Longevity of the Game

A friend of mine recently said she met a couple who had been married for 70 years. My first question was whether the couple still liked each other after all that time. I mean, each has seen seven decades of changes in the other person and chose to stay together.

But my second thought was the dedication to consistency they shared and I pondered on my own longevity.  Obviously, not being 70 years old yet, I’ve not done anything close to the time this couple shared.

I pondered. The longest I’ve stayed at a job is the one I have now — 15 years now. I was married 11 and a half years before my wife passed away. Next month, I’ll have lived in this state for 21 years.

So I realized, the longest thing I’ve done consistently is play this APBA sports replay game I write about. I know that’s weird when considering life’s travails, but so be it.

I began playing the football game in 1977 and then began rolling the basketball game a year later. Those who remember the old solitaire basketball game understand it could take 20 years to complete a replay season with its terminally slow, plodding pace.

Since I started rolling games, I have gone through a lot of changes in life. I’ve counted 22 moves I’ve made since I began playing. I lived in three states, had every girlfriend and wife relationship begin, ensue and end while playing the game. I rolled games while in college —during undergraduate work, my masters program and the failed attempt at earning a Ph.D. — and at my subsequent news jobs that followed.

And  it may seem sad to those who married at an early age, raised children and stayed at the same job for decades and think that’s what consistency really is about. But this game has helped. It eases the struggle of life; it provides the escape we all look for in some way. 

The game, as I’ve said before, is the only real consistency I’ve had. I’m at 35 years playing and counting, halfway to the 70-year mark. If I make it to 87, I’m sure I’ll still be playing the game and I may even finish a basketball season by then.