When I was a boy, everyone shot marbles. It was a “big deal.” My brother, Clayne, and I were pretty good shooters, but we lived right across a small highway from the best marble shooter anywhere, “Butch” Adams. The three of us were best friends, but when it came to shooting marbles, Butch was merciless. He gave no quarter, ever.

My brother and I thought that we were just bad marble shooters until, one day, a trip to the other side of town with our parents taught us differently. To our surprise, we wiped out everyone around. When we got back home, we were relentless in our efforts to beat Butch. For once we had plenty of marbles. We didnÂ’t have to buy even one, but, as always, Butch won all we had.

For me, the lesson to be learned from this experience was that we should not try to compare ourselves with the genius of others. If we learn to accept the genius that is in each of us and do the best we can, then maybe we too can be the best marble shooters around – at least on the other side of town. – JD