This is what I often say to myself, out loud and repeatedly. This is because I am a prattler, someone who utters useless phrases or words, to no one in particular. I come by this honestly. It is in my DNA. My mother was a prattler, and my sister is one. My sister mainly prattles to her animals, these days, a dog.

I prattle to my animals – I often forget about the fact that they don’t understand me. They don’t. But I continue to do this, out of habit.

Swampy

I prattle when I ride. I prattle when I groom the horses. I prattle when I feed them. I prattle to Ryder, although I would not call my Fireside Chats with her, that is insights about things that she should know, prattling. These insights, she understands.

My sister also chortles. I do not chortle. A chortle differs from a prattle in that it is more self-congratulatory. She does this when we play Scrabble. She either has a good string of letters or has just gotten ahead.

It is very important to my sister that she win at Scrabble. All her life, she felt as though I was considered to be the smart child, and winning at Scrabble is her way of saying she is as smart as I am. This sort of thinking stresses me out, so I no longer play Scrabble with her.

My sister also plays chess; in fact, used to play with my father, who had a nice board and pieces. Me, I played a few times but did not take to the game. There is too much logic involved, and I am not at all a logical person.

I have developed a strong interest in child prodigies, which is I like reading about them. I just finished a most interesting book, The Queen of Katwe, which is about a child in Uganda named Phiona who is a child chess prodigy. She was living a very hard scabble life in a slum when she took up chess. Her mentor was a fellow who had a similar upbringing. Robert was first a soccer player, then a soccer coach, then started teaching children how to play chess. His project turned out to be very successful – and Phiona turned out to be his best student. At age 14, she went to Russia, played in the chess Olympiad there, and did quite well.

A great book. It resonates with me the way The Boys in the Boat and The Boy who Harnessed the Wind did. I do not think that I identify with the individuals in any of these books, but I do see a parallel to my situation.

This book project, it just continues to grow. It is now at the point in which I just allow for things to happen. Tonight, Pete went and got us a pizza, this before the BLBP Board meeting – and he took books in for those working behind the counter.

Guests here. Time to call it a day.

Next: 220. 8/13/24; The Red Balloon