blessed daily in this choice community. Our future is bright. A positive mindset sheds light on the doubt and confusion that some people use to promote their agendas. Embrace positivity and find humility in your daily actions this fall. By doing so, you will help build our community and find personal fulfillment. Thank you for supporting our community voice!

  • A New Software Update Is Available

    A New Software Update Is Available

    My eight-year-old daughter and I were sitting at the dinner table at the close of the day. The rest of the family had moved on to their business, and she and I had remained seated while having a thoughtful chat. After a dramatic pause in the conversation, she asked me, “Dede, if you had an elemental power, which one would it be?” Oddly enough, I had previously considered this question. Nevertheless, I continued the dialogue and we evaluated the options. “Not fire. Too aggressive. Too destructive. Wind would be awesome because you could fly, but I find the wind mostly obnoxious at volume. Earth would be pretty cool, because of terraforming, but my heart is attached to water.” She agreed with this logic, and we both set off to prepare for bedtime as cognate water spirits.

    I have always found water particularly healing. Throughout my early adulthood, I spent many years pursuing gamefish with a fly rod in hand. There was always a quarry, but in hindsight, I realized that ‘the hunt’ was more about self-discovery and healing, while the fish’s ‘existence’ justified the untold hours on the water.

    Nature heals. Some are more sensitive to the energy than others. My mother often told me that going outside was the sure-fire way to keep me from fussing as an infant. As I became self-aware in my early teenage years, I yearned for time outside, for barefoot walks on native earth, for starlit nights bedded next to the dying embers of a campfire, and for distance from the contrived parameters of society, including its inhabitants. Old habits die hard, and those inherent desires ultimately landed me in a small agricultural town in Utah with proximity to the necessary amenities to pursue adulthood.

    Heber Valley is different today than it was twenty-five years ago. Clearly, Heber’s culture was not the clichéd ‘city life’ that upset me in my adolescence, but it was far from perfect or paradisical. Even though I had deep genealogical roots in the formation of the Utah territory, I was perceived as an outsider and forced to find my way independently. Being a ‘loner’ suits me well, and I saw plenty of solace with my dog and my time on the river, in the mountains, or in the desert. The benefits outweighed the costs, and despite a curious and thoughtful nature, I could never answer the question, “If not Heber, then where?” So here I sit today. Nature heals, and kindred spirits are drawn to common hunting grounds.

    On another evening, my eight-year-old daughter and I discussed growing pains. “Dede, my legs hurt, and I can’t sleep.” As we pondered the philosophy of growth and decay models, one of my favorite take-away concepts from art school came to mind.

    “Every Act Of Creation Is First An Act Of Destruction.
    – Pablo Picasso”

    I recall this quote as being troubling at the time. My identity as an art student was built around creating beauty from raw material. Destruction is ugly. How can the act of creating something beautiful be grounded in ugliness?

    I eventually discovered that the dilemma I faced was quite subjective. What defines beauty? The pigment I used for my “beautiful” creation would commonly be mined from the earth, crushed, chemically treated, packaged in a tube that also required harvested, treated material, then contents mixed with more chemical vehicles, and smudged on a surface that had also been aggressively processed from trees, plants, minerals, and metals. For me to create, there was a necessary chain of destruction. The rabbit hole runs quantum-level deep on this one. Our entire universe is growing, and all matter is competing down to the atomic level; macro to micro realities. Animals, plants, fungi, protists, archaea, bacteria, looking upward to the push and pull of the atmosphere, the oceans, the galaxy, and beyond: the sole outcome is creation, represented by concurrent growth and decay, perpetually destroying the status quo.

    Some kids get bedtime stories about magic kingdoms and happily ever afters. Applying quantum mechanics to creation models can also put kids to sleep. Oh well…

    As we reenter the firmament and settle back into the Heber Valley, our community continues to have growing pains. While the development trend is evident, the more subtle growing pains have surfaced in social media messaging and politics. I first learned the word ‘narcissism’ in the context of Hanna-Barbera’s animated character, Vanity Smurf. Vanity is always portrayed with a flower in his hat and a cosmetic mirror in hand, frequently gazing at his reflection and correspondingly oblivious to others. In recent years, I have seen rampant narcissism spawning from city centers and spreading like mycelium to the reaches of the world, fueled by pocket computers, networking software applications, heart buttons, data analytics, stainless steel mugs, and designer stretchy pants. I wish the fallout were as benign as what Vanity Smurf projects.

    Comparison is the thief of joy. As any creation begins as an act of destruction, comparison will destroy the joy of a positive reflection or self-image. When a self-image is destroyed, the mind must reconstruct what was with something else. It is far easier to be told than it is to invent. The simple act of comparison makes the individual vulnerable to new messaging. Networking platform users generally post artificially ideal lifestyle portrayals. Misinformants chirp pleasing half-truths, like Pied Pipers to their rats, to achieve their desired increase or outcome. Herein lies the danger of social media and why the overall future of marketing leads to social channels.

    Narcissistic personality disorders have symptoms that include a pervasive need for admiration, a lack of empathy, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and personal entitlement beliefs. Such individuals commonly adopt an ‘ends justify the means’ mentality to achieve their agendas instead of a collaborative resolution process that ultimately leads to compromise. Without empathy or a willingness to ‘come across the aisle,’ we introduce partisan politics to the social ecosystem, and logic is systemically replaced by emotion and fallacy. When the ‘ends justify the means,’ the means are characteristically immoral, which is why the action requires justification. The alarming social acceptance of those misinforming, disinforming, and manipulating others to achieve an outcome is regrettable. Knowingly supporting a movement that utilizes such tactics makes you an accomplice and near equal to the content originator.

    How does one find accurate information in the present-day minefield of narcissistic agendas? First, find time to heal and reconnect with your genuine, kindergarten-level, positive self-image. In my life, this boils down to unplugging and spending quality time in nature. Everyone will have their unique solution, but if it involves screens, material acquisition, or something your favorite influencer suggested, it will likely not generate the healing you need to become a critical thinker. A device-free afternoon reading a printed book under the shade of a tree may be a good place to start. Others may set a goal to summit a mountain peak, or catch a fish on a dry fly. Do these things without posting to your Strava or Insta accounts for accolades and affirmations. Once you have rediscovered your optimistic self, set an emotional baseline for how it feels to experience joy.

    Truth will inspire joy. Not necessarily happiness, like getting what you think you want, but a more profound sense of contentment with your world. Be skeptical of those who aspire to influence your thoughts. Become an intellectual ‘loner’ and a critical thinker. When you achieve this goal, you will more plainly discern truth in media messaging.

    I have experienced that life as a critical thinker brings more peace. I do not believe everything I read on the Internet. I read, consider the source, analyze motives related to the message, and then draw my personal conclusion. If you do this, the truth and subsequent joy in your life will increase.

    Thank you for being so supportive of Heber Valley Life. I encourage you to join our new podcast, Building Community with Rachel Kahler. There, we will meet with the entrepreneurs, visionaries, and decision makers who have shaped who we are and where we are going. Have a happy and healthy summer!

  • Kerouac’s Roadkill

    Kerouac’s Roadkill

    Have you ever hitchhiked? It was long ago, but I used to hitch rides. I’m confident this will shock many who know my ‘reformed’ or ‘domesticated’ self today, but it’s an absolute truth and a defining milestone of my youth. Not only was I willing to stand on the side of the road, stick my thumb out, and hop into a vehicle driven by a stranger as a viable means of transportation, but I would also reciprocate the gesture when I had the wheels and fuel to wander.

    It was in just one of these instances that a benign conversation altered a personal perception I possessed. I was living in the Gunnison / Crested Butte area of Colorado. Hitchhiking was pretty standard because the road to CB (and the chairlift) was essentially a ‘dead end,’ and the more obtainable apartments were found in Gunnison. I was headed up to the mountain to make a couple of turns in my faithful old 1988 Jeep Cherokee Laredo and decided to pick up a rather earthy-looking fellow from ‘The Hitching Post’ at the north end of Gunnison.

    This dude was pretty chill. He spent the first 15-20 minutes staring out the window. He had a bit of a cosmic aura; his hair was unkempt, his face unshaven, his winter clothes were nearly as faded as his gaze, and a distinctive aroma of patchouli and cannabis loomed about him. We had passed the confluence of the East and Taylor Rivers at Almont and were on the straight away to the Butte when he finally decided to speak. At about this point in the journey, there is a fish hatchery named Roaring Judy. As an abundant food source, bald eagles often congregate at the fish hatchery in the depths of winter. To my surprise, my travel companion’s first utterance was, “slackers.” I raised an eyebrow and asked him to expand on that statement.

    “It’s our national mascot, man. They are nothing but a bunch of slackers. Look at them—out there. Just sitting around looking for an easy meal. They are lazy… and they disrespect themselves.” His statement hit me with far more weight than the sender intended, and I have spent years circling back on this oddly profound statement.

    Initially, I was slightly offended, which is an odd reaction to a quasi-accurate wildlife assessment made by a half-conscious youth. So, I unpacked that reaction. I had been taught that bald eagles were a majestic apex predator. They are noble, formidably large, strong, fast, with keen eyesight, and tremendously adaptable to North America’s geographical variances. They are amazing birds to behold in person and visually distinctive to the point that children can quickly identify them. All these contributing facts have aided the decision to adopt the bald eagle as a symbol of the United States of America. I had never once looked at this bird-of-prey and thought, “slacker.” But there they were, and the facts were undeniable. Perhaps we can call them ‘opportunists’ and move on—so I did.

    Several years later, in the fall, I visited a friend in Jackson, Wyoming. I had not fully recovered from my ‘Beat’ phase of life and was visiting an old cohort from my personal chronicles of ‘On the Road.’ The lifestyle placed little importance on material acquisition, and correspondingly, our interpretation of ‘Beat life’ involved lots of hunting and fly fishing for sustenance.

    On one such frigid October afternoon at Jenny Lake, we were wade fishing for lake trout that had moved to shallower waters to spawn. The air temperature was well below freezing, making dry hands a priority. I hooked a laker pup, fought it onto shore, and deftly grabbed the streamer, flinging the fish farther up onto the rocks while removing the hook at the same time. It was so cold that I wasn’t worried about the fish living long or spoiling, so I took another set of steps down the beach and recast. We needed several more fish to alternate protein from the current staple of ground antelope, which had become tiresome.

    All at once, I had a ‘Chicken Little’ moment where the sky blackened, the wind from above punched me, and my ears were overwhelmed with a concurrent “whump.” I was sure my time on the planet was up, and my ticket was punched. I raised my eyes to behold a bald eagle, nearly on top of me, now flying away with my fresh fish dinner. I did not catch another fish. The nobility of that bird decreased by a measure at that moment.

    Another series of years later, I was driving northbound on US 40 toward Park City on a lovely late summer morning. I had just summited “Mount Doom” and was ultimately rolling down the hill to Quinn’s Junction to make a connection in PC. In the years before the highway fencing was installed, wildlife collisions were a much larger problem, and it would be familiar to see three or four animals on the side of the road during any given commute. I saw a pile of turkey buzzards picking at a carcass near the base of the hill. As I drove by, the birds spooked and took flight. Our national mascot, a bald eagle, remained behind. It had been feeding on a mule deer carcass with a flock of buzzards.

    Not that I have anything particularly against buzzards, but apex predators they are not. As far as the food web goes, carrion feeders, while important, are not perceived to have the same majesty as the hunter. What happened in this bald eagle’s life to land it feeding on roadkill deer with a flock of buzzards? Was it a lack of opportunity? Not likely, given the big five local reservoirs, the Provo and Weber River systems. Eventually, it must have succumbed to temptation and embraced a regrettable habit. The visualization of a carrion-eating bald eagle surrounded by turkey buzzards was challenging to shed from my mind.

    Then I pondered, are human beings different from an ‘opportunistic’ bald eagle?

    The Beat Generation was titled as such, not about the “kicks” or the “jazz.” It was that the generation had been beaten into weariness, used up by WWII profiteers while being governmentally and culturally forced into a new life of commodification and consumerism. They faced the death of their known way of life and the new future that was an inevitability. The Beats felt ingloriously pinned against a wall where nothing was left but their naked soul. At what they perceived as a societal rock bottom, the Beat movement turned off mainstream programming and reduced their core beliefs to find beauty in corresponding base simplicity. Analyzing their new reality, they determined that how one lives is more significant than why—particularly when the why was prescribed by their temporal overlords. The Beats sought spiritual fulfillment in the journey, opposing the consumption, acquisition, and debt recipe for what was societally prescribed as acceptable behavior. The Beats were culturally presented with an easy opportunity and alternately chose to explore what was traditionally ‘human’ over the product wrapped in shiny cellophane and wonderous technicolor convenience.

    With the moral exploration of that time, many of the ‘Beats’ and the ‘Squares’ became lost. They both ‘disrespected themselves’ for an easy meal. For the Squares, the easy meal was found by being unquestioningly governable and subscribing to the commodification and consumerism movement. The problem the Beats faced was that, with moral degeneracy, permanently life-altering bad decisions were made—as Kerouac chronicles in On the Road.

    Having lived in both of these worlds, which, make no mistake, still exist today, I believe that the way to avoid these traps is always to keep your spiritual identity in focus. If a bald eagle knows who it is, what it is and believes in its purpose, it will be less likely to be allured away by the enslavement of easy opportunity, aversion to hard work, fear of conflict, or the identity confusion created by bad decisions that may equivalently land you eating roadkill with a flock of mutually minded buzzards.

    Spirituality is innate within all human beings and is a definitive human trait. Spiritual quests are personal and manifest to each soul in unique ways. I don’t believe any spiritual journey is without merit—so long as it focuses on acquiring light and further knowledge.

    I challenge the citizens of the Heber Valley this spring to explore the reality of their spiritual selves. Start by accepting that you are a noble creature capable of greatness. Find quiet time to ponder, read, and meditate in your own personal way. Set expectations that challenge ‘easy-outs’ and avoid apathy. Be assertive and speak the truth without a spin or background side agenda. Own a calm mind, slow to be provoked, and consider positive and negative consequences before making decisions. Explore the wonder of nature and creation as our flora and fauna emerge from their seasonal dormancy. Celebrate what it is to be human in this very moment. There is no better time than the present to emerge from spiritual hibernation.

  • The Best That You Can Do

    The Best That You Can Do

    The human mind is fascinating. I marvel at how this wad of grey matter, with the subsequent spinal fluid and nerve network, encapsulates billions of individuals’ unique souls and personalities. As a hobbyist, I have dabbled with some light study of psychology and neurophysiology to understand self and core human interaction better. These fields are massive, with actively evolving comprehensions and theories of how and why. There are still many undiscovered facets of the mind that cannot be empirically quantified or defined. We have all had moments when a forgotten ‘toy from the attic of life’ falls loose, and we surprise ourselves with the randomness our minds can produce.

    “Love and hate exist like oil and water in a closed container – they don’t mix.”

    Multiple sources have told me throughout my life that we all possess unique talents. One of my innate abilities is that music, literature, and imagery are easy for me to categorize and recall. This knack is generally good and suits me well in trivia games and conversation. However, it may be more difficult for my wife, who must think I suffer from madness with the aimless and arbitrary references I tend to produce on a whim. Furthermore, the fact that I may forget what I had for lunch yesterday mystifies her further when I cite musical, pop culture, and art-historical references from the depth of Western civilization.

    One such moment occurred a month or so back. I woke up in the middle of the night with cerebral echoes of Christopher Cross crooning about being caught between ‘The Moon and New York City.’ Messed up… right? What alternate reality spawned this 40-year-old pop reverberation, and why is it in my head? Bear in mind that I am more of a psychedelic rock dystopian sci-fi guy, NOT a 1980’s soft rock rom-com fan. Nevertheless, the earworm was writhing around in my subconscious, and there was nothing to do but free the serpent by airing the tune. As a youth, this would have required a trip to the shopping mall to purchase the official soundtrack to the 1981 film Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. With today’s wonderfully convenient streaming services, the media was available with a quick voice prompt, and I moved to resolve the situation permanently while preparing for my morning shift.

    So there I was, taking an early morning hot shower while laying down some tight karaoke tracks with Christopher to ‘The Best That You Can Do’ — on repeat.

    Once in your life, you find her

    Someone that turns your heart around

    The next thing you know, you’re closing down the town

    Wake up and it’s still with you

    Even though you left her way across town

    Wondering to yourself, “Hey, what’ve I found?”

    In that nostalgic moment of star-crossed love overpowering the world’s desire for wealth, ‘she found… me.’ Desperate to excise the demon, I had failed to acknowledge the rest of the family, also getting ready for the day. With the jaded skepticism that only years of marriage can propagate, my wife demanded, “What on Earth are you listening to?” Well, naturally… the soundtrack to the film Arthur, Dear. You see:

    Arthur he does as he pleases

    All of his life, he’s masked his choice and

    Deep in his heart, he’s just, he’s just a boy

    Living his life one day at a time

    And showing himself a really good time

    Laughing about the way they want him to be

    The exchange ended with an audible sigh of disgust and, quite possibly, the world’s most expansive ‘eye roll’ on record. The film Arthur must not have received the same media exposure in Western Canada — the only plausible solution to such a reaction.

