Manic Monday #24: Clue

When I was growing up, my brothers and I used to spend most summer days and evenings out in the street, playing street games with the neighborhood kids. I also remember times when we, about eight or nine of us, would fling ourselves on our bikes and ride off to spend the afternoon in one of the local pools. But when the rains came and classes had to be suspended, we'd amuse ourselves indoors with various toys: robots that were popular during that time, miniature cars, board games.

One of our favorite board games was Cluedo (or Clue), a cool whodunit. By methods of deduction, one had to be the first to announce the murderer's identity, along with the weapon he/she used and the room in the mansion where the murder was committed. I remember my character was always Miss Scarlet; my older brother liked using Professor Plum while my younger brother always chose Colonel Mustard.

Then came computer games. We particularly liked Sierra On-Line's adventure offerings, such as the King's Quest and Space Quest series. It used to be that one would need about ten of those humungous eight-inch floppy disks to hold one game. The quest for each game may have been different, but the gameplay was similar: follow a series of clues, talk to each person along the way, make use of the objects you come across, find a cheat or walkthrough when you get stuck. If you kept at it long enough you'd succeed. And you would've had fun besides.

This made me think about real-life adventures. I don't mean adventures on a grand scale -- like climbing Mount Everest or saving whales. Every day can be an adventure in itself. Getting an unexpected laugh, doing something small for someone else, writing about something that you find to be utterly glorious in all its shapes and colors, finding something to be passionate about and acting on them, sharing with others helpful information that you enjoy reading, just because, inspiring others and being inspired -- all these things add up to make the game of life a richer experience.

Sure, there may be moments when clues are ignored or overlooked, when whatever system you're dealing with screws up, when you seem to be stuck, when you lose enthusiasm and feel like throwing in the towel and give it all up. But I believe that each of us an inner spark, an ember that keeps on glowing no matter how much we feel like we're drowning in despair or apathy. And somehow we persevere. Achieving victories in life isn't always accompanied by fireworks, fame and fortune (though I won't say no to those!). But when it's Game Over, win or lose, certain players you meet along the way and experience things with, whether for just a season or for a lifetime, make everything worthwhile.