Jacob has been my brother since 1976. He was born and I was 3 years old. I never appreciated him as a kid. All I saw was a skrawny, half-blind kid that had a difficult time catching a baseball. I used to tell him that he was lucky that I didn’t beat him up everyday the way his pal Tyler got beat up each day by his older brother. I actually meant it too. Shameful. It’s embarrasing to think of now. He just needed a big brother to help him out. This is the reason I excersize a great deal of patience with my children’s incivility to each other. They’ll grow out of it.

I didn’t see the clever, witty, kind hearted kid that he was. He always helped out around the house and made loyal lifelong friends around him.

He’s got a generous heart and a syncopated sense of humor that cannot be duplicated.  

Ladies and Gentlemen…Jacob Ball

What I do for a living:  I am a bare-knuckled political operative.  I manage Senator Mike Crapo’s reelection campaign.  It’s a great job because he’s an excellent candidate, a real person and a superb member of the U.S. Senate.

Initially I wanted to be a:  Fine artist.  My ambition from the time I was 13 was to be a professional painter.

My favorite music is:  Classical music from the Romantic period, about 1820 to 1910.

My favorite book is: The Mystery of Capitalism by Hernando DeSoto, closely followed by Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

My favorite movie is: Quiz Show.  It demonstrates that the great wheels of history move on narrow, fragile axles.

My favorite TV show is: Sponge Bob Square Pants

My favorite meal is: The alfredo pizza, salad bar and an apple beer from the Brick Oven in Provo, Utah.

I am most irritated by: Sponge Bob Square Pants and people who believe that more government is a solution to our collective challenges.

A current major influence is:  My brothers who are not afraid to try something that nobody has done before.

I get the greatest pleasure from: having foot races with my sons, making my baby girl giggle and spending time with my wife.

I am most uncomfortable when:  I’m in the driver’s seat of an old beat-up German sedan.

My proudest/fondest memory was:  Winning the 400 Meter Dash at the Boise Elementary City-wide Track Meet in 1988.

My last personal purchase was:  A 1980 Mercedes Benz 250, European specification, automobile

The purpose of life is: To make something that is still useful long after you’re gone.