    As unique individuals possessing singular minds, we must acknowledge that, more often than not, ‘The best that you can do is fall in love.’ I dare say we have societally forgotten that message in recent years. ‘I know it’s crazy, but it’s true.’

    The stumbling block facing our global community in the past several decades is that our programming has taught us to despise distinctiveness and opposing viewpoints instead of celebrating individuals for their genuine attributes, conventional or otherwise. Ironically, much of that programming has been labeled under the banner of love — but as a loving person, you should hate others who don’t believe in the brand of ‘love’ that you do.

    The problem with this line of rhetoric is that love and hate are antonyms. You cannot live ‘in love’ and hate your neighbor within the same headspace. Love and hate exist like oil and water in a closed container — they don’t mix. The two liquids oppose each other at a molecular level. Trying to blend them makes a murky mess that may take hours, even days, to congeal into the previously identifiable layers.

    The net result of this popularized love-hate fallacy is core identity confusion. The uncertainty of self leads people to seek strength in numbers. Groups form and create polarized tribes of similarly agitated humanity with opposing camps believing they each exist on a moral high ground of love and tolerance. At the same time, their inner cores are embodied in the spirit of confusion and resentment. Being that it is easier to be critical of others than self-assess or self-amend, each camp readily accuses the other of being the very thing they manifest — hatred by way of terminal intolerance.

    Today’s youth are victims of a decades-long cultural civil war created and perpetuated for no better reason than to distract a populace from questionable policy decisions. They have and continue to suffer from the stress and trauma of this manipulation in the ever-sensitive ‘coming-of-age’ period of their lives. As adults, we suffer from bitterness and disenfranchised notions about how things ‘used to be.’ These crippling feelings are characterized by doubt, fear, intolerance, and hatred — the opposite of hope, courage, acceptance and love.

    Regrettably, these negative attributes have become culturally systemic within our war-weary populace and manifest themselves daily, even in our quaint mountain valley. Some refer to this as the ‘mental health crisis.’ Impatience and disregard for others can be noted with every drive across town and in every place of business. We are not immune to this global trend of fear and resentment in the Heber Valley.

    Diving back into the dusty attic of musical randomness, the second single from Styx’s triple platinum album The Grand Illusion, released in 1977, is titled “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).”  After an optimistic and upbeat synth intro, the track begins with singer and composer Tommy Shaw stating, “Relax… Take it easy…,” a sentiment I have found myself reciting on a near daily basis to those closest to me. Tommy goes on to state:

    You see the world through your cynical eyes

    You’re a troubled young man I can tell

    You’ve got it all in the palm of your hand

    But your hand’s wet with sweat and your head needs a rest

    And you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it

    You’re kidding yourself if you don’t believe it

    As I listen to this song today, I can’t help but take a moment to look into the mirror. Do I find myself regularly irritable? Do I perceive the world with cynical eyes? If so, is it truth or conspiracy? If the cynicism is justifiable, is there anything I can do to change the reality? The absolute truth is that ‘you’ve got it all in the palm of your hand,’ and you are empowered to define your reality.

    Whatever the source of irritation — a life-altering or relationship-redefining emotional reaction will not help your overall condition. Psychologically speaking, new emotions are generally short-lived — like 90 seconds short. Attaching the emotion to an event facilitates memory persistence. As the mind revisits the event, the memory of the emotion is attached. This allows the emotion to be indefinitely resurrected. Neural plasticity is created as the synaptic trail is frequented, like a well-worn single track on a mountain hillside. Over time and repetition, plasticity can reprogram the mind into a new trail related to that emotion. This pattern can be replicated for any emotion, positive or negative.

    Get up, get back on your feet

    You’re the one they can’t beat and you know it

    Come on, let’s see what you’ve got

    Just take your best shot and don’t blow it

    Should you discover that your world is more cynical than it used to be, you may actively choose to ‘get back on your feet.’ Adopt the mentality that you control your destiny and are accountable for your actions, and take the appropriate measures to create daily patterns that will facilitate the outlook or perception you desire.

    As citizens of the Heber Valley, we truly live in a privileged community. We should feel gratitude, generosity, and reciprocated kindness for our fortunate circumstances. Even for those who may feel disadvantaged, a brief hyperopic view will reveal that we are some of the most blessed people on the planet. Be humble, respectful, and empathetic to avoid petty quarrels with your neighbors or fellow citizens. Let us adopt a mentality befitting of our surroundings. Fall in love with the Heber Valley and everything in it. After all, ‘when you get caught between the Moon and [Heber City], the best that you can do, is fall in love.’

  • Calculated Compromise.

    Calculated Compromise.

    While I delight in all of the seasonal transitions, the deciduous trees of autumn make an undeniable impression and are impossible to ignore. With that notion, Northern Utah weather fluctuations are not for everyone. During our vernal and autumnal shifts, one can expect weather reminiscent of the heat of summer and the depth of winter in the same week. For September and October, this climactic quarreling produces stunning landscapes, where moody skies serve as a backdrop to the contrasting white of dusted snow on the cool, earth-toned mountain rock. The mountains transition into the fiery red, orange, yellow, and green hues of aspen trees; the deep greens of our evergreen forests directly complement the electric reds produced by our maples. The bleached-out grasses and blue sage of the valley floor ground the vertical prismatic display, and the mirrored reflection from our abundant local bodies of water bring the entire experience into a dramatic full circle.

    “I’ve been searching for years for the ideal place. And I’ve come to the realization that the only way to find it is to be it.”

    While the net result may be visually remarkable, my children occasionally express their frustrations with our local climate’s unpredictability and erratic shifts. The internationally bestselling author and social entrepreneur Bryant McGill said, “Our Children can be our greatest teachers if we are humble enough to receive their lessons.” When searching for an acceptable answer to our children’s queries over “why” the weather has to be so trifling, my wife has used an analogy: winter and summer constantly fight each other because neither is willing to compromise.

    It’s genuinely heartening to see that the children have accepted and understood this explanation. The analogy is relatable because they have observed and experienced the ‘uncompromising quarrel’ in their lives. With the shift that we call autumn, we witness a planetary-scaled climate battle in the northern hemisphere. This allegorical abstraction makes sense to the children because they have seen humans mimic similar behaviors as an approach to conflict ‘mediation’ in their daily lives. They have given and received arguments such as, it’s MY way or the highway, take it or leave it, I am not giving an inch, your opinion is noted, etc. It can be safely assumed that we have all experienced this approach to negotiation, starting in our elementary years and perhaps drawing into adult communications.

    Evolving from biology to physics — Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “If two bodies exert forces on each other, these forces have the same magnitude but opposite directions.” Paraphrased: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I have observed that this physical law crosses over into human psychology. An uncompromising argument would be expected to be met with an equally uncompromising retort from the other affected party. The debate becomes a matter of magnitudes. One force seeks to destroy the other by overpowering the balance. One side eventually dominates the other. Summer ultimately loses to winter, and by absolutes, all must adapt in the aftermath of the conflict or cease to exist. In the context of human communication, to ‘adapt’ is forgiveness, and ‘ceasing to exist’ would imply the relationship.

    Some irony about the autumnal splendor is that extreme stress on the ecosystem creates ‘beauty.’ Early snow melts and refreezes, creating freeze-thaw erosion that cracks and crumbles mountains. The vibrant colors of fall leaves are generated because the tree is preparing for dormancy and has ceased chlorophyll production. The leaves will stress, defoliate, and decompose as a byproduct of this process. The grasses follow a similar process and transfer their sugars to their roots while their ‘lungs’ become lifeless husks soon to be matted down by heavy snowpack. Large and small creatures that reside in the lakes, rivers, and surrounding foothills have hopefully completed their respective cycles in the warmer months. All localized life must adapt to survive the violence of the seasonal conflict between summer and winter. If an organism fails to fulfill the measure of its creation and pivot to the change, it will likely not live to see the pendulum swing back to summer. While it is true that stressful scenarios can bring strength and beauty to humanity, we have been equipped with minds capable of adaptation through thought and planning. Adopting patterns of violent, natural precedents may not be the most successful strategy for navigating negotiations in a tightly-knit community.

    Stubbornness can be both an aid and a hindrance to adaptation. The pioneer mindset that settled the Heber Valley was gritty and obstinate, hard and absolute. Such focus and intensity were mandatory for survival during the United States’ westward expansion period. That mindset exists today and is one characteristic that has preserved the Heber Valley as a remarkable destination and the paradisical mountain community that it is. However, there comes a time in human communication patterns where a calculated compromise may be better for a relationship than adherence to an absolute by principle alone. This understanding and flexibility are crucial for maintaining healthy and harmonious relationships with nature and each other.

    Contrary to popular opinion, words, statements, and viewpoints cannot hurt you. The receiver has to be complicit in accepting the message and then actively choose to allow that sentiment to create an emotional impact or resonance. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is cited as saying, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” This statement is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago and is the foundation by which a dictation becomes a discussion. We are born impatient, demanding, and absolute. These traits ensure survival in infancy. To fulfill its measure, a human mind must be taught to rise above natural survival instincts. Media messaging is the 21st-century form of tribal warfare, replacing spears and swords with deception, half-truths, and faux realities. Failure to adapt will isolate an individual and leave them vulnerable to manipulation. Cultivating an “educated mind” and disciplined self is the modern-day equivalent of the infantry shield of antiquity.

    Start your journey to a negotiation strategy through calculated compromise by listening to another’s viewpoint without reacting. Practice being emotionally neutral. You may choose to accept or decline the message at your discretion. The words cannot hurt you, and, at the very least, you will gain a tactical advantage by knowing where the sender’s point of view originates. At a higher level of communication, you may discover validity to a proposed thought and add several miles on the journey to an educated mind. In a best-case scenario, you may learn that goals can be aligned and peace is attainable between the tribes. In any outcome, you are in control and can choose what is best given your particular scenario. By listening, you illustrate respect and will likely receive similar consideration as a return on that investment.

    With that centered emotional stance, embrace humility and be teachable. Develop an ‘educated mind’ that can discern and stand unwavering. You will become confident as you develop experience and wisdom. Whether we are willing to acknowledge it outwardly, not one of us ‘knows everything.’ Be willing to educate yourself and be taught perpetually. If you cease to adapt to ‘seasonal changes,’ you will risk irrelevance and deep frustration as the societal pendulum swings. The ‘compromise’ becomes ‘calculated’ because you have considered the scenario adequately and understand the implications from varied positions. Such discernment requires both strength and humility to be done effectively.

    The English writer and philosopher Alan Watts stated, “I’ve been searching for years for the ideal place. And I’ve come to the realization that the only way to find it is to be it.” Many of us have chosen to be here because we perceive the landscape as idyllic. While that may be arguable, the community makes a mountain valley ‘home.’ Let’s try to be more compromising in our neighborly interactions this autumn and ‘be the place’ where we have come to reside.

  • We’ve Got Work to Do.

    We’ve Got Work to Do.

    Utah state legislation grants certain powers to local government to create redevelopment agencies to facilitate new development and redevelopment of targeted areas. This tool is currently called a “Community Reinvestment Area (CRA)”. It involves using a portion of the property tax revenues (known as “tax increment”) generated by the renewal of the area to finance eligible redevelopment activities. Tax increment financing is a useful tool available in project areas to support redevelopment and can be used to offset certain costs incurred to implement a redevelopment plan. These include property acquisition, infrastructure improvements, demolition, support of specific uses, etc.

    A redevelopment agency will administer the CRA and is commonly comprised of, but not limited to, the City Council. Some cities also elect to have a separate board, which helps determine appropriate investments for tax increments. CRAs are helpful tools, including offering the following abilities:

    • Facilitate redevelopment of underutilized property through acquisition, clearance, re-planning, and/or sale
    • Investing in core infrastructure, such as utilities, streets, lighting, curbs, sidewalks, landscaping, etc.
    • Providing “gap” financing in the form of loans, reimbursements, and property discounts to encourage private investment

    An effective CRA requires the participation of the taxing entities with taxing authority within the defined area. These entities continue to receive base taxes (taxes that existed before creating a CRA) and a negotiated portion of the generated increment. At the end of the CRA life (typically 20 – 30 years), taxes are fully returned to the entities. All generated tax increments must be spent within the defined project area.

    Takeaways

    • No new taxes for area residents
    • Generated increment from increased property values is spent within the project area
    • Key financing tool to support the vision of an area and support development that may otherwise not occur

    FAQs

    What is it going to cost me?

    Nothing. A CRA is not a tax. The CRA pulls funding from the increase (or increment from the base) of a property’s value within the CRA zone after investment. In many scenarios, a CRA targets areas that have become blighted or stagnant, and the private sector is reluctant to invest. The investment made by a county or municipality from a CRA uses funds generated from a designated area to economically invigorate that same area so that it, over time, becomes more attractive to private-sector investment.

    What’s in it for me?

    Through the public outreach efforts of Envision Heber 2050 and Envision Central Heber, we have learned that citizens of the Heber Valley want a vibrant downtown. They want places to gather, to have local date nights, to shop locally, and to have entertainment options for an evening out on the town. Heber City had these options before the intensification of traffic on US Highway 40 and the ‘bedroom community’ movement of the 1970s. For over 50 years, downtown Heber City has survived as a place of history that must be endured – but not necessarily enjoyed or celebrated. Most citizens shop online or out of town. Local businesses struggle to offer extended hours of operation. The city has aged and atrophied. The proposed CRA will facilitate overdue reinvestment in downtown Heber City, helping to show private sector investors that Heber City cares about itself and is worth private investment dollars. As Heber City becomes more attractive to private investment, the economy will improve, businesses will be able to attract staff, extend their hours into the evening, and, through private investment, implement the vision the citizens have called for in the Envision Heber outreach projects.

    Will it take money away from the schools?

    No. Wasatch County School District receives most of its funding through property taxes. The base tax rate is set at the beginning of the CRA term, so the District will receive the same base as it has been receiving. The CRA map mainly focuses on areas of aged commercial zones that do not carry a high property value—hence the need for incentivized reinvestment. In Heber City, the overwhelming majority of the development in the CRA zone happened 50 to 125 years ago. Since then, property owners have not invested significantly in the structures or infrastructure, and the property values have stagnated. Property values will increase once CRA funding begins to act as a catalyst for reinvestment. WCSD will capture 25% of the annual increase in property values as the CRA matures. In reality, the District will gain revenue steadily from commercial buildings and reap all the reinvested property values when the CRA expires. The CRA will add revenue to the schools from areas that history has shown would not without an incentivized reinvestment. These same areas and properties, being commercial, will not create the need for additional schools or school-funded resources.

    What are the risks?

    The entities in the Interlocal Agreement outside of Heber City Municipal Corporation (Central Utah Water Conservancy District, Wasatch County, Wasatch County School District) are not at risk. Once the CRA is created, Heber City will call for an advance on the projected increase and inject that money into the CRA zone, adding insurance to the likelihood that private sector investment will quickly follow. Heber City will own that loan and be solely responsible for paying it back. While the partners in the Interlocal Agreement will have the opportunity to participate in the committee, provide input on how funds are allocated, and benefit from the reinvestment through additional property taxes and a stronger local economy, the supporting entities are not liable for any lending Heber City seeks out for the Downtown reinvestment efforts. The loan will be paid back through the collected increment so the citizens of Heber City will not experience new expenses. Additionally, 100% of the incremental funds captured will be contractually reallocated into the CRA Zone, even if the original bond is fully repaid before the term expires.

    Do other cities or counties in Utah use a CRA?

    28 Cities and 6 Counties in Utah currently use the CRA program to help reignite their aging zones and districts. Some have created additional CRA zones after seeing the success of their first. This is a well-tested program that many similar communities have employed with notable results without burdening taxpaying citizens.

    American Fork | Bluffdale | Bountiful | Cedar City | Clearfield | Draper | Eagle Mountain | Emery County | Grand County (Moab) | Herriman | Iron County | Juab County | Lehi | Lindon | Logan | Marriott-Slaterville | Millcreek | Nibley | Ogden | Pleasant Grove |  Provo | Roy | San Juan County | Sandy | Santaquin | Salt Lake City | Saratoga Springs | Sevier County | South Ogden | South Salt Lake City | Syracuse | Tooele County | Vernal | Woods Cross

    Can you spot the difference?

    All generated tax increments must be spent within the defined project area.

    The difference between a downtown area that has not implemented a CRA (Kaysville (top)) and one that has (Ogden (bottom)) is contrasted in these two photographs.

  • Embracing Liberty.

    Embracing Liberty.

    In Utah, we celebrate the month of July a little differently.

