Tag Archives: video games

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The Lost Is Found

The above is another misleading blog title.  It implies that someone went looking.

About five years ago, I posted that I’d lost my younger brother. He didn’t die.  He just disappeared.  He was born a “blue baby,” with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, almost strangling him.  Always a delicate child, he almost died of pneumonia three times by his fifth birthday.  Our parents, particularly Mom, invested a lot of time and effort into him.

He got used to lots of attention, and getting things his way.  He wasn’t a narcissistic, sociopathic ‘user.’  He was just unconsciously entitled.  As an adult, it just didn’t occur to him that other adults would not bow to his every whim and request.

First, his wife left him.  Then, his two 20’s daughters moved 15 miles to get away from him.  Soon he also moved to be near them.  The older one just packed up and moved again, leaving no forwarding address.  The younger one moved another 15 miles, got married, and started a family and her own small business.

A one-time co-worker grew tired of being expected to take a day off work, to drive six hours with him, split the gas and motel costs, and sit in a cold arena to watch curling that he could have seen better on TV.  Two car-nut brothers decided that they would rather stay home with their wives and kids, than drive 500 miles, into the US, to watch a NACAR race.  Another ex-friend stopped calling in to see him, only to find him playing video games that he wouldn’t put away, because the visits were never reciprocated.

In retirement, he talked himself out of a lucrative part-time job, driving limos, because he didn’t like their rules.  The only times he ever phoned me was to have me use my computer to get dates and locations of curling Bonspiels or NASCAR races, find him cheap motels and book him reservations, and order tickets for him.  Then he complained that I never called him – only to hear, “Can’t talk now. The hockey game/race is on.

He had a live-in lady friend who lost her waitress job when the restaurant closed.  She started her own home-cleaning service, and was developing a solid list of good customers.  Because he was bored, and cold, he expected her to just dump her client list and drive to Florida with him, and stay a couple of months.

Finally, a property line/fence dispute with a neighbor did not resolve as he wanted.  He cancelled his land-line, changed his cell phone number, sold his house, and did what his older daughter had done.  He just moved – somewhere!

Mom had a saying that she used when he pulled one of his sulky pouts.  She would say, “He’s just gonna go out to the garden, and eat worms.”  I guess the worms started to taste bitter, because no-one followed him out to invite him in for dinner.  After more than seven decades, no-one gave a damn.

His younger daughter and mine parlay over Facebook.  Recently she told us that he had contacted her.  He had had a minor stroke and lost a bit of vision in his left eye.  He spent a week in hospital, and now wanted to move in with her family, so that she and the grandkids could take care of him.

He somehow acquired a new girlfriend, although a woman of seventy years is hardly a girl.  Apparently she runs his life, and takes no shit from him.  She’s welcome to him.  He may have changed a little, but I think that the habits of a lifetime are engrained.  I’m not going looking for redeeming qualities.  😮

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’23 A To Z Challenge – R

My surname says that I am descended from a blacksmith.  I claim that my retirement avocation is as a wordsmith.  I thought that, for the letter R, I might introduce you to some of the less well-known members of the Smith clan, beginning with

REDSMITH

The term “redsmith” is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items.  Also see coppersmith. 

A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession.

A whitesmith is a metalworker who does finishing work on iron and steel such as filing, lathing, burnishing or polishing.  The term also refers to a person who works with “white” or light-colored metals, and is sometimes used as a synonym for tinsmith.

First, an apology to all my American readers.  A Canadian submitter to Wikipedia claims that whitesmith is the opposite of blacksmith.  We are sadly aware that Yobs with two-digit IQ levels reside north of the border also.  That’s like asking what the color of number 14 is.  There is no opposite of blacksmith!!  If there were, it wouldn’t be ‘whitesmith.’  The opposite of hard-working ‘blacksmith’ would be Cheeto-eating, MMRP-playing couch-potato.  Ya coulda just kept yer mouth shut, and people wouldn’t know that yer an idiot!

All us ‘Smiths’ are fabricators of something or other.  I better go finish fabricating a Wednesday post, before I have to fabricate an excuse why all the Cheetos and beer are gone.  CU then!  😎

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Flash Fiction #214

Swag

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

SWAG

Brucie had a very rewarding Christmas. He was old enough to know that there was no Santa, but smart enough not to say so.

