Cut Throat Cranium

Bob first met Paul when we drove to Reston, Va to visit my bestie Barb. They got along fabulously. Since we are such a game playing family, we brought Cranium with us.

We decided to divide into boys vs. girls: Chad, Bob and Paul against me, Barb and Katy. It did not take log before we were knee deep into intense competition. We played each night and when we left, we wrapped the Cranium cards in plastic, enclosed it in duct tape, and initialed over the tape. We wanted to ensure that no one peeked at the cards before the next competition.

The next time we got together, we had a very intense competition, close game, and we were all on our game. I was acting out a card, with Katy and Barb trying to guess. Katy was throwing out random guesses, when Barb got totally freaked out at her and screamed "SHUT UUUUUUPPPPPPPP!" 13 year old Katy was astonished, shocked, dumbfounded, and confused, but she quieted down. Barb then was able to focus and guessed the correct answer for the big WIN! The Big W was very important each and every time we played.

Before our next get together, we decided to make team shirts. We bought white t-shirts and decorated them with brains and "champions" using colored paint pens  Our competitors got wind of our team spirit and decided to one-up us. Bob hired a silk-screen professional to design and create magnificent t-shirts for team hombre. Lucky for us, the  silk-screen professional was a turn coat!

We drove down to Reston for the big tournament. The boys went to the Smithsonian Museum for the day and plotted their game strategy. They also made the big decision of when to put their uniforms on. The competition began, Dudes won game 1, Gals won game 2. The boys went into the basement to discuss their game 3 strategy, while down there they were going to don their gay apparel. But they could not find their team uniforms. We knew of their evil plan and had confiscated the shirts, altered them to fit team awesome! We crossed out Bob's name and wrote over it Barb, Katy for Paul, and me for Chad. If only we had thought to get their picture when they came up the stairs and saw us in their marvelous shirts. They were heartbroken and we were joyful and triumphant!

The next few meetings of the teams we wore those shirts as a psych-out. Drove the boys crazy. As the years have passed and members of the teams have gone their separate ways, we fondly remember our robust competitions. Currently, whenever we visit Barb, we can count on her to dress in her Bob shirt. Nothing like a little "in your face!" I am so lucky to be married to a good sport.