A Nazi Missionary?

Meet my brother Royce, isn't he a stud?

This is the first time in years I've seen him with short hair. Why you ask? His 19th birthday is coming up this June so he is preparing to turn in his mission papers sometime this week. He just got his pictures taken this weekend by his best friends sister Vivien who is a great photographer.

Here is a picture Vivien took of them together, pretty good huh?

Now let me tell you a few random facts about Royce. His full name is Carlton Royce (named after my dad) but we have always called him Royce. When he was a baby he was really fat and never learned to crawl, he just rolled everywhere he needed to go, so we called him Rolls Royce which we thought to be fitting. When he was three years old my mom put him in a little mint green short suit that had matching suspenders, she took a picture of him that day because he looked in the mirror and said "I am the perfect man." I wish I had the picture to share but it's in a box somewhere in my parents house. He looks like he works out but doesn't. He's really good at sports but doesn't compete in any. Music is his passion. He's always been a goofy, fun kid with a lot of quirks and obsessions, among these are "The Office," The Beatles, the entire country of Canada (he can sing the entire national anthem for you, we'll see if he gets called on his mission there), his harmonica, "Bill and Ted" movies, Bob Dylan (who he is trying to look like in the above picture), and surprisingly Nazi's.

One Day Royce went to Goodwill and found this incredible authentic Nazi Uniform that was just his size. It even came with a hat and a helmet. Now this can't be taken the wrong way because he means nothing by it. Royce in no way supports the Nazi's or the horrific things they did. He just enjoys the looks he gets when he's wearing it, and the fact that it is a genuine uniform from the war. It's really only a German border guard uniform, but close enough. If you have ever seen the movie "The Producers" it's kind of like the "Springtime for Hitler" thing. He absolutely loves the part that Will Ferrell plays in the 2005 version. He is Franz Liebkind the crazy German bird man who wrote the play about Hitler and does the guten-tag hop, it really is a funny scene. Anyway, he's used his uniform as a Halloween costume for many years in a row, and showed up to get some of his senior pictures taken in it. One day when we were following some friends on the way to a Halloween party we had to stop at the side of the road for a minute and Royce got out of the car and acted like he was a policeman who had pulled over the car in front of us. He got a lot of stares from people passing by. Since then he has obtained a few more uniforms (not really sure how) which are kept safely stowed in his closet until the time is right.

Here is something he once wrote this about his uniform, it will help you learn a little more about his personality:

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

11:32pm Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007

"my brother and sister-in-law are in a musical production of the sound of music. the show opens on september the 14th. they were wondering whether or not i would like to be in it. what part would they have me play? a nazi of course. the perfect fit for me and my tyrannical ways. i am currently in the process of debating whether or not to take the part. on the one hand, i would be able to showcase one of my many nazi uniforms. on the other hand, i would have to miss multiple days of work. that equals less money. oh the pros and cons... tomorrow, well later today anyway, i will show my boss the rehearsal schedule. this calls for missing half of monday and friday at work. i don't think he would really care. i mean, seriously, i don't do anything anyway. so getting out of work really isn't the issue at stake here. the real issue is determining my decision. also, if i didn't do the play, that could benefit me as well. you see, on the closing night, i would wear my favorite uniform and sit on the front row. near the end of the performance i would jump on the stage and perform der guten tag hop-clop. this is an achievement that would not be possible if i took the part. the options are being weighed. i have just one final question. where is my agent to sort this stuff out for me? ugh." - Royce

Now this fun silly kid with many obsessions has cut his hair and is preparing to serve a mission for our church. I am sure that he will be a great missionary because of his determination of love of the gospel. I know that he will soon make his work as a missionary his number one obsession. We're going to miss him while he's gone, but know that he is where he needs to be serving the Lord wherever he is called.