Perhaps my favorite part of going home for the holidays is sitting in Marc and David's (my cousins of course) living room and playing assorted video games until my eyes throb from sleep deprivation. Over the years we've whiled away countless hours playing such games as Mario Kart: Double Dash, PGA Tour Golf and more recently Super Mario Strikers. Well sort of recently. David got Strikers in 2005 as records and scores from the game indicate so I guess we've been going it for a few years--but generally only once a year!Strikers is oddly a soccer game (in name) but plays more like an unabated bash-fest, which makes it a blast. As a single player game it leaves much to be desired but as a multi-player game, it's too much fun. The computer AI is really tough on the highest settings too, which makes for challenging gameplay. Over the years we've refined our roles: Marc is the defensive specialist who can also score when called upon, David is the offensive super star who demands the ball more often ala T.O. and I'm kind of the guy in between, sort of like a reliable fullback (the fact I'm relating the game more to football than soccer is a good sign!) Throw a few sugary sodas and pizza bites into the mix and you have a great way to spend a cold winter night.
While I was in Connecticut I also finally got to see John and assorted members of his family for the first time in many moons, including his little baby Hazel. As a bonus, the venerable Paul Lenhart joined the fray and heck, it was darn good to see the guy. We met at John's parents' house, one of those warm places that puts the sweet in Home, Sweet Home. I only had a short time there, as is often the case on holiday visits, but it was great to catch up.
And then all too quickly I was zoomed back to Colorado on a couple of jet planes. I connected out of Newark from Hartford which was actually kind of cool because I flew directly over my college (Marist) and then got a remarkable view of the NYC skyline as we descended to land. It's always good to return to the mountains though and I'm hoping 2008 rocks.