    If you have lived in Utah for more than a couple of years, you will know about the near-month-long celebration from Independence Day to Pioneer Day. Liberty is a historically significant principle to the generational people of Utah. Citizens of the United States of America are familiar with the Revolutionary War and the celebrations surrounding the ‘Fourth of July.’ This Federal holiday commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, hence establishing our sovereign nation. Citizens of Utah have a state holiday called Pioneer Day, commemorating the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. In both cases, the affected parties, colonists and pioneers alike, chose to flee an environment they believed to be oppressive, and, in doing so, underwent great hardships, trials, and loss. To each of these historical groups, the benefit outweighed the cost — the benefit being the right and privilege to exercise their liberty and peacefully lead their existence in the way they saw best for their best lives. The state of Utah and the United States of America share this founding principle in common, and Utah locals have created a history of making July a memorable month for the celebration of personal liberties.

    I love the principles of liberty and freedom. This likely originates from a series of innate personality traits I possess, for better or worse. The basic life skills I learned as a child, such as “mind your own business,” “don’t tell me what to do,” “no harm, no foul,” “play fair,” “you mess it, you clean it,” “don’t hurt people or take their stuff,” “you are in my personal space,” and “come back with a warrant,” seem to have stuck with me throughout my life and influenced many of the decisions that have made me who I am today.

    An oft-misunderstood facet of liberty is that it is, in fact, a responsibility, a privilege. Responsibilities and privileges come at a personal cost and can be lost when abused. The freedom to choose is both power and liability. In a liberty-minded society, you have the right to “do what you want,” but simultaneously, you must accept the consequences of that decision, whether positive or negative.

    I recognize that there are opposing viewpoints to a liberty mindset. My mind is hardwired with the desire to be free, and I have struggled to empathize with individuals whose inclination would be to restrict the liberties of others. Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I have attempted to step outside of myself and talk to some of these people about their feelings and perceptions. What I have discovered is that the fear of someone exercising their liberties poorly causes so much anxiety at a core level that they would sacrifice it all to feel safe – even if that ‘safety’ meant being unrighteously governed.

    This conceptual analysis brings me back to the responsibility and privilege of living in a liberty-minded society. Another adage from my youth states, “Just because you can, does not mean you should.” I often hear justifications for behaviors that align with laws, rules, codes, or ordinances. Right or wrong becomes subjective because “it is legal,” “it’s just business,” “I am following code,” “just doing my job,” “this is how stuff gets done,” “everybody else is doing it,” etc.

    Far less frequently, I hear that decisions are made on the principle that “it is the right thing to do.” This is a ‘good — better — best’ scenario. It is good to follow the laws of the land. Understanding why the laws exist and being part of the process is better. Living where your love and respect for others transcends governmental regulation is the best-case scenario. In other words, to maintain a free society, we must ‘do the right thing’ voluntarily instead of requiring coercion.

    Imagine a world where a community could meet all of its needs through the honest exchange of goods and services and the voluntary application of charity toward those in need. The necessity for a governing entity could be reduced to mediating liberty infringements between citizens. Taxes and the innumerable agencies would not be necessary. Don’t be afraid — think about it for a minute or two. We are a long way off from this vision today, but the founding principles of the United States of America are not that distant from such a concept. This type of society was the goal nearly 250 years ago when United States colonists declared independence from the British, and why we actively celebrate the Fourth of July. The concept only works if each citizen buys in and participates in the community. Self-sufficiency, volunteerism, and freedom are intertwined.

    It takes courage to face the world as a self-governing individual in a whirlwind of authoritarianism, deception, moral vagrancy, and misinformation. Wisdom from one of my favorite stoics comes to mind:

    “When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own — not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.”

    -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: Book 2:1

    Positive living amongst humanity takes patience, empathy, and daily courage. It is too easy to “turn your back” on your neighbor, write them off, call the cops, send a legal notice, blast them on social, or light them up on their DMs. What takes maturity and bravery is to respect the “meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly” for “possessing a share of the divine” and working through your issues as conscientious and self-sufficient human beings. Our potential as a free society increases with the ability to resolve our disputes independently.

    There have been times when I have felt invisible, like I am the only one who thinks the way I do. Those looking to establish their authority probably like it when people like me feel that way. With a little dose of life experience, I have come to believe that inwardly, most of humanity wants the liberty to choose how to live their best life the way they see fit. As stated in a summertime anthem from my youth:

    Went to the well but the water was dry
    Dipped my bucket in the clear blue sky
    Looked in the bottom and what did I see?
    The whole damned world looking back at me

    – Robert Hunter, Liberty

    The human spirit is not meant to be caged or placed in isolation. Fear creates a herd mentality where tribal lines are drawn and wars are instigated. Take the time to speak genuinely, and you will find common ground with your neighbor because, in reality, we are all part of the same tribe.

    As a liberty-minded soul, I witness that voluntary acts of charity and love towards your fellow citizens will bring joy. Joy is not a fleeting moment of happiness but an inner glow, peace, satisfaction, and contentment with one’s connection to one’s species and planet. To desire liberty is not selfishness, and the risks are worth the reward. If you crave individuality, wanderlust, independence, self-discovery, a limitless life, authenticity, or a life without labels — the path is freedom, and the vehicle is self-sufficiency.

    I challenge the Heber Valley to embrace their liberty and celebrate the human spirit this summer. Accept people for their differences and learn to respect another for an opposing viewpoint. Don’t let the political silly season get to you, but be a part of the process, all the same. We live in an amazing location, but without the people, it is just a place. Be part of the reason the Heber Valley is amazing.

  • The Phantom Menace

    The Phantom Menace

    Do you know what is hard these days? Believing in something. Believing in anything. I occasionally drift back to my time in kindergarten when I learned the Pledge of Allegiance and that George Washington cut down the cherry tree and physically could not tell a lie (which was, given my age, equally impressive to rumors of wooden teeth). I believed in our nation, our leaders, our future, the school principal, and my teachers, and I believed in the integrity behind the entire production. My ‘scratch and sniff’ sticker collection was enviable. I could tie my shoes without help and celebrated my success in learning to draw a symmetrical five-point star without taking the marker off the page.

    I yearn for the emotional simplicity of that stage of my life. I often look at my 7-year-old daughter and wonder if or how she could have a similar security or belief system. She can’t because the world is different. Regardless of that reality, she seems to carry strength and resilience that I know I didn’t possess at her age. She has only known the chaos of the pandemic years and the ongoing fallout of the decisions made on that timeline. Nevertheless, she wakes up every morning and is not afraid. The recent socio-economic changes are ‘normal’ in the eyes of a child who does not know or remember how things were otherwise. She has faith in our future, as stunning as it may be to my jaded middle-aged mind.

    The antagonistic relationship between faith and fear is a tightrope we will ultimately walk in some chapter of life.

    It is difficult for thoughtful people not to recognize risks and negative consequences. We discover risk assessment at some of the earliest stages in our life development, commonly through physical discomfort. A child who receives a ‘skinned knee’ will generally be more judicious the next time the same scenario is encountered. Eventually, we learn about emotional, even financial ‘skinned knees.’ A seed of fear is planted after the event of any such physical, financial, or emotional ‘trauma’ throughout our lives.  Those seeds of fear, if left unpruned, may grow into a jungle that can paralyze decision-making in adulthood.

    As a teenager, my mother repeatedly told me to “lighten up.” In response, I would remind her that I neither see the glass as ‘half full’ nor ‘half empty’ but as a quantifiable number of fluid ounces — neither an optimist nor a pessimist, but a realist. With some more life experience, I discovered philosophical realism comes with risks. When perceived in its recklessly honest and transparent state, the world’s reality contributes to a profile of fear.

    Individuals all have different reactions to fear. Regardless of the origin or validity, the commonality of people consumed by fear is a downward spiral of negative thoughts and actions. Being true to my Gen X roots, I was pumped up when the Star Wars prequel trilogy was announced. The excitement that led to the release of The Phantom Menace was palpable. I remember sitting in the movie theater when Qui-Gon Jinn presented the young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council. Yoda’s response was so powerful that it touched my mind and heart at a time in my life when my faith was at a historic low.

    “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
    Jedi Master Yoda

    In the chronology of my life, I had received many a ‘skinned knee’ by the time The Phantom Menace was released. My innate tendencies towards ‘realism’ had germinated and procured a forest of harbored fears. I was an impetuous young man, backed by academic achievement and what I perceived to be worldly knowledge. 25 years later, I know this identity was a façade, cloaking the doubts, regrets, and anxieties I had collected. The discovery of light often comes after knowledge of its opposite.

    If we break down Master Yoda’s statement — the common initial response to fear in the animal kingdom is a choice between ‘fight, flight, or flop.’ Regardless of the choice — anger enters the chat as fear’s recipient reflects on the situation and analyzes their doubts and decisions. Anger distills into resentment, stereotyping, judgment, and ultimately hatred. A person consumed by hate will begin to act in hatred towards others, compounding the hate upon itself indefinitely. Master Yoda also stated, “When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.” Hateful action will be reciprocated, and the pattern of suffering begins as it is received. In the simplest of algebraic deduction, fear = suffering.

    I have cited many quotes from stoic philosophy in the past. My message today is less about becoming an immovable and solitary stone but about deliberately embracing the virtues of our humanity that perpetuate all things positive and lovely. Just as one can choose to curb emotional reaction behind the logical premise that it is ‘out of my control,’ one can also choose love over hatred.

    The antonym of fear is faith. The two cannot exist in the same space as they are opposites. Faith has a similar progression to fear, moving in a divergent path on the line graph. The common response to actions of faith is hope and patience. As one looks at the world with optimism and tolerance, light becomes evident, and beliefs are formed. Belief in something greater than oneself evolves into love. A person consumed by love will love others, and the pattern of love will be reciprocated by its recipients, and they will feel joy. In the simplest of algebraic deduction, faith = joy.

    Deftly darting around on a Sith speeder, a ‘Phantom Menace’ spreads fear worldwide. The work is evident everywhere, including the Heber Valley. The fruit of that work is hatred, and the collective harvest is suffering. While we may not have global influence, the Heber Valley is a microcosmic environment where the slightest shifts can still be felt. I challenge the community to choose faith when faced with fear, deliberately sewing seeds of love and harvesting joy indefinitely. Implementing this culture shift may be the only preservation effort that will matter in the long haul.

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  • Destination Heber Valley

    Destination Heber Valley

    This past October marked my 20th year as a full-time resident and local businessperson of the Heber Valley. The changes over the past two decades in the Heber Valley will likely represent the most drastic pivot in our community’s history. With this milestone in mind, I find myself romanticizing the literal ‘History in the Making’ that I have observed during my time in the Heber Valley.

    In October 2003, the vibe in the Heber Valley was still a bit of a 2002 Olympic hangover. The community had expected a massive change in growth and property value in the wake of the Olympic games, and it had become apparent that it wouldn’t happen as anticipated. The community was fractionally the size that it is today. Heber City was limited between South Fields Road and Mill Road, 500 N to the Crow’s foot on South Main. There was a buzz about the ‘massive’ new development called Timp Meadows that stretched Heber City from the traditional boundary of 500 E eastward to Mill Road, connecting the homes in Valley Hills in the north to Center Street in the south. This controversial development effectively coined ‘Old Town’ Heber by its construction. Timberlakes was so distant that it might as well have been in another county, and there was very little, aside from random farm properties, between the Heber Valley’s eastern bench and Heber City limits. Interlaken, Hideout, and Independence did not exist as townships. Mainly generational residents still populated Daniel, Charleston, and Wallsburg, and if you lived there, you likely knew everyone in town on a first-name basis. Midway had just started to spill outside the historical limits of the city with communities such as Dutch Fields, Valais, and Pine Canyon Road. Several cabins were up on the western bench, up Snake Creek Canyon, and the resort community northwest of the town was established, but that was about the extent of the population. Fracking was not a financially viable means of gas and oil extraction, so there was minimal truck traffic on US Highway 40 between Vernal and the SLC refineries. You could make left turns without the aid of a traffic signal on Heber Main Street. There was a healthy (and somewhat bitter) rivalry between Wasatch and Park City High School, and the teams competed against each other regularly. The Provo River Restoration Project was only 25% complete and had just started construction south of the Bunny Farm (River Road). Fishing pressure was minimal. Deer Valley Resort still had a celebrity country club reputation, and most locals avoided skiing there because they did not want to be perceived as an intermediate-ability tourist skier. I was introduced to the Heber Valley with that Olympic-era wave of move-ins and, having been western Colorado-based for just shy of a decade prior, thought I had landed in a ‘pre-John Denver’ time warp to a literal mountain paradise.

    Moving forward to 2023, the growth phenomenon predicted during the excitement of the 2002 Olympic Games has become a reality. Many have become outraged about the recent development trend in our community. This growth has been anticipated for decades. Utah’s growth is several decades behind similar western states, such as Colorado. The Utah growth trend started to gain momentum in 2006, which was stifled by the economic recession beginning in 2009. We have seen consistent year-over-year growth in the Heber Valley since 2013. The ‘work from home’ trend has accentuated the growth curve of recent years. One of the only variables that historically kept destination resort populations from exploding across the globe is the lack of financial opportunity at those locations. When one can work virtually — the option to live anywhere with internet service opens up.

    Heber Valley citizens must maintain two principles if we are to sculpt the community into its best possible outcome. The first is a grounded understanding and acceptance of the relationship between growth and decay. Secondly, we must accept an implementable vision compatible with the demands of who we are and what we want to become.

    My hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri, is a prime example of what can happen to a community when there is a lack of vision for growth or redevelopment. Saint Louis was once proudly touted as “The Gateway to the West.” The location was a hub of commerce for the westward expansion movement and carried a larger economy than Chicago, respectfully, at that time. Saint Louis hosted the World Fair in 1904, and was showcased as one of the greatest American cities for the world to observe. The city’s first significant error was siding with the riverboat trade instead of the railroad. Nevertheless, a sustainable growth trend held its course for decades. The city attracted business due to its centralized location in the nation. It became a hub for aviation. Certain populist social trends began to become policies in the late 1970’s. These policies effectively drove business away, first from the city center and then from the region. If you visit Saint Louis today, the downtown district is narrowly maintained by the support of professional sports teams, some riverfront bars, and a federally maintained national monument. Downtown’s appearance outside the ‘tourism district’ is that of a third-world nation. All growth has been pushed to the outside edges of the county for decades because the policies downtown have become so prohibitive that nobody wants to locate there. The net result is a dilapidated city center that has significant crime and poverty issues directly related to a general lack of opportunity. If a historic community is going to survive, it has to accept the correlation between economic growth and decay and create policies that encourage a healthier long-term outcome.

    The Heber Valley once had a thriving economy and was a destination getaway for residents of the Wasatch Front. This is why Heber City Main Street was once filled with drive-in restaurants and motels, and Midway with quaint nightly rentals. Our economic downturn happened in coordination with the recession of the 1970s, the improvement of the Provo Canyon highway, and shopping malls being developed in Utah County. Having ‘given up’ on the viability of local businesses, our city officials believed we could be nothing more than a bedroom community, regardless of the long-term economic implications associated with that status. They needed to service resident commuters — hence the fast food, auto part store trends, and welcoming of franchised chains that could offer outside economic subsidies to sustain a Heber location. Jobs in local government seemed to be the only way to support oneself within Wasatch County limits throughout those years. Over time, our civic visions ultimately become a reality. This is why it is so important for a community to understand and align on a logical and implementable vision.

    My professional role in the Heber Valley has allowed me to be at many discussions over visioning for the future. We have so many incoming opportunities to be grateful and excited about. However, the identity issue for most of the HV is still under considerable debate. This fact, coupled with in-progress commercial developments and the inevitable international attention that will accompany them, gives me a bit of ‘marketing heartburn.’ Still, I respect the process and welcome the discourse that comes with varied opinions. Our higher elevation identity problem is that we have so much to offer that it is difficult for our strong-willed population to unify on a single path to travel. While there are many identity assets to focus on, I would like to riff on one particular variable, given the season and circumstances.

    An undeniable and overlooked identity asset that Heber Valley has, and one that most communities would sacrifice greatly to claim, is that we are a Winter Olympic destination with an active facility and quickly becoming the hub for cross-country skiing and biathlon in the United States. US Biathlon relocated this autumn to Soldier Hollow from New Gloucester, Maine. Soldier Hollow will be the only US destination for the International Biathlon Union World Cup competition in March 2024. These events fill grandstand stadiums in Europe and are consummate sporting event parties. The discipline of biathlon exemplifies the “I’m big in Europe” t-shirt and is dramatically overlooked by US citizens. What could be more ‘American’ than guns, strength, speed, and technical excellence? We are societally missing the target on this winter sport. Biathlon is the only Winter Olympic discipline the US has never medaled, which needs to change. We must also remember that our local venue will likely host another Olympic event in 2030 or 2034. The Soldier Hollow Nordic Center facility is regularly used for training by, quite literally, the top Nordic athletes in the world, including our own US ski team. The Heber Valley is an internationally recognized winter sports destination. I challenge the Heber Valley citizens to unify on this one simple thing: learn about the Nordic disciplines and support the IBU World Cup event at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center this March. The world will be watching. Let’s show them all we know a thing or two about throwing a party.

