“Survivor”
to Scrabble
(or How My Play Has Changed)
Last night I beat the computer at Scrabble 3 out of 4 times! Before that, I worked the daily jigsaw puzzle
on line, watched a video tutorial on scrapbooking and browsed Pinterest boards. I used to watch tv; now I play on the computer - playing games, browsing websites, learning new things. This
My introduction to computer
entertainment was quite by accident. Several
years ago, our younger son wanted one thing for Christmas – The Legend of Zelda
for his Nintendo gaming system. We had purchased it, but when Ray, our older
son, looked at it, he thought it might be too complicated for JE to
navigate. He suggested we try it out
first so we could see what it involved and be able to help him with it. We played. The first time I planted a bomb
and opened a hole in the wall, I was captivated! After that, Ray and I could hardly wait for
JE to go to bed at night so we could play Zelda!
After that, I played a
variety of Nintendo games with JE, mastering Mario and Donkey Kong. As he grew
and his interests changed, so did mine. I
switched to computer games – first Solitaire in its many forms, then Scrabble
and Mahjong. One Christmas Ray gave me
a Nancy Drew game. The Nancy Drew mysteries
were my favorite books as a teen-ager; now in this new, grown-up version, I had
a new favorite pastime. I was hooked!
Computer games have slowly taken the place of
television for me. I did not suddenly stop watching tv, but over the years, I
found that it had less and less appeal.
I was a child when television first made its
appearance in homes across the country.
I grew up on The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and Ed Sullivan. That was back in the day when there were
three stations, channels were changed by turning a knob on the set and the Star
Spangled Banner played at midnight before the stations went off the air. Back then too, programs were memorable for
their familiar settings and traditional values.
Ozzie and Harriet could have been next door neighbors. Dave Garroway
delivered the news as if he were sitting in our living room discussing it. One
could go off to school after his trademark, “Peace” sign-off, knowing that all
was right in the world.
Over the years, TV has changed and so have
I. It seems that now programs are
promoted more for their shock value than for entertainment. I don’t like what it has become.
Manners and morals have been replaced with
in-your-face shouting matches and anything-goes language, violence and
sex. Reality has been replaced with
outrageously improbable “reality shows.” As television has raced to its
frenetic height, I have grown mellow and peace-seeking. I neither need nor want what tv has to offer. Technology has brought us new forms of
entertainment. I have discovered websites with every type of game imaginable and
tutorials for just about anything you might want to learn. There is so much available on the internet
these days.
Every night after dinner, I have a set of
games I play on my laptop: pic-a-pix, a jigsaw puzzle, the Daily Snoop, and Word
Roundup Frenzy. A new game is posted each day for those. There is a group that has multiple levels:
Phinx, Word Bubbles, Jolly Jong, Mahjong and Jewel Quest. They take a little longer to play; I will
play one of those or one of these rather mindless but fun games - Mind the Blox
and Blocky 3. I play Scrabble against
the computer. Other favorites are Suduko and crossword puzzles. My favorite
games though are the Hidden Objects games and Nancy Drew. Those I can play for hours on end. There are countless games available; once in
a while, I browse different websites trying out new games.
Technology is a marvelous thing. There are so many opportunities to keep the
mind active! I can take my games with me
on a tablet, my Kindle or iphone - all items that were unheard of 10 years
ago! And, these are more than games –
they are exercises to keep my brain functioning. The human brain is a spectacular computer,
able to adapt and rewire itself. It has
been determined that some memory loss is simply due to inactivity. Games or
exercises keep the brain productive and full of zip!
Sometimes I contemplate spending my time
playing games on the computer. I am not
a child, rather I am a “new-middle-age” (elderly) woman with grandchildren. Perhaps I should be spending my time knitting
or crocheting or putting food by like my Grandmothers did. And then I reason –
if those ladies lived today, one would be playing games on the computer and the
other would be reading books on her Kindle!
Technology has come a long way in my lifetime, why not take advantage of
it and learn something new? And, there
is something comforting about sitting across from my husband, each of us
involved in our separate activities, yet together.
Right now I am puzzling over how to get the
treasure chests on their respective spots on deck, and I am stuck! I know when I figure it out, I will be surprised
that I didn’t solve it sooner. This is a challenge I am enjoying. I will work on it again tomorrow; right now
the Braves are on tv – I think they need me.
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