What a Prize!

The big prize from Chuck E. Cheese
in Colorado Springs.
dwm photo

In 2000 while I was serving clients for Aid Association for Lutherans, I qualified for a sales conference in Colorado Springs.

We took the whole family.  There was free time since the conference combined opportunities to learn with opportunities for fun.

We toured the Olympic Training facility; Celestial Seasonings Tea; rode up Pikes Peak; and went to Chuck E. Cheese (which wasn't where we lived at the time).

The boys were around 10 and 13 - prime age for food and fun in a kid's wonderland.

It seemed to me if we were going to attack the games, we needed a plan to maximize our efforts.

My wife and I played ski-ball.  The kids ran around trying their hand at different games.

No matter how many tickets spilled out of a game, I collected each and every one.  By the end of the evening, our collection of tickets were enough for a terrific looking Bubble Pen.

It was my suggestion to preserve the value and the pen by leaving it in the package.

My boys didn't share my enthusiasm for the idea.  I think I was laughed at, maybe mocked.

The water evaporated a long time ago.  I'm sure the ink is dried out.

Now, it hangs on the wall in my home office - a memory of a fun time we spent together in Colorado Springs playing games.

The pen  isn't worth much I guess.  It's a priceless memory.