Autobiography
Harold R “Hal” and Mary Kay Southwick Bunderson
And Biographical Profiles of Our Parents, Siblings and Grandparents
The family history part of our genealogical research
CHAPTER 3
West Los Angeles – friends were family – poor but rich
We lived two and a half wonderful years in West LA apartments;
saving for a down payment on our first house
Index
- Arrived at our barren apartment - tired but happy.
- Social calendar full - before Mary Kay arrived
- “I saw the neighbor woman go through the Dempsey Dumpster today.”
- Mary Kay starts work at the telephone company
- Our savings plan: Live off of my paycheck - save Mary Kay’s.
- “$2.35 a week! Is that all they pay you?”
- Cleo and Shirley came to visit – but the freeway was daunting
- “Come see the apartment I found”
- We were a thousand miles from parents - friends were like family
- Ward financial clerks – labor-intensive challenge
- They are not robbers, it’s the police
- Visiting professional baseball training camp – Palm Desert
- Second Christmas – Cardboard fireplace - gift hidden in plain sight
- We wanted children – no success – a difficult time
- There’s rocks on those mountains
- My adaptation into the close Southwick family
- The Watts Race Riot of 1965 - we lived nearby, but were safe
- Halloween trick-or-treating -Friendly Frankenstein and wife
- Living in the big city has its risks
- Mary Kay propositioned
- Mary Kay stalked
- I got a “Green Sheet”
- Pipe manufacturing company – hundreds of empty 50-gallon barrels counted full
- Steel fabrication company – I almost lost my job for doing my job
- “I can’t believe it – I actually defended you Mormons”
- “Bunderson, where do all the Mormons go?”
- After two years – terrific pay raise – but no promotion
- My first community Service – Junior Achievement counselor
- We continued buying furniture for our first house
- Preparing to buy our first house.
Arrived at our barren apartment - tired but happy – Married the preceding day, it was nighttime when we drove into our assigned apartment parking stall with our heavily packed car. No elevators!
Our apartment was stark – the only furniture was a new king-size bed. The next morning, Mary Kay served our breakfast on TV trays, gifts from our wedding reception. For chairs, we sat on the ends of the hard-shell suitcases that I used on my mission.
We could have been discouraged – but we were not - we were happy to be together with dreams for the future. As planned, the next day we went shopping for furniture at the regional Sears store on Pico Blvd – going directly to the discontinued and repossessed furniture department. We bought a kitchen table and chairs, a big overstuffed rocking chair and a TV – all to be delivered the day after Thanksgiving.
When the furniture arrived, we placed the big soft recliner in front of the TV. After dinner, setting at the kitchen table; the soft chair became a competitive focal point; our eyes flashed as we said “go” and raced each other to see who got to the chair first. As it turned out, the race often ended with Mary Kay setting on my lap – even when she won. What a joy – we loved each other dearly.
Christmas was only a month away. We decided that our gifts for each other would be additional furniture so that we could take our turn hosting parties.
Our social calendar full - before Mary Kay arrived – Before our marriage, I attended the Wilshire Ward. and became acquainted with many young-marrieds and singles. Many of them came from across the country, graduating from college in diverse disciplines and university degrees. Like us, they had moved to Los Angles for employment and were living in apartments.
They were all anxious to meet Mary Kay. Before I left LA to get married, we had standing invitations for Thanksgiving dinner and weekend parties. Two days after we arrived in Los Angeles, we celebrated Thanksgiving with new friends and on the evenings of the next two days participated in planned parties; pot-luck dinners and games. After Thanksgiving dinner, two couples joined us in one car, and we showed Mary Kay around West Los Angeles, Century City and Santa Monica. (The picture of Mary Kay and me on the cover of this book was taken the following December during one of the parties hosted by some of our new friends.)
When we went to Church that Sunday, Mary Kay was already well acquainted with several people – it was like we had instant family. Going to Church was both a spiritual experience and a social gathering.
