Chess.......

The year was 1956.  I was a 12-year old boy in 7th grade at John J Pershing Jr High School in Houston, Texas.  One day during recess, I noticed some of the older boys playing a game on a checkerboard.  I moseyed over to have a look.  My, it was a strange, but compelling, game.  I didn't understand it.

A Solitary Pawn

I asked how the game was played.  No one seemed to want to tell me.  It was only later, as time went on, that I discovered why no one wanted to tell me how to play---the game could not really be explained adequately in a few sentences.  It had to be experienced.

The Rook

So, day after day, week after week, I observed the chess matches that the older boys played during recess.  Slowly, Clint began to get the hang of it.  At some point, I was brave enough to begin to play also.  I was a beginner, so I got trounced regularly.  But, slowly, I saw the greatness and the genius of this game.  It wasn't long before I knew that this was---and is---the greatest game of wits ever invented.

The Knight

It is purely a game of skill and experience.  The pieces---16 on each side---are mesmerizing to hold in one's hand. 

The Bishop

Each side has 8 pawns.  The pawn is limited in power.  But, before you think they are unimportant, know that they are usually key to control of the center of the board---essential for good prospects of winning.

The Queen

Each side has two rooks---powerful pieces shaped like a castle.  The rooks operate on the vertical and horizontal columns.

The King

Each side has two knights---the most unique piece on the board.  The knight, shaped like a steed, is an attack piece that can jump over other pieces.

A Teenaged Bobby Fischer in 1957

Each side has two bishops.  Bishops move on the diagonals---one on the white diagonal and one on the black.

Gary Kasparov, Widely Regarded as the Greatest Chess Champion of All Time

Each side has one queen---the most powerful piece on the board. It combines the power of the rook and the bishop.  It wears a crown.

Present World Champion Viswanathan Anand

Each side has one king.  The king is very limited in power, and must be protected at all costs.  A cross sits atop the king.

Grandson Canyon and Me Playing Chess At Christmastime

The object of the game is to position your pieces so that the opposing king is placed in a position of constant check from which he is unable to escape.  This is called checkmate.

When I first began playing this game I had no idea that it has such a rich background.  Its rudimentary origins go back about two thousand years.  The game as we know it today evolved around 1200 AD.  Writings about how to play chess began to be seen around 1500.  The first modern tournament was held in 1851.

I Have Referred to This Book Countless Times Over The Years

Since then, the sport has seen as entertaining a mix of brilliant personalities as can be imagined.  While Russians such as Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov have dominated the sport, other nationalities have produced their share of champions.  Tigran Petrosian (Armenia), Emanuel Lasker (Germany), Jose Raul Capablanca (Cuba), Paul Morphy and Bobby Fischer (United States) have all been brilliant players in their day.  The current world champion is Viswanathan Anand of India.

These days, I often play against a computer on my cell phone.  The computer has 10 levels of expertise, so that I can play against the very simple (level 1) all the way up to expert (level 10).  I usually am fairly competitive at level 5.  I don't think I will progress much past this level without getting some personal instruction, which I don't think is going to happen at this stage of my life.

But, the game and its history fascinate me.  It also helps keep the mind sharp.  Matter of fact, I think I'll play a game now.......P-Q4.

Cuttin' the Cost o' Coffee.......

Cindy Made This Picture Of The Box Our New Percolator Came In

Cindy and I love our coffee in the morning.  It's pretty hard to fully awaken without its magical, soothing, creeping warmth in our innards.

So it has been with considerable concern that we have observed the steady escalation of its price over the past year.  Something had to be done---but we could not bear to imagine life without our mornin' joe.

We tried buying cheaper brands.  We didn't like them.  We tried mixing the coffee with inexpensive additives like chickory or espresso.  That was ok, but didn't really save us much.

Then Cindy had the idea of dropping our modern coffee maker in favor of a percolator.  With a percolator, she reasoned, we could cut down on the amount of coffee we use because the action of the percolator recycles the brewed coffee for a stronger taste.

