In which Ray scares some of his closest relatives by killing them with his brain

[captainsblog]

Nice afternoon. Friends of ours have an annual summer barbecue at their home in the Southtowns, usually falling on the Sunday closest to (if not, as this year, actually on) my wife's birthday, and there's always a good mix of their friends and family, good food and conversation, and the adolescent thrill that comes from using John's outdoor Coke machine that dispenses cans of Labatt Blue beer without even needing to deposit money.

Em usually comes, and to stave off boredom around the "grups," she'll usually bring a book, her sketch pad, or both. This time, after exhausting the reading opportunities, she opened the pad to the back and challenged me and her mom to some Hangman.

By the time half an hour was up, I'd guessed one of the puzzles after only two letters had been revealed:

S_ _ _ _ _ _    /T_ _  / T_ _ _-_ _ _/ _ _ T _ _   (tv show)

and nailed two more even before any of the letters had been established:

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  / _ _ _ _ _ _  / _ _   / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   / _ _ _   / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   (place)

and

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  / _ _ _ _ _ _ _  (novel)


After they congratulated me for this idiot-savantic skill and suggested I try out for the big bucks on Wheel of Fortune, I delicately pointed out that, even if I ever got the chance to ply this trade in front of Pat and Vanna, I would win exactly zero money, under the rules of the televised game, by pulling this off.

Despite that, I think I'm being confined to the garage for the night until I get less scary.

(I'll post the puzzle answers tomorrow, assuming none of YOU get them.)

Comments

[bluesilverkdg.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are correct. While your psychic abilities may be pretty fierce, it's usually to your benefit to get a few more letters. Still...you could bluff a little I guess?

And one of Terri's uncles has a Coke dispenser-type thing, with the old-fashioned bottles of Coke. When I went to a July 4th cookout with her family one year, I drank so many of them, I began to feel like Forrest Gump with JFK.

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, but considering my dayjob, I'd fully expect to spin a "bankrupt" every time;)

[erinpuff]

Wild guess on the last one: Wuthering Heights?

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

Quoting exactly what my beloved said to me when I guessed that:

"I hate you."

(In fairness, we all just finished another Bronte novel within the past few weeks.)

I am borrowing that icon!

[revmary.livejournal.com]

I love the "preacher" in Firefly!

[hedjie.livejournal.com]

Actually, you WOULD win something. Thousand dollar minimum for guessing the puzzle.