After a joint session of watching Hee Haw or Lawrence Welk with the grandparents, the cousins would retire to the front room for some quiet, recreational fun. We called it Game Night and it usually progressed in phases. Phase One involved a combination of the following activities: dancing to Casey Kasem’s Top 40, shooting carroms without the stick, staging a variety show with Mamaw’s pump organ, or holding a boxing match with a pallet of blankets for the ring and towels for gloves. While the towels didn’t do much in the way of cushioning blows, they did come in handy for wiping up blood. Whether from an errant carrom, a well-positioned coffee table, or a well-timed punch, someone usually got a busted lip during Phase One.

When admonishment came from the kitchen, Phase Two began. It entailed using inside voices while sitting at Papaw’s card table where a jigsaw puzzle had been started. If no puzzle was in the works, we would break out the card and board games like Uno, Go Fish, War, Chinese Checkers, Hi Ho Cherry-O, or some version of Monopoly. Phase Two lasted no more than two quick rounds and ended with the redeployment of Phase One activities. When the loudest of all mandates rang out from the kitchen, the third and final phase of Game Night ensued. It lasted until morning and was also known as “Lights Out!”