| I still remember driving home one Saturday afternoon;the date was September 15, 1984, to be exact. I was onlyvaguely aware of the radio until the newscaster announcedthat Miss Utah, Sharlene Wells, was one of the ten finalistsfor that evening s Miss America pageant. Although I knew only a few specifics about Sharlene, Icertainly knew who she was. She was the reigning Miss Utah,BYU homecoming queen, Holiday Bowl queen, a formerUtah Junior Miss, and a daughter of Elder Robert E. Wells ofthe First Quorum of the Seventy, The Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints. Associates at the publicationwhere I work had encouraged me to publish an article aboutLDS pageant winners. I had resisted, insisting that readersexpected more from us than reports on beauty pageants. Perhaps you can tell that I have never put much stock inthe beauty pageant system and, by inference, beauty pageantcontestants, I have tended to dismiss bathing beauties with awave of the hand and the notion that, collectively, they relytoo much on looks and not nearly enough on brains, person-ality, talent, and character. Nevertheless, I found myself watching the Miss Americat that evening (a first for me), and I admit that, de-y preconceived bias, I was thrilled when Gary Collinscalled out Sharlene s name as the new Miss America. It al-most seemed like a blow for the little man, or girl--a girlfrom Utah, and a member of the Church, no less. |
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