Commentary – We learned something from each one of our expanding circles of friends. Within each circle, there were great diversity of education, careers, backgrounds and experiences. Diversity that enriched almost every conversation and relationship.
The effect on us of having almost instant friends at Church immediately upon arriving cannot be minimized. Those marvelous people with high standards and desire for intellectual achievement had a major positive effect on our successful transition to the huge metropolitan area of Los Angeles and to married life.
“I saw the neighbor woman go through the Dempsey Dumpster today” – While I was at work, Mary Kay stayed home – which she did not like. Our apartment had a living room window overlooking the apartment parking lot and large trash bins.
I returned home from work; Mary Kay chided me about my apartment selection. She said, “I saw the old neighbor woman going through the Dempsey Dumpster today.” I responded with feigned serious inquiry, “Soo, how did she do?”
Mary Kay starts work at the telephone company - Mary Kay said, “I had not talked to Harold, and he did not encourage me to find work; but “I had noticed a Pacific Telephone employment office eight blocks from our apartment. On a December day after Harold left for work, I walked to the office and made application; and walked out with a job as an account clerk for Pacific Bell, National Yellow Pages. I would be working a few miles north at the company’s high-rise office building.”
I observed that Mary Kay had everything planned out. She said when I was unable give her a ride to work or pick her up, she would ride the city bus that stopped next to her office building and our apartment.
Our savings plan - live off of my paycheck - save Mary Kay’s – We agreed that we should not become dependent on two paychecks. Our principal goal was to have children and own our home. So, we designed our financial plan to save as much as we could to achieve those, as well as other goals. We would live on my salary and save all of Mary Kay’s for a down payment on a house. She would continue to work until we had children. Not having children was problematic and frustrating for us.
“$2.35 a week! Is that all they pay you?” - Mary Kay used her employer’s payroll withholding program to designate nearly 100 percent of her wages for investment in AT&T stock. One payday, a co-worker saw her paycheck for $2.35, and exclaimed, “Is that all they pay you?” With a smile, Mary Kay explained our savings program.
Commentary – Decades later, I learned our story helped a newly-married couple. On June 1, 2014, six months after Mary Kay passed away, I was attending the graveside service of Brock’s 89-year-old grandfather, Eugene Dewitt at Dry Creek Cemetery. His gravesite was about 30 yards from Mary Kay’s marker. I arrived early to spend time at Mary Kay’s gravesite. Setting alone waiting for the others to arrive, Adam, the mortician for the funeral home, came up to me and asked if I was Hal Bunderson.
He said 25 years previous he and his wife attended a married-students seminar at the Church’s Institute of Religion just off the Boise State University campus. Mary Kay and I were the speakers. He said that we stood side-by-side at the podium and took turns - speaking on the topic, “Our experiences as newlyweds.”
Regarding finances, we advised the young marrieds to get into the habit of paying their tithing first, then set aside at least another ten percent for savings and investments; paying their living costs and taxes with the remaining eighty percent. We further cautioned they buy just enough insurance to protect against catastrophe; avoid debt except for an affordable home and car.
One of the stories we told was about Mary Kay saving all of her paycheck for a down payment on a house. Adam said when we emphasized they should learn to “save their money,” his wife leaned over to him and said, “Honey, we need to save our money.” He said since that time, he and his wife have made it a point to follow our advice and they have been blessed financially ever since.
I had forgotten that experience until Adam reminded me. It brought back with fond memories of Mary Kay – in my mind’s eye, I could us together in that public setting – Adam reminder blessed my life; for which I am grateful.
Cleo and Shirley came to visit - but the freeway was daunting - A few months after we settled into our first apartment, Cleo and Shirley came to visit (We now had a bit more furniture – and air mattress sleeping accommodations). Their unfamiliarity with Los Angeles freeways was compounded because they arrived after dark.
