“Hi, Kyle!” she would call out, trying to hide how worn out she was from a long day on her feet at the chair factory. “It’s our date night! Give me a few minutes to get ready.” I waited in her living room, fiddling with the Nintendo console I knew she practiced on so she could beat me. Grandma Honeybunch loved her bragging rights! Out she’d come in a flowered print dress, her short, curly gray hair freshly brushed, wafting in a cloud of the perfume she wore just for the occasion. “Where’s my purse?” she’d ask, absentminded as usual, and I’d retrieve it from under the table or between the couch cushions.
Then we were off, with me behind the wheel of the Dodge so I could log 100 adult-supervised hours for my license. Our biggest adventure had been when I drove us to St. Louis for a family reunion, windows down, the wind blowing through our hair, as Grandma Honeybunch tried to navigate, something she wasn’t too good at. Most Wednesdays we headed to Taco Bell or KFC in Meadville, me tootling along well under the speed limit. Sometimes we’d splurge and dine at Cracker Barrel in Union City.
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Life Changing
I was happily married, happily employed, just plain happy. Until the accident
Healing Chorus
Meet the musicians who refused to let the music die
Grounded in Love
In the heart of the South, a church does the hard work of racial reconciliation
Five Quilts for Five Sisters
We thought we knew everything about our mother
Everyday Poet
Find the poetry in your life
A Soldier's Vision
He lay wounded in the Iraqi desert, ready to accept his death. Then he saw and heard his future
A Lesson in Letting Go
Maybe 50 feet from the road, I noticed my Lab, Clyde, wasn’t with me. How could that be? He never wandered off
67 Waterfalls
Their life felt in free fall. So this mom and daughter set out on an epic quest
Rock Steady
A World War II veteran gravely ill with Covid-19, an Army social worker on his first deployment and the relationship they forged
Love's Pure Light
Ease back in front of the fire and let the singer from Checotah tell you about the gift we can all give at Christmas
NINTENDO PROFITS SOAR AS PEOPLE PLAY GAMES DURING PANDEMIC
Nintendo Co. reported that its profit for the first three fiscal quarters nearly doubled as people around the world stayed home for the pandemic and turned to playing games.
BREATH OF THE WAIFU
GENSHIN IMPACT’s beautiful open world is a blast to explore.
Spellbreak (for PC): Engaging (and Free) Battle Royale
I don’t like fantasy. Game of Thrones? Lord of the Rings? World of Warcraft? Nope, not for me. I also don’t like battle royale games. Whether it’s the realism of PUBG or the wackiness of Fortnite, I find games where you compete to be the last one standing more boring than tense. So how did Spellbreak, a game whose whole hook is being a fantasy battle royale, become one of my favorite PC game surprises of the year? Ironically, by using the creative potential of the fantasy genre, it breathes new life into the tired battle royale formula.
Replace an Apple AirPort network
With Apple’s Wi-Fi base station units ever older, here’s how to replace them.
NINTENDO PROFIT ZOOMS AS VIRUS HAS HOMEBODIES PLAYING GAMES
Nintendo Co.’s profit multiplied more than sixfold in April-June as people stuck at home during the pandemic turned to playing video games.
Asus ROG Strix Go 2.4
Ready, set, go
THE BEST FREE PC GAMES
Free-to-play games have become increasingly popular over the years, and it’s easy to understand why. They’re now so robust that you never feel handcuffed for not plunking down real cash. In case you’re wondering why developers wouldn’t charge anything for the game itself, they generally make money with in-game ads and selling virtual objects.
NINTENDO MARKS PROFIT JUMP AS PEOPLE STAY HOME AMID PANDEMIC
Japanese video-game maker Nintendo Co. scored a 33% jump in annual profit, as people stuck at home turn to playing games.
Gamer Builds His Own Nintendo Switch for $199
With the Nintendo Switch in very short supply due to the coronavirus pandemic and resellers price-gouging on auction sites, one gamer decided to build his own Switch instead.
5 Stories From Japan's PC Scene
Seven days in Japan. One indie festival. Five stories about Japanese PC gaming in 2019, where it’s going next, and why our salvation lies with a dancing poop.