tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post3299952890909021453..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: Derek in 1980Steerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-70482904896797714042010-10-19T03:33:06.641+00:002010-10-19T03:33:06.641+00:00This has to become a book, with the picture of Der...This has to become a book, with the picture of Derek and his apple on the jacket. <br /><br />Derek is so not Pooter, Carp, or Mole. He's their vibrant, sympa tiwn.R J Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06925072280945666069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-88890608475711533692010-10-18T17:04:52.622+00:002010-10-18T17:04:52.622+00:00Fabulous! Thank you for saving Derek's diaries...Fabulous! Thank you for saving Derek's diaries and sharing them. They are funny and moving.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18308068899467100319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-12349658249270910402010-10-18T04:26:53.361+00:002010-10-18T04:26:53.361+00:00Some good points here, raised by your readers. I ...Some good points here, raised by your readers. I too have wondered about how little Derek seems to have been valued by his closest friends and family. So perhaps it is true what they say -- no prophet is valued in his own country.<br /><br />Certain bits about the accident reminded me of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, where a snatched moment of happiness ends in tragedy.<br /><br />Thank you for taking the hours and hours necessary to share these with us. Reading of Derek's thoughts and "adventures" is a truly humbling experience.<br /><br />Canadian ChickadeeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-73615007751438268722010-10-17T23:22:59.947+00:002010-10-17T23:22:59.947+00:00What a heartrending description of the car crash. ...What a heartrending description of the car crash. Poor Derek.<br /><br />I am always appalled by how little Derek's family seemed to value him and his writings, but on the other hand, did he really want them to know his innermost thoughts, good and bad, after he died? There's some private stuff in there amidst the church and family doings.<br /><br />Having said that in a funny kind of way, it seems more acceptable that we who didn't know him personally can read his innermost thoughts. Probably because we have that distance there and can be more objective about what we make of him.The Poet Laura-eatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07779308486569849157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-43411663709193343822010-10-17T17:03:16.926+00:002010-10-17T17:03:16.926+00:00It's a great loss, but whether Derek kept a di...It's a great loss, but whether Derek kept a diary until the end I don't know - the last one I found was from the early 90s, when Derek went on a trip to the Holy Land.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-76536844649643565182010-10-17T16:29:32.530+00:002010-10-17T16:29:32.530+00:00Oh Derek! Just when things were going right for a ...Oh Derek! Just when things were going right for a change... crash...<br /><br />I agree that was really well described. Poor old Derek. <br /><br />I come out in cold sweats at the thought of his final diaries being thrown away... what reflections on old age must they contain?Sam Jordisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847113158131387947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-74894483174741406242010-10-17T15:41:15.615+00:002010-10-17T15:41:15.615+00:00'Jennifer Griffin is very much an improved lad...'Jennifer Griffin is very much an improved lady since she gave up receiving false revelations. She is now actively pursuing a course in hotel management.'<br /><br /><br />alas - she may already have gone over to the dark side.....Grey Areahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18240869670530738753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-41859556931222128382010-10-17T14:36:32.405+00:002010-10-17T14:36:32.405+00:00I like dear Derek. I was at first horrified that ...I like dear Derek. I was at first horrified that his "posterity" would value his writings so little that they would basically toss them out. He could be the father of any of us, though. I was a teenager in the 70s and danced in discos in 1980. I know my father wasn't too comfortable with some of my outfits then. I enjoy his musings. Who among us doesn't have our pet maladies? His white bread could be my aversion to coconut. His pet aches and pains remind me of my sore toe my family has little patience with. In the end, you have given him a much wider audience than his children or grandchildren. Thank you for rescuing his history. (and I am a Mormon, too)Mark and Marianne Eganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17994182563769783296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-39310065931496071272010-10-17T11:19:18.931+00:002010-10-17T11:19:18.931+00:00I should point out to other readers that JRSM live...I should point out to other readers that JRSM lives in Australia, so he isn't hitting the bottle at breakfast time ;)<br /><br />I thought the car crash scene was particularly powerful - there were times when Derek really could write.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-12586582284059869202010-10-17T09:45:35.257+00:002010-10-17T09:45:35.257+00:00This selection almost made me cry. I'm sure it...This selection almost made me cry. I'm sure it was just the booze in my system (Derek would not, I'm sure have approved). You can't escape the fact that he must have been a lovely man. It's so lucky that you saved his diaries!JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-18233094581530332492010-10-17T08:09:13.121+00:002010-10-17T08:09:13.121+00:00Chobbling's a new word to me.Chobbling's a new word to me.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-73699474614453103112010-10-17T08:06:19.817+00:002010-10-17T08:06:19.817+00:00Another wonderful excerpt from Derek's diaries...Another wonderful excerpt from Derek's diaries.<br /><br />"..the quiet tragedy of Derek's life is more compelling than some of the greatest dramas.." I couldn't agree more. I love the image of the new bishop, chobbling chips.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13494219959077922220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-67382293295918844582010-10-17T07:19:26.432+00:002010-10-17T07:19:26.432+00:00You're right - there's real, living traged...You're right - there's real, living tragedy here. One's heart bleeds for Derek, consistently doing the right thing, cherishing his son, bearing with fortitude his white-bread-eating mother-in-law, and waiting fruitlessly for some sort of reward or kindly attention from God... I do so hope he found that there was a Heaven, as he so deserved a quiet corner there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-55550298417290065132010-10-17T00:05:55.317+00:002010-10-17T00:05:55.317+00:00you know I think Derek was right in feeling he sho...you know I think Derek was right in feeling he should retype and save his diaries for the "history of his life as a family." It is quite wonderful.<br /><br />two side notes: I, from the USA, often use British spellings such as honour rather than honor. I think it comes from reading so much British literature when younger. The spell check of course always marks it as misspelled. Does your spell check do the reverse?<br /><br />Talk about mundane diaries/letters. Myself and two college friends put a bunch of our letters together (edited) and actually got them published back in 1980. Really, I find Derek's words far more enthralling than our own jottings.sukipoethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09351851210507048174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-82125689121230280892010-10-16T23:33:47.710+00:002010-10-16T23:33:47.710+00:00Another entry in the Real Secret Diary of Adrian M...Another entry in the Real Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.<br />Fantastic. I wonder if Sue Townsend is a fan?jgphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602212123174627946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-27446752567424828212010-10-16T22:29:56.067+00:002010-10-16T22:29:56.067+00:00You're quite right. Possibly in deference to t...You're quite right. Possibly in deference to the Utah Saints, Derek often uses American spellings in his diary entries and when I saw <i>honor</i> I read horror instead of honour. <br /><br />I thought it was one of Derek's jokes. <br /><br />I hope you're enjoying <i>Blood Relations</i>.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-20973965955269836172010-10-16T22:18:58.476+00:002010-10-16T22:18:58.476+00:00"one of the greatest horrors that can come to..."one of the greatest horrors that can come to any man in this church" should perhaps be "honours"?<br /><br />Always enjoy reading your blog -- I'm in the middle of "Blood Relations" right now on your recommendation.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04388295203775593528noreply@blogger.com