Tasis

Tasis (ta’-sis): Sustaining the pronunciation of a word or phrase because of its pleasant sound. A figure apparent in delivery.

I was having a balll baby. Scrabble had captured my soul. My spelling was poor, so I never won. I played with my sister. She was in the sixth grade and knew a lot more words than me. It was something to do on Saturday nights.

I was in the ninth grade. I was called “differently abled.” At least I wasn’t slow, so it did not bother me. In my senior year of high school I suddenly became a genius. I don’t know what happened, but one morning I woke up and saw complex equations on the ceiling that I solved before I got out of bed. I had chicken embryos for breakfast and jumped on my four-wheeled lumber transport device and headed for the learning institution.

In history class, I recited an abridged version of the history of Long Island. My favorite part is when the Dutch are kicked out and sail back to Holland. After what they did with their tulips, they deserved it for wasting good farmland. In metal shop, I tore down and rebuilt a 1955 Ford v-8 engine. My teacher told me I could teach the class from now on. He couldn’t compete with my genius.

I learned French in one day and was awarded the school’s “French Prize.” It was an all expenses paid one week trip to Paris. Instead of going to Paris, I sold my plane ticket. The transfer fess were steep, but I still got away with $1,000.

I felt my genius fading. “Easy come, easy go” I said to myself—as I became my old self again, I couldn’t make good choices. I spent my thousand dollars on Jolly Ranchers at the “Sugar Hi” candy store across the street from school. It is a lifetime supply. They keep it for me, stored in the back room, and I go in once a month and have my candy bucket filled. It is a dream come true.

I would like to be a genius again someday and get more Jolly Ranchers—they make my bedroom smell sooo good! I’d like to learn how to set fires too!

I am back to playing Scrabble on Saturday nights with my sister. I am pretty good with three letter words: dog, hog, and, boo, con, car and so forth.

Anyway, life goes on. Nothing’s perfect. Sometimes life gives you lemons. I need to learn how to make lemonade.

Definitions courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).

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