Beach Essentials

We were at Colonial Beach, Virginia yesterday. These were my beach essentials.

Making Old New

Scene: a few days ago at a hotel in Virginia. Me: ridiculously happy contemplating how to best preserve this forty-year-old backgammon board my sister Sharon gave to me. It's in rather good condition though needs some glue in a few spots where the felt is coming undone but what should I use for the latches that are rusty and worn with age?

Royal Excursions

We stopped at the charming Royal Oak Bookshop where I picked up the eclectic trio of Visiting Mrs. Nabokov (1993) by Martin Amis, The Backgammon Book (1970) by Oswald Jacoby and John R. Crawford, and a math book on Algebra. We also went to a nearby park where we enjoyed about an hour until the sun heated things up a little too much. Still, a fun excursion.

Royal Oak Bookshop in Front Royal, Virginia.

Bookstore's Simone making Ava feel welcomed.

At a nearby park heading off for other worlds.

Cranmers At The Park

Our daughter snapped this photo of little d and me at the park, today, playing backgammon. We were under the pavilion where a nice breeze kept us comfortable ... a pleasant break from the ninety degree temps with humidity. I brought two books to read, The Dark Tower and Orwell's Facing Unpleasant Facts, but much more enjoyed gammon with the mrs and going for a walk with the photographer.

Hope you are all having a top weekend.

That Brutal Unpredictability

A Free Soul (1931)

Renowned gamesman Barclay Cooke (1912-1981) called Backgammon “the cruelest game.” Memorable hyperbole? Perhaps. But vital skills are needed to play: intense concentration, clever strategy, and an ability to see ahead to possible traps—and still the probability of the roll can level the steel nerves of even the finest. That brutal unpredictability translates well to the mystery, crime, and thriller genres, and of course, with sport slang like post mortem, premature burial, under the gun, shot, hustler, and hit, backgammon is practically crying out for a spotlight with the criminal element.

Read more on my favorite game, by me, here.

Going Into The Weekend...

I'm reading a lot (as usual) for work to include manuscripts, detective, and science fiction novels but strictly for recreation I'm enjoying THE MUSIC OF THE PRIMES by Marcus du Sautoy. I'm a math enthusiast but I don't think you have to be one to enjoy Sautoy's entertaining work on the history of prime number theory. Very much recommended. Besides the reading this weekend, I'm searching for a new backgammon app because I've pretty much conquered the old one which has become repetitive. If anyone out there has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Other than that the family is gearing up for Halloween which brings a big smile to the little one and even bigger smiles to us old kids watching her dressing up and having fun.

Have a great weekend, friends.