Funny Guy Friday... The game that will live on in infamy...

     Funny Guy Friday is written by my husband Mark. So, I married a funny guy...
     'Tis the season!
     Christmas is full of so many great events that will live forever in family infamy. Moments that nobody will ever forget.
     One such episode occurred in our first year of marriage.
     A few days past Christmas, we were visiting Cheryl's family, and they decided to play a brand new game called Humble.
     Humble is a board game where one person hums a tune and his/her teammates have to guess the song. Sometimes the hummer hums for a single teammate, and at other times he may hum for everybody in the game... Sort of like an ALL PLAY in Trivial Pursuit.
     Now, if you have never met my wife's family, I will try to give you a quick description: If the Von Trapps married the Partridge Family and had kids... those kids would be my in-laws. The hills are alive with the sound of... C'mon get happy!
     They love music and music has always been a big part of their lives.
     I, on the other hand, used to play Bread albums in an effort to impress girls... and I listened to the radio if, and only if, there was nothing on TV. The conventional wisdom had me overmatched in such a musically dedicated game. Ahhh, but I am a competitor and would surely rise to the lyrical occasion... or as it turned out... not.
     Things did not go well for me in Humble.  
     In fact they went badly... really, really badly.
     My wife and her sisters knew the names of every show tune, classic rock, pop, religious and folk music song that came up. Pick a decade... any decade. And they could all carry a tune.
     I only knew those few Bread songs, songs that played during the seventh inning stretch, and perhaps a few ditties by Michael Jackson, and of course the Tea for the Tillerman stuff. But even if I had known more songs, I would have still stunk at Humble. As the name of the game would suggest, you had to be able to hum a tune.
     The game took a turn for the worse when I got caught up in a challenge with one of Cheryl's sisters. Another sister was humming a tune that we had to guess. Neither of us were able to name the song. I was doing so poorly that I considered this a victory. Sure, my team didn't gain any ground... but it did not lose any either.
     Yay for me!
     Then the humming sister commented that she was surprised that the other sister did not get the song because we all used to sit around the campfire and sing that one right after we would all sing Kumbaya, my Lord. 
      My competing sister's reply was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back:
      I did know the song, but I really wanted Mark to get one... and I did not want him to feel bad about losing every round!
     I would like to tell you that what I am about to describe next is an exaggeration, but sadly, it is not! I got so mad that I could hardly think... although one could argue that I really wasn't thinking straight the whole night. I stood up and announced I am not going to sit here and be patronized... humiliated and pitied. If I lose, I will lose with dignity. Cheryl... get your shoes on... we are going home! 
     The words that my lovely wife then spoke are as clear to me today as they were some twenty-two Christmases ago: No! We are not going anywhere. If you don't want to play, then don't play... but we are not leaving because you are mad about losing some stupid game. 
     This exchange was followed by an awkward silence.
     A long awkward silence... a silence that was broken only when Cheryl ordered that someone roll the dice and play on! Time's a wastin'!
     You know, my eyes well up with tears every time I think of the "support" that Cheryl showed that night. Although, truthfully, I do get a little filled up thinking back on her competitive display that night.
     So, I ask you, what was I to do? I had been verbally castrated in front of Cheryl's entire family. Keep in mind that this was early on in our marriage, and I had not yet established myself as the coolest son-in-law in the family. I had little goodwill to rely on, so I was kind of naked on an island. Of course, and how can I say this without offending anybody... I must admit, the competition is slim for that coveted spot.
     So, anyway, I put on my shoes and walked out to the car... and with all the dignity that I cold muster, I walked back into the house and waited for Cheryl to finish her stupid game. But I showed them... they got nary a hum out of me!   
     Unfortunately, I was not kidding when I wrote that this was a moment that nobody in Cheryl's family will ever forget. In fact, I am sure that all of Cheryl's sisters are reading this and chuckling at the memory.
     So as Christmas rolls around... I send them glad tidings of joy and wish them all a very Merry Christmas. And I pass on the words that are uttered at every holiday family function...
     Cheryl, get your shoes on, we are going home!