Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Under the Boardwalk

Does anyone out there have Boardwalk? If so, I'll sell you one of my umpteen Park Places for, say, a half-million dollars! (Before taxes, of course.)

I don't know why it is, but every year, I get excited about Monopoly, which apparently drives a sudden craving for food from McDonalds. Because when McDonalds has their annual Monopoly game, I'm there. I look for excuses, really, for craving a Big Mac meal. This, despite the fact that the other eleven months of the year, I try to avoid the place.

It is a sickness, I know. I mean, aside from winning a small fry, a small drink, or an occasional "large burger sandwich", I've never won anything. And, frankly, who wants a small fry or small drink? I end up using them because, after all, I won them...and still end up spending another five bucks on a meal I don't want so that I can get four more chances to win!

So, right now, my game board is filled up with every one of the properties that do not win you the big prize. Typical. Listen. I'll settle for Mediterranean Ave. Or Ventnor Ave. (Never mind that I don't care one iota about getting a bit part in the movie Glory Road.) It's all about the possibility.

This year, I decided to go all out and play the on-line version as well. It is time-consuming, and you can only enter ten codes a day...but, you know, there is that chance I could walk away with $10,000!

I figure there must be something missing in my life. Something deep, dark. Hidden. Something that causes an inner craving to beat the system. To walk away with more than a small fry. Maybe it is a sign that I wasn't loved enough as a child, or that I didn't have enough friends. Maybe I felt cheated of the physical possessions I always wanted. Being the youngest of seven can cause that, you know.

Whatever the reason, I keep hoping that one day I'll find that elusive Boardwalk piece. Someone has to find it. Why can't it be me?

When the game is over, I'll go back to being content with what I already have in life. Just as soon as I send in the Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes form...