Brilliance

I was looking through a list of items today that I keep to help me think about "stuff."  I was actually looking for an idea for this blog, and something must have tripped my thought process, because I came up with something that is worth more than a moment's notice.  The word brilliance - not like a light bulb, but a person, because I've been fortunate enough to know a few of these people throughout my life.

First, it only seems right to tell you about my grandfather. He was truly a brilliant man, even though he barely had a sixth grade education.  He could read and write his name, but I remember the time he lost his driver's license because he'd forgotten to look at the expiration date. We both figured out very quickly that he wouldn't to be able to take on the test to get re-qualified, so instead, he drove for the next ten years without a license.  But in so many ways, he was brilliant.  He had an incredibly wide knowledge of mechanical things and how they worked, and he had an incredible ability to pull people into the conversation and interest them in that knowledge,  I remember one summer when we went to Fort Belmont in Minnesota. When Grandpa was done, he had a regular herd of kids with him, learning about cider presses and grist mills.  He was able to share the things he had learned in a lifetime with the rest of the people around him.  For me, he instilled a fascination with the tools and machines that make the world work in me and taught me all of the basic concepts to let me know how things work.  He was brilliant.

The second person I know who is brilliant is my sister.  She was the one that always made me feel as though I was just a step or two behind.  Just that much smarter.  She was valedictorian of her high school class and years later when she graduated from law school, she got snapped up by a firm that only hired top 10, ivy league attorneys.  They told her they discovered that those people were good with the books and the research, but unable to talk to clients. With my sister, they got both - brilliance in the technical arena and an ability to talk with their clients.  I think both of my children came from this stock of the family, because we just keep uncovering how smart they really are.

Finally, I want to tell you about Bravo.  He was brilliant, but not necessarily in the way that one might want to be known.  Bravo lived on my street while I was growing up - in a dilapidated old home with a bunch of trashed vehicles and other stuff around it.  It was one of those places that kids made up stories about, mostly about the horribly frightening person that lived there and what he would do if he caught you on his property. The truth was very far from that.  Bravo was actually very nice and always spoke to both my sister and I if he was outside when we came home from school. His brilliance came from the manner in which he lived.  Bravo never showed that he had anything.  As was typically the case in small town Iowa, the locals took care of Bravo. The local restaurants fed him and everyone worked to do what they could. Now, the interesting thing is that during WWII, Bravo had made a fortune in scrap. He made the money, but never spent any of it, and never let anyone know that he had it.  The community took care of him, and only found out the truth after he passed away.  I'm sure you've known someone like this.  You may call them shrewd rather than brilliant, though.

We are surrounded by brilliant people.  We know those that are book smart, and those that are street smart, and those that are even a little bit "crooked" smart.  It takes all kinds, just like the rest of the world that we live in. It is all of those differences that make the fabric of our lives so very interesting.  I've said it so many times and in so many ways, but this is what keeps me young at heart.  I love looking at all of the ways people approach the lives they live.  Ways that they can be proud of, and so can their family; ways that they may not be so proud of but that gets them through.  And, one of the most interesting things of all is that on any given day, some people can slide back and forth between the various approaches - almost chameleon-like.  It really does take all kinds, doesn't it?

Okay, so what is up in the Toybox these days?  Well, I've had a nice influx of project come in as the new year begins. One major project is for a non-profit.  I'm very excited (and a little nervious) about this. The nervous part is just like with anything else - I truly want to do a good job for them. The second project two Adirondack chairs for a friend.  Not only will I get to build them, but there is probably a time that I will be able to sit in them and have a glass of wine.  Wow, I love woodworking.