Chuck Foley, a Minnesota native and inventor of the board game Twister, has died. When I heard the news on television last night, I couldn't help remembering the last time I played Twister. It had to be more than a dozen years ago.
In a fit of nostalgia, I had purchased the venerable board game with the thought of creating some some fun, family-bonding time. I had some really fond memories of playing the game when I was young.
One sunny afternoon, I opened the box and unfolded the famous dotted mat on the family room floor. My young daughter, who was was obsessed with reading chapter books, had virtually no interest. She pronounced it a "silly game" and went back to reading.
The mat remained on the floor until after dinner, when I insisted we try playing the game again.
My husband was in charge of spinning the dial while my daughter and I played the game. Overall, I think my daughter was still mainly unimpressed. Yet, I do remember laughing pretty hard after the fifth or six spin, which required us to hold increasingly awkward poses.
Just as my daughter decided she had had enough, I did one more spin which required me to move my right foot from the red circle where it was resting to a green circle. That's when I felt a burning pain coming from deep within my lower back.
I collapsed on the floor. The game that was promised to "Tie You Up in Knots," had done just that. It was an inglorious end to the one and only game of Twister we played as a family.
The next day, I called my chiropractor.