They followed our directions and found the Harbor Freeway that ran near our apartment. However, they missed the turnoff. Cell phones hadn’t been invented. Their only recourse was to find a payphone to call us for further directions. After an hour of worry, they finally arrived, a bit harried, but glad they didn’t live in Los Angles.
“Come see the apartment I found” – In April, Mary Kay excitedly announced success in her quiet quest to find a better place for us to live. The apartment she found was in a 30-unit complex named “St. Andrews Apartments,” a mile north in a very nice neighborhood on the lightly traveled, well-maintained, palm-tree lined, St. Andrews Street.
Incredible - it was a one-bedroom apartment two blocks north of the upscale retail thoroughfare of Wilshire Boulevard and still within the Wilshire Ward boundaries.
It was a the second floor unit overlooking the street, with covered parking for our car immediately below. The east wall of the apartment’s living room and bedroom were floor-to-ceiling windows - covered with sheer curtains that blocked viewing into the apartment during the day and solid draperies that could be closed at night. The light and airy apartment with pleasant views felt good.
I immediately agreed with Mary Kay that this apartment was beautiful and felt like home. The monthly rent was 15 percent more than what we were paying but well worth it; something we could comfortably afford. We promptly signed the lease.
Commentary - To us, moving from our Fedora St. apartment to St. Andrews Place was like moving out of the ghetto into a palace.
Since that experience, we have been cognizant of the views from our homes. When we had dark areas in our homes, Mary Kay changed the furnishings and used mirrors to add a feeling of openness and space. We also learned that the incremental cost of a significant step-up in beauty and quality is often relatively small – often no more than 10-20 percent.
I also came to recognize another reason I loved Mary Kay. She is not only beautiful, creative, happy and resourceful, she was not afraid to take the initiative to improve our lives, our home and living conditions. She had an artist’s eye for color, shape and texture.
She did not tolerate a cluttered home - or mind – she knew she is a daughter of God with divine attributes. Her insights about important matters often caused me to reevaluate my “not-so-well-thought-out” ideas. When she saw something that needed to be done, she did it. She worked to keep our home clean and pleasing to the eye; a place of peace and refuge where the Spirit of the Lord could come. Oh, how I love her.
A case in point happened September 27, 2016, when a furnace repairman came into our home. He knew Mary Kay had passed away and spoke of how his life would be empty if he lost his wife. We discussed a few Gospel principles and the purpose of Temples when he said, “Your home feels different. It’s nice. I feel good in your home.”
I told him that Mary Kay and I tried to live so that the influence of the Holy Ghost could be here. He said he had several Mormon friends. I encouraged him to talk to them.
We were a thousand miles from parents – friends were like family - Several young couples at church and work became our closest friends. Like us, they had few if any family ties in the area. We got together with certain of these friends for dinner or games two or three times a week – sometimes we took Saturday trips to attractions in Southern California and even deep-sea fishing. These activities coupled with church and work-sponsored events kept our social calendar quite full.
Ward financial clerks – labor-intensive challenge - Two months after we were married, our Bishop, the ecclesiastical leader of our ward, called me to be the Ward Financial Clerk and Mary Kay the Assistant Ward Financial Clerk. We served from January, 1965 until we moved to Granada Hills in March, 1967.
Our duties were to record all weekly donations by contributor (cash and checks) and deposit them in the bank as well as preparing disbursement checks for signature and mailing. People put their checks and currency donations in envelopes and gave them to a member of the bishopric who in-turn gave the envelopes to us. We recorded the donations in the church records, put the money and deposit slip into a locked heavy canvas bag provided by the bank, drove it to the bank and dropped it off at the bank’s “lock-box.” We performed all of our clerking duties after Sunday services. It was often dark each Sunday when we finished. Typically, everyone else had gone home.
Computers and electronic spreads sheets had not been invented. In those days, the Church provided oversized forms to report the tabulated amount donors designated to specific funds, e.g., Tithing, Fast Offerings for the poor, etc.). The forms had to be filled-out by hand.
