What better time of year than spring to reminisce about childhood games played with the neighbor kids on the lawn in the sunshine, and with minimal (if any) adult supervision. From croquet to kick the can, red rover to green light/red light, we products of the 70s and 80s knew how to find the fun, complete with mild scrapes, legendary bruises, and sometimes, battered feelings - all of which healed in time.
One of my favorites was Duck, Duck, Gray Duck. Never, as a kid growing up, would I have imagined its title becoming the source of a common, friendly argument that stands the test of time. I've endured this phenomenon ever since I moved away from my hometown, Detroit Lakes, MN. Did you play Duck, Duck, Gray Duck when you were a kid? Or did you play Duck, Duck, Goose?
If you said Duck, Duck, Goose, I am oddly delighted to tell you ...
You're wrong. Sorry. Not sorry. (Well, wrong to a point, hence the friendly argument.)
Only Minnesotans know this (and possibly a few from Wisconsin). And the history books prove it (depending on which source you use): the original game was called "Anka Anka Grå Anka," which originated among Scandinavians who settled in Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin. This way, you play by thinking up other colors as you go around the circle and mess up your friends' hair. Blue duck, green duck, pea soup duck, baby doo doo duck, GRAY DUCK! RUN!! Wild laughter, tripping over each other, and other such frivolities thus ensue.
Ah, good times.
When writing, I find myself automatically using words, phrases, and references common to how and where I grew up. Odd phrases my family used, wording sentences in an anti-grammatical way, and comparisons to atypical experiences. The weirder, the more authentic, I think. As I continue writing the second book of Forever Fields, I enjoy mulling over "how Uncle Mike would've said this" or "what was it Grandpa Frank used to say?"
Occasionally, I wonder if it deters some readers, but I can't control that. It feels good to reach into my past and bring it into the present every now and then, regardless of discrepancies or debates.
As Grandma Olive used to say, "Lord love a duck." And that was that.
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