    I love the Heber Valley. This fact is the predominant reason Heber Valley Life magazine exists. If you have taken the time to read or analyze this note, I hope you have learned a little bit about our past, and can more actively participate meaningfully in directing future growth. Better yet, if you appreciate the effort we invest every quarter to publish this collection of articles, please consider a financial sponsorship in the book or through a purchase in our online store. These little tokens, by our community, for our community, keep the project alive. Please enjoy our winter 2023 edition of Heber Valley Life magazine.

  • Twisted Trunks

    Twisted Trunks

    My relationship with aspen trees is a bit of a love–hate affair. I love them in the mountains. I hate them in suburban landscapes.

    The trees themselves are lovely. The round leaves make the most wonderful noises as they clip and rustle like organic coins colliding in a summer breeze. The airy light that passes through an aspen glade on a summer afternoon feels spiritual, calming, and edifying. I am perpetually fascinated by the flaming display that ignites the mountain landscape in autumn. Vernal emergence of their foliage upon the mountainside is a timestamp for the transitions between winter and summer, with vibrant splotches of light green adding a new hue to the landscape. The winter forests warm my heart with layers of pasty off-white trunks visually staggering the snowpack in vertical bars, contrasted by the black scars of the tree’s growth and development.

    Aspen trees flower and can be grown (like most trees) by seed. However, the tree most commonly fills the measure of its creation by sending out a network of sprawling, lateral roots that periodically send up a new vertical shoot, commonly known as a sucker. These suckers eventually establish, become trees in their own right, and send more veins across the earthen carpet, which produce more shoots. Roots and trees grow rapidly, progressively replacing themselves in an unending cycle of decay and regrowth. While this process is fascinating and well adapted to the ecosystem of a mountain hillside, aspen trees do not stay where they are supposed to in a garden landscape. Therein lies the disdain of an aspen ‘forest’ in a suburban setting.

    With this fairly unique growth method, there is a solid scientific argument that an aspen forest is not a collective of individual trees but a single living organism. The world’s largest organism by weight is an aspen colony on the western edge of the Colorado Plateau near Fish Lake, Utah, named Pando (Latin for “I spread”). Every tree in this 6000 metric ton, 108-acre aspen grove has identical genetic markers.

    While each of the trees in an aspen system may be connected, even genetic clones, the trees will take on unique characteristics from stress or traumatic life events. A regular phenomenon with aspen growth is a trunk deformation called “pistol butting.” Pistol butting can be identified by a ‘J’ trunk shape that is generally close to the ground on a tree, most commonly rooted on sloped ground. The cause is typically soil movement between wet and dry seasonal transitions. Stress is placed upon the tree as the wet hillside pragmatically slides, moving the base off-axis from its prior growth pattern. When the soil hardens, the tree course corrects upward, leaving an increasingly hooked trunk anchored to the hillside.

    Snow load, disease, parasites, animal trauma, or extreme weather events can cause other twists and deformities that often heal in curious growth patterns. As I have aged and acquired my own ‘twisted trunk,’ so to speak, I have learned to appreciate how challenging life events have sculpted me into who I am today. I feel proud of my figurative and literal scars as they each represent chapters of my book of life. I look for these anomalies in others and have learned to celebrate the endured life events (self-inflicted or otherwise) that make us individually unique — while still being rooted in the same grove with a common purpose for being. Our history, albeit constructed through imperfection, defines who we are in the present.

    The Heber Valley or any ‘community’ could be likened to an aspen colony. We have all chosen to be rooted in the same patch of earth. For that decision to be implemented, a common, binding root system in our core beliefs and expectations connects us all. Something here made us each say, “This is the place.” These common roots transcend various soil types; some soil is inherently moist, and some sit on an incline, a meadow, or stretch on a dryer plateau — nevertheless, the roots are still connected, as we are at our cores.

    With regard to individual trees: the venerable and time-distressed present a patina of character, beauty, and wisdom. Not only are the younger trees facilitated by the established, but the forged endurance of the strongly rooted also protect the new growth — both budding and aged playing an essential role in the ongoing life cycle.

    I have recently observed increased polarization within the demographics of Heber Valley. My message is unification through tolerance: for both old and new. Since we are all connected by a common root and our literal acreage is limited, it behooves the community from a high-elevation standpoint of well-being to strive for more patience towards your neighbors.

    The internationally recognized Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, poet, teacher, peace advocate, and “father of mindfulness,” Thich Nhat Hanh stated:

    “I have noticed that people are dealing too much with the negative, with what is wrong… Why not try the other way, to look into the patient and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”

    Negative thoughts and actions are traps that snare its users into a downward spiral of mental turmoil and sickness of the heart. Perpetual cynicism and criticism (while facilitating temporary feelings of intellectual or moral superiority) are societally prevalent gateways to this downward spiral. The only plausible end to the slippery path of negativity is a broken heart and mind.

    I challenge the Heber Valley to choose that standout thing you cannot tolerate about the status quo, patiently and empathetically analyze it and the people behind it, and find something positive about its reality. Whether it is a road, an entity, a building, a group of buildings, the guy that bought the building, the guy that lives next to the building you bought, the guy that built the building, permitted the building, assessed the building, the guy that looks different, drives a different car, has different priorities, different beliefs, thinks differently, speaks differently, eats differently, spends time or resources differently: there is a common root in all of us, and a positive angle to unearth if you have the intellect, humility, courage, and patience to touch it and make it bloom. The next (and more formidable) challenge is to reach out and share that positive message with the person or entity that initiated your grievance. Let’s make the Heber Valley bloom!

    Thank you for your ongoing support of Heber Valley Life. It is our contributing readers and sponsors that make this project a reality. I hope you find this compilation of stories uplifting and that you can rejoice in the wonder autumn brings to our quaint mountain valley.

  • Brighter Side Of Life

    Brighter Side Of Life

    We certainly get our fair share of bright and sunny days on an average summer in Northern Utah. As residents of the Heber Valley, our weather might be even a little nicer than surrounding geographies. Despite this wonderous and natural reality, all things community-minded in the Heber Valley are not always equally bright and shiny. If such a razzle-dazzle reality physically surrounds us, why is there room for such contention and discontent?

    Earlier in my life, I was heavily preoccupied with fly fishing and travel. It just so happens that gamefish tend to live in fantastic locations (notwithstanding our own Provo River). Due to my early professional pursuits of fly fishing and skiing, I would ground myself in mountain resort communities and bounce to other tourism destinations for various recreational opportunities. The common thread in these adventures is woven through wonderful places and the people who have chosen to reside there.

    When traveling, I always lived by a code: “Wherever you go, respect the locals.” Living this creed put me into situations with residents that an average tourist may not have the opportunity to experience. In hindsight, many human interactions facilitated better memories than the successes or failures of the fishing outings.

    Everything has its opposite, and for every individual I met with an overwhelming stoke about their reality, I would meet people in the same locale that were jaded and embittered. This perceptual phenomenon of differing individuals is interesting because, objectively, the fixed reality of both dispositions is constant. Yet, there are dramatically different observations of that same reality.

    A cartoon by Brazilian illustrator Genildo Ronchi frequently circulated in social media memes portrays “Two Guys on a Bus.” The image places us, the viewer, looking toward the back of a bus at two passengers. All the seats are vacant except those occupied by the two men. The road being traveled is cut on a very steep mountain. One of the travelers is on the inside, starboard, or mountain-side, and the other is seated on the port, outside, or open valley side of the bus. Both are looking out of their respective windows. The passenger looking at the mountain valley sees the light and grandeur of the setting. The passenger looking at the rock wall cut from the mountain sees darkness and monotony.

    The truthfulness of this simple cartoon scenario is impactful. The bus, or the fixed reality, is constant for both passengers, yet they each experience an opposite perception of that reality. One could argue that the gloomy fellow is justified in his dismal outlook because he was stationed in a lousy seat. However, he chose to sit and remain there at some point and has not utilized his personal liberty to move. There are many open seats on the brighter side of the bus should he want to choose that reality proactively.

    How we perceive our reality is up to us as individuals. Our perception is a personal choice. Regardless of our circumstances, we are never coerced into having a dire outlook or attitude. We must be compliant with negativity for it to take hold of our better nature. We will always have a choice, and each choice will have a consequence – for better or worse depending on the nature of the decision. The challenge then becomes choosing the brighter side of the bus when fate would have us looking at an unremarkable rock wall.

    Several years ago, I came across a news story in The Daily Mail (a U.K based newspaper and website) discussing the ‘sewer divers’ of Delhi, India. Moreso than the story, one of the images has resonated in my mind for years. The image is of a man whose job is to dive, without any gear but a pair of trousers, into the depths of the city sewer system to remove clogs. He is standing chest-deep in an open, backed-up sewage portal on an urban street, surrounded by garbage and all manner of black water filth. Amazingly, his facial expression is content and dignified. I have often reflected upon the image of this man when I feel like my ‘reality’ has become dismal. To coin the cliché: ‘it can always be worse,’ and if this guy feels all right with that situation, I must be a weak man for my first-world, Heber Valley, Utah problem to be wrecking my vibe.

    Yet another relevant cliché is that you ‘reap what you sew.’ After discussing choice, I recently explained this analogy to my pre-teen daughter. In the past, people were more connected to agriculture and growing their own food. Within this expression, we validate that we ultimately harvest (reap) the fruits of what we choose to plant (sew). If we plant seeds of anger, contention, distrust, or general malice, we can expect to receive more of this energy in the future. If we plant joy, peacemaking, honesty, or goodwill into our lives, we can expect a similar return for our efforts. Anne Frank, famous for her endurance and positivity in horrific circumstances, stated, “Whoever is happy will make others happy too.” We not only have the power to choose our perceptions – but doing so will also affect others.

    This is the challenge for the summer of 2023, Heber Valley. CHOOSE THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE!

    I mean, what do you have to lose?
    You come from nothing,
    You go back to nothing.
    What have you lost? Nothing!
    Always look on the bright side of life.

    REF Idle, Eric (Monte Python), “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” The Life of Brian, Virgin Records, 1979

    Taking action on this simple principle will enrich your life and the life of the others around you.

    Thank you for your ongoing support of Heber Valley Life magazine. I hope you find our collection of stories for this summer uplifting and that they help you see the brighter side of the Heber Valley.

  • Daniel Tiger’s Shopping Cart

    Daniel Tiger’s Shopping Cart

    Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood never connected with me when I was a boy. As a child born in the mid to late 1970s, I saw plenty of opportunity, as the show was regularly broadcast and Public Television was still a thing. I endured many an episode, quite simply, because it was what was on the airwaves at that moment (streaming on demand was still a couple of decades out — hard to imagine, I know). It has taken me well into the middle-aged milestone of my journey and Fred Rogers’ passing to appreciate how inspiring and visionary he was.

    Fred Rogers’ hometown of Pittsburgh and the United States went through significant growing pains between the 1960s and the 1990s. The fabric behind the nation’s social and economic status quo was being stretched to its tearing point. Local industries were changing focus, and the residents’ livelihoods were consequently placed in tenuous situations. The kind of stress this type of pressure creates generally brings out behaviors that are not characteristic of our best selves. Poor behavior on a systemic level can slingshot a community, or nation for that matter, into a downward spiral of anger, pain, negativity, and increased poor behavior compounded over and over again upon itself.

    Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was a manifesto disguised as children’s programming with low-budget hand puppets, crafty set props, and live improvisational piano work. Fred Rogers created a counter-movement to the media-incensed ugliness and divisiveness that was becoming a common tactic to increase engagement for advertising dollars. He sought to rebuild broken communities by teaching universal love, respect, and self-value — not the ‘my way, right away’ or ‘I deserve this’ kind of self-value, but the concept that every soul is unique, inherently precious, and should be treated as such. The topics the show addressed were complex, timely, and relevant. Skills traditionally taught in the home were made accessible through this television program to youth that may not have had a traditional home to call home. A generation of children learned how to be better people and more socially adjusted human beings by watching the programming Fred Rogers created.

    An interesting observation I have found with age and experience is that human nature remains constant over time. Material conveniences evolve, but our natural impulses do not. I would wager that any history student enjoys connecting past events with the present and speculating about the future based on past occurrences. Is Fred Rogers’ mission as relevant today as it was four decades ago?

    Several months ago, I came across a reboot of the ‘Trolley Problem’ or the ‘Bystander at the Switch’ dilemma originally explored in a 1967 philosophy paper by Philippa Foot. An anonymous Reddit user posted a philosophical litmus test in 2020 (a test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision) called the ‘Shopping Cart Theory.’ The post reads as follows:

    The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it. No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you or kill you for not returning the shopping cart, you gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. A person who is unable to do this is no better than an animal, an absolute savage who can only be made to do what is right by threatening them with law and the force that stands behind it. The Shopping Cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society.

    Mr. Rogers once stated, “The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.” Honesty, much like the Shopping Cart Theory scenario, is a choice. The liberty to choose what is best for oneself is a fundamental right. Mr. Rogers also stated, “There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it.” A citizen’s ability to self-govern (without compulsion or force) is necessary for a free society and one of the noblest goals an individual can achieve. A well-adjusted adult understands that you are ultimately accountable for yourself and your decisions alone. In other words — you have the innate freedom to choose and accept the natural consequence of your choices. If honest reflections about your ‘shopping cart decisions’ make you uncomfortable, a new opportunity is presented.

    Sometimes behavior patterns become sticky. Repetitive behaviors create plastic neural pathways (or habits), which form ways that ultimately manifest as addiction. You have options if you are ready to acknowledge a problem and want to make a change. More wisdom from Fred Rogers suggests, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Don’t be afraid of change — embrace it — so long as it leads to a more upright version of ‘you.’ Depending on your obstacles, various local resources and individuals can help you achieve your goal of a better self.

    The rewards are abundant to you and those around you if you can:

    1) Validate that you are precious and unique.

    2) Strive to be honest with your true self and those around you.

    3) Make good choices.

    “If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is some of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”  
    – Fred Rogers

    When you go about your days voluntarily doing good — you will discover your genuine value and enrich the lives of those around you.

    What determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society?

    “It’s not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff.”   – Fred Rogers

    Ugga Mugga
    Fred Rogers with Daniel Tiger

    The downward spiral of negative thought and action can be reversed. All things have their opposite. Perhaps that downward spiral could be better described as a spiraling staircase that can be traveled in both directions. Daily gratitude, empathy, compassion, and patience could be likened to climbing the staircase. Choose wisely if you want to experience joy and make your community or home life a more “beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

    “Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered,
    as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.”      – Fred Rogers

    I am no ‘Fred Rogers,’ but I like who the guy was and what he represented to the society of my youth. Our problems today are eerily similar to many of the issues of the recent past. Real change begins at the local, even the home level. If we, as individuals, can embrace a more loving and positive outlook on everyone and everything, we can create the idyllic community that we all want Heber Valley to become.

    Thank you for your ongoing support of Heber Valley Life magazine. I hope you find the stories to follow uplifting and that they help you visualize our community in the best way possible.

  • Within You Without You

    Within You Without You

    With that clarity, it is possible to see your scenario through different eyes, as if a divine shroud, or “wall of illusion,” temporarily thins. I have had several such instances in my life, and I always take notice as I perceive these glimpses as a gift. The whole performance makes sense — just for that moment.

    While I was recently sitting in the construction traffic, southbound on the 40 from Park City, I had one of these moments. A cover of George Harrison’s masterwork, Within You Without You [from the Beatles’ 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band] by Big Head Todd and The Monsters came on the radio via the satellite airwaves. Within You Without You is a tune I have known since adolescence as the original recording. George has always been my favorite Beatle. I have come to appreciate his secular observations and criticisms as I have grown in age, experience, and (dare I say it) maturity. Hearing the song as a cover was a different experience. As I listened to a composition that I could lyrically recite from memory for the first time, in a glimpse of a moment, the words meant something different from what I had previously known them to be.

    George spent the fall of 1966 hanging out in India with master sitarist Ravi Shankar. His original intent was to become more familiar with the instrument and reassess the international fame the Beatles had encountered after their third US tour. However, during his stay, George became entranced by ancient Hindu philosophy and the teachings of the Vidas. Leading up to this visit, George openly struggled with Western secularism and the relentless pursuit of status and material acquisitions. While he became more skilled with the sitar over the endurance of his stay, his more meaningful takeaway was a spiritual awakening.

    Upon George’s return to England, he embraced this change of heart and actively adopted a lifestyle aligned with many Hindu teachings. Within You Without You became a personal declaration of his change in philosophy and his music began to reflect this ideology from that point forward.

    Within You Without You introduces a Western audience to the concept that enlightenment innately exists within the individual. George encourages humankind to look within ‘the self’ [within you] while simultaneously removing the self-perception of ego identity [without you]. The obstacle is that we are conditioned from birth to accept secular programming, which, by in large, blinds us from the fact that we are spiritual beings having an earthly experience.

    “Try to realize it’s all within yourself; no one else can make you change

    And to see you’re really only very small

    And life flows on within you and without you.”

