Small Joys

Top small joys that have happened in the last couple of weeks:

5. The other day, my Business communications professor was passing out papers when he looked at me and said "Jacob, that has got to be one of the coolest hats I have seen in a long time."  I grinned.

"Unfortunately, we don't allow hats in here," he continued. 

I said "oh" and started to take off my hat.

My professor then asked, "who here thinks I should allow Jacob to keep his hat on?"  The class approved.
"I don't think I've made an exception like this in decades," continued the professor.

Yay.

My fashion sense felt validated.

4. Watching Jimmer Freddette and the rest of the Cougars trounce the Aztecs, and then the Wyoming Cowboys (I'm blocking the game in the middle out of my memory, btw).

I was at the BYU-Wyoming game last week.  It was so awesome to get to see the Cougars on their home court.  It was the last home game of the season, so energy was super high!  We have got to have one of the best student sections in the entire nation:

3. This is sort of a corollary to the last small joy, but the media coverage of BYU's honor code was very awesome.  For those who don't follow BYU basketball, Brandon Davies, a starter who has been averaging 11 points a  game, was suspended from the basketball team for the remainder of the season.  This put a serious handicap on what is arguably the best basketball team BYU has ever seen, and was definitely a major factor in the staggering defeat we had against the Lobos right before the Wyoming game.  The incident put the BYU honor code under nation-wide scrutiny. 

I was so surprised to see ESPN commentators say how refreshing it is that at least one college out there is standing up for what they believe in.  And it wasn't just ESPN--Time magazine said the incident could be end up being good for basketball in general.  Polls on Fox Sports showed that over 60% of respondents believed that BYU made the right decision.

It's so refreshing to see that some people still think it's cool to take a stand.

However, my favorite part of this story comes from right after the BYU-Wyoming game.  As BYU is cutting down the net, A very penitant Brandon Davies approached the ladder.  Although not allowed to play, Brandon had been supporting his teammates in a white shirt and tie at the bench during the game.  He barely acknowledged the crowd, and looked as though he didn't feel worthy to participate in cutting down the net, but the student section thought otherwise.  The enormous roar, followed by chants of "Davies! Davies! Davies!" showed that we believe in repentance and forgiveness. 

It was a pretty inspiring moment for a basketball game.

2. When I was sitting on the stands getting ready to give that talk I wrote about here, I noticed a familiar name in the Sacrament program: "Organist--Sister Ockey."  I looked over at the organ and saw a short old lady with white hair sitting there.  "Could it really be her?" I thought.  It had been so long since I had seen her last. . .

When I got up to start speaking to the ward, I said, "Good afternoon y'all.  Before I start speaking I have to do something."  I turned to Sister Ockey.  "Sister Ockey, did you used to teach second grade at Edgemont Elementary over there?"  She smiled and nodded.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" I said into the mic (totally destroyed my professional image within one minute of my talk there).  "Mrs. Ockey was my second grade teacher in 1996--back when I first moved into Farmington.  She was seven-feet tall back then,"  I told the congregation.   I turned back to Mrs. Ockey: "I want to thank you so much for all you did for me.  I turned out okay in spite of all the weird things I did in your class."  (It's true--I was one of those kids that played in the sand at recess and zoned out and doodled all day in class)

I then went on to give my prepared talk.  It went very well.  After the meeting, Sister Ockey and her husband came up to me and gave me great big hugs.  They've retired now, and they also took some time to serve a mission of their own in the British Isles.  I hadn't seen her since I graduated from the second grade, yet she still recognized me.  What a wonderful couple.

1.  My little brother, Elder Jonathan Low, is safe and accounted for.  Despite the horrific devastation that is going on in Japan right now, we got word from his mission president that all the missionaries in the Japan, Kobe mission are safe.  My heart goes out to all those who aren't as lucky as my family is.

He's on the middle-right side of the picture.