Blowin' the game
I've always felt like I'm a pretty hip mom, a pretty with-it grandma.
Apparently I've been deluding myself.
Brianna and her boyfriend, David, were visiting recently and we, along with Jim, somehow got on the topic of Facebook, of which I'm a member (see, I'm sorta hip and with it).
Brianna said, "Yeah, I just became a fan of 'When I was your age, we had to blow on our video games.' Did you see that one, Mom?" She and David laughed as if it was the funniest thing on earth.
Jim's face went blank as he's not on Facebook and didn't get any part of the conversation. My face went blank as I tried to figure out what the heck that group could be about. All that came to mind was the old games in which miniature metal football players or hockey players moved across a metal playing field via magnets under the players' feet. I didn't remember those ever having to be blown into position, but then again, I never really played those games.
Brianna quickly realized I saw no humor in the blowing on video games group.
"Don't you get it?" she asked.
Uh, no.
She and David tried to jog my memory -- and Jim's -- with tales of having to blow on the Nintendo cartridges when the game froze up. They laughed and went through the motions of cartridge blowing.
"Everyone did it. Don't you remember?" Brianna asked again, as if maybe it were just a matter of diminished memory.
No, I don't remember. I don't remember because I never did that. And I never saw the girls do it while playing the Nintendo. (Sheesh ... what kind of mother am I to not notice such a weird thing?)
It was a moment of generational differences made oh-so clear. A moment that shattered my Cool Mama/Cool Grandma facade.
A moment that was to bound to come, I guess. Because I'm old. I'm uncool. And I never blew on my video games.
But, ya know what? If there's a Facebook fan group called "When I was your age, our video game was a dash-shaped paddle that volleyed a two-dimensional black ball back and forth across the screen" I am so all over that one.
Because, believe it or not, I am still hip in some circles.
Today's question:
What game do you remember playing most often as a kid?
My answer: I did play PONG as a kid, but more often than not, I was out and about, making up imaginary lives with my BFF, in games that didn't include boards or technology of any sort.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 
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Reader Comments (10)
You are still hip and cool in my book!
I don't remember playing any specific game over and over unless you count hitting a tennis ball off the big brick wall of the gym at my elementary school during non school hours with my bff. Or riding bikes. Or playing pickle. Or playing hide and seek in the dark. Or making mud bombs to throw boys. Yeah... I did a lot of outdoor stuff when I was a kid.
I do remember blowing on video games, but only at sleepovers at other people's houses, because my mom didn't want us having video games. We did have computer games (come on, really, what the difference?), and I LOVED the King's Quest series. They were adventure puzzle games like Zelda and such.
Hehe. Yes, I remember blowing on the games. Now I find myself blowing on my camera equipment. It must be a hazard from growing up in that era. ;0)
When I was a kid we had dirt clod fights in the vacant lot ... while riding our mastodons, of course. And we played Yahtzee like crazy. But no video games for me and my brothers. :( We were the first on our block to get cable, though. Yeah, I'm old.
I didn't know what you were talking about either until you described it. Mitch was always the big Nintendo player and I do vaguely remember him doing that. But I'm pretty sure I never did it myself. And I think you should start your own dash-shaped paddle facebook group. You KNOW there would be lots of interest in that one.
I was never a big video game player either. But we did have an Atari and I do remember playing Frogger quite a bit.
Games like that weren't even invented when I was a kid and I used to wonder at my younger kids when they had to hang out at the 7-11 store playing PacMan.
I remember my kids doing the blowing thing but I never did!!! When I was a kid I loved playing jacks. I tried so hard to get my daughter interested in it but she never saw the fun in it! Maybe i can teach Shylee. Do even still make jacks?!
I remember as a kid growing up playing alot of board games with my family. I come from a big family and we did not have alot of money back then. My favorites were The Game of Life and Monopoly. I also remember being outside alot....riding bikes all day long!
I didn't get it either and I don't think of myself as that old ... but I also never had a Nintendo.
I played a little too much Donkey Kong on ColecoVision. And Smurf Adventure.
I didn't get it, and I did have a Nintendo as a kid. We only had three or four games and I played the hell out of them, but I don't remember having to blow on them to make them work. I think this facebook group is a sham. ... Or I could just be forgetful.