http://www.spicolisbarleybin.com/games/survival.swf
This looks interesting.
Take it and post your score in the comments or add it to your blog.
I made 13 out of 17.
I am great at wilderness skills and natural disasters, pretty good with a hostage situation, but if I get in a plane crash, it's all she wrote, folks, apparantly.
Keep on the sunnyside and you'll live ,not just survive,
Marti
Yeah, I know , sometimes I even make myself gag a little!
well, the madness is over for another year.
I've cleaned up the half-eaten moonpies,
thrown out the beads I scrambled all over the concrete to get,
recycled the beer cans,
caught up on my sleep,
waved goodbye to my friends, some of them for the last time till next year.
Someone asked me was I sad it was over.
"Hell, no", I answered, 'I got all the goody out of it".
(this phrase was unwittingly coined by my eldest when asked why she only chewed a piece of gum for 5 minutes)
I have since made it my philosophy of life.
When I go to a movie, I see all the credits,
When I go to a bar , I stay till last call,
When there are friends to talk to, I stay up all night,
when there are Hershey's kisses, I eat the whole bag.
when I come to the end of this life I hope I can say ,
"I used this all up, let's see what comes next"
No regrets,
"I got all the goody out of it"
More poetically, in the words of the musical that is Caitlin's latest obsession which blasts through our house at all hours of the day and night,
"no day but today".
you know how cartoonists in the paper go on sabbaticals and leave their old stuff for us to read? Well, this is a leftover entry from last year...I am off Mardi Grassin!
Wish y'all could all come too, we'd just put some more water in the beans and throw another blanket on the floor for you!
mardi gras
for the life of me, I can't give a coherent account of mardi Gras, so I will tell you in a series of vignettes why I feel Mardi Gras is a time apart from the rest of life, that time spent at Mardi gras doesn't count in making you older...
teenagers that I have loved & taken to parades since they were babies (I call them my Mardi Gras orphans) lying all about my floor sleeping, unformed faces looking like the children they were up until oh so recently...
My oldest daughter, who hasn't been to a parade in 3 years , sitting on the barricade with the tens, covered in beads & screaming "I forgot how much fun this was!"
the Merry Widows...oh, dear, this will require some background...after the Late Unpleasantness (which is what we refer to the Civil War in these parts) our city was occupied by Union troops & public gathereings were forbidden. A young man by the name of Joseph Stillwell Cain had a bit of high spirits, broke into a friends hardware store, borrowed a rake & a cowbell & proceeded to parade down the street dressed as an indian, stating he was having a parade of his own! Several friends joined him & so was born the Joe Cain Procession, which today is as large as Mardi Gras Day! The celebration was originally held in an old cemetary, where people picniced on family plots & danced on old Joe's grave. It got too big for that,but the mysterious Merry widows, who are reputed to be ladies of high society, but no one knows because their identities are kept secret behind black veils, wail & moan & throw themselves upon the grave in hilarious silliness!
A little girl on Daddy's shoulders, screaming in joyful terror at the Dragon, a huge float that breathes fire, giving me memories of myself as a child.,upon shoulders that are no more...
Cas & Ian , my nephews by heart, not blood, ordering virgin Pina Coladas in a restaurant , having them delivered in a martini glass with a cherry & their embarrassment at having such an unmanly drink. Cas banged his down on the table & it broke in his hand!
My friends 5 year old's utter amazement at having a stranger hand her a giant stuffed animal
We stand at the same spot every year & it is perfectly acceptable to politely ask people to scoot over,
Things thrown from a float that land by your feet are yours & aren't picked up by others unless they are handed to you.
You hug strangers & wish them HappyMardi Gras!
Recovering,
Marti
On Thanksgiving you watch a parade and eat turkey.
At Mardi Gras you watch parades and eat Popeye's Fried Chicken.
On Halloween little kids dress up in costume and beg for treats.
At Mardi Gras everyone dresses up in costume and begs for treats.
On Easter you hunt for colored eggs.
