Kick the Pine Cone

There was a game that existed before all other games in this universe...well...at least all other games on this planet. It was invented when someone was walking along and came across a pebble, acorn, or pine cone. At first they just kick it once. There is no method or strategy, just one innocent kick. But that is all that it takes to get hooked! The rock rolls along, and unexpectedly you find that it is still in your path. So you kick it again, whereupon you find that it doesn't roll as far as you would have liked, and thus is still serves as an impediment to your progress. Now you are slightly frustrated, "why won't this stupid pebble just roll out of the way!" You kick again, but oddly enough you find that you enjoyed this last kick, at that in some dark corner of your heart dwells a small, nearly fleeting desire to see if you can't set yourself up for another kick. The thrill that accompanied that last kick is fanned into flames of joy! You find that you are no longer trying to kick the pebble to rid yourself of it, but actually embracing the small piece of gravel. You find yourself expending extra energy to try and fight for the little guy. With each kick the thought of leaving him behind grows further and further from your mind. The thought that one of your kicks could drive that pebble from your intended path strikes actual fear in your heart. You alternate between actually kicking the pebble and planning your next kick in the few milliseconds before you must either kick it again or leave it behind. You are now trying your best to take that pebble with you all the way to your destination! And all the same, when you actually get to wherever you are going you have very little difficulty leaving it behind. You feel you have given that pebble your best, and that you have done your duty.

Dani and I have a revised version of this game. We park up in the Bean Museum parking lot, which requires a 15 min. walk from our car to campus (or the other way around). The game initiates anytime we find a pine cone in our path. We have to alternate kicking the cone. If yours is the kick that causes us to lose the pine cone, then you lose the game. We are now pine cone kicking masters! We can get the pine cone up and down staircases, across busy roads, and through shrubberies! The game ends when one of us kicks the pine cone under our car, or hits the door of the building we are going into. The one who succeeds at accomplishing either of the two tasks first is declared the pine cone kicking champion until the next rousing match!

We recommend that you all give this a try.