Our "Modern" Coffee Maker Uses A Single-Pass Brewing System And Requires Twice As Much Coffee As Our New Percolator

Problem---we couldn't find a percolator we liked.  We found a lot of old ones in thrift stores, but they all had shortcomings.  We googled to see where we could get a new one, but there aren't many companies making them any more---at least, not ones we liked.

Finally, last week, Cindy's sister, Patti, found one in a hardware store that looked just right for us.  It brews 32 ounces of coffee and works on the stovetop eye of our range. 

The First Time We Brewed Coffee in Our New Percolator, We Made a Mess of the Stovetop.  Sigh.

It works great!  We have used it about six times now, and we have cut our coffee usage in half.  We use 32 ounces of water, three scoops of Folger's Dark Roast Blend and one scoop of Pilon espresso.  We have experimented and found that letting it perk about 15 minutes produces the taste and strength we like.

It does something else, too---it fills the house up with the richest aroma of coffee I ever smelled.  That's something you just don't get from a modern, single-pass coffee maker. 

We're saving money and enjoying our mornin' joe more than ever.

Two Outta' Three Ain't Bad (Sigh).......

I had accumulated a number of errands and thought today would be the right time to get them out of the way.  But, as Cindy and I say to each other on a daily basis---nuthin's easy!

Not sure why that is, exactly, but the simplest chore is just plain difficult these days.  Let me illustrate.....

My plan was to go to my pharmacy just after it opened to avoid any crowd and get the shingles vaccine that my doctor had prescribed (if you've ever had chicken pox, you oughta' consider getting this, because it can save you a lot of grief).

OK, so I get to the pharmacy.  No one else is there except a few workers.  I tell the nice lady waiting on me that I am there to get my shingles shot.  Of course, there was a mess-up on the paperwork which took 20 minutes to straighten out.  Then the pharmacist made me fill out a questionnaire (things like "are you allergic to this this this this this this ad nauseum)  This bothered me because my doc had already gone thru this and had written the prescription, but I kept my mouth shut because it's not the pharmacist's fault her management makes her do that stuff.

Anyhoo, I wait another 10 minutes and the pharmacist comes out of her cubbyhole dressed in hospital greens and gloved up like a heart surgeon.  I told her, "Hey---relax...I'm here for a vaccination, not a bypass".  She thought that was funny.  I like it when people laugh at my jokes.  Ha.

The vaccination went in the back of my forearm.  Not my shoulder.    Not my derriere.  It didn't hurt at all.  I congratulated her on the smoothness.  Then I got up to leave, but she said I had to hang around for 15 minutes before I could leave because she said if I had a reaction to the vaccine it would prolly happen within the 15 minute window and they would need to be available to save my life.  I told her that was quite thoughtful and I appreciated it.  She laughed again.  I was beginning to like this woman.

After 15 minutes I departed the pharmacy, still alive, and set out for West Town Mall, some 14 minutes distant.  Mission: to acquire after shave lotion in a pourable bottle, and to get wifey a deep cooker.  Man, this was gonna be a snap, right?  RIGHT???

First stop:  Dillard's Department Store.  The friendly women at the Estee Lauder counter said they had no men's after shave in a pourable bottle---all they had was spray bottles.  Now, I realize I'm a simple man and am usually a little slow to "catch on", but I immediately started trying to figure out in my head how the sam hill anyone uses after shave in a SPRAY BOTTLE.  It makes no sense to me.  I mean.......I shave, right?  Then I take a spray bottle and spray that stuff on my face, getting it in my eyes, ears, hair, nose and whatever else happens to be in the way.  It sounds messy, inconvenient and STUPID.  Seeing the blank stare on my face, they directed me to the "men's" counter in the next room.

I get to the men's counter, and of course, there is no one there.  I wait a few minutes while perusing the contents of the display case, and finally a zoned-out clerk appears.  She completely disregards me (you remember me, don't you---THE CUSTOMER!?!?).  I wait about 5 minutes while she straightens her hair and applies makeup in a mirror.  It's funny, because I was standing right behind her so that she could see me, THE CUSTOMER, in the mirror behind her.  This mattered not.

Woman finally gets herself looking a way that pleases her and then turns to me...."Can I help you?"  "Why yes", I retorted, "Thank you very much."

