I was thinking about a theme for today's 'coherent thought' section. [Stop laughing.] Often, in the morning, I'll jot down a few words to remind me of the idea I want to develop. Here's what I wrote today. I've preserved it instead of just referring to it and then typing over it in an attempt at coherent thought: "Dad's games. Tennis. Mind games. God's games."

Now, I know where the idea came from this morning. I was thinking that I was taking food for Dad's games group at church. I was thinking that I was going to play tennis in the evening. Mind games is an obvious leap from today's chosen picture, taken last week on South Congress. I guess the God's games leap came from Dad's games being at church. In any case, games is the theme, in all it's nuance of meaning.

As to Dad's games group, I say they 'play dominoes in the sanctuary' or that it is 'games day.' They call it Seniors Activity Day or something like that. The average age is about 75, reduced by the youngish janitor who plays with them. They do play dominoes. (A game of 42 and a table or two of Chicken Foot.) They gather on Friday morning at 10, someone is assigned to bring food and they play until noon or everyone goes home. They do play in the sanctuary. Their little church doesn't have any other space big enough for such activities so they move some chairs and set up tables. It's right next to the kitchen and so perfect for their playing and nibbling. Several ladies play a fine Scrabble variant called UpWords. I've been a few times. Once to be sure my dad left early to join me and some friends for lunch. And today and one other time to help him take food since Mom died. (He's actually turned out to be pretty good at entertaining but that's another story for another day.)

I've enjoyed games my whole life. Both those played with cards or dominoes or boxed sets and those we describe as sports. I think what we like about games is the reduction to a set of rules that we understand, that don't really change. There can be disputes about line calls or whether the spelling of a word is right and legal for a word game. But we keep score and define all the rules. Each game also has that precise 'object of the game' section. Get the most points on the score sheet or win two sets (each set consisting of six games won with a two game advantage yada yada). We know where we stand with games. Our lives, our minds, our religions are infinitely more complex.

I play the UpWords game with the ladies today. I am careful not to challenge spellings. (Someone spells blight as bligt and someone else notices it later, too late to challenge. Someone challenges 'corm' but, it turns out, it is a word. One I didn't know.) I'm just there to keep score (they always assign this to me if I'm there) and wait to clean up the food. Still, I enjoy the game and try to maximize my score. I enjoy learning the new word for future use in such games. I lose both games we play.

In the evening, I played tennis in a slightly out of control event called Margarita Mixed Doubles. The club provides beer and Margaritas (and food after) and Margarita pro sets (eight games, no ad, serve to the same sex on deuce for sudden death, one point sudden death at 4-4, everybody drinks on a double fault). I don't drink during the play. The evening is unseasonably warm (high nineties when we start) and I have a problem with dehydration. I've tried to drink quite a bit of water since my workout in the afternoon and I drink (water) on the changeovers. Even the pros are worried about hydration and make a speech about a drink of water for every drink of alcohol and don't call the 'double fault, drink' rule until the very end.

People do get drunk. It affects their tennis, too. Usually adversely although some relax and find some shots. There are line call arguments, people who are relentless to have victory

"I love to win, I hate to lose, it's just me, I can't help it" roars one guy I'm playing who will resort to anything later to win when I'm on the other side of the net, too. He wins both with me and against me, resorting to mind games, and serving more than two balls calling 'FBI' (first ball in), manufacturing scores in his favor (although I don't think he even realizes this). For a while, it seems that only I can keep the score of the four on court. Still, there are some good shots and I enjoy it although perhaps not as much as a match with stricter enforcement of the rules.

Even when the rules play against us we like the consistency, the boundaries. And we like nothing better than finding a real obscure rule that forces the game in our favor. Did you know that in Scrabble (and for all I know, in Upwords) that you get extra points for playing all seven letters in your hand? Fifty extra points, to be precise. Did you know that in tennis you can win a point when your ball does not go over the net? (A ball can travel outside the net post and into the court and is considered in play. So, yeah, if you are Pete Sampras and you are drawn really wide you might use that little rule.)

We like to pretend that our games are life and our lives are games, too. We use sports metaphors in business, thank Jesus for our victories, have a board game issued for every TV show, movie, celebrity and fad. The problem is that the object of the game of life is so much more subtle and complex. We can't type the rules on a couple of sheets of flimsy paper and summarize the object of the exercise in a few sentences. We turn to concepts like God, Zen and the low-carb diet to try to reduce our lives to palpable rules. It doesn't work but it keeps the paper mills going and employs lots of religious leaders and consultants.

Yep...the object of the game of life? Does the prize go to the one with the most good deeds or the one who lives the longest? One thing's for sure...the object can't be to get out of it alive. Can it?

[Note: All game images compliments of ebay traders (without their permission) and Fireworks software.]