“Santa” had finally brought him a basic cell phone. He’d got socks and underwear (Thanx, Mom) books, video games, dark chocolate and Scottish sweets. He’d watched A Christmas Story and asked for a BB gun, but Mom said that Ralphie’s mother was right – maybe later. “Later…. right.” Adults speak a different language.

Mom had warned him not to just throw his wrapping paper everywhere, so he’d carefully placed it all in a neat pile beside him.

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Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story

friday-fictioneers-badge-web

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Flash Fiction #208

Shopping

PHOTO PROMPT © Ronda Del Boccio

Continuing from last week’s Flash Fiction, I give you

A TEACHABLE MOMENT

The refrigerator is empty?? You two boys are going to have to pull up your socks. Guys are allowed to grocery shop. It’s in the Constitution. I gave you cash, a shopping list, and instructions to stop at the store after school.

We are not going to use the ‘Skip The Dishes’ app, and order burritos delivered, because we don’t have a Skip The Mortgage Payment option. If you felt that playing World of Warcraft was more important than getting meat and fresh veggies – we’ll make do.

Which would you prefer – olives on rye sandwiches, or cream of peach soup?   😳

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Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.

friday-fictioneers-badge-web

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The Games People Play

Heston

Our fellow-blogger, AFrankAngle is a teacher. His posts are well researched and clearly presented. His interests cover a wide territory, and include social and political happenings. He is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is keeping an eye on, and commenting about, the upcoming Presidential election.

The State of Ohio plays a pivotal role in such elections. It hosts the Primaries, and is a make-or-break State. I hope both you and Frank are appalled and outraged by the following little story.

The wife plays several games on a game site, as an anodyne to get her through some pain-filled days. Nothing exciting like Grand Theft Auto – just Canasta, Monopoly, Jungle Gym, Scrabble, and occasionally Crossword Cove, which I help her with. Usually she plays against the computer, because she says the other humans are too stupid and slow, and resentful when they get beat.

Apparently wasting spending time just playing games isn’t enough. The game site has recently added a chat-room-type sidebar, where you can make comments while you’re playing the games. It provides a list of conversation starters.

A couple of days ago, it listed;

What genre of Television do you prefer?
Who is your favorite Television character?
What Television episode disappointed you most with its outcome?

There were no takers for the TV genre question, I suspect because no-one knew what that big word, genre, meant.

Some woman got the TV character segment off to a bad start by listing Robert Uhrich, who was an actor, not a TV character, and who died 12 years ago. She was followed by a player who identified as a 67-year-old man from Ohio.

Perhaps led astray by the woman, he went even farther afield by declaring that his favorite TV character was Charles Heston, and the TV episode that disappointed him most was Ben-Her.

People, get out there and vote! These highly knowledgeable people vote, and if you don’t, Donald Trump will get to be president. 😳

And now back to our regularly scheduled rant about Canadian politics, so that you’ll know that there are idiots on both sides of the 49th parallel. We have a candidate for Prime Minister who first told us that, “The budget will balance itself.” He’s now switched to Care Bear policies, where he claims the budget needs to be, “Balanced from the heart outward.” Donald Trump is startin’ to look good.

#495

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Two Years, To The Day

Two years ago, on this day, I published my first blog.

That’s it!  That’s all I’ve got!  It’s not my birthday, thank Dr. Who.  It’s not a blog award.  It’s not my 100th, or 200th or 300th post, although that last one is peeking over the horizon.

 

Two years ago today, I wandered out onto the information superhighway, and flagged down the big bright blog-bus.  Led astray by an evil tank commander, who has sold his likeness, if not his soul, to HALO, and a devious daughter, trying to prematurely collect her inheritance, I began irritating random readers on a full-time basis.

I received a two-year, Happy Anniversary E-card from WordPress, one minute before I sat down to compose this post.

To an old guy, now headed for 70, two years is but the blink of an eye.  I’ve always been a planner. Five composters prove I plan years ahead.  I just wish I’d thought about starting this a little sooner.  The son used to visit chat-rooms, back before “blogging” became acceptable, but they didn’t attract me at the time.

I plan to be around the blogosphere for a while longer, so you’d better plan on keeping me company, educating and entertaining me.  I skip “Keeping Up With The Kardshians” but come back to The Real Lives Of WordPress Bloggers.

Two years!  It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s been some fun.  Thanx Guys!    😀

Archon