Why Do You Even Try?

A while back we were all gathered at Erik and Veronica’s, it may have been for Erik’s birthday, I can’t remember for sure.  At any rate, while we are there Bryan and Emerson end up competing head-to-head in a game on Emerson’s Wii.   They go at it hot and heavy for quite a while. 

You need to picture the two combatants to really appreciate this.  Here is Bryan, in his mid-thirties, college graduate, with twenty plus years of video game experience behind him.  On the other controller is Emerson, in his mid-single digits (five), Pre-K graduate, with three or four months of video gaming on his resume.  You would think it wouldn’t be much of a contest.  You would be right, but maybe not in the way you might expect.

They compete pretty much evenly for a while, their thumbs tapping feverously at the buttons on their keypads.   Then, with a slight twist of his wrist, Emerson makes his on-screen video combatant quickly turn and destroy Bryan’s … the game is over. 

Emerson slowly  turns to Bryan and very matter-of-factly asks, “Why do you even try?”

Of course Bryan was speechless, put in his place by a five year old.  The rest of us loved it! 

We all have a new favorite catch phrase now.  We look for opportunities to use it anytime we’re together.  Whenever one of us loses in some way, makes a mistake of any kind, drops something, spills a drink, or messes up in any way … someone is sure to ask, “Why do you even try?”  Around this bunch we hear it a lot.

Clyde