Don Osmond: In my opinion…

July 27, 2009

A tribute to our pioneer heritage

Filed under: Cresting 30 — Tags: , — donosmond @ 9:27 pm

Pioneer Day is quickly approaching; I just love an excuse to shoot off fireworks!

Even though in Utah we’ll all be enjoying a day off work filled with exciting parades and flashy fireworks, there is a deeper meaning behind our celebration. It’s a time for us to remember our heritage.

Our Mormon pioneer ancestors taught great lessons of courage, faith, devotion, commitment and sacrifice through their example. All we have to do is open a journal from yesteryear.

I did that the other day. My extended family is amazing with keeping journals and telling stories. My mother’s brother, Mike, is probably one of the best family historians — but I’m not biased. For the past I-don’t-know-how-many years, he’s been compiling our family history.

As I was thumbing through its pages, I came across an amazing story of the familial bonds of love. Doing a little research and fact checking, I was amazed to find a number of similar accounts online of the same story.

In 1846, Meltiar Hatch (my fourth-great grandfather) was recruited into the Mormon Battalion. Since the loss of his parents, Meltiar felt compelled to look out for his younger brother, and convinced the company to enlist Orin as well.

During their enlistment, the company would marched daily, often for many miles, toward California. The arduous and consistent marching, along with the difficult tasks they were required to do, would often leave the soldiers very weak by day’s end.

Orin, who was only 16 at the time, became very ill during the trek. The weary traveling weakened his body and he contracted a fever, which left him unfit to continue the march. Tending to his needs would only stifle the company’s pace.

Seeing the strain the young boy inflicted on the whole company, the commanding officer ordered that Orin be left behind.

Just as the company was leaving, Meltiar promised his brother that he would return.

That evening, and after a lengthy trip, Meltiar and a close friend retraced the soldiers’ march with the hope of finding young Orin where they had left him. With their help, Orin made it back to camp later that night.

The next day, the commanding officer was shocked to see Orin — still infirm. Again, the officer ordered that Orin be left by the wayside. But, Meltiar’s determination to protect his brother was unwavering, and returned to assist his brother again the following evening.

These events repeated for a few days before the officer, seeing Meltiar’s commitment to his brother, offered his horse until Orin was well enough to march with the company.

Our ancestors may be gone, but their legacies live on forever within us. Enjoy your Pioneer Day.

Blogger’s Note: A more complete account of this story was originally published in the July 1994 Friend magazine.

July 20, 2009

Simplifying celebrity

Filed under: Cresting 30 — Tags: , , — donosmond @ 9:10 pm

Events within the entertainment industry hit my family pretty hard during the past couple months. Untimely deaths often give reason for reflection, especially when they involve those whom we’ve had a close relationship with.

Most everyone knows my family associated with the Jacksons throughout the years, as well as entertainer Danny Gans, who co-produced the Donny and Marie show in Las Vegas. However, when a celebrity is lambasted by the limelight of media attention, sometimes the simple things they do go unnoticed.

Interestingly, when our time is up, it’s the kind and simple things we are remembered by.

During Danny Gans’ memorial service, personal stories were shared of how he always looked for ways to give back to a community that gave him so much.

One such story described his daily trip to the theater. He would travel the same route every day, and would regularly visit with a man who had been left homeless.

Often, Danny would take a couple minutes to stop and chat. During these visits, it became apparent to him that this man had difficulties walking. Danny decided to purchase a wheelchair the following day, and give it to him.

No one ever heard that story until Danny’s memorial service. Why? Because those stories don’t sell magazines and newspapers. Those stories are not what the media thinks the public wants to hear.

When Michael Jackson died, the media kicked into a whirlwind frenzy. They unleashed the stories of yesteryear and tapped every aspect of his life.

Now I’m not here to vindicate or condemn a celebrity for the way the media portrayed them. And, thankfully, I’m not the judge of salvation — I leave that job for God.

However, I don’t think any of us realize the private lives of a celebrity until we hear a young girl say, as Paris Jackson said of her father, “Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine, and I just want to say I love him so much.”

Michael’s sister Janet Jackson summed it up best when she said, “To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family and he will forever live in all of our hearts.”

