So we went to a restaurant last night that had some video games, and MilliCal wanted to play a few. We gave her a handful of quarters while we finished. As we were leaving, she asked for some more, and she wanted us to watch.
“It’s a driving game. It’s good practice for driving,” she said, by way of excuse. Sure. I’d played enough Pole Position
It was The Fast and the Furious, so how could it be anything but a faithful representation of a typical driving experience?
MilliCal stuck a dollar bill in the slot and settled down into the seat. She selected Times Square, which was listed as an “Easy” Driving experience. (Well, in real life, it would be. Bumper to bumper)
The game started with a bunch of cars lined up at the starting line, with movie-capture cuties in scanty garb, waving cloth as flags for the start. We know the audience hear.
And…
She was Off!
Literally. MilliCal’s car caromed off first one side of the track, then the other, then back to the first. She bounced off railings, then took out light posts, concrete abutments, garbage cans, and anything else in her way.
Pepper Mill’s jaw dropped. Then she was biting her hand to keep from screaming. Modern graphics are much more realistic than Pole Position, and it moved so fast! The hand came out lobng enough for her to say…
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be hitting the posts.”
“I KNOW” replied MiliCal, hitting a taxicab head-on.
It ended in mid-air, with her bashing through the barrier on an overpass.
“Most kids do worse,” explained MilliCal.
Pepper Mill was shaken on the way back to the car.
“I’m driving,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” said ten year old MilliCal. “Six years is a long time.”
Pepper Mill shuddered.
…
