"I Drive The Boat"

Another story related to Jay Ford Rosenberg.
The really 'quiet man' of the family. He wasn't quick to enter into converstation, and would fane anything to keep from being in front of any group of people if it had anything to do with speaking. I only remember him bearing a testimony once, and that was under great duress. We were on our Mission in Salt Lake City, Utah and had gone to Kaysville, Utah to attend meetings with the Missionary who had converted me - Elder Lowell Taylor and his wife Marie King Taylor. Of course Lowell asked me to bear my Testimony to the group of Young People he and Marie were working with at the time. (It was a Fireside, as I recall). After I had finished, and sat down, Lowell asked Jay to come up and bear his Tesimony. Well, color and anxiety were quick to rear their heads. It took awhile, but Jay did finally get up and say a few, I mean, a very few words. He carped about it for weeks afterward. One would have thought he had been asked to do something that was totally awful. Well, I guess to him it was.
Remembering that, and laughing with Paul about such things with Jay, Paul brought up the subject of the trip the Priesthood made with the Aaronic Priesthood boys while we were in Pico Rivera. I don't recall the year, or even the age that Paul was. I just know that Jay had been called to work with the Deacons, and the boys loved him. He had the boys teach the lessons. That must have been something to behold. Well, it seemed to have made him a hero with the boys, they would do just about anything for Jay.
When the trip was planned, Jay was asked if he would take our boat down to Lake Havasu where our former Bishop and then Stake Presidents Councilor had a resort. The boys could camp out, and enjoy water skiing. Jay was happy to do that. He managed his vacation days from Kinco where he was an Inspector. He got the skis ready and the tow ropes. Checked the motor on the boat and packed things up for the long trip down to Arizona.
No surprise, it was hot. The boys were in the water most of the time and took turns skiing, or learning to ski. Jay was pretty popular, and I guess was willing to stay with it as long as the boys wanted to 'hit it'.
The trip lasted a week. When it came time to pack up and head for home everyone pitched in and got ready for the long ride back. Naturally before the trip home could begin, a Prayer would be in order. As Jay, I would assume, had been pretty good at escaping this 'honor' all week, it was suggested he say the Prayer. As I heard the story, he just stayed where he was, no show of emotion, just one simple phrase escaped his lips: "I Drive The Boat". Someone else said the prayer!

Written this 6th day of September 2010
by: Eileen Rosenberg