These comments struck me, and got me thinking.

Life is not about celebrity, or being adorned with countless accolades; it’s about the legacy we leave behind. May we all consider the lives we touch well before our time is called.

July 15, 2009

When riding becomes dangerous

Filed under: Day in the Life of... — Tags: , , — donosmond @ 4:08 pm

My insurance agent is going to kill me.

As some of you know, I went on a motorcycle ride with my younger brother, his friend and my father during the Fourth of July weekend.

Well, during that ride, I was in charge of taking the photos because I was riding “tail” out of the four of us.

It was a beautiful ride; one I will never forget.

We rode up to Flaming Gorge and through Evanston, Wyoming with the intent to purchase a few fireworks for our family’s celebration on the Fourth; sometimes referred to as “The Cul-de-Sac of Fire” — not to be confused with the stadium.

Unfortunately, those plans were extremely altered when we got caught in a nasty thunderstorm as we neared Evanston. We, very literally, were drenched. It was if we had all jumped into a pool.

Soaked to the bone. Not an inch of us was dry.

Not going to lie… it was a little scary. I don’t ride my motorcycle in the rain — ever! I didn’t have much of a choice this time. We were caught unaware.

Suffice it to say, we had a blast; eventually dried off; but, never purchased our fireworks. (I don’t think we would have been able to get them back dry.)

July 13, 2009

The inopportune timing of service

Filed under: Cresting 30 — Tags: , , — donosmond @ 8:15 pm

No matter the situation, someone’s need for service always comes at inopportune times.

Last Tuesday: perfect case in point.

I had more than a laundry list of things to accomplish, which included: working on a new business, fixing my motorcycle, getting packed for a trip, stopping by the doctor’s office and a date. I also needed to write a blog for Mormon Times, and had a bad case of writer’s block.

In short, my day was slammed.

That morning I must have summoned the “irony” gods, because my phone started ringing. Grandpa needed a little help with his computer.

OK, that shouldn’t take long; it’s probably nothing more than a mouse click or two.

But as I pulled into his driveway, a thought came to me. “I’m going to be here for a while.” However, I brushed that aside because of the countless times I’ve helped him before. This won’t take more than five minutes.

Boy, was I wrong. The universal law of entropy descended in a gray cloud until it engulfed the entire house. Every solution to each problem created a larger, more contagious, unpleasant result.

After two hours of banging my head against the computer, I successfully disconnected my grandfather’s Internet connection to the house … oops!

I reached the point of acquiescence, and accepted the fact I would be there a while. So, it was time to call the expert — my father. (Believe me, he does more than just sing.)

He and I went back and forth via the phone troubleshooting every problem; even called a few customer-service reps for additional help. And, my five minutes became five hours, quite literally.

Finally (either by stroke of genius, or just dumb luck) we got everything working. My grandfather was grateful for the help — even gave me a candy bar.

Unfortunately, my to-do list went unfinished for the day. However, I learned something: No matter how busy we may think we are, don’t forget to take a little time out of your day to help each other out.

Blessings come to those who serve. (Heck, helping my grandfather helped me … I got a blog topic to write about.)

For the record, I wouldn’t change the outcome of that day at all. I got to spend time with my grandfather. By the way: Happy 80th birthday, grandpa!

July 10, 2009

Who’s your daddy?

Filed under: DonSense — Tags: , — donosmond @ 8:09 pm

What is it like to be the son of Donny Osmond?

If I had a penny for every time someone asked me that question, I don’t think I would need to work for the rest of my life.

Without fail, it comes up during every introductory conversation: “… and this is my friend, Don Osmond. Yes, the son of …”

The dialogue becomes extremely interesting when my new acquaintance stands in disbelief. Thus ensues a short game of verbal tennis: “Na-a-ah.” “Yeah.” “No.” “Yep!” “Really?”

By then I pull out my driver’s license and point out the “Jr.” at the end of my name.

After the embarrassment wears off, additional questions follow — ridiculous ones, too: What’s it like to be famous? Does your dad still wear purple socks? Do you all sing around the piano at home?