"I would like to buy some after shave in pourable bottle."
"Oh, we have this really nice scent called "Eternity" --- would you like to smell it?"
"Why, yes, thank you".  Sniff Sniff.  "Yes, I like that very much!  I'll take it."
She takes the bottle from the box it was in and I see it is a spray bottle. 
"Oh---I need it in a pourable bottle".
"It doesn't come in a pourable bottle".
"Well, why'd you show it to me if it doesn't come in a pourable bottle?  I told you I need a pourable bottle.  How do men use a spray bottle for after shave?"
"I don't know, sir".
Annoyed, I asked, "Well, what else ya got?"
She walked around the counter, talking to herself as she rummaged through the stock.
"Oh, sir---here is one---in a pourable bottle!  Would you like to smell it?"
"Yes, I would".  Sniff Sniff.
"Nice,isn't it?"
"I wouldn't know---I can't smell a thing after that last one you laid on me".
She produced a jar of coffee beans.  "Here", she said--- "Sniff this and it'll clear out your smeller".
I sniff the beans.  I smell the coffee quite distinctly.
She then shoves the test strip in front of my nose and I inhale the fumes---can't smell a thing.  My nose's smell buds are still erased from the initial test smelling.
Disgusted and impatient to get on with my life, I tell her "I'll take it if it is in a pourable bottle".
"Sir, I can assure you it is in a pourable bottle".
"Well, humor me and take it out of the box and let me see---if it's in a pourable bottle I'll buy it."
She takes the bottle out of the package.  It is in a pourable bottle but it is a cream, not a lotion. 
"I told you I wanted a lotion", I said with disgust.
"I thought this was a lotion".

I bid her adieu and began looking elsewhere for my shaving lotion.  First I went to Belk's Department Store.  Got the runaround.  They sent me to a store on the other side of the mall.  Oh, well, I thought---I can always use the exercise. 

On the way, I spotted a large kiosk that had hundreds of bottles of all kinds of fragrances.  The nice lady asked me if she could help.  I told her what I wanted.  She said they had several after shave brands but they all came in spray bottles.  I asked her how a man actually applies after shave to his face with a spray bottle.  "I don't know", she said thoughtfully.

I continued my quest.  I was now hungry, tired and I had to pee.  But I pressed on.  I knew---KNEW---that in this huge mall, somewhere there existed a bottle of pourable after shave of a decent quality.

Finally, I found another counter with men's fragrances.  I told the nice lady what I wanted.  She produced a spray bottle of Dolce and Gabbana.  I never heard of it.  I told her I wanted a pourable bottle.  She said it also comes in a pourable bottle. 

"Would you like to try it?"
"Yes, thank you".  Sniff Sniff.
I can't smell a thing---been sniffin' stuff from one end of this gol-darned mall to the other....what in tarnation does it smell like?"
"Well, it's a light, citrus-based scent....very manly but not overpowering.  You ought to buy it---you'll like it."

I had been worn down.  I bought it.  But before I left her, I asked the question that was proving to be impossible to answer, even to those "in the trade".....
"How does a guy apply after shave to his face in a spray bottle?"
She thought a minute before giving me her considered answer...

"I don't know."

I didn't even get to look for the deep cooker Cindy wants.  I was too tired, worn down, hungry....and I had to pee.

Yearbooks.......

My Mom, From Her 1940 Senior Yearbook

Cindy and I had a nice weekend visit with my mom week before last.  As always, we ate too much and had too much fun talking with the other residents of her retirement community.

My Dad, From His 1935 Senior Yearbook

There was also lots of good reminiscing with my mom about the old days.

Yearbooks Grouped---Furman University (ME), Hyde Park High School (Mom), Woodrow Wilson High School (Dad), and Clinton (TN) High School (Cindy)

After one such discussion, Cindy and mom went to "clean up" the mess that mom's storage room had become.  While there, Cindy ran across some old high school yearbooks of my dad and mom.  This is a family treasure, and of course I immediately asked if I could have them.  The answer was yes.