At Mardi Gras you hunt for a restroom.
On Valentines you give the ladies candy and hope for a kiss.
At Mardi Gras you give the ladies beads and hope for more.
On St. Patrick's Day you drink green beer.
At Mardi Gras you turn green from your first meal of the day, a Lucky Dog with everything on it at 7AM.
On the 4th of July we watch fireworks and drink beer.
At Mardi Gras we watch fireworks and drink hurricanes.
On New Year's Day we party like there is no tomorrow and make resolutions.
At Mardi Gras we party for days and days and ask for absolution.
On Labor Day you are reminded to be grateful for your job.
At Mardi Gras the last thing you can remember is your job.
On your Birthday you eat cake and remember you are a year older :-(
At Mardi Gras you eat King Cake and are reminded to make your reservations for next year!
On Christmas you wait for a big fat man to bring you presents.
At Mardi Gras you wait for the police on horseback to clear the streets at midnight on Fat Tuesday.
In New Orleans Fat Tuesday is an official holiday.
Everywhere else it is just another Tuesday.
Finally, all the other holidays last only one day. Carnival season starts January 6th and lasts until Ash Wednesday.
Is that cool or what!
I am off the porch and on the streets!
Mardi Gras in Mobile is a time to see old friends and make new ones!
My friend Paula is coming in from Atlanta with her two daughters, Stacy, Craig and their four boys are headed this way,so the prime floor space goes to the person who comes in first!
I am never happier than when I am surrounded by those I love....let the good times roll!
My baby is such a hoot.
I fell asleep Saturday night with the usual 5 or 6 teens sprawled around my living room.
I was awakened about midnight by Caitlin crawling in bed with me. (this has not happened in quite a while)
"Mama" breathless whisper.
"What?" instantly on Mama-alert.
"Billy kissed me."
"ooh"me squealing like a girl.
So we got up and put the coffee on.
All the gang went for a walk. Caitlin had told everyone she wanted her first kiss to be in the rain.
Desiree observes, "Caitlin, it's raining"
She threw her shoes at Desiree and planted a big one right on him.
"But", she said,"I really didn't know how, so he took over then"
I just love it,the innocence,the excitement.
I wonder how people rob themselves and their kids of this, by turning them into their enemies.
Why do some parents want them to talk, to walk, to read, to ride their bikes, then try to put the brakes on when they get to be teens & need them the most?
Swing high now, baby, while I'm still here to catch you.
Tired of Katrina stories?
You are lucky.
My friend Craig had to get on a plane in New Orleans.
Used to be,
Before,
when you came across the Pontchatrain Bridge, you saw the city spread before you and it was like someone had dropped their jewelry box....lights as far as you could see and your stomach would tighten 'cause you knew you were about to have a good time, something fun was going to happen....
It is as dark as the grave it became after the storm.
The huge airport, so big you have to take a bus to get from one terminal ot the next....there is NO ONE THERE...I keep saying it over and over to myself because I can't believe it.
From the time you get past the counters, go down the escalator, go out the door and into the parking lot...
There is no one there.
People like to distance themselves from disaster.
I have seen people write things online...
"well;, all those people could have evacuated"
How many people have the money to spend 10 hours in a car to go 200 miles, when you can't get off on the exit because you can't get back on?
And sometimes if you do have money for 3 tanks of gas to drive for 10 hours to get 200 miles in the traffic, there is no gas to buy.
It is 100 degrees and your car will overheat if you run the air conditioner.
I see, "They should have left earlier" in some blogs.
Would anyone have the money to leave 4 days early to stay in a motel?
Could you leave your job for a week?
There are no vacancies if you do...
Would you want to take a chance on being stuck in your car with your family in the storm?
There are no shelters inland...
I am not a worrier.
I live on the sunnyside.
But I have a friend who works on a oil rig in the Gulf.
The water temperature right now is 68 degrees.
It is normally in the mid fifties this time of year.
I keep seeing that empty airport.
And for the first time in my life of parties on the beach...
I am dreading the summer winds
