We are facing some of the toughest economic times of my generation.

While wages stay the same or are reduced, prices continually go up.

If that isn’t bad enough, property values have plummeted. And although we all have more than we ever have, we still want more.

A trip for a family to go to the movies costs about a day’s worth of wages. And that’s without candy and popcorn.

If you’re hungry, eat ahead of time or take out a second mortgage because you will need it.

We have lived to get to a day where kids get bored with all that they have.

And why do they get bored? They get bored because Mommy and Daddy are bored too.

I can remember a time when everything fun didn’t cost money. Folks could actually have a good time at very little expense.

Of course no one had a whole lot so they really didn’t know to miss anything. If you never have it, you can’t miss it.

One of the great pastimes of my youth was watching the parents enjoy a good game of Rook. Rook is a card game that is usually played by four people, or two teams of two competing against each other.

The game takes some skill. It also takes the ability to bluff from time to time.

Rook is oddly enough still available in the stores. But I am curious as to how many of the games are sold each year as compared to earlier years.

I am no financial genius, but I would wager that sales are down from 20 years ago. Why is that? Because it doesn’t cost anything to play and therefore can’t be fun.

In addition, there isn’t anything electronic about the game so I am really not sure if the youth of today would even be able to understand it.

I know they can take a computer apart and put it back together.

But there is a good chance that they would never understand the enjoyment that could be found in a card game.

Talking about Rook makes me think of my parent’s long time friends, Leland and Charlotte Green.

I remember growing up we would spend many weekends at their house or them at ours.

They have two boys, Kyle and Keith, that are close in age to my brother and me.

Leland loved to grill steaks and many times during those days, that was on the menu. We certainly weren’t rich but my parents worked hard and could spring for the occasional steak.

The Greens were excellent Rook players who took pride in a good game. They would play with my parents and others at times.

These Rook games would many times last way into the night. The games were good clean fun.

Besides the food for the meal, the game didn’t cost anything and provided good friends with fun and laughter for hours.

I remember them sometimes taking breaks to talk about the issues of the day. But they would get right back at it. No one was in a hurry to leave because they didn’t have anywhere else to go.

Leland died several years ago after a horrible battle with cancer. Charlotte is still alive and kicking, as are her two sons.

But I will always remember them and the impact they had on my life.

You might wonder what impact they had on me. I don’t really know how to put it in words.

But as you can plainly see, they made their way into this novice writing.

I have belonged to Chalcedonia Baptist Church for many years. I remember years ago that they would actually have Rook Tournaments on Friday nights.

The room would be full with players from the church. And don’t let the fact that it was church related deceive you. The competition was fierce with many talented players of the game.

A good time was had by all. However, they didn’t have the things we do today as competition for drawing a crowd.

Even Granny and Granddaddy Free loved a good game of Rook. And if my memory serves me correct, they were pretty good at it.

The game did two things. It helped people save money on having fun in addition to bringing friends closer together.

All this for the costs of the cards.

Think about that the next time you spend $50 or more at the movies.

Chris Collett is a lifelong resident of Cherokee County.