Incredible Chess Matches,.. Short Videos.

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

Chess is a game in which you play for blood, and nothing else in the Universe can distract you from your goal.

Not a very social game, but worthy of respect, nonetheless.

Played it in college; play poker now. Or 9 ball. Or cribbage. With those, you can drink, smoke, do lines, converse, even fuck on the pool table, or whatever. Chess, however, is utterly demanding. But like calculus, worthy of respect.

[woodworker]

I've never been much more than average when it comes to chess.

I guess my genius resides in a different hemisphere of my brain.

What I am though is an architect, painter, poet, and judging by my distant past, I guess you could add community organizer to the list, much like that skinny Muslim we now have in the White House is. 

When some cops down at the station house were quizzing me as to whether I had any nick names, I thought I'd have some fun with them and said, "Yeah, HUD, Housing and Urban Development."

They knew about all of the bad press HUD was receiving at the time with regards to corruption and such and actually busted out laughing when I said this.    They were pretty cool cops actually. 

They also went through my wallet and asked me what I intended to do with 'this', as they pulled out a rubber, and I told them that I liked to blow then up and throw darts at them.  I was just fifteen at the time, so I think I put their minds at ease with that response. 

Really, We had a lot of fun together that day. 

But I have to say that in my opinion Jim Burris took the cake, as even I got a good chuckle out of something that he had said when it came to having any nick names.    He was Italian, and told them that his friends called him "Wop."    Again they busted out laughing, and then one cop said very sincerely,.. "Aw come on now Jim, you mean that you wouldn't mind if I called you Wop? 

And Jim said,.. "I don't know,.. are you my friend?" 

They just loved us that day,.. But things changed later on.  And they didn't laugh so much any more. 

[woodworker]

I know this isn't the "Juke Box",.. But aside from the fact that I like Hank Williams, you can't imagine just how much he looked like Jim Burris.  The minute I first caught this video on You Tube, it gave me a bit of a jolt from the uncanny resemblance between the two. 

We didn't take pictures back then, so this is just the best I can do. 

Jim and I had a connection that is hard to explain,.. But I never had to draw diagrams when it came to him.

I remember once when I was talking to him privately about a certain someone, I said,.. You know he plays the doleful idiot when it comes to certain things, and Jim quickly added, "But in his mind the gears are turning all the time."   

So long Jim.