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Show Wednesday, January 15. 1992 The Daily Utah Chronicle - Page Nine The games people play kill imagination of today's youth Oh, the games people play. went to a friend's house for dinner last Sunday evening. He told me he had invited a few other friends over to play a new game he'd received as a gift. I'm I . always up for meeting new people and playing a fun game, so I said it would be great. Games, an old favorite pastime of mine, have been used for centuries to cure the blues, keep small children occupied, give people an excuse to touch each other, (as if they really needed an excuse), and to decide who was king of the hill or queen of the castle (or in this day and age, vice-versa- ). When I was growing up, (this was before the advent of video games or even color television, for that matter), my siblings, friends and I could hardly wait for spring. Spring signaled the advent of baseball and all the great games we could play outdoors. Along with "Hide 'N Seek" and " Work-ups- " were our favorite games: Hit the Bat, Mother May I and Statue Maker. "Hit the Bat" was the game my sister excelled at. She would belt that baseball higher than the trees and further than block. We would then have to catch it, roll it back a city Tiie lest 1 leM! from where we stood, trying to hit the bat where she would lay it down. When (and if) we hit the bat, she would have to catch the ball when it popped up. If she didn't, the rollee would then be "it." If she caught it, she would continue her reign of high-flterror. "Mother, May I?" pitted the entire neighborhood at one end of our yard and one, lone "MotherFather" at the other end. We would all have to ask Eermission to come up to y heshe would tell us how many steps and what kind of steps we could take. This was a great game because it allowed you to be legally sneaky. While the motherfather was dealing with some little minion in turn, the rest of us would be trying to devise ways to sneak up to the front of the line without being caught. If you were caught or didn't say, "Mother, may I?" when given direction, you had to go all the way back to the other end of the yard and forfeit any progress you may have made. One of the reasons it was so fun to play was because when it was my turn to be the mother, I could give the people I liked great, big, giant steps. The ones games and all the electronic Arlene M. Calkins Slice o' Life technology muster, has Fiersonality science could lack of or imagination creativity on the child's part. Nothing is left to the imagination. It is spilled out in front of the kid in come-- a 16-b- it I couldn't stand, like Johnny Hablitzle, I gave two, teeny-tin- y steps. Also, the game helped us to develop incredibly strong arches from trying to sneak to the front by crawling with our toes. The most artistic game by far was called "Statue Maker." One person was the statue maker and the . rest of the neighborhood was the clay. He or she would take us by the arm and swing us around. We would have to dance and whirl around in our best imitation of Martha Graham or Isadora Duncan. When we came to a stop, we had to pose in whatever shape or form we could to take the top prize. Once again, my sister invariably took top honors. She was so good, in fact, we retired the fire hydrant that stood on our corner lot which she had used so often as a pedestal for her creations. With the advent of video color graphics and stereo sound. Is it any wonder that some students on campus can't make a move without a Hewlett-Packar- d or are afraid to make a move around town or can't meet friends who live across campus without a car, (perish the thought, we should use the bus!)? Is there any reason to think we can't find anything better to do than watch videos or spend tons of money at the Cineplex? Maybe. Maybe not. On Sunday evening, six so-call- adults had comes out with and a a little competition. I don't think I have laughed as long and as hard as I did that night, watching five thirty-somethin- g, professional people get down and dirty over a board game. Do yourself a fayor. Start easy. Get some friends together, make some popcorn and 'play Use charades. your imagination. Then graduate on to something a little more difficult Trivial Pursuit. When you're finally ready for the big time, call only the friends you trust with your life those you know won't tattle on you and tell how you made a complete fool of yourself and play "Mother, May I?" out in the snow. Your heart will race and your imagination will soar, I promise you. It's not easy to sneak up to the front of the line when you all look like a bunch of polar bears. Most importantly, you'll ed the opportunity to use their brains, wits, imaginations, bodies, etc., playing a game that didn't involve electronics, sound effects, (except for the be doing something free and occasional raspberry given by a having a blast. You can be a kid wet tongue in defiance of a again and roll around in the correct answer), or fossil-fuel-usin- g devices. It was a hoot. In fact, you never really know people until you either live with them or play a game with them. A person's most base snow with nary a professor to gripe at you and tell you to act your age. Remember, it matters not whether you win or lose, but whether or not you play! THE MARRINER S. ECCLES GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS IN POLITICAL ECONOMY Opportunities for Support of Research in Public Policy $8,500 Stipend for 12 months, tuition Available to University of Utah graduate students, who are pursuing advanced degrees in subjects of major public concern. The application requires the submission of a research proposal representing interests in such areas as finance, banking, business, education, the humanities, law, the social sciences, and the study of basic social and economic problems and their impact on public policy. The to any particular department fellowships are or college. Application deadline is February 1, 1992. Additional information and application forms available form the Graduate Fellowships office, 312 Park Building, not-restricte- uteG mm mm Sum mm d aOO H. KAPLAN g STANLEY Take Or Take Your Chances. Kaplan Thank you Mai Hofcfey magazine readers for naming The Training Table Restaurants, The Best Of The Best," in a recent reader's Restaurant Poll.t Now grab your friends and come enjoy what many have said are the Tiest hamburgers Imagine your choice of seventeen delicious, varietiesfrom the hearty to to our Green Ci Burger the one that made us famous... The Bleu Bacon Burger. 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