anyone who has ever read a book of Peanuts comic strips, is aware of the ongoing saga of Charlie Brown and Lucy. and every family has a similar story. no, I'm not talking about the spring in the bed at my grandparents' house. I'm talking about sister2 and brother2 playing the alphabet game in the car.

for anyone who is not familiar with the game, it is designed to keep siblings from tearing each other apart on long car drives. the object of the game is to look for the letters of the alphabet, consecutively, on billboards and license plates. the first person to reach Z wins. sister2 has sharp eyes and is very quick, usually making her the winner. i never liked the game, because i always get nauseous when i play, and i don't get the fun in looking for letters, but for brother2, the game is even less fun, because as he's still searching for H, sister2 is usually up to R. one of the rules is that you have to call out the letters as you see them, and it's very frustrating to know you're ten letters behind. so by now, you'd think that brother2 would give up and stop playing. but no, he's the one who suggests the game in the first place! every single time we get in the car! it usually goes something like this:

brother2: let's play the alphabet game

sister2: OK, A, B, C....D, E

brother2: WAIT!! i didn't say go yet! go! A, B

sister2: F, G

brother2: YOU'RE SUCH A CHEATER! F, G

sister2: hello, you're only up to C! you're cheating! H, I, J...

(it amazes me that she can keep track of not only what she's up to, but what he's up to as well)

brother2: J!

sister2: there's no way you saw that J! i only called it out after we passed the sign!

this game can go on for about twenty or thirty minutes until of a few things happen

1. the driver can't drive with all the yelling going on, and puts and end to the game

2. sister2 has had enough verbal abuse, and retreats to play the game by herself

3. brother2 finally realizes that he'll never win, and gives up

actually, #3 hasn't ever happened yet, but I'm waiting for it to happen. although i don't think I'll hold my breath.