The difficulty in tabulating the annual reports for the Wilshire Ward was compounded by the hundreds of short-term members – people living in apartments for a few months before moving. This was particularly difficult when preparing the year-end summary report.
The year-end report form had a line running vertically down the page for each person or couple (about 40 per page) with a column for each fund running across the top – about six funds. On an annual basis we accounted for the donations of over a thousand members – the completed report had over 25 hand-prepared tabulation pages). We used an adding machine to add the columns. If they didn’t foot and cross foot, we had to meticulously re-review the summary pages with source (donation slips) documents (one of us reading, one checking), until we found the error. As one internal control procedure, members received a tabulation of their annual donations and were asked to let the bishopric know if their record were different.
They’re not robbers, it’s the police - One Sunday night, we were alone in the meetinghouse - a huge, beautiful historic building with Spanish motif. That night, we had just completed tallying the cash contributions, and preparing to take the money to the bank’s night-depository vault and go home when we heard someone rattling the front doors at the far end of the building. The person had a flashlight that pierced the darkness inside the building.
Startled and concerned it might be a robber, we waited until the potential intruder(s) were on the other side of the building. Then we stepped-out, relocked the door and made a dash for our car in the parking lot. As we pulled out, we were greatly relieved to see a squad car. Our suspected burglar was actually a policeman, dutifully making his rounds.
Visiting professional baseball training camp – Palm Desert - One spring we went with two other couples to Palm Desert to see a professional baseball “spring training” game. The people setting in front of us laid a blanket across the metal bleachers for a cushion. As we stood with the crowd for the National Anthem, the man in front reached down and in one stroke pulled the blanket from under his wife making a double layer of blanket where he was sitting. While everyone was still standing, our friend Howard Snow reached down and slid the folded blanket behind the man’s wife. When everyone sat down, the man hit with an unexpected thud, his wife set with a surprised sigh - we all laughed.
Second Christmas – Cardboard fireplace – gift hidden in plain sight - Mary Kay worked to have everything just right. We could not afford much of a Christmas tree but Mary Kay had found a cardboard fireplace we assembled. It had a painted black mantle and a red brick façade. The firebox was red-crinkled cellophane. Behind the cellophane was a small light bulb and fan. When we turned the light switch on, the fan deflected the light against the back of the cellophane in such a way to resemble a flickering flame. We thought it was pretty cool.
I hid my gift for Mary Kay under the living room couch. When we got home from a Christmas Eve party at a friend’s apartment, Mary Kay waited until I was in bed, hung my gift on the fireplace mantle, turned-off the lights and came to bed.
Not knowing she hung her gift for me on the fireplace - and seeing my chance to retrieve her gift from under the couch and set it out on the end table near our small Christmas decoration, I jumped out of bed and over her protests went into the living room - focusing exclusively on retrieving her gift from under the couch. When Mary Kay burst into the room I was laying on my stomach, stretching under the couch to reach her gift. Mary Kay, believing I saw my gift hanging from the fireplace mantle, burst into tears. I had spoiled everything – nothing I said seemed to help – she could not believe that I had not seen my gift – “it was in plain sight.”
While the event seemed tragic at the time, it later became a humorous family Christmas story – Mary Kay seeing me on my stomach reaching under the couch - and she thinking I checked-out the cardboard fireplace first. She always feigned disbelief that I did not see my gift when I turned on the light.
We wanted children – no success – a difficult time - As the months passed, many of our young-married friends became pregnant and began making plans to move to the suburbs. We began making visits to housing developments in the LA area, but that prospect of us having children was becoming more elusive.
We both went to our physicians for fertility examinations. We discovered we both had issues that our doctors treated – many more months went by.
We made application to LA County Social Services to adopt a child. However, when we went to their meeting, we found over a hundred couples gathered - we were turned-off by the agency’s clinical approach.
We walked out and never returned. However, we later contacted “LDS Social Services” but continued to see and rely on our doctors for help.
