Funny enough, I don’t remember meeting Chuck, because I was four years old at the time. But we’ve logged a lot of good memories in the years since, and our story arc has recently taken a brilliant turn. Chuck was one of the kids my age in the Bountiful 19th Ward, so we criss crossed paths often throughout our childhood, from Cub Scouts and SDSA youth soccer teams, through to Boy Scout summer camps and junior high classes. I even worked on his family farm (Chas W. Bangerter & Son) for a summer. But of all those activities, the basketball court became the true crucible of our friendship. For the better part of a decade, Chuck and I ran the backcourt as teammates on a string of ward basketball teams, squaring off against opponents throughout the Bountiful North Stake. I wanted to think of myself as the Pippen to his Jordan, but most of the time I was more of a John Paxon with glasses. For a time, basketball was set aside as we served missions (he was called to Brazil), then soon after we returned Chuck got married and I wandered off to singles ward land. While I was bouncing around northern Utah, Chuck spent some time in the Pacific Northwest, then returned to Bountiful to work on the farm. Five years ago, I returned to the ward to find my old friend serving on the stake high council. We caught up on old times, and even teamed up on the basketball court again. Then, about 18 months back, we were called to teach the primary kids. So far we’ve taught three different age groups, starting a run with the 3-year-old sunbeams this last January. It seems kind of poetic in a way, passing the torch to the next generation in the ward. As Chuck observed when we grabbed lunch late last year, we’ve always been good teammates.
A few winters ago I was driving along 400 East in Bountiful when I saw a brilliant sight in someone’s yard: a massive snowman shaped into the likeness of Jabba the Hutt. A day or two later, I learned Frosty the Hutt was the brainchild of my old friend Nathan. This didn’t surprise me at all. Whenever I think of Nathan, I picture him smiling. I’m not sure if it’s his good-natured demeanor, the inner satisfaction that comes with a refined taste in music, or the fact that he hasn’t aged in the 10+ years that I’ve known him. Nathan and I met as my time in the University 32nd Ward was drawing to a close, and became friends through several interactions at parties and activities. He quickly became one of my favorite people—the kind of guy who would make a Snow Jabba—and I wished him well as he went on to join the ranks of upstanding married Davis County adults. Fortunately, marriage and a career in the backup software business didn’t take him too far away, and it was fun to discover that Nathan and his young family were in my stake in Bountiful. Late last year, we met up at North Salt Lake’s Nacho House to have lunch, talk pop culture, and make predictions on the final Star Wars movie. So far the new film hasn’t inspired any new snow tributes, but it was still fun to catch up with a great guy.
