I heard Elder Packer’s voice on my drive to work.  Most mornings I listen to something from a mix of scripture and recent general conferences before I switch over to Trollope or the History of Rome podcast or a good recording of Herodotus I found.  This morning I heard Elder Packer for the first time since he died.  I remembered the talk, of course.  It felt like part of the present.  There was none of that drudging up you have to do for memories from long ago.  I felt that tenderness you can sometimes have for a  man you’ve never met.

Many years ago, after World War II, I was attending college. There I met Donna Smith. About that time I read that two essential ingredients to a successful marriage are a cookie and a kiss. I thought that was a pretty good balance.

I attended college in the morning and then went back to Brigham City to work in my father’s auto-repair garage in the afternoon. Donna’s last morning class was home economics. I stopped by her classroom before leaving. The door had a frosted glass window, but if I stood close to the glass, she could see my shadow outside. She would slip out with a cookie and a kiss. The rest is history. We were married in the Logan Temple, and that began the great adventure of our lives.