There’s rocks on those mountains - Most of our vacation trips were for family activities in Utah. Mary Kay had wore glasses all of her life – and did not like the cat-eye rim glasses she had had used for years. A few days before we started on one of our trips to Utah, she was fitted with new contact lenses. Neither of us suspected the dramatic improvement the contacts would bring to her vision - until as we were again traveling across the Southern California desert.
Mary Kay exclaimed, “There’s rocks on those mountains.” What had appeared to her previously as a flat grey landscape, now came alive with definition, images, texture and distinct shades of color. Mary Kay often commented on how wonderful it was to see clearly.
Commentary - We saw that experience as a metaphor of how people seeking truth often react when they hear and understand the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and feel the confirming witness from the Holy Ghost that it is true.
When we know Our Father in Heaven’s Plan of Salvation, the pristine Gospel of Jesus Christ, life has more meaning and we feel peace. As expressed by the Apostle Paul, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know (or see) them because they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2: 14).”
My adaptation into the close Southwick family - After Mary Kay and I were married, I experienced firsthand the Southwick’s “extended family love.” The Southwick brothers and their families were best friends, they loved being with each other. They planned camping and fishing outings together – often caravan-like traveling in their cars, vans and pick-up trucks with campers and trailers. They fished from boats, went on hikes, cooked good food, told stories and played board games the entire time they were together.
My growing-up experiences were a bit different. My family were close and we often visited extended family, but when my father died when I was 15 years old, much of that ended, we had no time or money for camping. And my choice of Church, mission, work and school full-time and a professional career was quite demanding, I didn’t do much camping but was familiar with their provident-living lifestyle.
We had two very important things in common, our deeply held religious beliefs and love of family. In any case, they actively sought to include me – or maybe it was that they loved being around Mary Kay and I was tolerable. In any case, they clearly demonstrated many attributes of living a Christ-centered life – I always was at peace around them.
Watts Race Riot of 1965 - we lived nearby, but were safe - Watts is a Los Angeles suburb. It lies immediately south Los Angeles. Stemming from a police DUI arrest of a black man on August 11, 1965, a massive race riot erupted and continued for six days. When it was over, 34 people would die, 1,034 injured, 3,438 arrested and property damage would exceed $40 million (well over $300 million in 2019 dollars).
One of the streets the police used to barricade the riot area was located two miles south of our apartment. The Church’s Wilshire Ward meetinghouse where we attended was within the riot area. Our Church activities went on as normal. However, we were grateful for the police officers who were ever present during and after the riot.
There was one member of our ward who lived in the riot-threatened area. Mutual friends told us that he had a very good job and his home was nicely furnished inside. However, for security reasons, the exterior of his home and yard looked like a slum.
Commentary – The rioting and looting of Watts was a tragedy. It seemed to us that it was largely perpetrated by people devoid of rational thought – evidenced by the fact that their actions resulted in the destruction of many of the very businesses and jobs they needed. The effects of the riot was to discourage business investment and encouraged middle class people living in Watts to move or stay away.
In essence, the emotion-motivated rioters perpetuated their own misery as well as inflicting it on their innocent neighbors and children.
Halloween trick or treating - friendly Frankenstein and his wife - Bishop Varnell Rosa and his wife, Trilby, had lived in the Wilshire Ward boundaries for several years and reared their family there. Their gracious, humorous and warm personalities was wonderful – like surrogate parents to us and many other newly-married couples in the ward – all living in apartments – far away from their families and home towns.
One Halloween, some of us newlyweds went to the Rosa’s home - trick or treating. Bishop Rozsa greeted us at his front door wearing a Dr. Frankenstein costume, including a white butcher’s apron with splashes of catsup and carrying a catsup-covered machete, some of the women shrieked. Their home was decorated like a haunted house – we had no idea that we would be served a tasty dessert by the two “Rozsa spooks” – they were wonderful.