For the longest time, I’ve hated these questions. Why are people so enamored by my life? I’ve never considered my father to be anything but my dad. Sure, I’ve seen the videos. I’m still baffled at how crazy the crowds would react when my dad and his brothers took the stage. For some reason, I never connected my father to the Donny Osmond icon.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? How could one not recognize notoriety when he’s sitting across the dinner table?

It’s largely because of my upbringing. My parents were never caught up in the whole “Hollywood” scene. They centralized a focus on what was really important to them — our family.

Which brings me to my point. Each family situation is unique but, at the same time, perfectly normal. That’s the beauty of normalcy — it’s subjective.

So, what is it like to be the son of Donny Osmond? Normal. Yep!

I get up in the morning; have breakfast; go to work. Occasionally, I’ll go on a date — same as any typical bachelor.

However, there are the occasional “not-so-typical” things. Going to premieres. Walking red carpets. Meeting famous people.

It’s still normal. It’s rare, but normal.

The same thing is true for each of us. If you do something your whole life it’s going to always seem ordinary. It’s just when someone points out those things that we realize how extraordinary our lives actually are.

I’ve even met a few people whose lifestyle intrigued me and asked them a million questions. A perfect example is when I met a professional race car driver. I love going fast, and had to ask him about everything he does — probably to the point of ad nauseam.

So, I’ve come to realize that people are just curious. I don’t mind getting asked questions about my family. Well, on second thought… let’s just keep it to a five-question limit.

July 6, 2009

Answering the call when something is at stake

Filed under: Cresting 30 — Tags: , — donosmond @ 6:38 pm

Have you ever gotten the call? You know what I’m talking about. The phone rings with an unknown number, but curiosity gets the best of you and you answer it.

The voice on the other end says, “Hello, this is President Harold from the stake.”

That’s about the time your heart sinks to the bottom of your gut. Butterflies don’t even begin to compare to the anxiety that engulfs your body. Autopilot kicks in, and you systematically go through every potential question he could ask.

Do I pay my tithing? Check.

Did I get home teaching done last month? Check.

Have I been to the temple recently? Check.

And, after you’ve mentally raced through every possible query you can think of, you realize the purpose of the call — a stake calling.

Two weeks ago, I received that call while having a little fun in Vegas (Mormon-style, of course). Following an exchange of pleasantries, the stake representative who called me said, “Brother Osmond, the stake president would like to extend a stake calling to you.”

Bewildered. I think that hardly expresses adequately the feelings that overcame me.
At first blush, I thought this was some sort of funny prank and I was getting punked. I knew — without a shadow of doubt — the stake can’t give me a calling; I’ve only been the ward activities co-chair for three months.

Apparently, that’s not the case. If the stake needs you, they call you. And, my stake doesn’t waste any time getting callings filled.

The following Sunday, I was released from activities, called in as the new FHE “Grandaddy” (stake family home evening co-chair), and running my first stake FHE meeting.

Talk about a whirlwind weekend. Honestly, I would have felt more comfortable in a dark forest without a map or with a compass that doesn’t point north.

However, the amazing thing about a calling is even though the task seems impossible, all that is required is a willingness to try. Miraculously, the ability required to fulfill the calling (regardless of capacity) is provided when you just put forth even the smallest amount of effort — even if it’s only a desire to do your best. I suppose that’s the blessing of service.

Of course, in contrast, the other moral of the story is to do a better job screening your calls; something might be at stake.

July 4, 2009

My Birth Month

Filed under: Day in the Life of... — Tags: , — donosmond @ 1:31 pm

Call it self-centeredness.

Call it ridiculous.

Call it over-the-top.

…but, I’m going to celebrate my birthday this entire month.

This is a big one for me. And, to be honest, I don’t think I’m looking forward to turning 30. I mean, when I look back at the past 30 years, what has really been accomplished?

OK, probably a lot. However, I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of everything I wanted to have done before I turned 30.

Then again, this is not the end of my life, but the beginning. There are so many things I’ve wanted to do, and these are the years that I’m going to do them.

So, in the most self-centered, egotistical, and humble way possible… Happy Birth Month to ME!

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