Chess

Keith loved Chess. He was a good player and a good teacher. My son Charlie took a homeschool chess class last year. The last time Charlie saw Keith alive, Keith was helping him with His Chess homework. I remember one time last year when I was visiting Keith in the Hospital. He and I played a game of Chess and I routed him which is not only unusual, its incomprehensible. I'll beat him once a decade but to dominate him, that's unheard of. After the chess game Keith took a nap and when he awoke, he did not remember me being there and certainly did not remember us playing. I'd like to think he was making that up. But when we played later, he beat my brains in which was the typical result. It was goog to know that he couldn't beat me in his sleep.

Today Charlie and I will play a chess game in your Memory.

A Mother's Memory Part I

My Mom had a few memories she wanted to share, Her is the first . . .

I remember shopping with Lynn & Keith for a crib for Bobby at Babies are us. When the 2 young men who loaded the purchases into the car were speaking in Spanish to each other, I heard a third voice and was amazed to realize that Keith had joined right in in fluent Spanish like he was native to Mexico. I knew he had taken Spanish in high school, but I never knew he was so good at it. When I asked him about it, he said that he needed to communicate with the Spanish-speaking kids who helped him unload the truck(at McDonalds), and he learned it very well Spanish. I was really amazed to realize that he could converse so well in Spanish, and he didn’t think a thing of it.

Fred Astaire on Dick Cavett

Keith, like most of the Rollers, was a big television watcher. So when my mom recounted the particulars of his birth, I should not have been surprised. My mom was watching the Dick Cavett show at about 10:30 p.m. on Nov 10th. Fred Astaire was a guest. Mom went to the bathroom and found that it was time to get going to the hospital. This was before VCR's, TiVo, and the like, and my Mom wanted to stay a while longer and watch the interview (Which is so Keith.). My Dad intervened, and off they were to Des Plaines and some time around 2:30 A.M Keith was born.

But don't worry Mom, next year the prequel to Frost/Nixon is coming out. I hope you really enjoy Cavett/Astaire.

The Humor of Keith: Ham on Wry.

Keith had a great sense of humor. But the problem was that too often he had my sense of humor and I was already using it. When he wasn't trying to be me, his humor shone. Puns and song parodies can only get you so far. What he excelled in was observational humor.

One of my favorite lines I remember from Him was in describing my organizational system, or lack thereof.

A place for everything, and everything on the floor.

Not only did that comment describe me down to the empty file folder system next to the pile of papers, but it also showed the keen analytical mind that God gifted Him with.

When I heard Keith was sick.

I worked at a mortgage company for almost 9 years. From 4 months before I was married until about 8 months after Lucy was born. Let's just say that I did not choose to leave my employment at that time and leave it at that.

I was out of work for about 6 weeks. During that time our family was able to do a lot of things together. One of those things was to go out to see a movie in the park that our park district was hosting. The movie was Racing Stripes. While we were watching it, our cell phone rang. We had only just got a cell phone and only 1 or 2 people knew the number.

It was my Dad on my phone to tell us of Keith's illness. 10% use of his Kindeys and about the same in his heart. A few months before after Lucy was born Amy was hospitalized for the same diagnosis but within 2 days was given a clean bill of health. How we hoped and prayed this was a similar situation.

That was not the case of course and less than 3 years after the original diagnosis, Keith was gone. One thing that did strike me was that at a time when Keith needed me the most I was able to be there for Him. During the time I had off work, I was able to visit him regularly at the hospital and even spend a week with Him when he was being checked out at the Mayo Clinic.

That time especially taught me so much about reaching out to those that are hurting and being an advocate for them. I am still struck how God freed up my schedule tominister to Keith but also provided a new job for me within the time needed to provide for my own family.