I suspect that many of you readers are familiar with the film. It has stood the test of time as a fantasy adventure comedy and I recommend it. The sarcasm and deadpan humor are great.

There are many lines in the movie that people like to quote. One of my favorites is when Vizzini exclaims the word “Inconceivable!” multiple times when things keep happening that surprise him. Inigo Montoya says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Another quote from the show, which I use occasionally is one from the highly entertaining swordfight. Inigo and “the Man in Black,” who is wearing a mask, are complimenting each other on their fencing skills during the fight.

Inigo is very impressed and says: “Who are you?”

Man in Black: “No one of consequence.

Inigo: “I must know…”

Man in Black: “Get used to disappointment.”

Vocabulary.com shows that the word “disappointment” comes from the Middle French word “disappointer” which means “undo the appointment” or “remove from office.” Today the word means lots of versions of not having expectations met or being defeated or frustrated when goals are not attained.

I reminded myself of the disappointment movie quote very late last Saturday night. I was sitting in the stadium at BYU in sub-freezing temperatures as the cannon blasted at the end of the game with the scoreboard showing Kansas 17 and BYU 13.

Arrrrgh! The terrific, unbeaten season record had come to an end.

I’ve been bracing myself and mentally preparing each game for a “belly flop” of a loss. But, I’ve secretly been thinking that this might possibly, maybe, kinda sorta, could just be the magical, miracle, unbeaten record season reaching the conference championship.

About midnight Saturday night, I mentally told myself, “Get used to disappointment.” Multiple times.

That same night, but not as late, but in colder temperatures, there was another football disappointment for people in my family circle. I’m talking about the 3-A high school championship football game played at the stadium on the campus of SUU in Cedar City.

My alma mater, Richfield High School, lost to Morgan High by a score of 13 – 2. Richfield’s 25-game winning streak was snapped. What an amazing run they’ve had. My nephew-in-law, Chet White, is the highly regarded defensive coordinator, for RHS.

But, you know? – that’s the nature of sports. If you can’t handle disappointment, stay away from it. And for that matter, that’s the nature of life. You can’t live life without experiencing disappointments.

Life is full of ups and downs. And for some, and eventually most all of us, there are major disappointments that involve dealing with lots of “D words” – including deaths, disease, despair, and despicableness (yes, that’s a word, I looked it up; and even if it wasn’t, you know what I mean).

In between major disappointments we have to work through the more minor ones. For me, as a spectator, having a sports score ruin my day, is, or should be, a minor disappointment. I have to always keep working on not becoming too emotionally invested in events with people playing games with balls.

I’m going to share a couple of other disappointments I’ve had lately. I’ll also tell you how I’ve been trying to deal with them. I’m sure you have your own situations too.

Last Saturday morning, for the third time, I planted a Quaking Aspen tree in our yard. The previous two times were disappointing unsuccessful plantings. I’m dealing with the two previous disappointments with a “third time’s the charm” planting.

One failure was definitely deer related. They’ll eat about anything in the dead of winter. The other failure was in the mysterious category of “if Merrill plants a tree, it has less than a 50/50 chance of surviving.” More “D words” – Deer, Drought, and Dumb Yard Care Skills.

I planted the Aspen tree because I wanted to have the official Utah state tree growing at our place. It became the official tree on March 25, 2014. Prior to that, the official state tree was the Colorado blue spruce.

I always thought it was strange that Utah’s state tree was a tree with “Colorado” in the name. Also, strange in the same way, is that the official state bird is the California gull. (Can’t we just call it a seagull?)

Along the same lines, the official cooking pot is the Dutch oven. And the state vegetable is the Spanish sweet onion.

Another disappointment I’m dealing with is my normal (I’m told) aging and deteriorating health. Doctors, home remedies, purveyors of “snake oil” cures are all under varying degrees of consideration.

The latest thing that I have fallen for is a try of Chuck Norris’ miracle supplement. I’ve been saying that I was left unsupervised while watching YouTube videos and got hooked watching a Chuck Norris advertisement. Chuck is 84 years old now and looks like he could beat up Mike Tyson. But then, maybe that’s not saying much.

I’m hoping to report back to you soon about my improved digestion, boosted energy, slimmed down belly, and the turning back of the hands of time.

Don’t hold your breath, but really why wouldn’t this Chuck Norris endorsed product be successful? I mean, I’m excited that it has ashwagandha and bovine collagen peptides in it. (Sarcasm)

I frequently forget what my now retired doctor used to tell me about supplements. Sometimes I’d talk to him about taking various products to reduce painful symptoms and to reduce my weight. He would say, “I believe you’ll find that most of those supplements are mainly “wallet reducers” generally speaking.”

Well, I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you with this column. All I can say is, “Get used to it.” — Merrill