Commentary – Fifty four years later – I reconnected with the Rozsa family in a meaningful way. One of my Church callings is a sealer at the Meridian, Idaho Temple. One of Varnell and Trilby’s grandsons, Danny and his Wife Penny moved into our ward several years ago. On August 10, 2018, they invited me to perform the Temple marriage of their daughter Rebecca to her husband James – the room was nearly full with invited guests. It was a very spiritual experience for me. In my remarks, I referenced Mary Kay and my special longstanding relationship with the Rozsa family.
Living in the “big city” had risks - Coming from somewhat protected small- town environments, it took time for us to become street-smart. However, Mary Kay instinctively knew to be cautious – her experience taught her to avoid attracting attention to herself in public, careful to wear a rain coat when she commuted to work on the bus. Even so, her beauty was only partially disguised and she was exposed several times to danger, but escaped unharmed.
Mary Kay propositioned - A man got on the bus and tried to solicit Mary Kay by handing her two tickets to a Broadway play. She innocently declined, saying, “I am sorry, but my husband and I are busy that night.” The man grabbed the tickets from her hand and got off the bus.
Mary Kay stalked – Coming home from work on the bus, a man followed her and tried to break into our apartment. Finding the doorknob locked, he hit the door hard with his shoulder, but the doorknob lock and deadbolt held - Mary Kay screamed. The man ran down the stairs and escaped.
Commentary - Mary Kay has always been careful to lock our home and cars. Even so, we still had thieves break into our Granada Hills home taking many of the few valuables we had accumulated. We thanked the Lord for his protection.
I got a “Green Sheet” - On my third audit engagement – a large building construction company, I received a “Green Sheet” a rarely issued form of Arthur Andersen – used to commend an employee who had performed exceptionally well.
In my case, the engagement senior, manager and partner gave me the Green Sheet because I, as a new staff man, was left alone on the job and essentially completed most of the audit field work with minimal supervision and ahead of budget.
I did not think I had done anything special until the audit was ending and the senior finally came to the client’s offices. He was astounded that with only the prior year’s working papers for reference, I had essentially completed the audit fieldwork and was fully conversant about the client’s business.
The company’s chief financial officer told the engagement senior and manager that he really liked the way I worked. He said that I was so organized that I only came to him in the morning with my questions and requests for documentary information and then did not disturb him again until the next morning. Albeit when necessary, I worked with people who reported to him.
A year later I learned that the CFO was an alcoholic and likely set aside his afternoons for drinking in the privacy of his office.
Commentary – I liked the man and feel sorry for his addiction – alcohol would later lead to his loss of employment. While I did not know of his addiction at the time, the Lord knew – I believe I was inspired to stay away from the man’s office in the afternoon when he was likely drinking and ill-prepared to coherently answer questions about the company’s business.
Pipe manufacturing company - Hundreds of empty 50-gallon barrels counted full - In the audit of a large pipe construction company (the company made steel pipe – up to several feet in diameter and often coated inside and out with specialized linings or paints.
The problem occurred during the company’s annual physical inventory count. A large number of company personnel were in the large yard used to stockpile its inventory of steel and chemicals - making physical counts of every item. A few Arthur Andersen auditors, including me, were making inventory test counts.
As the work was concluding, I was walking through the yard with the company’s controller. We walked past a large storage area of several hundred 50-gallon drums stacked four to a pallet, five levels high and ostensibly filled with expensive polymers and other coating materials. As I walked by, I rapped on a drum with my knuckle and was surprised to hear a hollow sound – I did the same to some other drums with the same result. Those drums were also empty. However, the inventory tag hanging with the drums showed that all of the drums were counted full.
This caused a great stir – while likely unintentional, it was a big mistake that had to be corrected. The company controller ordered fork lifts brought in to unstack over a hundred pallets (400 steel drums), check the contents and recount every drum.
