blarg?

I was visiting some family for Chinese new year’s, and some of the younger kids were watching (the execrably bad) Spy Kids 3-D in the den as I wandered in at some key point in the quote-story-unquote. The movie’s theme, which I reiterate was bad, was about how they’re “in a video game” and presumably have to win at video-gamey things, woo, and at the moment I came in one of the characters loses their last “life” and dies.

I said, “Enh, she’ll be back once she puts another quarter in”, which elicited the following two reactions:

1. All the kids under twelve ignored the crazy old guy and kept watching the movie, and
2. Everyone else, up to and including university students, looked at me as if to say “what the hell are you talking about, crazy old guy”.

“Last life? Put a quarter in?” Nothing, blank looks all ’round. Turns out, I was the only person in the building who’d ever put a quarter into a video game. The idea was totally alien to these kids; one of them asked “Why would you do that? Wouldn’t you break it?”

Well, yes, I suppose it would.

Which is all to say that I’m taking the Desoto down to the soda shop to buy a coke for a nickel and have my joints recrotcheted, and that all of you should be off my lawn by the time I get back.