New game invented

As you spend time with a group of people, you eventually run low on things to talk about, so you come up with other ways to entertain yourselves, hence the invention of "Bouncy Ball." You may think that you have played this before, but there are a number factors of danger that may not have been present when you played, that was most definitely present when we played. You start with a $.50 super ball bought from a truck stop somewhere in the middle of Texas. Then, you add 14 twin mattresses, 4 folding tables, 25 boxes of stuff and several people to play and even more who are more or less obstacles or targets, depending on how you look at it. Probably the most important thing to have is several people that either have no idea the game is in progress or who know the game is on, but refuse to participate. Then the object is simple, try to bounce the ball to another participant, dodging the above listed obstacles, especially the people who aren't playing or are oblivious that a small rubber object is being bounced near their melon. Here is an action shot of a game in progress. You will see that there are three of us currently playing, but what you can't see is several others that were playing, whether they wanted to or not.

You may be thinking to yourself, what is so dangerous about this? Well I'm here to tell you that if you aren't fully paying attention, you can get a serious red mark on you. Bouncing the ball is the easy part, but you want to try and get the ball to the next person after only one bounce, because if the ball hits the ground a second time, it not only changes the trajectory of the ball, but the ball also increases speed ten fold. Not to mention that as I have aged, my eyesight isn't what it use to be. This little ball is difficult to see. I was trying to stop it in time so it didn't pass me and drive right into a non participant, but damn that little thing was hard to see, especially after the second bounce and it sped up. Probably the most dangerous aspect of the game came when a game that was started by the inventor of the game who we will leave nameless to protect him from retaliation. Plus, as Val said all week, I wouldn't want to get Chad in trouble. Anyway, when this person started up a late night game, he bounced the ball to an unwilling participant who halfheartedly tried to catch the ball, which she missed. The ball bounced past her right towards our mission leader, who had all ready voiced her opinion of Bouncy Ball, and made it clear that she would not be an investor. She had her eyes closed, as she was trying to go to sleep, and now was unaware that the $.50 ball from hell was on its way towards her. Most everyone in the room held their breath and plotted their escape as we helplessly awaited the scream. I myself decided that if she was indeed plunked, I would fake sleep and hit the pillow, even break out the fake snore, just for good measure. The ball bounced over her head, much to all of our delight, only to land on a chair over her head and start bouncing around like a pinball machine, which only made our hearts speed up. It hit her water bottle, which instantly made me realize that if that metal water bottle falls off the chair and hits the floor, we are not only looking at getting in trouble for playing an unsanctioned game at the wee hour of 8:30pm, but now we are looking at a possible heart attack from a person who is totally oblivious to exactly how close she is to disaster. I'm happy to report that the ball fell harmlessly to the floor and we were all able to start breathing again. That meant we were also all witnesses to the shortest game of Bouncy Ball in history, one bounce. If you would like a written rules list and directions on how to play, here it is.

Directions:

1. Bounce ball

2. Try to catch ball

3. Rinse and repeat

Rules:

1. Do not eat Bouncy Ball

Enjoy!