Thursday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I mentioned the game of Botticelli the other day. My friend, Dr. Fang, asked me how it was played. Here’s how:

It’s kind of like 20 questions. The moderator has in his mind a character, real or fictional, human or otherwise. He gives the first initial of the character’s name, either the first name or the last name, whichever the character is best known by, e.g. “W” instead of “G” for George Washington. Then the players guess in turn. But in order to guess, the player has to stump the moderator with a question whose answer begins with the character’s initial. e.g. “What famous character did Lon Chaney Jr. play in the movies?” If the moderator says “Werewolf” the game goes to the next player. If the moderator is stumped the player gets to ask a yes or no question, e.g. “Is the character fictional? The moderator must answer. Then the turn goes to the next player. The final player asks “Is it George Washington?” He becomes the moderator for the next round.

We played this game continually. Most often in a bar. One time the Last Commie, Jim Zarichny – I did a story about him – He hated the game. It was his turn and the initial was “C”. We tried to guess for about an hour then finally gave up. His answer was Caroline Kennedy. He laughed like a fool. First and only time I ever heard him laugh.