Being a visible business along Hamilton Avenue means we sometimes have folks come in who are down on their luck. We do what we can to care for them, but we aren’t a social service agency, so there’s only so much we can do. Just the other week, a gentleman came in looking for directions. He said, “I’m lost,” and “My sister lives near here.” I asked him if he knew her address, but he did not. Her phone number? Also no. Perhaps someone else’s number we could call? “No,” he said, “I’m lost. I don’t know where she lives.” Friend, it was heartbreaking. The look on his face, the timbre of his voice—he was distraught and, though we wanted to help him find his way, we could not.

He comes to mind frequently since then. I frequently feel lost when I consider current events or past grief. I see the lostness on others’ faces, not only when they’re learning a new game, but when they’re confronted with something hard. We want a map, a set of rules, a clear ending to the journey, and a game with those things can help us sometimes to ground ourselves or to find a real life possibility. But so often it’s not that easy.

I don’t mean for this blog post to weigh you down—we can’t fix everything, but we can help! When others have stopped by and we couldn’t help with their larger problems, we could offer kindness, a cup of water, an order of fries, sometimes a phone call to a loved one. As I used to say to my students, we aren’t in control, but we are involved. We do what we can in the moment with what we have and that’s not nothing. This is part of community-building: simply being present in the moment for each other. From the $353 we and you have donated to the Freestore/Foodbank (which you can still contribute to here) to the pile of kids’ games a regular guest just donated to us to the effortless generosity you no doubt share with those around you, community care is a gift and a necessity as we navigate these streets. Sometimes we are the ones who are lost, sometimes we are the ones who point the way, sometimes we are the ones needing the reminder to be kind in a hard world.

The triumphant return of Guess Who!

A number of months ago, our copy of Guess Who gave up the ghost—so many people loved and played it that it fell apart! But a lovely regular guest came by yesterday to donate some kids’ games and, wouldn’t you know it, a copy of Guess Who was in the mix. Two players each choose one of the faces on the board as their mystery person, then ask questions like “Are they wearing a hat?” or “Do they look sad?” to determine first which person the other chose. We’ve also got a bunch more new games in the collection, many of them not only family-friendly, but toddler-friendly!

Try our Shareables!

From pretzels and beer cheese to loaded nachos to crab wontons to wings, we’ve got you covered. What better than to bring a friend or two for an evening of games and snacks? The cauliflower wings are crisp and filling, the chili sauce and hot honey are piquant, and the tortilla chips fresh and hot! If I’m being honest, I frequently order the nachos for my dinner and it’s more than enough for me—order a couple of items to share and you’ll be well-satisfied while you’re playing Guess Who or any of our other amazing games!