    One builds ego by stacking earthly gains and labels, then wrapping those assets with a coat of self-interest. The soul, or true self, is generally at peace and stable, while the ego is subject to constant fluctuation as the winds of the world shift. Constructing an ego as an identity is the way of the world. Others will judge you based on your productivity as measured by material wealth and success. However, constructing an identity on a fluctuating ego is like building a home on a foundation of sand. The true self will never be at peace with this strategy. Once construction becomes complete, it is horrifying for most to tear a home down to its foundation, relocate, and rebuild.

    “We were talking

    About the love that’s gone so cold

    And the people

    Who gain the world and lose their soul.

    They don’t know, they can’t see.”

    It is evident how small we are when an individual can suppress their ego. In the grand scheme, most of us retain little to no influence. Secularism is a hollow pursuit as there is ‘always a bigger fish.’ Hence, one can “gain the world and lose their soul,” chasing all desirable things as prescribed by the world.

    A constant in our Earthly existence is that one can only be accountable for the actions of their self. One individual imposing their belief system on another is an act of aggression. One cannot be aggressive and at peace simultaneously as one action contradicts the other. The contemporary Indian Sage Papaji stated:

    “If there is peace in your mind you will find peace with everybody. If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. So first find peace within and you will see this inner peace reflected everywhere else. You are this peace. You are happiness, find out. Where else will you find peace if not within you?”

    Every one of us is born with a unique ‘true self.’ Within each individual is the capacity to live a joyous life and find enlightenment within our unique ability to comprehend such a status. Young children are delightful because they live authentically before being imbued with secular philosophy. The soul recognizes authenticity — but is often unable to consciously place the ‘why’ because of the “space between us all” and the “love that’s gone so cold.” When struggling with a person’s behavior, I often try to imagine them as their ‘kindergarten self.’ This tactic allows me to observe them and their actions more patiently by removing their self-constructed identity and trying to see them as their true selves. Try it — it works!

    “When you’ve seen beyond yourself then you may find

    Peace of mind is waiting there

    And the time will come when you see we’re all one

    And life flows on within you and without you.”

    Worldly mindsets seek endless busyness, distraction, and futility that rift the gateway to the true spiritual self. If left unchecked, the material world will consume all of your energy and provide sufficient distractions to eliminate one’s ability to commune with your inner self. One must forsake, or at the very least, compartmentalize the requirement to be in the world if the goal is to unlock what is “within you.”

    Western mindfulness practices introduce meditation as a non-spiritual approach to emotional management, stress reduction, and mental focus. The goal of Hindu mindfulness is to use focus and meditation to attain a mystical state — the mind’s total absorption on the inner self. Asceticism, or restraint in consumption and simplicity in living, mediates the ego, while spiritually targeted mindfulness creates a path to understanding and accepting your true identity. A Hindu follower seeks Moksha (spiritual liberation) and self-realization through Karma Yoga (the path of action and good deeds), Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion to God), and Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge and wisdom) and, in some teachings Raja Yoga (mental discipline and meditation). The Katha Upanishad states:

    When the five senses and the mind are still, and the reasoning intellect rests in silence, then begins the highest path.

    Acknowledging a higher power is critical when exploring a life “without you.” What could be more ego-driven than the thought that there is nothing more extraordinary in the world than my self-construct? In nearly every global denomination, love is Godliness. Love cannot exist without humility.

    “We were talking

    About the love we all could share

    When we find it

    To try our best to hold it there.”

    I recognize that for a community magazine in a small Utah town — this may be a ‘far out’ stream of thought as one sits listening to the radio in road construction traffic. Our editorial voice aims to promote positivity and preserve the historical identity of the Heber Valley. The founders of this community were religious people. Studying world religions will find many common threads in thought, principle, and action. Many of these concepts made me who I am today. If I am perfectly candid: I was once a wounded soul and occasionally I feel obligated to share the secret to my recovery.

    I can break this all down to contemporary language and standards. Simply put, make the Heber Valley a better place in 2023 by embracing these five principles: 1) You are responsible for your happiness, 2) You are not that cool, 3) Unplug, 4) Chill out, and last — but not least, 5) Avoid selfishness.

    Have a wonderful Holiday Season and start to 2023!

    I humbly bow
    to the divine
    in you.

    Thank you for
    supporting Heber Vally Life magazine and our Positive Community Voice.

  • Two Roads and a Rocking Chair

    Two Roads and a Rocking Chair

    There has been far more change going around the Heber Valley than the weather over the past few months. The Heber Valley has an identity of being a quiet, pastoral community. While our natural resources are undeniably our most glaringly apparent assets, the citizens define the true essence of this community. Frequently in the advertising world, we talk about ‘market differentiators.’ The root of a successful launch or campaign will characteristically involve identifying what makes your product different from the rest of the competition and promoting that virtue.

    Have any of you ever considered why the Heber Valley is such a special place on a level that is a higher elevation from the talking points of ‘distance to a chairlift,’ ‘proximity to a major metropolitan market,’ or ‘the majestic views?’ If you have: you are searching for the ‘soul’ of the Heber Valley. Many places in the American West offer recreational opportunities and great views. Nearly every community in the West has a history of mining or cattlemen. Most of the West, Utah in particular, can claim a heritage of the sacrifice and bravery of early settlers. None of these are unique variables defining a modern small town in the Western United States.

    I took the opportunity in my youth to travel and fly fish. I have driven across and overnighted in 42 of the 50 states; and brought a fly-caught gamefish to hand in the majority therein. My travels became more enlightening as I fixated less on the monuments, trophies, or destinations within the locale, and more on the citizens of the place I was trying to fish. There were times when I would pick the seediest dive I could find in Rural America, plop myself down on a stool and try to break the social barriers that the locals would put up to defend their way of life from outsiders (Clyde’s Billiards, the OE and Timp Tavern were not exempt from this excercise). As it turns out, many people like to catch fish, and I could always find a talker in the group regarding fishing stratagem. These experiences taught me quite a bit about respect, judgment, and earning diverse friendships. After all those travels, I landed and set root in the Heber Valley. While the Middle Provo River can produce some great trout, there is far more behind this outcome than the fishing.

    The Heber Valley is remarkable because our residents still possess a GENUINE quality. Our citizenry’s down-to-earth attributes have survived the plasticine projections of consumerism, commodification, entitlement, and the corporate value structure that has assembly-line-packaged and shrink-wrapped this Nation over the past 40 years — making the Heber Valley a non-fictional, modern-day Shangri-La. We are an honest and hard-working population that has historically earned our daily bread by the sweat of our brows. The people that we see at work are the people we see at our grocery stores, softball games, and civic events. We keep our heads up in our struggles, look each other in the eye, and offer a helping hand when we see others in need. While we may not get along all the time, we each understand that we live in the same small pond and have a unifying love of where we live. I have been amazed for nearly 20 years by the caliber of individuals I have discovered within the confines of this Mountain Valley. Many long-standing residents have chosen this life while professionally qualified to engage the rat race head-on in larger markets. If you think that the Heber Valley is nothing more than a misfit bunch of Utah hillbillies — you have sorely misread the reality of where you stand.

    The change that immediately concerns me in the Heber Valley is not what you might suspect. I am not afraid of growth or new people moving to the HV. I welcome those who wish to become invested citizens in our community. I believe this is a natural and necessary process that is healthy. A few antonyms of growth would be stagnation and decay. Life marches forward. Given a complete understanding of the implications: I think we would all prefer increase over decline. However, change without an intentional direction tends to invite chaos. The identity of the Heber Valley, unless referencing weather patterns, has nothing to do with chaotic living.

    Most of my work commute is the distance between Heber City’s Mill Road and Center to Main and Center. After 20 years of running this ‘commute,’ I encountered a first that I need to share — as an example of new attitudes in conflict with what has made the Heber Valley the desirable location it is today. There was an instance where the 25 MPH speed limit in the residential zone of Center Street was agitating the driver behind me. They elected to pass by in the center turn lane and issued a tall-fingered salute they drove past. Without any change in my speed or intensity, we caught up with each other at the stop light at Center and Main, where I politely smiled and waved back. My gesture of friendliness incensed the driver further — they peeled out and went North to whatever invented crisis their end destination entailed. Entitled aggression is not our identity in the Heber Valley. If you moved here to get away from that sort of thing, leave it where it belongs — in the past. Adopt the culture that long-standing residents have embraced for generations and perpetuate the vibe you moved here to enjoy.

    The pace of the world has been gaining intensity over the past several years. Professional and social stresses have followed the rising intensity levels. With the cooling temperatures of Autumn, I extend an invitation to cool our emotional states correspondingly. The rapid-fire assault of information, misinformation, and unveiled self-serving agendas at high levels has created systemic anger, breach of trust, indifference, and shortened attention spans at a National level. To make the case even more tenuous, it appears that there is another storm brewing on the horizon. Assume that we are humble and in tune enough to validate that this trend is accurate and that it may be affecting our general emotional condition. How do we course correct our emotional pathways?

    We all have choices. There will come a moment when we each have to decide to take the Blue Pill or the Red. I find myself reflecting on the oft-quoted passages of naturalist and celebrated American poet Robert Lee Frost found in the poem “The Road Not Taken.”

    Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

    And sorry I could not travel both

    And be one traveler, long I stood

    And looked down one as far as I could

    To where it bent in the undergrowth;

     

    Then took the other, as just as fair,

    And having perhaps the better claim,

    Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

    Though as for that the passing there

    Had worn them really about the same,

     

    And both that morning equally lay

    In leaves no step had trodden black.

    Oh, I kept the first for another day!

    Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

    I doubted if I should ever come back.

     

    I shall be telling this with a sigh

    Somewhere ages and ages hence:

    Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

    I took the one less traveled by,

    And that has made all the difference.

    Outside of the autumnal reference and natural allegory, I love this journey of thought because of the conceptual exploration that we all are accountable for our decision-making. None of us is unwillingly coerced towards a fate beyond our choosing. There will always be a choice and a corresponding consequence. Before you can change a core behavioral pattern, you have to validate that there is a problem and that you have the power to change.

    Suppose you choose the Red Pill and want to explore the relationship between manipulated emotion and rational thought. In that case, I have three waypoints for your consideration that you may find helpful on your journey.

    1. The inventory of time is a construct of humankind. This construct is the heartbeat and lifeblood of the industrial complex of which you are a cog in the machine. If you want to forsake the machine creating your perceived stress, unplug it. Reconnect with the planet and the natural pace of celestial motion, tides, seasons, and storms. Abandon your devices; sever the digital umbilical cord to the machine; and explore the Heber Valley this fall. Take your shoes off and feel the Earth. Schedule an afternoon to sit under an aged tree (without a book or any other distraction). Watch the shadows, track the clouds, feel the breeze and listen to the leaves as it passes through them. Catalog the sounds of the creatures of the Earth and learn their meanings. When the sun sets, make it a priority to lie down flat on your back and stargaze. Educate yourself about our neighboring planets and constellations to appreciate our dark skies, and ponder size, scope, and futility. The pace you will find in exercises such as this is the rhythm of creation — of which you are a part. It will ground you to what is truly important, and you will find more patience and compassion for others through that change.
    1. An old-timey quote by the Internationally recognized New Zealander Cricket batsman, Glenn Turner, has been heavy on my mind as of late. He stated, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” Don’t waste your precious time on this Earth fussing over variables outside your control. It is insane or illogical at best to give that thing, individual, or circumstance power over your overall emotional well-being if you cannot do anything about it.
    1.  The external circumstances around you are not causing your anxiety or frustration. Emotion generates within the self. None other than yourself is responsible for inventorying your feelings, and you can choose how you react to any situation. Let’s momentarily revisit my Center Street reckless driving encounter. I had a choice to allow the actions of the offending driver to wreck my emotional state that day. The best revenge in many cases is not to allow the offender to affect your mood and correspondingly become like them. Letting the event pass without escalating your emotional state is the road “less traveled by.” It is the high road and the path of leadership. Nobody can make you feel upset, angry, or inferior when you understand the simple truth that you have a choice. We must willfully comply with an external event for it to modify our internal condition. Dare to be non-compliant with the external stresses of your life.

    I share these thoughts out of love for my fellow citizens and the Heber Valley. If you managed to read this far, you have a choice to make. Marcus Aurelius declared, “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” Please accept my thoughts in the spirit that they are delivered — as it is not my intent to preach, but to provide a helping hand and a positive path to pursue. We can individually protect ourselves, our hometown, and our civic identity by embracing attitudes of tolerance, positivity, and respect. In a world where outside messengers persuade us to believe we have no choice or influence, these are actions we can take as a collective to create the future we all want to see in the Heber Valley.

    Thank you for supporting our positively focused, solution-based media voice in the Heber Valley. I hope you enjoy our 21st edition of Heber Valley Life.

  • Duck and Cover

    Duck and Cover

    Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best

    As a Utah resident, I have come to cherish my desert time. I love the Glen Canyon and using Lake Powell to share the desert grandeur with my children, who are not of the age to go hardcore canyoneering. A handful of years ago, I led my family on a 4th of July adventure to the up-lake region of Powell. Given my predispositions to adventure, nature, and exploration — I charted a course to an area that the National Park Service issued warnings about due to low water. There is no cell reception in this part of the Lake. The week prior, several ski boats had hulled themselves on rock spires that, without sonar, nautical charts, or local knowledge were invisible to an unsuspecting boater. It may sound odd to some — but this was a very well-conceived plan in my mind.

    I saw fit to equip myself with Utah’s finest mortars and aerials, given the holiday. I ran all necessary mechanical and safety checks on the boat, trailer, and truck as preparation for departure. I loaded a week’s gear, tackle, fuel, and provisions. Hanksville received the honorary ‘tip-of-the-hat’ while passing by, and we made an early morning launch at Bullfrog.

    We secured a camping outpost in one of the most idyllic scenarios at Powell. It was a short canyon just slightly off the main channel, the curvature of which deadened boat wakes like a harbor and provided privacy. It was large enough that having camp destroyed by flash flooding was not a concern but too narrow to hold more than one campsite. The walls were approaching 200 feet tall and offered relief from the sun and wind. There was a sandy beach and a flat plateau suitable for multiple tents. There were dense shad populations, and the stripers would push in and nearly beach themselves in boils every morning and evening.

    I was particularly excited about the fireworks display in this canyon. I could see the reverberating colors, shadows, reflections, and sounds that an aerial presentation would provide within my mind’s eye. While it is effortless to lose time in an environment such as this — we counted the days to the Independence Day observance.

    We came back to camp early, grilled hot dogs and burgers, gorged ourselves on Green River watermelon, and staged the fireworks show. Mom and the girls positioned themselves on the boat’s deck for this exclusive and private fireworks presentation. My son (six years old) accompanied me as an apprentice to the production. I created a zone to deploy the mortars, safe from the vessel, the tents, or flammable debris. The time had arrived.

    The evening started with absolute perfection. This set-up had proved to be everything I had planned for and imagined. My son was beside himself with excitement. He brought me an aerial assortment called “Red, White, and Boom” and insisted this was the next up on the program. The particular build was a 20-shot assortment with the mortar tubes secured together in a tower and weighted by a square pedestal.

    I set it up, added some rock to secure the pedestal, and lit the fuse. All planning aside, on the 4th report of 20, the situation evolved into something unforeseen. Someone in engineering had added a disproportionate amount of powder to the pedestal’s support capacity. The result, stemming from that ill-fated 4th report, was that the recoil tipped the tower over. That moment provided a new schedule of 16 large-scale explosions of fire, color, sound, and light deployed horizontally, ricocheting, in an inescapable canyon where my posterity and all of our survival equipment were in the line of fire.

    The scene reminded me of the sequence from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 masterwork, Apocalypse Now, where Captain Benjamin L. Willard, portrayed by Martin Sheen, is looking for the Commanding Officer to refit their boat from the outpost at the Do Lung Bridge. With Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ as a background soundtrack to the melee — I grabbed my son’s arm and screamed “duck and cover” as we fled for safety behind a nearby boulder. As we ran through the sand, I could see the darkness cut by multi-colored light and shadow, mingled with thunderous noise. Every ignition spun the mortar tower like a psychedelic wheel of adverse destiny and consequence. I watched as gigantic flaming flowers repeatedly passed through our nylon tents and bedding.

    Our guardian angels were on point that evening. The boat was undamaged. My wife, the girls, the provisions, the dogs, and our only chance to make the 30+ mile trek back to the truck, or cell reception to summon help, were all intact and undamaged. My son had to work through the experience psychologically, which mainly manifested as several days of jumbled speech with the occasional “duck and cover” expression inserted into his train of thought. I look back on this event and cannot express my gratitude for our fortunate outcome.

    I share this experience because I believe there is a timely message. The best-laid plans are subject to chaotic change at any moment. Sometimes the chaos is invited by an individual’s poor decisions. Sometimes the disruptions to our ‘perfect situation’ are unprovoked – but unavoidable nonetheless. When these events happen, there are several variables to an equation that I have found meaningful when mitigating life’s chaos.

    We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are

    Anais Nin

    Plan

    The first principle to navigating chaos is planning for the worst and hoping for the best. Planning includes both material and mental preparations. Preparing for a disaster does not automatically make you a paranoid or conspiracy theorist. If you have thought through potential situations, they are less likely to catch you by surprise. A simple glance at history will suggest many precedents for catastrophe striking innocent people. Preparation will often separate the victims from the survivors. Be moderate, wise, and maintain situational awareness of your surrounding circumstances. Plan accordingly.

    Be Calm

    The following principle is to stay calm and disciplined in the eye of the storm. Planning will help you keep your cool in the heat of the moment. Your decision-making skills will directly affect the outcome of a chaotic event. If you lose control of your emotions, you will not be fit to lead. Correspondingly, you may become a liability to your team or an unnecessary casualty of circumstances.

    Stay Optimistic

    Last but not least, stay optimistic in the aftermath. Positivity in the face of disaster will become a light and a beacon to those suffering around you. There is always a silver lining and a lesson that an individual can glean by overcoming obstacles. Buddha taught, “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Find gratitude, especially when the world around you is at its worst, and share your love. To quote 20th Century diarist Anais Nin, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Be the lighthouse that guides others out of the stormy waters and you will find joy in serving your fellow citizens.

    I love the Heber Valley and the dynamic of our evolving population. We live in a modern-day Shangri-La that is isolated from particular storms. Other storms will likely make landfall with the HV at ground zero. Have a plan in place to lean on. Please be safe this summer and make decisions that will help you to mitigate unforeseen chaos. Nurturing our humanity will define who we are in the wake of the flood (or an unpropitious firework display).

  • The Truth is Out There

    The Truth is Out There

    Do we have any X-Files fans in the Heber Valley? I loved this sci-fi TV drama when it was airing. For the younger, binge and streaming-on-demand crowd — we used to have to wait until the program aired on network TV to view new episodes. I would count the days in anticipation. When that time arrived, I would make popcorn, turn off the lights and try to maximize the suspense and weirdness that each chapter seemed to unfold. All anticipation would build to a satisfying crescendo as the eerie and oddly low budget theme music and into sequence rolled out. What a fantastic TV series!

    The series’s central characters were two FBI agents assigned to work together on ‘unsolvable’ cases, often leaning towards the paranormal. Fox Mulder, portrayed by actor David Duchovny, was a brilliant FBI agent pigeonholed because he believed in aliens and paranormal phenomena. Nevertheless, he could substantiate his work enough to give himself a job with conditional oversight. That supervision came from a skeptical partner, Dana Scully, played by Gillian Anderson. She came with medical and religious backgrounds that would counterbalance Fox Mulder’s tendency to gravitate to strange and unconventional case theories.

    I always felt that the interplay between science, faith, and the unexplainable was fascinating in this series. Mulder and Scully were always trying to find the truth, even if that truth was bizarre and counterculture. Dana Scully went through an exciting transition as the cases piled up. Necessity tested her societal boundaries of commonly accepted occurrences and her dependence on factual data. She was forced, through difficult experiences, to utilize the full breadth of her imagination for problem-solving when observable variables would not align.

    Cases became X-Files because caseworkers were resistant to entertaining the improbable. They lacked the ability for unrestrained and imaginative free thought. Throughout the series, the evolution of Dana Scully illustrates the human capacity to live in a world of imagination simultaneously rooted in reality.

    Imagination is the precursor to innovation. When seemingly impossible scenarios arise, there will be two types of people: the critics and the innovators. Standalone critics generally cannot imagine new possibilities. Their perceptions stagnate in a pattern where flaws are acutely referenced, but no implementable solutions accompany the grievance. An innovator can see problems as clearly as the critic. The difference is that innovators avoid the negativity and futility of complaint patterns and embrace the creative thought process of action and problem-solving.

    The American novelist Mark Twain stated, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” I love this quote because it can take on several meanings if you daydream about it for a moment or two. At face value, I believe Twain suggests that if individuals cannot think for themselves, they tend to believe anything they are told. The eyes alone can collect information, but it takes a mind to process it into something relevant. Deception will come very quickly to those who do not learn to filter what they see and embrace free thought.

    Free thinking is a virtue, a skill, and an attribute that is all too scarce in our modern ‘age of information’. Our days are perpetually inundated with ads and messages that tell us what we should think and believe. Instant information availability has led to a lack of another virtue, patience. It is common to buy into a brand and accept the product as absolute without consideration of the motivation behind the message. Between the hectic pace of our daily tasks and the perpetual noise from the almighty messengers, there is little time for peace, meditation, and the free flow of creative thought.

    The truth is out there — but it is reserved for those willing to search for it. Many of the problems that we face today are as absurd and improbable as a storyline from the X-Files. It will take the honest effort of a creative mind to navigate the minefields of agendas and half-truths set by those that would like to tell you how to think.

    Spring is a time for rebirth. I challenge the Heber Valley to prioritize time every day for quiet and calm. Use that peace to think deeply about whatever issue ails you. In that quiet space, you will recover your capacity to think with clarity. The truths you seek will more readily come to focus as your eyes, mind, and heart align.

    Thank you for being so supportive of Heber Valley Life magazine. I hope you find this edition as uplifting and inspiring as the landscape we call home.

  • Of Honesty and CommUNITY

    Of Honesty and CommUNITY

    I live in a messaging world as a profession, and I will share a trade secret with you all. Top marketers identified this concept on Madison Avenue decades ago, and we now have a multi-generational hive of well-trained consumers as a byproduct. Products for consumption may include goods, services, and ideologies — all of which receive promotional support through sophisticated marketing efforts.

    The obstacle is that freethinkers are bad for business. It is far more advantageous to have a consumer base identifying with your product and investing in it personally than someone that thinks for themselves and has no formal allegiances. When a consumer is willing to ‘ride for the brand,’ it becomes much easier to deliver your goods or services without the tremendous effort of convincing them to part with their hard-earned substance. A better outcome is when an individual is so enamored with your product or brand — that they begin to advocate towards their circles of influence on your behalf.

    This concept sounds simple enough, but how do you get there? Free markets create competition, and while competing interests are good for innovation, they often adversely affect the bottom line or desired outcome of a cause. In a world of honesty, one would focus exclusively on self-improvement and adopt an attitude of ‘may the best effort win.’ Alternately, we live in a world where the standard practice is to skew consumer perspectives so that their identity becomes singular to an exclusive vision. Over time and repetition, the polarization intensifies; stereotypes manifest, competitor misfortune provides opportunities, distractions, angles, spins, slants, soothing sound bites, and partial truths are all introduced to solidify a fixed perspective for the desired consumer base. The outcome of this practice is a devout consumer with a vision so fixated on your product that they cannot entertain or comprehend another’s viewpoint. When a consumer is married to a brand, it is no longer necessary to sell because they will buy whatever you offer them.

    While this level of consumer division is desirable for sales and politics — it is damaging to a community. The reality is that truth is not an exercise of subjectivity unless you are marketing or campaigning. Truth is singular, fixed, and grounded in the complete collection of facts. Changing an angle of perspective can create different shadows of that truth, but the truth itself is fixed and immovable.

    In a community, individuals will approach reality from differing viewpoints, and that is healthy. We all have different core values, and that diversity is worth celebrating. Think about how boring life would be if we were all clones of one another! Remember that clones are suitable for endgame marketing, politics, and consumerism but make horrifically dull communities.

    Despite our differences, it is critical to believe that we have far more in common than not, which is why we are all here. Understanding this commonality creates a foundation of respect and a sense of family. If we can respect each other for our varying perspectives, then we can have meaningful conversations. Productive discourse reinforces our civic ties and ultimately helps the collective find the most harmonious outcomes for any given situation.

    Be wary of those that live in the extremes. Extreme viewpoints are generally uncompromising and will not contribute to healthy discourse or solution-driven conversation. The Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus once stated, “Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.” As an avid fly fisherman, I can testify that many a fish has come to my hand by provoking anger through annoyance. Keep it positive, and don’t take that bait!

    I firmly believe that the future of the Heber Valley is in our hands, and we have the potential to create a truly remarkable community. We will look back at this era of growth and marvel that we were all a part of it. We can achieve this goal by showing compassion, respect, and participating in moderate discourse with our civic family. Strive to practice empathy over judgment. Be honest with yourself and with your fellow citizens. Discard agendas created for personal gain. Examine necessities from high elevation points. Ponder what it means to serve a ‘Greater Good.’ Strain to see another’s perspective — even if it may seem offensive at first glance. By enacting this way of life, we will identify the elusive truths and unify the community in all of its diverse grandeur.

    Thank you for your support. Together, we are building a better community with our positive thought and action.

  • Your Move

    Your Move

    I woke up this morning in a classic rock daydream. The tune echoing in my mind was ‘Your Move,’ from the 1971 release of The YES Album by the British prog-rock band, YES. I couldn’t justify a reason why this particular song should be forefront in my mind — so I took a moment to revisit it to see if, perhaps, there was something else there.

     

    Take a straight and stronger course to the corner of your life.
    Make the white Queen run so fast
    she hasn’t got time to make you wife.
    ’Cause it’s time, it’s time in time with your time and it’s news is captured for the Queen to use.

    Move me on to any black square
    Use me anytime you want.
    Just remember that the gold
    Is for us all to capture all we want, anywhere.

    Don’t surround yourself with yourself
    Move on back two squares.
    Send an instant karma to me
    Initial it with loving care.

    Don’t surround yourself with yourself
    ’Cause it’s time, it’s time in time with your time and it’s news is captured for the Queen to use.(All we are saying is give peace a chance).

    I’ve seen all good people turn their heads each day
    So satisfied I’m on my way.

    – Jon Anderson, 1971 © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

     

    ‘Your Move’ is an anti-war and spiritual call to action. The time and context of this song are framed by the turbulent era surrounding the Vietnam conflict. By 1971, the Vietnam war was approaching its 10th anniversary. The expenses of the war were becoming overwhelming both in the cost of human life and currency. The United States actively discussed removing the Gold Standard from the US dollar at this time, enabling needed financial flexibility for the military-industrial complex and some high-level banking opportunities through printing additional currency. The Federally imposed military draft had many questioning where their liberties and inalienable rights had gone. Protests and riots had become commonplace in Western cultures, illustrating the citizen outrage over topics ranging from the war, competing religious and political ideologies, government spending, racial inequality, and social class discrepancies. The media was right in the center of all of it, profiting from inflammatory messaging and manipulating the population’s hearts and minds to their benefit.

    “All good people” are those that hope for peace and well-being. The intent of the heart defines the boundary for this categorization as opposed to a nation or government. Songwriter Jon Anderson likens our lives to a chess game: the liberty-loving individual and symbolic collective of individuality, competing with the present and the unseen governing hand. The Queen is the most versatile of all of the pieces and correspondingly is the most powerful. It is wise to watch out for the Queen [and her manipulations]. The song is being sung from the perspective of the Black Bishop as suggested by the “straight and stronger course to the corner,” “making the White Queen run so fast,” and “move me onto any black square.” It would also seem that the Black Bishop is counseling the Black Queen to avoid surrounding “yourself with yourself,” the second yourself likely being the army of pawns [or body of politic] — as doing this would severely inhibit her ability to move.  Surrounding “yourself with yourself” is an allusion to self-righteousness, a trap that will effectively eliminate forward progress and remove you from the game. Should you become a victim of your self-righteousness, is all lost? “Move on back two squares” is a chess term for ‘retreat and rethink.’ If you can muster it, share a little kindness (with a tip of the hat to John Lennon) and chart that “straight and stronger course to the corner of your life.” Your “instant karma” for kindness offered engages a return of gratitude and happiness — ‘Your Move.’

    But all of this happened over 50 years ago and is ancient history, right?

    In the ranks of “All Good People” is a Vietnamese Thien Buddhist monk named Thích Nhãt Hanh.  He is considered the main inspirator for Engaged Buddhism — or the search to find modern application to traditional Buddhist teachings and beliefs. He was also a peace activist on ‘the other side’ of the Vietnam conflict. I was recently impressed by one of his teachings:

     

    When another person makes you suffer, it is because they suffer deeply within themselves, and their suffering is spilling over. They do not need punishment; they need help. That’s the message they are sending.

    – Thích NhÃt HAnh

     

    Like many of you, I have observed a tremendous amount of suffering in our Nation over the past year. The Heber Valley has not been immune as a greater pandemic is sweeping the country. The disruption created by COVID-19 has created a condition where we are all mourning at some level. I see this condition intensified in the Heber Valley as we navigate the most intense growth period of our community’s history. I see anger, locally, that I have never seen before. It is spread all across our social media pages, our roads, our neighborhoods; it is manifest towards small business owners, workforces, and the few leaders who have been willing to step up and guide this ship through the storm. Anger is a disease as real as the virus, causing havoc in our quaint mountain valley. Anger is not in our heritage, and it does not belong here.

    Can we find a “straight and stronger course?” Is it possible to “move on back two squares?” I believe it is, and the solution is simple. When someone tries to hurt or offend, a true mark of maturity occurs when you choose to understand their situation instead of retaliating with an equal and opposite force. Observing that the offending individual is wounded at some level, openly apparent or otherwise, you may decide to impart a portion of kindness instead of retaliation — thus discouraging the cycle of anger and suffering.

    The solution is simple but not simplistic. Transitions from existing habits and patterns are uncomfortable. I happen to know, with personal experience, that the Heber Valley is packed full of “All Good People.” This fact is our strength and the reason others want to join our community. I challenge the people of the Heber Valley, new and old, to be worthy of that title by showing an increased unconditional kindness to our fellow citizens. When that habit starts to stick, let’s take it to the rest of the world. We are that kind of ‘tribe’.

     

    Kindness is the vaccine for anger.

     

    I hope this edition of Heber Valley Life finds you well and helps to lift your spirits. Thank you all for your continued support of Heber Valley’s Positive Community Voice.

  • Memento Mori

    Memento Mori

    Being a teenager is rough. I certainly worked through my fair share of disillusionment during my run through the teen-to-early-adulthood years in my life. Reflecting on those years from my ‘present’ perspective can evoke some feelings of awkwardness. I would be willing to wager that I am not alone in the thought process: “if I could go back then knowing what I know now, I would do [that thing] differently.”

    It wasn’t all bad, though. I remember numerous carefree days with no agenda. I remember walking through manicured park lawns with bare feet on sunny days. I remember friendships, laughter, mischief, and adventure. The memories I choose to focus on create my present reality (or at least my perceived reality) of how I spent my time in those formative years of my life. How I spent my time facilitated those memories. The memories are all I have left for those moments in time.

    I loved the band Pink Floyd at that phase of my life. Like so many young people of that time, I lived for the music. I wore those albums out — everything they recorded as a group and as solo efforts. One of the memories I will hold to the end was seeing the band live on June 20, 1994, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. On that tour, the second set was a ‘canned’ run of the album ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ The third track of that album is titled ‘Time,’ and it starts like this:

    “Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

    You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way

    Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town

    Waiting for someone or something to show you the way”

    (Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright) © Pink Floyd Music

    The song, as a whole, explores the concept of time management, coming of age, and the regrets facilitated by an ineffective usage of the limited resource of time that we have. In youth, most of us are inefficient with our time management. Middle age becomes a game of catching up for the squandered hours of our youth. Only in our sunset years do we realize that “The time is gone, the song is over. Thought I’d something more to say.”

    It would seem that the answer to the adage “who am I” can be very simply answered with “how did you spend your time today?” What you do with your day-to-day existence ultimately defines who you are. How you choose to prioritize your time cements your values. The byproduct of a day becomes a memory, and those memories become daily entries into your Book of Life.

    Memento Mori is a Latin expression from classical antiquity that translates into ‘remember that you must die.’ The meaning behind the philosophy is not morbid — it is a reminder that the most precious resource we have in this existence is time. Every second is fleeting, and until we gain a more significant grasp on the relativity of spacetime, we will not have an opportunity to relive past moments.

    The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote prolifically on the value of time. His target audience existed roughly two millennia ago, but I find his writings oddly relevant to the present.

    How many have laid waste to your life when you weren’t aware of what you were losing, how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusements — how little of your own was left to you. You will realize you are dying before your time!  Seneca

    Throughout the day, I hear friends and acquaintances tell me that they do not have enough time. I feel it as well. This recognition provoked me into running an inventory of where I am placing my daily emphasis. My self-evaluation: Seneca’s statement cited above is accurate. I found room for personal improvement in how I spend my time. I would wager once again that most of us, given the same challenge, would come to a similar conclusion. The raw truth is that we all have the same amount of seconds in a day to work within. Instead of ‘not having time,’ we are stating ‘that is not a priority’ — and that is perfectly acceptable so long as it is comfortable to have that decision as core memory and statement in your Book of Life.

    Internal conflict will surface when we recognize our time was poorly spent. I challenge the Heber Valley and all of the readers of this magazine to give thoughtful consideration to what you choose to do with your time. Albert Einstein stated:

    “A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”  Albert Einstein

    As you inventory your daily time investments, I challenge the community to explore possible opportunities to make our time more meaningful. Embrace decisions that will enrich the life you lead and bless the collective whole that surrounds you.

    Thank you, once again, for continuing to support our independent media voice for the Heber Valley. Enjoy summer 2021!

    RYAN D. BUNNELL
    Publisher, Heber Valley Life magazine

  • Let Us Anew

    Let Us Anew

    The transition that occurs in the Rocky Mountain spring season is miraculous. Our historic winter weather pattern has created an ecosystem adapted to periodic dormancy. The miracle is that after enduring all of the climatic harshnesses, the native flora and fauna can turn a blind eye to the past and march forward into a new stage of life.

    Winter can be insulting. The potential for extreme cold, periodic warming trends followed by more cold temperatures, wind, drought, snow accumulation, and icy precipitation concocts a regular recipe for confusion, disillusionment, stress, and even mortality of indigenous inhabitants. I find the natural world’s adaptation to these diverse trials nothing short of awe-inspiring.

    A unique characteristic shared by these plants and animals is that they shelter themselves during the most extreme climatic events and emerge anew without bitterness or guile when the trend passes. Regardless of the trials faced — they accept the reality of the moment, forgive any past infractions, and move forward with an unbiased zeal for the future.

    Human hubris will often distance itself from the patterns set in our environmental surroundings. Rooted firmly in the ground of spring 2021, I would propose the question, “is our reality that different from the spring reemergence in the Nevada-Utah Mountains Semidesert – Coniferous Forest – Alpine Meadow Province?”

    A fundamental behavioral divergence of our genus and species from the natural world is that the other life forms tend to forgive innately. Human beings intrinsically hold grudges. However, our sentience and ability to take cognizance will also provide us the capacity for choice. ‘To forgive’ is a verb in the same light as ‘to offend’ or ‘to be offended.’ All of these actions require implementation from the individual — which means that, whether aware of it or not, one may actively choose their reaction to any given trial or circumstance.

    The renowned English poet Alexander Pope explored this concept in this oft-quoted heroic couplet:

    Ah ne’er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast,

    Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost!

    Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;

    To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.

    (Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, Part II, 1711)

    While a certain level of subjectivity exists amongst the definition of divinity, all will agree that it is a standard that exists well above our natural-born ‘human’ state. The difference between ability and skill is that abilities are innate, while skills require development. In the human experience, one must proactively choose forgiveness as a path and learn how to develop this skill and virtue throughout a lifetime.

    Forgiveness is a concept as old as humanity. Nearly every significant culture and religion in human history have recorded a definition for this action, and most are very similar. If we once again consider the transition from winter dormancy to spring awakening: should the dormant tree choose to dwell on the events of the winter past, then it will fail to leaf out in the spring, and its demise will quickly follow. Unfortunate circumstances and less than ideal life events outside of one’s control are inevitable. Forgiveness is the fundamental skill behind recovery, the state of positivity, optimism, and ultimately, happiness.

    The challenge I issue to the Heber Valley for the spring of 2021 is not a light one. Inventory the top three offenses harbored in your life (you know, the big ones held close to your identity) — and choose to let them go without qualifications. Engage positivity and optimism. Think bigger than yourself. Create the future that we all want to live. Let us anew. If you do this, you will change yourself at your core, find happiness, and brighten the lives of all those you encounter.

    Thank you, once again, for your support of Heber Valley Life magazine. The feedback we have received from the Heber Valley has kept us buoyant in the past year’s storm. I hope you find the contents of this spring 2021 release as genuine and uplifting as the Heber Valley is today.

  • Make That Change

    Make That Change

    I am a stubborn individual. Many times I have pondered whether this character attribute is, in fact, a virtue or a vice. I can see how being persistent in certain circumstances has led me to personal success. I can also see instances where my refusal to alter a course has brought unnecessary hardship to my life. I suppose the answer lies somewhere within the fabled words of Kenny Rogers in that you need to “know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

    Life is a gamble these days. The status quo that we knew — even one year ago — no longer exists. The paradigm is shifting to an undefined end. In our current social, political, and economic environment: victories are most often rewarded to those with the most flexibility. However, change is intimidating; and just like a game of cards, making the wrong choice can set you back farther than where you started. The weight of deciding how and when to change any variable of your life can be paralyzing. How does one determine when it is most prudent to stay the course or make a change?

    Start by prioritizing regular time for personal introspection. Quiet and meditative time can open windows into your deeper self. I believe that there is a light within our consciousness that (being unaffected by all things temporal) can help us see how things are instead of how they appear. All you have to do is slow yourself down and detach from the world enough to catch a glimpse of that wisdom and light.

    Ponder your situation and derive an implementable solution. There is little good in taking on problems that are outside of your sphere of influence. I turn to the oft-quoted ‘Serenity Prayer’ when mitigating stress or anxiety created by things that “I cannot change.”

    God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and WISDOM to know the difference.

    Reinhold Niebuhr, American Theologian, 1951

    Sins of omission are real. With that stated: it is imperative to recognize that you, as an individual, have little to no control over certain things. Understanding this will help in prioritizing what an implementable change is and what it is not. If the ailment is something that you cannot do anything about — emotionally letting go of that thing could be the exact change needed to find your center again.

    When looking to make the world a better place, it is imperative to get your foundation in order first. Make those changes in your own life that will allow you to be a shining example to others first. If you can define your unique personal values: you develop a base of support that will enable you to share yourself with others.

    Strength and leadership principles originate in the home. The next place to implement change is at the family level. Strive to create harmony within the relationships that matter most. When outside personal and professional networks see a caring and confident human being with all of their personal affairs in order — they will be more inclined to hear your message.

    My challenge to the Heber Valley is to make 2021 a better year than it’s predecessor. We have virtually no control over natural disasters, disease, or pestilence. We may not have much influence at the Federal or State levels of government. However, every individual CAN make changes that will affect their strength and happiness. You can choose to find gratitude in an environment ripe with fear and disaster. We can all positively influence those people that we interact with daily. That is within our control.

    Thank you for supporting Heber Valley Life magazine. We live in the best mountain community in the American West. It is my genuine pleasure to highlight those that make it so every season of the year.

  • Leaning In

    Leaning In

    “Things are tough all over,” a phrase coined by a popular movie from the early 1980’s — but every bit as accurate today as it was then. Surrounded by a national economic crisis, social instability, and political unrest, I think it is crucial to acknowledge that this is not the first time that any of these things have happened in our great nation.

    If we look back at the pioneers that settled in the Heber Valley, we would recognize how difficult life was for them. An expression commonly used by these pioneers when circumstances became difficult was “put your shoulder to the wheel.” This expression originated in 17th century Europe. It references the fairly common event of a wagon wheel becoming stuck in the mud. The pull of the livestock becoming insufficient would require the operator to get into the mire behind the carriage and push. One might say that as the situation became complicated, a certain degree of physically ‘leaning in’ was required to overcome the difficulties.

    Trials evoke three innate personality tendencies that echo across all creation: some choose to fight, some opt to flee, and some decide to freeze. I like this reality because we, as individuals, still have the opportunity to override our base programming and choose our outcome.

    In the case of the lodged wagon wheel — paralysis in the face of the challenge will not get the cart out of the bog, get you home for dinner or anywhere else for that matter. You are, quite simply, stuck without any further options. Abandoning the wagon may not be the best long term solution either. This choice would undoubtedly have additional social, political, and economic consequences in the days to follow as the rest of the village addresses the issue on your behalf. Sometimes challenges — as undesirable as the reality may be — require us to roll up our shirt sleeves individually, wade waist-deep into a mud puddle, and lean in with all of our physical might. If one was able to put the options and outcomes all out on a spreadsheet, it is understandable that, more often than not, ‘the fight’ is the only way out of the muck.

    Becoming proactive and leaning into your current obstacles is the first challenge I will issue to the community this fall. The second is to do it with a positive attitude. Doing a thing is not always enough. When you can address your challenges with an optimistic outlook, you become a leader and a shining light for others that are struggling. Your example will help others choose the fight and, hopefully, to do so with a positive attitude.

    I am perpetually humbled by the feedback I receive and this community’s support of Heber Valley Life magazine. Thank you. I hope that our family of readers, subscribers, sponsors, contributors, and advertisers feel inspired and uplifted, exploring our fall 2020 edition.

  • Power in Positivity

    Power in Positivity

    By Ryan Bunnell
    Publisher, Heber Valley Life Magazine

    “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”

    – Marcus Aurelius –

    ANXIETY. It is safe to say that every single one of us has processed this feeling in the past several months. This edition of Heber Valley Life magazine has been written and assembled in the middle of the Wasatch County ‘Stay at Home’ order for the COVID-19 pandemic. The continued and now amplified disruption of ‘normal’ to the Heber Valley has affected every one of us. With that disruption, we are all forced to decide how we want to address the fear of change and the grief associated with the loss of what things were yesterday.

    We, as the creative and production team behind Heber Valley Life, have had to cycle through the stress of the COVID-19 lockdown as a group. Our office was named an essential business due to our printing capabilities, our media voice, and our professional relationships with governmental and healthcare entities within the Heber Valley. Amidst monitoring social media accounts, we could observe all of the ‘stay at home’ jokes, activities, trends, panics, political spins, and a barometric reading into what the rest of the workforce was doing. Tiger shows, toilet paper jokes, memes, conspiracies, and homemade dance videos meant little to us as we were all still very much at work — struggling with amplified project timelines in a dysfunctional marketplace while, correspondingly, feeling great uncertainty about all things related to the future.

    As a team, we have been able to process our grief together. The timely distribution of this very book stands as our proof. I am proud of our team, and of how we have adapted to the new normal of change and uncertainty.

    How does one become a ‘positive community voice?’ It is not easy. The most natural and seductive of mental pathways will employ fear and outrage as a vehicle to engage minds. In an environment where this tactic is prominently used: it takes a tremendous amount of self-discipline to observe without reacting, to accept those things that you can or cannot influence, and to choose gratitude over general negativity. Finding knowledge (without becoming emotionally ‘triggered’) coupled with a grateful attitude will change your entire outlook on life. Once you accept this shift in perception, you will become a beacon for innovation and positivity to all of those that surround you.

    PEACE is as real of an emotion as anxiety. If you acknowledge the existence of one, then you have to accept the other as an equal and opposite reality. When individuals can accept feelings of peace more willingly than anxiety, then miracles happen. Physical and spiritual healing follows. Entire countenances change. It is powerful. It is real. I have seen it.

    I am grateful for the opportunity we have to assemble this book each season of the year. I am grateful for all of our overwhelming community support from both our readers and advertisers. I am grateful for the contributors and the team that allows this project to happen. The summer 2020 volume of Heber Valley Life has a lot of heart built into it — all generated from our Heber Valley community. I hope you all enjoy this edition. Thank you again for your interest and support of Heber Valley Life magazine.

  • Breaking The Mold

    Breaking The Mold

    I have heard it popularly stated that by small and simple things – great things could be accomplished. Spring is a season where I feel this principle is illustrated quite clearly in nature. Consider the example of a small and seemingly insignificant seed, perhaps even invisible to the eye, that has been lying dormant under a blanket of organic cover and snow since autumn. As the snow melts and the temperature increases, that seed begins to germinate and comes to life. Within a relatively short window, that seed grows into a plant and then vegetation of a much larger scale. The plant begins its photosynthesis cycle and converts carbon dioxide into the oxygen that many of the other inhabitants of our planet need to sustain life. It doesn’t take a very long progression to see how a small and seemingly insignificant seed can have a great impact on many other things in orders far greater than the seed itself could imagine.

    I feel this pattern reflects a principle in our own lives as human beings. When one considers the billions of humans that have lived and are currently living, one would have to be disconnected from reality to consider the self greater than the harmonic standard of the species. On a cellular level, this might be true – much like the single and inconsequential seed, one of the billions scattered across a dormant field of grass. Within each of us, I believe we have more potential than an, albeit complex, cellular accident of nature solely destined to consume, reproduce, and perish. Perhaps the individual seed sitting in its place as one of the billions would perceive itself in a similar humility. From our human order or observation, we know that the seed has potential, and its life is necessary to the collective whole. It would stand to reason that, given an understanding of its situation, the seed would have little comprehension of what it could become and how significant it could be to variables that it does not know to exist.

    Is it possible then, that each or any of us, given our numeric inconsequentiality, could make a difference or even have an impact on the greater whole? The act of a seedling breaking out of its casing creates a chain of events that may lead to something greater. I have seen this in many people’s lives as they are required to reinvent themselves professionally, take a moral stand on a principle that they believe in, or choose to create peace by illustrating tolerance towards another’s point of view.

    In the initial tender stages of a germinating seed, it requires a relatively great exertion of strength to split its casing. It takes courage, will power, and strength to change or split our respective seed casings confining us to intellectual, emotional, spiritual, or professional dormancy. Once the courage to grow has been initiated: roots can spread, stalks can develop, and leaves can unfurl. Only hindsight will tell that a small act of courage in a sliver of time had a changing impact on a sphere greater than one could imagine possible.

    By this line of logic, I feel it fair to state that one individual can make a difference, but the choice to do so lies within the individual. One must first initiate the courage to change and then exercise the strength to make it happen. The level of possibility depends on the coding within the individual – but the potential is within us all. I hope that as the citizens of the Heber Valley ponder this concept this spring, that we decide to use our energy to build up others and the budding community around us. Choosing to be a positive influence is contagious and a much-needed salve in our societal status quo. Criticism without a viable solution is a coward’s path. I challenge the community to break your respective molds of confinement by implementing positive thought and solution-based dialogue into your daily routines.

    Thank you for your continued support of Heber Valley Life. I hope you truly enjoy our spring 2020 collection of thoughts and stories.

  • How Human Are You?

    How Human Are You?

    One of my all-time favorite science fiction stories centers around a dystopian future in the San Francisco of 2021. In Phillip K. Dick’s 1968 classic “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” Earth is suffering from the remnant radiation of a global nuclear war. All remaining life is cherished. Due to scarcity in the marketplace, possessing something like a house pet is prohibitively expensive while, at the same time, encouraged in a society that values life above all else.

    Thus, bending to the empathetic tendencies of humans, the free market created solutions for those who wanted animals in their lives via synthetic genetic engineering. Such technologies were eventually transferred from animal to human forms to assist in the difficult circumstances involved with terraforming and recolonizing the planet Mars.

    To avoid some of the moral complications tied to genetically engineered human beings, these “androids” were not allowed on Earth. Like most well-intended but near-sighted laws, this created a black market for androids, which in turn required a special police force to “retire” rogue androids.

    The concept of empathy is almost religious to this future society. With all life in jeopardy, it is now fashionable to be sensitive toward life other than your own. Paradoxically, the synthetic humans are programmed to have no capacity for experiencing emotion where it pertains to the inconvenience or suffering of another. The further irony woven into this tale is that the human bounty hunter that stalks and murders these androids proves to be less empathetic than the very synthetics that he is “retiring.”

    I believe that science fiction is a grand genre because its fantastical nature allows authors to address societal trends and problems without triggering programmed emotional responses. In the case of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” I believe Dick’s underlying premise is to explore the definition of what it is to be “human.” Dick’s classic implies that humanity is unique because of its capacity to be empathetic. Our problem, however, stems from our animalistic instinct to be innately selfish. It takes conscious work and effort to put away those natural tendencies and embrace the one thing that defines and separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom: empathy.

    When a difficult scenario arises, and you have an opposing opinion from your neighbor, how do you handle it? Are you able to separate from your innate primal, emotional or self-focused response and entertain the idea from another’s viewpoint?

    Contrary to the programming provided in mainstream media outlets: I believe that a cultured citizen must not only entertain but also respect someone else’s belief for what it is. Doing so does not require you to change your own core beliefs, and there is no physical harm incurred by hearing an opposing viewpoint. Gleaning from another’s experience is how we learn – and learning can break down fear, stereotypes and prejudice. Being able to listen to a neighbor and consider his or her viewpoint is both empathetic and definitively human.

    There is an unprecedented amount of growth happening in the Heber Valley. As our community grows, there are, and will continue to be, changes that we as citizens will have differing opinions over. I propose that being able to attend a public forum and civilly discuss and question the difficult issues that face our community is not only acceptable but also essential to maintaining our civil liberties.

    Politely listening to another’s viewpoint has historically been a standard of culture and civilization. Going back to the cultural revolution of the 1960s, it would seem that the virtue of empathetic debate amongst citizens has left the U.S. culture and has been replaced by reactionary, emotional and uncompromising rhetoric. I believe that Phillip K. Dick saw this happening and forecasted the status quo of selfishness in today’s society.

    I believe we can do better than the country’s current societal trend within the mountainous confines of the Heber Valley. It all starts with a proactive, individual decision to be willing to think outside of yourself and listen to your neighbor. Give it a try and see how it goes!

    Thank you for your continued support of Heber Valley Life.

  • The Taxonomy of an Identity

    The Taxonomy of an Identity

    I love taking nature walks with my children in the Heber Valley and the fall season is arguably one of the most favorable climates in which to do so. Sometimes we walk the Provo River trails and other times we head for higher ground on any of the numerous and growing trail systems along the benches of the valley. As the children explore, we discuss the taxonomy or identity of the various life forms on the walk.

