Meeting David Menger- Letter to Martha Kathryn Menger

Hi Martha,

You're beautiful... solid proof that both parents contributed to your gene pool... :)

Your father and I have been best friends for a long time, and this is my version of how we met.

A little background... back in our day, shortly after the dinosaurs became extinct... there was no childhood obesity problem because kids actually played outside... with other kids even.

Baseball, football, tennis, ping-pong, basketball... if a ball was involved we played it.
And "staying in shape" was not a motive. If it was fun and kept us out of reach of our parents for awhile, we were in... and the competition was fierce.

One afternoon, David and I were on opposing sides of a full court, pick-up game in the North Augusta gymnasium. I had the job of covering your Dad and was on him like a Spandex body suit... a complete surprise considering my "nickel-plated" basketball skills.

But had God blessed your father with the strength of a bear, the heart of a lion, and the speed of a glacier.

There was another reason. Your dad was pumping serious iron back then and had quite a physique. So, every time David would start to drive the basket, he'd pause to admire his reflection in the gym door windows. Once he asked to borrow my comb.

Late in the game, catching me in mid-yawn, he finally managed to pull down a rebound. Then, spotting an open man standing under the other basket, David wheeled and whipped the ball as hard as he could, .. right into my face... not the whole thing... just my nose, mouth, and eyes.

The pain was excruciating. I wanted to squawl like a toddler, but there were too many witnesses. So I shook it off, and kept on playing.

This made such an impression on your Dad that he returned my comb.

We've been best friends and boon companions ever since.

Now, if your Dad has a different recollection of the event, don't be too hard on him.
David has a vivid, humorously delusional imagination that auto-engages whenever he's regaling an audience with "Ray Head" tales.

I've always thought that your father would make a great fiction writer... ;-)
Please tell your David that I miss him and look forward to seeing him again.

For Just This Point In Time

For just this point in time
You are snippets and bits of...
Everyone you've ever loved
Plus all the ones despised

You're all the laughs that've creased your eyes
Plus the tears that seared your soul...
You're all the places you've ever been
And just those that touch your dreams...

You're every note of every tune that's fallen on your ears
And every word of every page you've read for all your years
You're snippets and bits of all of these things
For just this point in time