Because Anne brought home an original NES system, and I played Mario 2 and the fist Zelda. And ExciteBike. Woah. But the system is really finicky (it's old...give it a break) so she is going to take it back to the kid at school who wanted to sell it to her. No amount of isopropyl alcohol and blowing would bring it back to life. Although, it certainly brought back Sunday afternoon's spent at the Shaw family household.
My two best friends in high school (Brandon and Chad) and I would go to Mr. and Mrs. Shaws' house to play Nintendo and ping pong every Sunday afternoon. The Shaws were both math teachers at our high school. Mrs. Shaw taught my geometry class and Mr. Shaw taught my algebra and computer math class (where I learned to write programs in BASIC on TRS-80's). Every Sunday Brandon and Chad would pick me up (I didn't have a car) and then we would drive to their house and proceed to play. I would play Mike Tyson Super Punch-Out until my thumbs hurt. My addiction to video games began there. I would try SO hard to beat Mr. Shaw in ping pong, and never could. We would shoot basketball in their driveway with their two sons. I always felt out-classed...Brandon and Chad were (and, I assume, are) smarter than me, and Brandon was way cooler cause he played football and was a huge guy in great shape. I can remember playing with the kids' Transformers and being a bit jealous that they had them and I didn't (even in high school. i was kind of a nerd, in case you didn't know). I loved that time, and I still go back there in my head sometimes. They lived between Buffalo and Hodgenville, and had an awesome house with a finished basement. The basement in my house was a root cellar, and we stored canned beans and potatoes there, and went there during tornadoes. Not exactly a fun place (lots of spiders. LOTS). They had two televisions. TWO. It was remarkable. I drove by their house last time I was there, but couldn't identify it. I even dropped by the school and no one there could tell me where the Shaws went. I would really like to know...Mr and Mrs. Shaw had great positive influence on me, and their kindness and willingness to have three huge dorks at their house all the time kept me (mostly) out of trouble.
Next time, I'll talk about Brandon and Chad. Two great guys...
Okay...some stuff.
Dear Gum companies: the following are NOT considered flavors. Winterblue. That's a color, not a flavor. Vanilla Chill, Arctic Chill, and Winter Chill. While one has a flavor name in the title, as a whole...NOT A FLAVOR. The names suggest temperatures. Makes me feel...chilly. Elixir, Cobalt, Flare, Rain, and Lush. That's four nouns and an adjective. Not a flavor in sight. Cool Rush. Again, not a flavor. Here are some appropriate flavor names: Cinnamon. Spearmint. Peppermint. Any fruit or fruit combo. I may like your gums, but your flavor names frighten me.
Dear Deodorant companies: the following are NOT considered scents. Game Time. Okay, maybe it is a scent...but certainly not a pleasant one. Cool Fusion. Momentum. Fresh Rush. Cool Rush. Power. Extreme Blast (excuse me? I don't want to put that under my arms). Sport.
Here's what I'm getting at. Your names confuse me. I would like to be able to look at a product and be able to generally tell what it is I am buying. I shouldn't have to play color association games (blue=cool, red=hot, etc) or pop lids on things to see if it something that smells generally acceptable and not like yesterday's gym sock. Please stop. I know you won't listen, but I'm asking anyway.
I'm tired, cold and hungry. Okay...maybe just tired.
Peace.
