X Box 360

I'm not big into video games. My wife, Gincy, is the expert. I think the last video game I was really good at was Centipede. That should date me!

Today, Kile (my 8-year-old) "needed" to stay home. Yes, he did have a slight fever and was complaining of a sore throat, headache, and upset stomach, but something told me this was not a "huge" as it sounded. But what father sends their son with a temperature to school. So ... Kile stayed home. It was my day off and I had huge plans -- cleaning and packing and painting and caulking and grocery shopping. It was going to be fabulous day of productivity.

I did get the wall I wanted to paint done and cleaned up the area in the basement I wanted to clean. I even caulked the shower for the third time in 30 days (I'm sure my wife has made a call to the people who help crazy people. I'm just waiting for them to show up in their white coats with the special white blazer.) What I wasn't prepared for was Kile asking me to play "Spiderman" on the X-Box. I may be a whiz at PowerPoint and the "go to guy" at First Broad Street for all things technological ... but there is one thing I've never really excelled in ... video games.

But since he wasn't feeling well, I decided to give it a try. And, I must admit, I was spectacular! Kile was Doc Ock and I was Spiderman. Soon I was slinging the bad guys with my web and smacking them with my awesome punching ability. It didn't take me long to learn how to jump across the great lava pits! I was huge!

When Gincy got home today and we were gathered around the table for supper, Gincy asked Kile how I did with the video game (She knows!). I was ready for Kile to surprise her with a report of my incredible Spiderman ability. But, instead, he reported that I was "about as good as Max". Max is 3!

BIT: I was crushed and Gincy didn't stop laughing for 30 minutes. I know I'm better than a three-year-old. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!