Monday, June 6, 2011

Fun And Games Monday

Well, it's time for Fun & Games Monday!

Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for this cool blogfest!

Unfortunately, the computer I do my blogging on is part of a machine room that has undergone a quantum fusion meltdown. So, I am posting this with my phone. I'll try to do a proper post when things return to normal.

For now, though, let's have some Fun & Games!

My entry in this blogfest is about baseball. Baseball?? Yep, I know, it doesn't sound exciting, and it's not high tech and has nothing to do with science fiction or writing.

Let's go back in time to a summer of my youth. One day, friends and relatives all congregated at a local park. Everbody was laughing and joking and having fun. Somebody had an idea to play baseball. I don't think I had ever played before. But that didn't matter. It was amazing. Standing on the green grass under an incredible blue July sky, the sun seemed to smile on everybody. We all played hard, but the important thing was the "play." The important thing was to have fun. You know, it wasn't the end of the world if you dropped a fly ball or threw to the wrong base. What mattered was being part of the team and actually having fun.

No other sports experiences were quite as fun as that day. I'm all for healthy competition, but I think sometimes the fun & games part is forgotten in sports. But on that one perfect summer day, friends and family all joined together to play a game the way it was meant to be played.

Hmm, maybe I could work that into some kind of time travel story ;)

Update: Wahoo, the Mythik HAL 8999 computer is un-melted. Of course, I now have to rush like crazy to finish everything that was thrown off schedule by the meltdown. But I'll sneak in here now to finish this post. I will be checking out all the other Fun & Games blogfests as soon as I can!

The next game is probably my favorite video game of all time: Joust. How good was it? Good enough for me and my best friend to walk a mile in the snow to get to the only place in town that had a Joust machine. How can you go wrong with flying ostriches, pterodactyls, and a lava monster that would reach out and pull you in to the lava if you flew too close? The sound effects were amazing, including what is probably the funniest/scariest sounding pterodactyl ever. And I don't know if there was anything more stressful than rushing to gobble up all the ostrich eggs before they turned into evil ostrich riders. Long live Joust.

And finally, one of the greatest games of all time is Guess The Story Of The People At The Airport. Also known as GTSOTPATA. I'm at the airport, waiting to board my hopefully stress-fracture-free plane. A man and a woman meet and sit down next to each other. What's their story? In my mind, it goes something like this:

   Woman: "Did you get it?"
   Man: "Yes."
   Woman: "You weren't followed, were you?"
   Man: "No. But that dorky guy over there is looking at us like we are KGB agents or something."
   Woman: "Forget about him. He's just playing a stupid airport game. Give me the formula."
   Man: "Wait. You won't double-cross me again, like that time in Prague, right?"
   Woman: "Of course not. Now give me the formula."

Then I get distracted by an announcement that the plane will be five hours late. When I return to the game, the mysterious man and woman are gone!

Okay, that's it for fun and games! Happy Monday :)

15 comments:

  1. I thought mine was the only computer capable of achieving nuclear fusion? Hmmph. The black-suited men at the computer shop at the end of the universe where lying.

    I absolutely love your blog. You have a new follower!

    Fun & Games Blogfest

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  2. Sorry for the meltdown! When you're back in business, be sure to link back to my blog. Thanks for participating!

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  3. I love baseball. I'm a big fan of MLB, but I used to LOVE playing as a kid. Even when we had nothing more than a stick and a tennis ball.

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  4. This reminds me of the lack of skill I had in softball in gym class, with one notable exception. I was in left field, I don't know why, and someone hit the ball right to me. Of course, I'm cringing and dreading the ball coming, holding my glove up weakly, my knees shaking. The ball lands in my glove and starts to bounce out. How what happened next came to be, I have no idea. But somehow I summoned the courage to take my left hand and use it to cover the ball, and keep the ball from falling out.

    Single best game of my life. Ever! Thanks for sharing baseball today. I really appreciate it.

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  5. Sorry about the meltdown. That's really nice of you to forge ahead in spite of it all.

    My hub's a member of the Red Sox Nation. So anything with baseball in it is big!

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  6. I've never played baseball, since I never had much interest--you make it sound like a lot of fun, though. :)

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  7. I always loved playing baseball. I was bummed as a kid when I couldn't join little league. They didn't allow girls then.

    I saw the Mets win the World Series in the mid 1980's. That was fun. I like attending the games rather than watching on Tv.

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  8. "He's just playing a stupid airport game." LOL!!!!!

    Loved it. Great wit, great choices.
    And you used your phone? Wow.

    Consider me a follower.

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  9. OK, I think the meltdown has been fully contained. Updated the post to actually include three games :)

    Thanks for the comments & follows!

    I got to go to a Cubs game once. Just being in a 100 year old neighborhood ball bark was the coolest thing.

    For those who'd like to give Joust a try, here's a link:
    Joust
    It's not as good as the real thing, but better than nothing :)

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  10. lol I am so playing the airport game the next time I go to the airport. :)

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  11. I think there will be a whole slew of us playing your airpost game - fun!

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  12. Hey great to meet you via this blog fest - am struggling to get around to everyone but I will in time. The airport game is a winner! Not much baseball in Australia but it's growing. Great to "meet" you.

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  13. That's an eclectic grouping of favorite games. :) I don't think I ever played Joust. My favorite arcade game was Moon Patrol, heh.

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  14. Ha ha, yeah the airport game is fun. Nice to meet all you too :)

    Lindsay: Moon Patrol?? No way!! Ha, that is so funny. Moon Patrol was a top contender for the list. But it was a much longer bike ride/walk to the bowling alley that had Moon Patrol. Watch out for those craters!

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