    The children drink it up. I attempt to point out the unique characteristics of each plant and insect with a focus toward the traits that specialize them to their location. We discuss why some excel in one particular location and not in another. We try to connect the common threads that allow them to all harmoniously exist and create one balanced system.

    It is beautiful to consider the complexity and diversity found in nature; with its perpetual struggle and the corresponding balance. Even with all of the daily strife and diversity, the local wildlife is still tied together with commonalities that bond them into a singular ecosystem.

    I believe there is a parallel between this natural trend and the condensed community dwellings of Homo sapiens.

    An individual city — or group of cities that collectively make a community — will have a wonderful variety of citizens harboring varying skills, opinions, beliefs and backgrounds that build a beautiful, albeit complex and diverse, network of humans. Similar to the uniquely-beautiful ecosystem that surrounds us, a world without diversity or struggle would be without interest and of little worth.

    I believe a community’s blanket of identity is its binding element amongst all of the chaos of everyday life. Much like the climate dictating the specialization of traits in the natural world, this blanket of identity wraps itself around the core thoughts and attitudes of the citizens.

    What is our identity as the Heber Valley? What do we want to be? What is our “brand?” Can we do better than the cliché coined by Mr. David Allen Coe as a community “… where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies, who are praying they’ll get outta here alive?” Certainly, if we are unable to get past petty labels, snap judgements and a brand identity of obstinate and hard-walled niches, that clichéd bias could be a possible future for us all.

    Within the pages of this magazine we strive to celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of the residents of the Heber Valley. We believe that with recognition comes familiarity — and through familiarity and a willingness to change we can decrease stereotypes, prejudice and bias.

    Autumn is a time of transition. The challenge I issue to the community this fall is to inventory your social fears; whether they be toward individuals, trends or changes. If you find that those fears have no merit or value, I encourage you to have the courage to change during this, the very season of transition.

    Thank you for your continued support of Heber Valley Life magazine.

  • Living Sculpture

    Living Sculpture

    One of my personal hobbies is styling and tending to bonsai trees. The overall goal behind the art of bonsai is to create a portable window into nature in the form of a potted tree. That tree, in miniature, should illustrate all of the characteristics of an ancient and venerated monument of endurance and survival as it may be found on the mountain itself.

    The discipline involves, initially, creating a design or a plan generated from careful observation of the natural characteristics of the tree. A good design will enhance and capitalize on what is already provided by the uniqueness of the specimen to be styled.

    That plan is then enacted by manipulating the tree through bending, cutting and even rooting the tree in an impoverished soil medium so that the overall growth can be controlled by fertilizer as determined necessary by the tender of the tree.

    When a tree is young, the stylist will often make drastic alterations that put a tremendous amount of stress on the tree. It is easier for the tree to recover and grow into its new shape if the alterations are done in its youth. Some of these alterations can leave scars that take years to grow back over.

    While the tree is being transformed by the cutting, bending and wiring process, it is often unsightly. From the vision of a bonsai artist: he or she understands that, while stressful, the alterations are necessary to create the most beautiful future for the tree.

    Every three to four years a bonsai tree will need to be repotted — especially if it is to remain in the same container. As a root develops it calluses and will no longer take in water. The bonsai adapts by growing new, tender roots that are able to provide this life-sustaining function. When a bonsai tree is repotted, the stylist will often leave the above ground “nebari” for aesthetics and cut out the other larger and non-essential roots. This act of removing the larger roots prevents them from binding and choking out the smaller and vital vessels needed for the uptake of the life- essential water.

    The bonsai artist studies, considers and understands the patterns of nature. The custodian of the tree cannot command that the tree stops growing when he or she becomes happy with its appearance. The tree will continue to grow and sometimes the initial design plan will need to be modified to prevent any unchecked growth from destroying what makes that particular tree special.

    I propose that the Heber Valley, today, could be likened unto a bonsai tree in training. We are lucky as a community to have obvious physical characteristics that can be enhanced and embellished upon. We are also lucky to have some visionary “stylists” that are stepping up to address the fact that our optimal environment is creating an unchecked pattern of growth. Our container is small and will require some specific and implementable planning if we are to embrace an extraordinary future.

    Our destiny is far from being set. One certainty, however, is that we will continue to grow. Pablo Picasso is quoted stating, “Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction.” The disruption of the status quo is difficult because change and uncertainty are inherently scary. If we accept the fact that we cannot stifle the growth or its speed, then we need to create a plan — based on real and implementable solutions given our current circumstances — that provides our tree the best opportunity to be beautiful, interesting and to fit within the provided container that is our geographical valley.

    My summer challenge to the community is to think about our tree as a whole. Each leaf, branch and root effects the overall, but cannot survive individually. Let us all work together toward the overall success of our tree.

  • Tread Lightly

    Tread Lightly

    The transition from winter dormancy to tender spring awakenings has a soft spot in my heart. Our mountain desert environment is so harsh, and yet the most delicate and intricate flora and fauna have somehow become specialized enough to survive our seasonal transitions. The annual rebirth is a miracle in my eyes.

    When those frail and dainty, newly-emerged little shoots start to stick their heads out from the left-over blanket of expired vegetation of seasons past, I cannot help but think about their – albeit temporary – vulnerability. If a passerby were to exert any level of physical dominance at this stage of the plant’s life, it would certainly perish.

    On the other hand; the very same passerby has an opportunity to practice kindness. An opportunity to celebrate how precious and unique each of the plants’ lives are through observation, thought and admiration.

    Is it possible for a human being to feel empathy for a plant? Empathy is, by definition, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It requires stepping out of one’s self and taking the time to thoughtfully consider what it would be like to exist within another being’s spiritual and temporal situation. While vegetative empathy may be a higher-level goal in your personal Zen progression, there are many of your very same taxonomic rank – of whom you interact with daily – you can practice developing empathy with.

    I believe the Heber Valley could be an even nicer place to dwell if our residents could be more empathetic towards fellow citizens and local merchants. My spring challenge to the community is to refrain from making a judgement until you have adequately considered the other’s side of the situation.

    Before you write that “one star” review or demand reimbursement, before you downplay to your peers the services provided, before filing a formal complaint or enacting any level of personal boycott: just think about the people your decision will affect and assess the potential outcomes of your actions. This is a very small community and every action creates ripple effects. Let us all not step on any newly-sprouted wildflowers. I hope you enjoy this volume of Heber Valley Life magazine! Thank you for celebrating the season and our wonderful community with us.

  • Layer Upon Layer Of Snow

    Layer Upon Layer Of Snow

    One of my favorite life moments is to wake up on a cold, crisp winter morning only to find that a new, deep layer of snow is covering the existing landscape. I love to gaze upon an unblemished field of light, fluffy powder. I adore that fresh coating of pure white; clinging to the trees and softening the rocky summit line of our surrounding mountain landscape — only noticeable after the clouds break and the light returns with all of its blinding clarity. I delight in how the snow drifts and covers everything that I once knew as the native perennial landscape.

    After many years of living in snow country, I find myself reflecting as to “why?” What is it about this weather event that so captures my heart and mind? Why would something as benign as the accumulation of phase-changed atmospheric precipitation cause my “inner child” to resurface?
    At one point I thought the answer involved recreational pastimes, but my “middle-aged self” has come to believe the feelings originate from a deeper source.

    White is, by definition, the absence of all other hues. It is the essence of cleanliness — an unblemished and pure beginning to a pallet of color. Our natural landscape is a melee saturation of colors and textures. There are so many color complexities that I dare not to believe they could ever be fully cataloged. Our daily, individual lives could be likened unto a similar complexity of color saturation.
    When I see a new covering of white burying the landscape, it has come to represent forgiveness and an opportunity to let old offenses go and begin life anew.

    As we receive each new blanket of snow this winter, I encourage and challenge the citizens of the Heber Valley to recognize all-encompassing, new opportunities to forgive past offenses and to move forward with cleanliness and optimism.

    The Heber Valley is a small place. Complexities will inevitably arise within our dealings. The ability to forgive each other for those complexities will allow us, as citizens, to experience joy, fulfillment and the positive community growth we strive to promote within this publication.
    Thank you for supporting Heber Valley Life magazine!

  • History In The Making

    History In The Making

    The autumn landscape is a perpetual sequence of change. Within a slight glimmer of time the heat of the high desert summer passes, days grow shorter, the landscape itself explodes with a celebration of color and morphs into a preparatory state suitable for the endurance of the season to come.

    As we assembled this volume of Heber Valley Life magazine I have seen a likeness between the autumnal transition and the condition of the Heber Valley. The Heber Valley stands in its own transitional period. The acknowledgement of change forces an individual to make a perceptual choice between past, present and future. One can choose to look at the deciduous leaves on the side of an autumn mountain landscape and feel disappointment that the green is gone, another can see the change of landscape and experience anxiety over the anticipation of winter, while yet another looks at the beauty of the moment and feels joy. The reality of the mountains is constant. However, a variance of viewers may choose to experience a broad spectrum of emotion from their own observations.

    The components that build our community are equally spectacular to our landscape. Throughout this fall edition of Heber Valley Life, we honor our civic history and the individuals that have brought us to where we are today. We promote a positive community identity that is proud of where it has been — a community that prepares for the future with both excitement and wisdom.

    There will likely not be another generation in the Heber Valley that has as many opportunities to transform the actual face of our community as we have today. Our challenge is to embrace this reality with optimism and revere the transition. We are history in the making.

  • There’s Something Fishy Going On

    There’s Something Fishy Going On

    In spite of previous efforts to manage the Jordanelle fishery, the stocked rainbow trout returns have been in a steady decline since 2004 and sit below the state averages in both creel and gillnet studies. The population of smallmouth bass is seemingly stable; however, these fish tend to experience an unexplained stunted growth rate after the age of two. The result of these two variables is that angler usage has decreased and citizens are not using this state-managed resource to its fullest potential.

    The Jordanelle Reservoir Working Group has a plan to change that.

    The Provo River watershed includes two captured bodies of water that sit both north and south of the Heber Valley. Completed in 1941, the southern reservoir is called Deer Creek — a body of water that has become an icon of beauty and recreation in the Heber Valley.

    The Jordanelle dam and subsequent reservoir are much, much younger. The dam, located on the north side of the Heber Valley, was completed in 1993. Shortly thereafter, the Jordanelle State Park was created, a fisheries management program was introduced and the lake was stocked with rainbow trout and smallmouth bass.

    Rainbow trout have been stocked annually since the program was started. Over the past 20 years, there have been several additional efforts to manage this fishery by introducing brown trout, Bonneville cutthroat trout, Utah chub and Utah sucker. At some point, yellow perch were illegally introduced to the reservoir and can be actively gathered today.

    Despite these efforts, sport fishing on the Jordanelle continues to decline.

    Mixing Sport And Management

    An advisory group called the Jordanelle Reservoir Working Group was created in 2013 to address the negative trends of the Jordanelle fishery. The group — comprised of selected respondents to an online survey and people directly associated with the Jordanelle Reservoir — represents various local citizen fishing groups.

    In April 2016, The Jordanelle Reservoir Working Group released a new fisheries management plan that is very exciting. A variety of sport fishing species were chosen to be introduced to the Jordanelle fishery to improve the composition of the fish population, encourage local anglers and promote the recreational benefits of the Jordanelle.

    The new fish species that have been introduced to Jordanelle are: kokanee salmon, wipers (a sterile hybrid between a white bass and a striped bass), tiger muskie (a sterile hybrid between a muskellunge and a northern pike) and splake (a sterile hybrid between a brook trout and a lake trout).
    The addition of these species to the existing virile rainbow trout, brown trout and smallmouth bass populations will add tremendous diversity for angling techniques and year-round fishing opportunities at the Jordanelle Reservoir.

    The fact that wipers, tiger muskie and splake are sterile will allow the Division of Wildlife Resources to really fine-tune both angling pressures and predator-prey relationships in the reservoir. Sterile species introductions are inherently non-committal — there is an achievable benefit for the lifespan of the fish, however if it is not working as planned, then the fish simply die off with age or predation.

    Ultimately, you can add more sterile fish without any anxiety of a long-term impact. Each of these sterile species will also gravitate to different places in the reservoir and respective points in the water column, creating angling diversity throughout the reservoir.

    The introduction of tiger muskie will put Jordanelle on a short list of destination angling targets for many serious fishermen. Precedents for this move can be found in Utah reservoirs such as Pineview Reservoir, east of Ogden. Since wipers often chase baitfish as prey in the summer months and create visible surface disturbances called boils, sight fishing for wipers is another destination target for anglers and will likely attract more angler hours at the Jordanelle. As for splake, the Jordanelle does not always ice over well enough to safely ice fish — but if it does, these fish will be the prized target for winter fishermen.

    The most exciting part of the kokanee salmon introduction will be the fall salmon run through the Rock Cliff section of the Jordanelle State Park. The kokanee are fun because they, like their oceanic cousins, turn bright red when the time comes to spawn and charge up their river of origin to complete their life cycle. It just so happens that Rock Cliff has an already established set of bridges, pavilions and amenities that make this a very family-friendly section of the Upper Provo River. The new fall kokanee run into the Upper Provo will be a very festive occurrence that many residents will enjoy in the years to come.

    Thanks to the efforts of the Jordanelle Reservoir Working Group, the reservoir has undergone a significant upgrade when it comes to sport fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities. This fall, dust off that underused fishing rig and throw a line into your backyard destination fishery.

    And if you don’t fish, that’s okay: pack a picnic into Rock Cliff, take in the colors of fall and enjoy the spectacle of bright red kokanee running upriver to spawn.

  • Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

    Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

    The seasonal transition from spring to summer in the mountains is a magical time. The deciduous landscape itself morphs from sterile dormancy to a vibrant, colorful and delightful palate of texture and color. The air is scented with the fragrance of blooming flowers, the dampness of the river bottom and the crisp cleanness that drapes our mountain summits. Children can be found playing in the streets, riding bicycles and celebrating the open-ended freedom of long summer days with limited obligations. Yardwork commences and gardens are planted.

    As individuals, summer institutes the shedding of the literal and symbolic layers that protect us from the harshness of winter. For most of us it is quite easy to sort away our favorite winter “puffy jacket” and once again don the shorts and T-shirts of summers’ past. What seems to be more difficult for all of us “grown-ups,” however, is to make ourselves as willingly available to our friends and neighbors as we are to receiving the first sunburn of the season.

    Contrary to mainstream philosophy: it is perfectly acceptable to have a differing opinion with a neighbor and still be able to send the proverbial “hi-diddly-ho neighbor” across the freshly-mowed lawn. An even better standard would be to celebrate our differences and end neighborly divisiveness.

    So here is the Heber Valley Life challenge for the summer: be accepting of your neighbors.

    Barbeque in your front yard and prepare a little extra just in case. Learn something new about each of the people that share your space. Look past petty stereotypes and discover just who are the people in your neighborhood. I am willing to wager that you have more in common than you might think.

  • Raising The Standard

    Raising The Standard

    One of the true visionary development projects of the Heber Valley has been the Red Ledges community. The mastermind behind the project is Tony Burns, whose initial concept has been continued through the efforts of his son and chief operating officer, Mitchel Burns.

    Well before the concept of the Red Ledges community was a reality—Tony Burns married Joyce Jordan, a Heber native. Tony and Joyce, like so many of us, were completely in love with the Heber Valley. Their love evolved into a vision for a unique, family community situated on the eastern slope the valley.

    “He started acquiring the land 33 years ago. It took 27 different transactions to assemble this collection of property. Honestly, he’s been dreaming about it for 40 years,” said Mitchel.

    Tony, the long-time chief executive officer of Ryder Systems, partnered with Nolan Archibald, the Ogden-born president and chief executive of Black & Decker, to begin planning a community on the land he had acquired. Mitchel left his position at a software development company in Seattle to help manage the family endeavor.

    “We worked hard, fought for every sale and watched as our competitors walked into bankruptcy,” Mitchel said. “We committed to doing whatever it took to maintain our integrity for our partners and to our owners.”
    Today, Red Ledges is characterized by setting a regional standard for premier mountain living. The lifestyle promoted is an active community with a full schedule of club socials and recreational activities for all ages. Amenities include renowned golf, tennis, and equestrian programs, along with a luxurious clubhouse that features a full-service restaurant, pro shop, and a swim and fitness club. On-site winter activities include dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.

    Architectural Beauty

    Red Ledges has celebrated the natural beauty of the Heber Valley by creating architectural guidelines that complement the surrounding landscape and encourage homeowners to make design decisions that are harmonious with both mountain contemporary design trends and the native landscape. Tony has declared, “Every effort has been made to protect the architectural integrity and natural surroundings to maintain these qualities and the enduring value of the community.”

    Tony and Mitchel Burns have illustrated their community pride through action and have honored the great responsibility held by community developers to make their mark personal, meaningful, and lasting. History will show their actions as defining stages within the sculpture of the Heber Valley of tomorrow.

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