09/30/05
BERZERK board game
So, I returned to New Orleans today for the first time since Katrina hit. I wasn't able to venture into the harder hit areas of the city, but what I saw was actually kind of uplifting. People out and about, businesses reopening - signs of life and some sort of normalcy. I wasn't expecting it, but it felt really good to be back in the city I've lived in for six months. Even though I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, this felt like home.
Damage Report: I'm happy and very much relieved to report that my apartment had no wind or flooding damage, and all of my stupid little toys are safe and sound. It was almost like I'd never left. I couldn't even smell the full-month-without-electricity refrigerator! The bottom line here is: I was real fucking lucky, folks.
Alright, back to the matter at hand. As I was leaving, I decided to take a chance and see if my favorite New Orleans thrift store - Red White & Blue - was somehow miraculously open, and by the grace of some fictional deity - it was! I can't tell you how good it felt to be back in one of my old haunts after being an evacuee for over a month. I'm pretty sure I was smiling the entire time.
Despite the lack of any real interesting merchandise, I was determined to find something to buy to commemorate my return to New Orleans. Out of sheer desperation, I was seconds away from going up to the register with a Furby pencil-topper until I saw it: BERZERK!! - a board game based on the Atari 2600 game of the same name. I was going to crack it open and tell you a little more about it, but the "Ages 7-14" label on the box legally prohibits me from doing so. Instead, here's a very informative review by some guy who had the balls to risk federal prosecution and a steep prison sentence by actually playing the thing.
By the way, since there's no electricity or clean running water at my place in New Orleans, I'm still living in Baton Rouge for the time being...
© 2005 seawall