Words Are Better Than Music

When I first started hearing about  how women talk so much more than men. I thought I was on moon.

My father was the King of Talk. My brothers are almost as adept as he and I am no slacker myself. And versatility, (BS) is the Watch Word in every conversation.

One of the most famous conversations we’ve ever had was around the dinner table when we had silenced Dad for ten minutes as he figured out how many soccer balls it would take to fill the Marriott Center down at the BYU campus.  Good times.  

My mother was always silent during these and most conversations. 

We would talk about anything. Not just sports, not hunting.   Vulgarity was frowned upon  and fighting wasn’t acceptable, and things didn’t get personal, but we had a great time. 

I still love to talk my brothers. In fact they are my favorite people to talk to. The tragedy is they’ve ruined my life by being too busy. Mark”s on his mission. Scott has a stupid job. Rex is a Bishop plus he has a stupid job too and Brent works at the car wash even though he could retire, too.

I had my colleagues at LDS Church Education, and they were pretty fun, but they were usually pretty narrow-minded.  They’d get pretty scared at some topics.  Others would not be, though, and I would gravitate towards those because I love to talk about possibilities as regards to God, His minions, His worlds and His potentials and my brothers and my dad would all love to get into that stuff.  Wild speculation of any sort was just the best.

Words to me are music, and the words of my father and my brother are symphonic. And that’s not hyperbole.

Chess - A Fine Moment Indeed

That's Todd on the right

Our Yellowstone Trip brought up great memories, not the least of which was one of the finest coups of my life.  

The Britsch brothers, Todd and Lanny, who went on to greatness at Brigham Young University, drove their sister, Merlene, and I to Old Faithful Inn to work for the summer in 1961.  I don’t remember much about trip except that we had to wait around for a couple of days because they didn’t want to hire us until everyone from farther away had arrived for work because people from close by would likely pack it in early and leave before the summer was over.  Good thinking.  But, I don’t remember much else.  Maybe we slept in the car.  Maybe we ate bear droppings.  Maybe we bathed in the geysers.  I don’t remember many details.  

What I do remember was that Todd was a little more than weird, quite arrogant and thought that he was 57 IQ points smarter than anyone he encountered.  He probably has wised up since then.  Hope so.  Anyway, that point is germane.   

Anyway, backing up a bit, my brother, Brent, had just the previous year, as a high school sophomore, been a member of the “Chess Club” in school.  The “Flying Geek Squad”, if they had such a term in those days.  Somehow, I’d given him the time of day at one point and he’d shown me three, maybe four moves that would give you “check mate” if your opponent didn’t know what you were doing.  

Todd was bored and wanted to play chess with me.  Probably no one else would play.  I hate chess.  I said "no" dozens of times for more than a few reasons.  But I finally relented and though it seemed too simple, I tried the moves. And choke, sputter, gasp, they worked.  CHECK-MATE!!  Todd could not believe that Merlene’s idiot friend had beaten him in so few moves.  I was electric with glee.  

Not being a fool, I refused to play him again.  I knew he was not the genius he thought he was, but I was no fool either.  I did not underestimate him.  I couldn't take the chance I could pull it off again.  

I don’t remember the moves now and I’ve asked Brent since if he does.  He doesn’t even remember ever knowing them.  I suspect he doesn’t remember even being in the Chess Club.  Silly boy.  It probably wasn’t his finest hour.  

Chess definitely wasn’t mine either.  But it did provide me with one of my favorite moments.  I love those little chess men for that.  There's nothing prettier than a nicely set up chess set to my eye.  Such a nice reminder.