I took most of the time between Christmas and New Years off, hoping to relax and spend a lot of time with my family. As seems to happen these days, moreso now that Kevin and David are both in high school, my time was largely driven by the demands of David’s swim practices and the need to work around Kevin’s wrestling and work schedules.
I did manage to steal a bit of time with each son, and with son-in-law Geoff, to just goof around and play games. I am always amazed by how restorative play time is and I suppose that my amazement should tell me something; either that I don’t play enough or that I my memory is failing.
David, who is cursed with a body that is too young to get a driver’s license, got a Logitech MOMO Racing steering wheel for his computer. This wheel actually works with the games to provide feedback of the road surface, just like a real car. Spin out on a corner and feel the car get squirrelly. Drive over the sidewalk and feel the bumps as you go up and down the curb. Did I say, “sidewalk?” Yup! We were driving Need for Speed: Most Wanted. There is something delightfully liberating about a game which rewards you for crashing into other cars and evading the cops who are trying to give you speeding tickets. “Don’t try this at home, kiddies. I’m a professional.”
Kevin and I started to play an old civil war game (Battle Cry by Milton Bradley, which may twang your nostalgia nerve) and were happily beating each other to a bloody pulp when he had to leave for an appointment and I had to run Dave to swim practice. We invoked the historically realistic “wartime time out,” little suspecting that that was the end of the game. Somewher in the next couple of hours, Jake (our dog) walked through the field of combat, sweeping all armies into the great lakes and Canada, and quelling the entire war. Kevin and I each claimed victory but Jake did not seem to care.
Geoff and
I got into a discussion concerning Microsoft Flight Simulator, a truly excellent game and flight trainer for anyone interested in learning to fly real planes, and that necessitated a replacement of my aged and decrepit joystick. I picked up a Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick and we both enjoyed such mature activities as flying a Boeing 747 out of St. Charles Municipal airport and through the St. Louis arch.
These connections to other people are what vacations should really be about. Some people call it wasting time. Others say that they are recharging their batteries. Maybe it is just plain fun.