Commentary - For the local Arthur Andersen office, this experience was used as an example – “trust but verify,” a policy I personally found useful in other aspects of my life.
Steel fabricator company – I almost lost my job for doing my job - In my second year with Arthur Andersen I was working on the annual audit of a midsized steel fabricator of steel girders used generally in the construction of multi-story buildings. During the company’s annual physical inventory count, I was touring their inventory yard observing the detail count made by company personnel and making my own counts for later reconciliation to the company’s records.
I observed a large quantity of steel girders and beams being staged for shipment to a designated construction site. I noted that some of the steel beams had a marking, “Made-in-Japan.” I said to the company controller, “isn’t that steel for the federal courthouse job?
(It was against federal law to put foreign-source steel in federal buildings. If federal inspectors discovered the building was built with foreign steel, which physically looked that same as domestic steel, they would insist it be removed and replaced with steel manufactured in the U.S. Such action could huge adverse consequences for the company, including removal of the offending steel, financial penalties and possibly criminal charges.)
A day or two after I made the discovery, I was leaving the clients office at the end of the day as usual with my audit working papers in my large briefcase. The company’s controller confronted me at the door.
In no uncertain terms he said he was not going to allow me to leave the company offices with my work papers – I was to leave them with him. I told him I could not do that. The work papers had to remain in my custody to insure the independence and integrity of the audit work. He became more emphatic and implied he would take them by force if necessary,
I called my immediate supervisor (Senior) on the job (Mr. R) for advice. Mr. R said I was right for not releasing the audit working papers and said he would call the job Manager, (Mr. T.) and get back with me. A short time later, he called and told me Mr. T had authorized me to leave my work papers with the controller - which I did.
The following day, Mr. R told me that Mr. T had changed his mind and was now saying that he did not authorize me to leave my work papers and I should be fired. Mr. R was enraged and told Mr. T that he would have no part of the deception and went immediately to Mr. H, the engagement Partner and told him the full story.
Mr. H. told Mr. R that he would take it from there. It is noteworthy that within a few months, Mr. T was no longer with Arthur Andersen and Mr. H went out of his way to be friendly to me. Mr. H solved the problem with the client by them agreeing to replace the Japanese marked steel in the yard with domestically produced steel.
“I can’t believe it … I actually defended you Mormons” - We became personal friends and socialized with many men and their wives at work who were not members of the Church. These friends often teased us because of our religion. This was all in good fun and we exchanged quips and laughed about it because we had developed a professional and personal respect for each other.
One couple told us they were at a social gathering the previous week. The man, Don, said, “I can’t believe it, we were with some people that got into bad-mouthing Mormons and I actually defended you guys.” We chided back, “You did, thank you; it must have felt good being on the right side for a change.”
“Bunderson, where do all the Mormons go?” – Using humor to confront prejudice and make friends – The LA office had over 300 professional people – less than ten percent were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church). It was common for some to try to tease, ridicule or embarrass members of the Church. I did not get offended and would tease back.
The office had a large staffroom full of tables, chairs, adding machines, etc., where the staff would come at the end of their field-work for a few days to wrap-up their audit. One of these men, Jim, was entering the room from one of the two corner doors at the same time I was coming in from the other; about 60 feet between the doors. About three dozen staff were working in the room.
As Jim and I drew closer, Jim, obviously seeking to embarrass me, said in a loud voice, “Bunderson - where do all the Mormons go?” (His point stemmed from the fact that many new hires came from the Intermountain West and were members of the Church. After living in Los Angeles for a while, they discovered they, or their spouse did not like the “big city” and after a few years, resigned to take jobs back home.
Immediately, all the heads came up to hear the interchange. I felt impressed to not hesitate and kept walking toward Jim and said with a straight face, “They’re translated.” Everyone in the room were now on their feet forming a circle around the two of us.