Remember How All Your Friends Would Sign Your Yearbook and Write Something Clever?

My dad graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas in 1935.

Cindy's Senior Picture From Her Yearbook

Mom graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago, Illinois in 1940.  How these two came to meet is another story for another day.

I have my college yearbooks---all 4 years--- and Cindy has her senior yearbook.  Put together, they make a pretty impressive catalog of our lives as young adults.

Me, From My College Senior Yearbook

But, you know, now that I am gettin' a little older, I wonder what will happen to these family jewels when we pass on.  Kinda' sad, really, to think there is no one in our family who ever expressed a desire to have these pages of history of the way we were.

Maybe someone'll sell 'em on ebay and get a few bucks for them and they'll end up in some flea market as a curiosity.....hmmmph.

Outside the Box.......

Albert Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking used when we created them".

The great man also said "Imagination is more important than knowledge".

A few days back I posted a list of movie reviews.  One of the flicks I reviewed was Moneyball.  In the review I stated that this is a "must see" movie, and that, although the subject matter is about the game of baseball, the meaning of the film goes far beyond a game.  It is really about how we as human beings are trained to think. 

Many is the time---back when I was constantly traveling on business---that I wondered if the folks who designed the hotels business people stay in ever stayed in them themselves.  I don't think they did; because if they did, the rooms would not have been designed the way they were/are.  Examples---mirrors located in the wrong places...not enough electrical outlets...TV is too small...not enough lighting, air conditioner/heater hard to regulate, air conditioner/heater designed so that the curtain hanging over it traps the air...etc, etc, etc.

They keep making hotel rooms the same way they have always made them.  It's the only way they have ever made them and the only way their brains know how to make them.  God forbid anyone ever steps out of their stupor and actually designs a room that is comfortable and convenient for the guest.  Oh, my gosh!  Somebody shoot me!!!

A few years ago I was president of our Sunday school class.  It was a large and pretty dedicated group.  Before I became leader, the accepted practice of scheduling someone to lead the class in prayer at the end of the instruction was for the president to go around, hat in hand, asking/begging for someone to lead the prayer at the end of the meeting.  Now, understand that we are Methodists, so---unlike Baptists, for instance---there were many in the group who would refuse to lead the class in a 10-second closing prayer.  It was maddening.  I quickly got tired of this and one Sunday I stood if front of the group and told them that from now on we would be signing up to do the closing prayer in advance, and that once you were signed up for a particular Sunday, you would be held to that promise.  My gosh---it worked perfectly!  No more begging.  No more being turned down.  I did something different!  And it worked spectacularly!  "Outside the Box!"

I read of an apartment builder who noticed that when he built sidewalks around new aprtments he had constructed, within a short time, there were paths worn in the grass between buildings.  People were not using the sidewalks, but were instead taking the shortest route between buildings.  Guess what---he began waiting several months after constructing the buildings to see where the paths were worn in the grass---and then he layed the sidewalks over where the people were actually walking.  Beautiful!  Thinking "outside the box!"

Jack LaLanne

Back in the 1940s, everyone told Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru, that lifting weights would lead to muscleboundness and heart attacks.  He knew differently, and started the nation's first chain of exercise spas.  He revolutionized not only the fitness industry but also changed the way America's "experts" thought about fitness.  He was "Outside the Box".

Dr Dean Ornish

In the late 1970s, Dr Dean Ornish began to show how lifestyle and dietery changes can reverse heart disease.  He was roundly criticized as a heretic.  Why?  Because he dared to think "outside the box" and he differed with "experts" of the day.  Today, of course, he is recognized as a great reformer.

Dick Fosbury and His "Flop"

In 1968, an American high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the gold medal at the summer Olympics in Mexico City by using a new and radical "back first" technique that has since revolutionized the event.  At the time, he was considered by experts to be a fluke.  Today, all high jumpers use his technique, called the "Fosbury Flop".  He was thinking "outside the box".

Can you think of instances in your life where thinking "outside the box" has led to success?  And praytell---why don't we do a lot more of it?

Do You Like Being A Good Citizen?.......

Well, do ya?  Ha.

