I come from the land of talking females and dominating males. Therefore I believe there is power in speech paucity.

Dad was a master of the wordless effect; yet, his was a kindly heart. I don’t think he wanted power. I think he was shy, or cautious. It even is possible that he didn’t comprehend the existence of us – his family of 1 wife, 3 children and an alarming number of nearby aunts and uncles. He may have overlooked that we all liked his talk, what there was of it. Maybe he just didn’t know we awaited. It’s hard to tell, since he didn’t talk much.

Like other things rare, his words impact, some dozen years after his death. “Balance in all things,” for instance. Dad said “Balance in all things” when the talk was about mealtime, boyfriends, emotions of any kind. It really is a good phrase, applicable.