W.I.N. Don’t wait to play handball My Tribute to “Doc” Michael King

(For Doc's Queen Laurie.)

Ever felt like you had unfinished business?
Well—I missed out on "the perfect game" with my friend Doc because I thought I would have another week.

Mentoring is an act of love, and I think that the growth you see in someone is what makes it worth the time you invest in them. Let me share with you about one of my first protégés from Toastmasters.

November 26th, 2004, was a Tuesday morning. We used to meet as Toastmasters in the Four Winds coffee shop on Bookcliff in Grand Junction at 7 a.m. In walked a short gentleman in a Kansas City Chiefs white button-down shirt, toting a briefcase, and with a cartoon-like zeal and excitement for life.

“Hi, I’m Doc!” he cheerfully greated everyone.

I replied a bit like bugs bunny,

“What’s up Doc?!

I knew at that moment we would become good friends.

Michael—"Doc"—King was a great fit for our Grand Junction Toastmasters club. He played full out and participated joyfully from day one. He always had something to say, and in those first couple of months, he was able to dial back his filler words because he was a master at the "umms" and motormouthing.

I thoroughly enjoyed interfacing with him and seeing him come into his own. In the beginning, he had a challenge with cramming thirty minutes of content into seven minutes Speech.  He sped along like an auctioneer rattling off cattle.

Doc’s Icebreaker speech, where he gave us his origin story of how he became known as "Doc", had one moment that still makes me smile. He displayed pictures of different doctors like Spiderman’s Doc Oc, Dr. Strange, and Doc the Dwarf from Snow White. Then he asked us the million dollar question…

“which one do I look like?“

As he struck the same pose and expression of Doc from Snow White.

We all laughed.

I always enjoyed his cheery demeanor and his ability to bring a smile to everyone’s face. His shuffle of excitement and that neighborly mustache made it seem like he always had a wise story to share.

I had met with him only twice outside of Toastmasters—at the Barnes & Noble to hear about what he wanted to do and see how I could help him.  I was his mentor but I found quickly that he would share insights that would coach me right back.

He shared how proud he was of his boy, who was passionate about rock crawling.

I shared with him about my passion for coaching storytelling, and he leveraged the insights I gave him to make his speeches better and better.

He did the work to grow and I was so proud of him.

On one occasion, he even gave me feedback on the rough draft of my book “3 Reasons Stage Fright Costs and Why You Must Fix It.” He shared one of his favorite quotes with me: the acronym W.I.N.

“What’s Important Now?” —Lou Holtz. 

That quote now has taken on a much deeper meaning recently.

He was so generous with his time and loved to serve. You could tell by how he walked into a room that he was approachable and friendly.

However, watching his rapid feedback as he dialed in his speaking ability with constructive feedback he implemented was inspiring.

He told me the first day I met him,

“I just want to have more intellectual conversations.”

He definitely accomplished that. We never had low-level conversations about people or events—we always spoke about concepts that inspired him. I loved his childlike curiosity and enjoyment of sharing it with others.

Whenever you spoke to him, you came away with a sense that he was a genuinely kind person who loved his queen and was a follower of Christ. He just loved people.

I remember on more than one occasion he shared insights from one of his favorite books: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson—the story of little mouse-like creatures whose cheese supply runs out and they have to search for new cheese. Their trials and tribulations with transforming who they were into who they wanted to be. I was only recently reminded of how powerful  encouragements to move and find your cheese really are. To follow your passions.

“When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.”--Spencer Johnson

That book will forever remind me of Doc. Because in the beginning, he may have felt like his cheese was moved. Life didn’t treat him fairly. But in the end, he not only found his cheese—he was able to provide it for others, emotionally and spiritually. He became a friend, and I was honored to help write his obituary with his wife.

After only six months—May 20th 2025—I witnessed my friend and fellow Toastmaster Doc give the best speech I had ever seen him give. He called it “The Perfect Game.” It reminded me of an adult version of show-and-tell. 

Picture Doc in his glasses as he excitedly donned tight athletic shorts, gloves, and a handball headband. He bounced the handball and compared it to a racquetball, and his palpable excitement was electric.

His hobby truly revealed his passion. It helped me see that I had passed a handball court dozens of times in a local park and never knew it. For him and his friends, it was “the perfect game.” He was so persuasive, I immediately told him I wanted to play with him. I needed to play some handball with him as soon as possible.

We set a date for the Tuesday following Memorial Day.

We had a plan: Tuesday after Memorial Day. I would be back for Toastmasters, then go play.

But plans changed with Family on memorial day and I wasn’t able to make it back in time.

I told him how I went to Moroni, Ut to visit family and my mom’s grave.

He told me he wished he was closer to his parents, who were buried in Kansas City.

I texted him saying we needed to reschedule.

I missed his text saying he had a court reserved for us on Wednesday.

I never confirmed.

All I know is—he may have played handball, but not with me.

I knew we would pick it up when I was back the following Tuesday.

Then I got a text from his phone, but it wasn’t him…

“Brigham, this is Michael's wife. I wanted to let you know that he passed unexpectedly yesterday. He died peacefully in his sleep. I know he enjoyed his time with Toastmasters. It was a good outlet for him.”

As my friend Kip Brown says:

“Life hides the game clock.”

We don’t know when we’ll get the two-minute warning—or if we’re already at halftime.
We just have this moment.

I hope you don’t miss your opportunity to play handball like I did.

I know I’ll see Doc again, and he is still one of my dear friends.

I’m going to make Doc proud and earn my cheese like he did.

I am confident he knows I cared about him and was proud of him.

I hope I can take this opportunity to cherish the moments—and not wait for the next week to play handball.

Because next week… isn’t guaranteed.

What’s important Now?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

I know this: No good man—like Doc—is ever truly taken before his time.

God has a plan for each of us, and He loves us deeply.

Though Doc’s time may have felt short to us, it was perfectly aligned with God’s divine timetable.

He was “taken home to that God who gave [him] life.” (Alma 40:11)

Helpful scripture references:

2 Timothy 4:7–8 [Doc] …”fought a good fight… finished [his]course… [&] kept the faith”

Alma 40:11–12

11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

** June 6th 2025 I was able to give this tribute talk to the family of Doc at his funeral.

I added how he really did know how to W.I.N.

I will never forget just how Doc made me feel.

I met his handball friends and was able to set up a handball game for Monday, So I won't let another week pass without doing the work I know I need to do.

You never know how people can be brought together, but I met his sons, his neighbors, his lovely Queen Laurie. From the bottom of my heart I hope that this honors his memory and we will be able to keep his memory alive always. God Bless!