The morning started at 7:30, with me getting up after staying up late on Friday. Slow! I found one of the large yogurt containers (they look the same as small ones online, so I bought a lot of yogurt online!) and had that with a croissant and liberal coffee made in a French Press.
Next, I wrote the Friday blog. I usually write Friday and Saturday the following day. The Friday blog and getting dressed took me until about 10:15ish. After that, I headed to Tigard by crossing over Coopers Mountain. Strangely, the traffic on the back roads was worse, and folks were driving fast and furious. I was expecting something from a movie to happen a few times as pickup trucks swerved in and out of traffic, and SUVs (the new mini-van for soccer moms/dads) raced to get a coffee before heading into an all-day soccer festival for the little folks! Beaverton police did not seem interested in them, as pulling over a car full of kids and soccer stuff would be stressful for the officer.
Avoiding a paint loss from charging pickup and SUVs that telegraphed, “We are late,” I managed to reach the hummingbird house. Susie was in her chair, and Michelle, who manages the house, was in today. I had not seen Michelle in a while, and she and I chatted for a few minutes. Michelle put Susie in her wheelchair, and Susie and I headed out into a blue-skied warm morning in Metzger Park.
The park was busy with kids, and a wedding was being set up when we were there. One of the wedding party members drove an older model convertible (Cabrio) black Corvette. The mustache-wearing older driver used a walker to slowly join the party. He would not let mobility stop him from driving his classic American muscle car on a perfect fall Oregon day.
We moved to one of the few open benches as we passed the same guy we often see that has his old dog in a baby carriage. There were a couple of picnics, and the courts were all in use. There was excitement in the air–school was back in session, and it was fall and time to get serious about this exercise/playing before the rains began.
We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and we had a lovely chat. There were dogs everywhere getting walked (on a leash). Everyone was happy to see us, and we had lots of waves from patients and kids as they walked back while we sat on the bench in the cedars. A joy-filled Metzger Park on Saturday.
We headed back into the hummingbird house and watched the newest episode of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Susie was surprised that she was not bored and sleeping. This latest episode is more like Fast and Furious does LOTR. It reminded me of the Three Musketeers movie done by the same group that does Resident Evil and the Umbrella Corporation; just a hoot and over the top. You could almost skip the other slow Lord of Maps-styled episodes and move to this episode.
Susie was disappointed; I had to leave a bit early this Saturday. I got a kiss and headed to Portland. But, I needed to get something to eat before I started a six-hour board game. So I stopped by Jimmy John’s for a to-go sandwich, reasoning I could eat it in the near perfectly clean Air Volvo. They had no sub bread, only lettuce wraps, for a sub. I ordered a tuna fish, thinking it would stick to the lettuce, and had it cut into quarters. And it would have worked if I had told them to hold the shredded lettuce that they added (!) to a lettuce wrap, more of salad in a salad than a wrap. I was covered in lettuce while driving in the usual twenty minutes of traffic to get to Richard’s in Portland. I tossed the remains (including an uneaten quarter) when arriving ten minutes early at Richard’s house.
Today was War Room 2nd Edition and a long game. This is a massive six-person game with complex rules. Groups of allies leave to discuss their moves which have to be written and then are switched out for the other allies. This simulation of World War 2 at a strategic level fought across the whole earth. It is available on Kickstarter, and mine arrived this week. It took hours to punch and prepare it!
I played the US and had to handle the Europe and Pacific fronts. My ally Richard was the UK and had four fronts, and he, unlike the US, was weak on every front. We attacked only Germany’s submarines (the Battle of the Atlantic) on the first turn, and Germany attacked Russia. The game started in 1942, so Japan and Germany are at their full expansion. For the WW2 Axis to win (Germany, Italy, and Japan), they must hold two of London, Moscow, and Eastern USA. The allies plus the Soviets need Berlin (Greater Germany) and Japan to win. A very long game, indeed.
We struggled to play as there were constant rules discussions and thus managed only two turns. We misplayed the stress rules and crushed UK (Richard) into economic collapse instead of just being a bit stressed (next time, we will divide a second time). Overall I was impressed that the designer of the old game Axis and Allies had created a faithful WW2 match, which was brutal and full of exciting choices.
I look forward to playing again and maybe getting through four or more turns!
Aside: War Room 2nd Edition will play for a lower player count, and you can decide to play a smaller campaign, such as Europe only. Time flies, and you are through two hours without evening noticing. The same thing I experience with the vast board game Twilight Imperium.
After the game and around 7PM, there was a short debrief discussion. We (Richard and I) had started an invasion of Norway and possibly Greater Germany and wished we could have played just one more turn to find out how that would have played. Japan was also going to attack Russia in the next turn. The US (me) had a large invasion army pointed at Japan. It would have been an exciting turn. Next time!
I left Richard’s and returned for my computer I left, and then headed for Broadway Grill for dinner and maybe some writing. I had a Mr. Toad’s Wild Red Ale to drink and a Twilight Zone pizza. This was followed by a coffee to make driving easier (not falling asleep). The place was busy, and my waiter, Sahara, was hopping. I finally was able to leave; it took me ten minutes to get Sahara’s attention.
I returned home, worked out what was wrong with the stress rules, and went to bed early.
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 