Games

My dad was a child of the 50's, so he grew up playing different games than those who were born in later times, such as me and my siblings. Nonetheless, the fact that my father enjoyed certain games made me think that there must be something about them. Otherwise, why would he continue playing them?

One game he loved to play with his cousins was Horseshoes (you've probably heard it said that, "Close doesn't count, except in Horseshoes"). They used to have "horseshoe pits" at most parks since it was such a popular game. It was mostly a man's game, however. I recall watching my dad and his family playing on many summer evenings. You had to be sure, though, that you weren't anywhere near the pit (the horseshoes were made of metal and quite heavy, you definitely didn't want to get hit by one). The best place to be was behind the players.



Another of my dad's favorites was Cribbage. He loved to play against his big brother, John. I never really understood how to play the game, but it's basically a card game in which you use a special board to keep score.



My dad had a pretty damn fancy cribbage set back in the day, one that he was quite proud of. I'm sure his dad taught him and his bro how to play when they were youngsters. "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke" were the shit back then, so the two also liked to play cowboys and indians. As a youngster, "Star Wars" was my thing. I feel sorry for the kids born a few years after me. They grew up with Transformers and Gobots. Blah....