I think it's a very good, simple question....but on further review, I guess it isn't after all.

I mean....what exactly does "good" mean?  Some might say that it means to "go along with the program", as in "don't rock the boat".  There were a few bosses in my professional past who asserted that I was not a "team player".  To them, if one were not going along, one was not getting along.

On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson said he thought "each generation should have its own revolution". 

Does a good citizen speak out against the system when he/she thinks the system is wrong?  Or does a good citizen stay silent and make the best of her/his life?

Movie Reviews.......

Cindy and I rarely go to the movies.  It costs too much, and the popcorn and soft drinks we enjoy during the flick cost too much, too.

So, what we do is wait for the good movies to come out on DVD and watch them at home.  We have a large, flat screen TV with a great sound bar that mimics theater sound.  We pop the disc in and sit back with our cheap movie, cheap homemade popcorn and cheap soft drinks and enjoy the movie anytime we choose.  Aaaahhhhhhhh.........life is gooood.

This past couple of weeks we have been blessed to watch six truly entertaining movies.  I liked all of them and recommend them.  Here are my notes.......

1.  Take Shelter (2011)

---Stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain
---Directed by Jeff Nichols
---Plot:  A young husband struggles to interpret a series of apocalyptic visions, and how to shelter his family and himself
---Notes:  Story revolves around the issue of mental illness combined with true apocalyptic events, which makes for a real mental quandary for the viewer.  Great acting.  Great special effects.  Much to discuss with fellow viewers after the credits.

2.   Drive (2011)

---Stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks
---Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn.  Refn received "Best Director" award at the Cannes Film Festival.  The film itself received a standing ovation at the festival.
---Plot:  A Hollywood stunt driver moonlights as a getaway driver.
---Notes:  Outstanding acting.  Gosling plays a strong, quiet, violent type.  Reminiscent of McQueen and Eastwood roles.  Extreme violence.  Very well done and entertaining.  Do not watch if you cannot stand violence.

3.  Moneyball (2011)

---Stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
---Directed by Bennett Miller---Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Picture
---Plot:  Based on the 2003 book of the same name.  This is the true story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics' baseball season and the efforts of their general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) to field a competitive team by thinking "outside the box" and making decisions not in alignment with traditional baseball thinking.
---Notes:  A "must see" movie.  There are lessons in this film that go far beyond baseball.  The lessons apply to how we are trained to think in rigid, dogmatic ways.  A great, true story.  Great acting.  Cindy does not like sports, but she loved this movie.

4.  50/50 (2011)

---Stars  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Angelica Huston
---Directed by Jonathan Levine.  Nominated for 2 awards at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.  Gordon-Levitt was nominated for Best Actor.  The film was nominated for Best Picture
---Plot:  A 27 year old professional man (Gordon-Levitt) is diagnosed with cancer and learns that his odds of survival are 50/50.  The film explores the actions of friends, relatives and romantic interests toward the cancer patient.
---Notes:  Sad, funny, all-too realistic depiction of the world of serious illness.  You certainly learn who your friends are---and aren't.  I'll give the ending away, however---it's happy.  Very good flick.  Great acting. 

5.  Ides of March (2011)

---Stars Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood
---Directed by George Clooney
---Plot:  This is a political drama encompassing a two week time period during the Ohio democratic primary.  The film depicts the rough, down-and-dirty strategies of the opposing political camps and involves high drama
---Notes:  The acting in this film is sensational...some of the best I have seen in a while.  If I didn't care for Clooney before, I love the guy now.  Much high drama is involved in showing the dirty, dog-eat-dog side of politics

6.  Midnight in Paris (2011)

---Stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody and Michael Sheen
---Directed by Woody Allen
The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and received four Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay and Best Art Direction
---Plot:  This is a romantic comedy.  An American couple spending time in Paris finds their world taking an unexpected turn as Gil (Owen Wilson) discovers a hidden, magic world of living Parisian lore.
---Notes:  Superb acting.  Delightful story.  Much wry humor and an honest look at interactions between lovers.  Great direction.  The first Woody Allen film I ever liked---and I LOVE this one.  Much to discuss at the end.