Did You Ever Play Root-A-Peg (Mumbly Peg) As A Kid?

Electronic games keep today's youth occupied, but they're missing out on great outdoor games of yesterday. Yeah, we raced bikes and played sandlot football and baseball games, but there were some really fun games that we also played.

There was a "season" for everything and I'm unsure who prescribed such seasons, but every kid seem to know when they were "in". We had seasons for marbles, yoyos and tops and there were always neighborhood tournaments or challenges for every game.

Every self-respecting kid had a pen knife or "pocket knife". Nothing fancy, just a two bladed knife, one long blade and one shorter blade. We used to play a game we called Root-A-Peg (also called  Mumbly Peg, Mumblety Peg).

In this game, the first player takes the knife and goes through a series of tricks without a blunder. The second follows in turn, doing the same. The last one to perform all of the difficult feats loses and must pull a peg, two inches long, from the ground with his teeth.

The winner drives the peg into the dirt using the knife-handle for a hammer, being allowed three blows. This usually drives the peg out of sight into the dirt, and as the defeated player, using only his teeth, literally roots, until, with a dirty face and a broad grin, he lifts his head, showing the peg between his teeth.

There were some parents, while not disapproving of pocket knives, who weren't overly enthused to learn we were playing knife games. This, of course, only added more of a thrill of being caught and most of the games were held in clandestine "secret" spots.

I assume that if electronic games would have existed back in the day, we would have succumbed to their allure, but I wouldn't trade my childhood memories for anything. I mean, what is today's youth going to look back on, high score on Super Mario Brothers.....?
  

The News As I See It: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon apparently sent the National Guard to Ferguson without letting the White House know first. When he heard he was left out of such an important decision, Obama said, “Holy crap, I’ve been Bidened!”

Anthony Weiner is opening a restaurant. Honestly, how many of you would go to eat at Anthony Weiner's restaurant?

Obama had to cut his vacation short two days to go back to Washington. Yep, Joe Biden locked himself out of the White House again.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been indicted after he threatened to veto funding for a district attorney’s office unless she stepped down. He’s now the most controversial governor in the country.....which is why Chris Christie sent him a gift basket.

Analysts say that Obama has been ignoring Hillary Clinton's advice for years — which is why we've yet to see him in a pantsuit.

David Gregory was kicked off NBC's "Meet The Press" and is being replaced by a guy named Chuck Todd. Evidently the requirements to host the show is no talent and two first names. I say kicked off, but he was kicked off with four million dollars for leaving early.

My favorite pocket knife was made by Case. Of course, 12-15 year old boys are prone to lose just about anything unless it's attached to them, so I had many knives.

This Date In History: 1964; As part of his Great Society policies, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act which, among other things, established the Head Start program. 1968; The Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia.

1977; The space probe Voyager 2 was launched. It continues to explore to this day, and is now more than 7 billion miles from Earth. 1980; Italian Reinhold Messner made the first successful solo ascent of Mount Everest and without oxygen.

1998; U.S. cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Afghanistan and the Sudan. 2000; Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year.

Picture Of The Day: They say a picture is worth a thousand words.....

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Throwing pregnancy tests into the shopping carts of random couples at Walmart is the only silver lining in my day. 2) He died doing what he loved - smelling things underwater. 3) Viagra has been on the market now for more than 15 years. I find it hard to believe it's been so long. 4) I bought a box of animal crackers and it said on it "Do not eat if seal is broken." So I opened up the box, and sure enough... 5) When you are dating, farting is never an issue. When you are married, you make sure there’s nothing flammable near your wife.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Leo - August 20th: The night may feel like a safe time to parade naked through the local city streets, however, you may find there are some that oppose your freedom. Whenever you feel unhappy today, go to the toilet. This action should soon turns things around for you.

Be happy for the good things that happen to you as it could be worse. Remember that time you woke up with your face in a plate of nachos and an Amish horse and buggy parked in front of your house?

Birthdays: My friend Yolanda - Happy Birthday beautiful 19XX, Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval officer 1785, Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States 1833, Eero Saarinen, architect 1910, George J. Mitchell, public official 1933, Connie Chung, TV news reporter 1946.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A hooded robber burst into a Texas bank and forced the tellers to load a sack full of cash. On his way out the door, a brave Texas customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off revealing the robber’s face. The robber shot the customer without a moment’s hesitation.

He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him. The robber instantly shot him also. Everyone else, by now very scared, looked intently down at the floor in silence.

The robber yelled, "Well, did anyone else see my face?" There are a few moments of utter silence in which everyone was plainly afraid to speak. Then, one old cowboy tentatively raised his hand, and while keeping his head down said, "My mother-in-law got a pretty good look at you."

A doctor was examining a woman who had just been rushed to the Emergency Room at a local hospital. During the exam, he took the husband aside and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife at all." Her husband replied, "Me neither Doc, but she's a great cook and really good with the kids."

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A man was sitting on a blanket at the beach. He had no arms and no legs. Three women from England, Wales and Scotland, were walking past and felt sorry for the poor man.

The English woman said "Have you ever had a hug?" The man said "No." So, she gave him a hug and walked on. The Welsh woman said, "Have you ever had a kiss?" The man said, "No." So she gave him a kiss and walked on.

The Scottish woman came to him and said, "Have ya ever been fooked, laddie?" The man broke into a big smile and said, "No," She said, "Aye, ya will be when the tide comes in."

A woman was at the doctor's office with her husband. She took the doctor aside and said, "I don't want to say anything in front of my husband, but, lately, he's been buying Purina Dog Chow at the grocery store and eating it as a snack."

The doctor said, "That's unusual. Is he doing anything else that seems strange?" The woman says, "Yes, when I'm driving, he likes to stick his head out of the window for the fresh air." The doctor says, "This sounds like he may have Canus Complexus. In layman's terms, he may think that he's a dog."

The woman lamented, "That sounds serious, doctor. Is there anything you can do for him?" The doctor replied, "Yes, it could kill him. But there's a new drug that I can give him that should help. You mix it in with his food along with some wet dog food. After a while the drug and dog food mixture will begin to make him sick when he eats the dog chow and it should return him to normal."

Six months passed and the doctor happened to see the woman at the shopping mall dressed in black. The doctor greeted the woman and asked, "How is your husband?" The woman sadly told the doctor, "He passed away two weeks ago." The doctor was deeply moved and said, "My sincere condolences. I really thought that the dog food and drug mixture would have cured him, not killed him"

Then woman said, "Oh, no doctor. The dog food and drugs mixture didn't bother him at all." The doctor asked, "Then, how did he die?" The woman replied, "He was sitting in the middle of the road licking his balls and a dump truck ran over him."

That's it for today, my little puddy tats. Remember, the only ideal marriage was Adam and Eve. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked,

The sun is shinning brightly, inviting me to AREA 51 for happy hour. Your Solar interpretation may vary.

More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !