Non-"Simpsons" Fans Can Probably Skip This Post...

...because it might not make sense if you don't get the reference.

Oh, what the heck, I'll explain it anyway. There was an episode of the Simpsons where Bart wanted a videogame so badly he shoplifted it. And he got caught. And it severely damaged Marge's heart. By the end of the episode, Bart had demonstrated that he actually was sorry for what he did, and his mother bought him a videogame. But she didn't get the one he wanted, which was sold out. Instead, she got the one recommended by the store owner... a 'golf' game called "Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge". Bart acted like he loved it anyway.

Now I can tell my story.

So yesterday was my oldest son's fifteenth birthday. We decided to get him a new videogame. The only question was what game to get him. Let's see... should we get him:

• the game that he used as the wallpaper on his Windows profile for the last month?
• the game he has downloaded and shown me, casually of course, every promotional video clip of?
  
• the game he has talked about, very casually of course, at every possible opportunity???

Perhaps that should be the one.

However, it's no fun to get the game you TOTALLY expect to get, should your parents actually buy you a game for your birthday. Right? At least, there should be a *little* wrinkle.

Fast forward to our family birthday party. It's at seven in the morning, but let's not worry about that now. Anyway, the boy opens a couple of minor presents, such as a paperback book and a dvd. Now comes the payoff. We give him a HUGE gift bag. It's stuffed full of a HUGE birthday themed plastic bag, wrapped around and around and around a video game case. As the boy feels the case deep inside the plastic bag, he purports to be fairly confident that he knows what game it is. "Don't be too sure," I suggest.

He opens the bag and pulls out....

Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge.



The one I mocked up the night before.

He laughs. Naturally, he gets the joke. The little kids laugh too. Even they get the reference. (See, even my twins have sophisticated enough humour palates to appreciate Simpsons episodes, ergo Simpsons references as well. So it's not just that I'm a bad parent. Really.)

Inside the case is a note indicating that we *do* have one more gift for him. The one he wanted, called Super Paper Mario.



All's well that ends well.

Um, except for one caution to other parents. If your kid is playing a videogame in your living room on a Friday night, especially one that lets him toggle between 2D and 3D mode, DON'T watch him playing the game if you happen to be consuming a little bit of alcohol.

Because it might freak you out a bit.