ArizonaRealCountry.com 17 July 2018 Midwestern University [Equine and Bovine Center] We Are Your Large Animal healthcare Team. 5725 West Utopia Road Glendale, Arizona 85308 623.806.7575 www.mwuanimalhealth.com Midwestern University Equine and Bovine Center part of the Animal Health Institute The Equine and Bovine Center is your source for comprehensive, high-quality, and affordable specialty veterinary services. Working as a team, Midwestern faculty and students use the latest technology to provide a wide range of health services for farm animals. Call 623.806.7575 to schedule an appointment. Let’s take a walk down Memory Lane!” Sounds almost magical when you first hear the phrase but lately, it has meant the realization that lots of things have changed, are changing and will change in my life, some of which I have been none too quick to embrace. Our oldest son has been away from home for a couple of years now, attending college, making a new circle of friends, “building his network,” and being gainfully employed while living in St. George, Utah. Our youngest son just graduated from high school and immediately received his call to serve a 2-year mission in the Little Rock, Arkansas area and is leaving mid-summer, with college to follow shortly after his return. My daughter is moving on to Junior High, with all the drama, awkwardness, physical and emotional changes, and expectations that go with it. Yes, things are definitely changing in our household…and quick! As we began our journey down “Memory Lane” it started with the endless sorting of the temporal items that accumulate as life moves forward… dusty athletic trophies, medals, school certificates, family pictures, old clothes and mismatched shoes, broken toys stuffed in the back of the closet, and enough ball caps to cover a Major League baseball team! With each item, we shared memories and recollections, funny moments that seemed to bring the event back to life, like an old movie. Memories of childhood friends and their families, coaches and leaders who molded my sons into the athletes and young men they had become, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and the many family vacations to places distant and near. Some of the things were boxed up and labeled, placed on the top shelf of the closet, saved for when our children had their own homes and their own families. Mostly, the trip down “Memory Lane” ended up in boxes and bags, donated to the family, friends, and Deseret Industries for those in need. Sometimes I take a drive to my old neighborhood where my boyhood memories dwell, showing my kids the home I grew up in, which they always swear “Grandma Jacque would never have lived in a house like that!” Back then we were all relatively poor…nobody really knew the difference! Times have changed…as have my favorite places that are long gone, like Yellow Front, FedMart, Montgomery Ward, Rada’s Mexican Food, U-Totem, Saguaro’s Café, and the MetroCenter Ice Rink. “Memory Lane” brings back memories that put a smile on my face, a laugh in my belly, and a reminiscing of times past, like slow water moving under the bridge. I’ve gone from a father of two boys, coaching, fishing, hunting, boogie boarding, hiking, chasing, and scolding to a father of two young men, who make me proud to have shared their journey with them. My journey with my daughter, the Last of the Mohicans, will now revolve around dance, cheer, theater, singing, and whatever else she wants to do in life. We’ll shop at Justice, eat at Five Guys, travel to places near and far, and make filtered videos on Snap Chat as we take our time building her “Memory Lane.” Enjoy the journey folks…it goes by faster than we think! Memory Lane By Brett Spear “ Senior year, at Carl Hayden HS Class of '86 with my 1979 Datsun pickup and the Draggers (a story in itself!)