Collin Fall 2025

Bored games

by | Dec 15, 2022 | Opinion

Once upon a time, kids used to get bored. Before cell phones, video games, and 4,000 cable channels with nothing to watch, there wasn’t much to do. And kids got bored.

I was one of them.

It was bad enough to have a deep, endless chasm of time swallowing you (think Christmas holidays or summers before you were old enough to work at a job), but it was even worse when you were with cousins and other family or friends, and all of you were held captive by time.

Whether my family traveled over the river and through the woods, or kinfolk came to see us, inevitably the kids would become bored.

We always had two choices: Go outside, or find something to do inside. Either choice was designed so that we would quiet down. This would allow the men to watch football, and the women to talk about the bored kids and the men watching football.

Around the holidays in Ashdown, Arkansas, it was typically pretty cold. So, unless we could get enough guys to go out and play a friendly game of crushing tackle football in the yard, we stayed in the house.

If you were outside and not moving around, eventually you’d become numb and uncomfortable. The same feeling you experienced inside after hours with relatives.

But games were at least somewhat of a competitive relief from the boredom. And we played them. Lots of them.

Hindsight, the games we had don’t make a lot of sense, at least not for kids. Take Monopoly. Please, take Monopoly.

Here’s a game that teaches you how to be ruthless. The goal is to buy up all of the property and then take everyone else’s money if they land on it. If they run out of money, they go to jail.

Pretty wholesome stuff.

On top of sending your family to the poor house, the game never ends. It goes on forever. So, you spend an entire day of your holiday season in jail, broke, and waiting for a roll of the dice that might get you out.

By John Moore

To Login to read the full story or to subscribe, visit https://publisher.etype.services/Farmersville-Times

NTMWD 2025

0 Comments

Collin Fall 2025

Related News

Double time

Double time

Columnist John Moore is on a mission to save old timepieces. He needs your help. Photo: John Moore My friend runs a precious metals shop, selling mostly gold and silver. I was there to discuss those very things when a pocket watch caught my eye. An Elgin. My buddy...

read more
A lot on the line

A lot on the line

Columnist John Moore keeps an old rotary phone around. Just in case. Photo by John Moore There are many once-common aspects of the telephone that are now gone. Keep in mind that those born in the 1990s likely have never heard a dial tone, dialed a phone, or talked to...

read more
Clutching the past

Clutching the past

Columnist John Moore learned to drive on a stick shift. He still uses a clutch to operate his tractor. Courtesy John Moore One of the necessities of my youth is now one of your best bets to prevent vehicle theft: a stick shift. I watch a lot of YouTube, and...

read more
Polished

Polished

Columnist John Moore still shines his own shoes. As long as he can find the polish to buy. Courtesy John Moore In some cultures, people wash the feet of guests who arrive at their home. At my parents’ house, I didn’t wash the feet of guests, but I did offer to shine...

read more
The chain gang

The chain gang

Columnist John Moore misses the old chain stores, one of which, Gibson’s, still exists in Kerrville, Texas. Courtesy John Moore Online shopping has turned us into couch potatoes who buy more than we ever used to. Adding items to an imaginary cart and clicking, “Buy...

read more
A free gift inside

A free gift inside

Columnist John Moore eats a lot of jelly, but not for the reason you might think. Courtesy John Moore My sister and I would make a beeline for the cereal aisle at the Piggly Wiggly while my mom did the shopping.  Decisions, decisions. Did we want to roll the dice...

read more
Jumping to conclusions

Jumping to conclusions

Columnist John Moore finds himself a little lost with new technology. Sometimes lost a lot. Courtesy John Moore Folks aren’t counting on each other like we were 50 years ago. And technology is the wedge that’s come between us. Our parents didn’t worry about us much...

read more
Gardens and Grandma

Gardens and Grandma

Columnist John Moore didn’t like gardens as a kid. That’s changed thanks to his grandmothers. Courtesy John Moore As a kid, I hated the vegetable garden. If you stood on our back porch, it was to your left. It took up the entire corner of our large yard. To me,...

read more
He’s still got it

He’s still got it

Columnist John Moore is the keeper of his family’s history. Including his parents’ vintage grandfather clock. Courtesy John Moore The difference in a collector and a pack rat is whether you’re rich or poor. Those with money are considered refined and people of taste....

read more
Subscribe 300x250 - Love