Jim said, “What do you mean translated?” I said, “Well, just like Moses. When his time came, he was caught-up.” Jim said, “Really?” I nonchalantly but with a serious tone in my voice said, “Yes, in fact just the other day, a staff man was in the field auditing cash. His time had come and, as I slowly raised my hand upward, I said, “He was caught-up.” Jim said, “Yeah?”
At this pivotal and dramatic moment in the exchange, one of the men in the circle – the only other member of the Church in the group, blurted out, “Yeah, took the cash with him.” Everyone burst out laughing and returned to their work. Jim was thoroughly embarrassed - caught in his own trap and naiveté.
However, the story did not end there. Two years passed and I had been promoted to Manager. Jim had taken a leave of absence to get his master’s degree at University of Southern California and had rejoined the Firm as a new Audit Manager in the Seattle office.
At that time, there was a two-week training school in Chicago for newer managers. Because of pressing client matters, I had to cancel my attendance.
Two weeks later, a Manager from another division and a good friend of Jim’s, came into my office and said, “Hal, I saw Jim back in Chicago. I said, “You did, how is Jim doing?” He quickly responded, “He joined the Mormon Church.” I said, “Well, good for Jim.” He continued, “I don’t know how you guys got to him, but you did.” I said, “Well, there’s a few things I would like to discuss with you.” He blurted out, “Not me fella,” turned on his heels and left.
Commentary - In discussing these and similar experiences, Mary Kay and I concluded at least two things. First try to keep Christ in your heart and the Holy Ghost will put thoughts in your mind and words into your mouth in the instant they are needed.
Second, when confronted with potential attacks that are obviously intended to embarrass and put Jesus Christ’s Church in a bad light, have courage, hold your ground. You have nothing to fear because you have the truth – don’t let anyone get away with telling you a false narrative about what you believe to justify their criticism of The Church.
Conversely, it has been our experience that when you turn their question around to challenge them about their own religion or philosophy, they are often at a loss to give a clear answer.
It is best to not be defensive in your altitude or demeanor – stay relaxed and confident with a kind smile and find a way to use humor. The Lord loves them too, and will help you teach truth in a way they can understand.
After two years – evaluated excellent - terrific pay increase - no promotion - When the LA office manager summarized my, second year’s performance with me. He told me that I was qualified to be promoted to Senior - but there was no opening - I would have to wait another year – however, I would receive a significant pay increase. He said the promotion delay would not be a limitation on my promotion to Manager, I could still make it in three more years.
Commentary - Mary Kay and I chose to look at the annual review optimistically – our life was good - I would continue to work hard and we would trust in the Lord.
My first community service – Junior Achievement counselor - Arthur Andersen was a sponsor of Junior Achievement, a global non-profit organization that teaches entrepreneurship and business literacy to high school seniors. The office manager sent out a call for four volunteers to lead a team of about a dozen high school participants – the Firm would pay mileage and out-of-pocket expenses. It was my first experience at community service. It was a lot of fun and our team constructed and marketed wooden pencil holders at a profit.
We continued buying furniture for our future home - Over the next two years, we kept making trips to the “Sears Discontinued and Repossessed Store.” It was often our date night – finding furniture we could buy and store in our apartment for furnishing our planned new home.
Sears carried a beautiful high-end line of oak furniture manufactured by Drexel Heritage. When a desired matching piece came on sale, we bought it. To us, finding matching furniture was like a treasure hunt; it was fun – some visits nothing, other times we found a treasure.
We became somewhat innovative in finding a place in our apartment for our expanding furniture inventory. For example, we stored our unassembled dining room table under our bed – a tight fit. We concluded that when we ran out of room, it would be time to move.
Preparing to buy our first house – Our apartment on St. Andrews Place was beautiful and we loved it. It would be our home until we had saved the required ten percent down payment on a house. New homes in middleclass subdivisions were then selling for less than $20 per square foot. When the value of our AT&T stock exceeded $4,000, we began looking in earnest for a new home. We could buy a 2,000 sq. ft. home in many upscale neighborhoods for under $40,000.