Who hasn't played hide and seek in their younger years?
I even play it now (when the inlaws come over that is).
But a group in the Netherlands is taking the game to a whole new level. They wanted to organize a game of hide and seek at a massive Ikea store in Amsterdam and more than 19,000 people signed up.
Pretending not to completely freaked out, a store spokesperson said, while Ikea does not want to stop people from having fun, it is just not safe to have that many people in the store playing a game.
An event at a second store saw 13,000 people sign up and once again had Ikea officials freaking out and shutting down the fun and games.
"In general we are happy our customers are playful and want to have fun together with friends and family,” said the spokesperson. “But unfortunately this hide and seek phenomenon has reached proportions where we can no longer guarantee the security of those who are playing or our customers and employees.”
I did not even know there was such a thing as an Ikea hide and seek phenomenon.
My understanding is someone noticed the stores were so large they make a great place for the age-old game and they invited a few friends to play. Then those friends invited a few friends and the next thing you know thousands of people wanted to get in on the fun.
I have been to Ikea stores – mostly because my wife makes me. She loves Ikea. She loves to wander around and look at all the different items and get ideas for what she would like to do in our home.
I follow her like a lost puppy dog trying not to look too bored, because while I do not love Ikea, I do love my wife, so it is part of my husbandly duties.
Kind of like putting up with, I mean, enjoying a delightful visit from those inlaws I was telling you about earlier.
We have purchased a few items from Ikea which, of course, has to be assembled by the purchaser using a wonderfully 'informative' set of instructions. Basically, they are a piece of paper with a bunch of diagrams and numbers on them.
All you have to do is hold boards A, C, D and F while inserting screws M, L, Y and Q. It is that simple. And as long as you happen to have six hands and a slinky for a spine because you have to twist in so many different directions at once, it is a piece of cake.
Anyway, Ikea stores are large with a lot of places to hide, so I can understand why it is such a great place to play the game.
I also read it has been going on for a while, but is now reaching epic proportions and is being shut down in the name of safety.
When my kids were little, they loved playing hide and seek and they always wanted dad to play.
I was more than happy to oblige, but found available hiding spaces somewhat lacking.
Because they were little kids they could crawl in to, under and behind things. At 6'4” and over 200 pounds, I was much more restricted in my places of hiding.
"I found you behind the door again, dad.”
"I found you in a closet, dad.”
"I found you behind a different door, dad.”
"I found you in a different closet, dad.”
You get the idea.
The good part was, they were so young it was always a thrill to find me.
It was then my turn to find them and I would always have a “hard time” locating them and would make a big deal out of it when I did find them.
My children are too old for hide and seek, or any of the kiddie games we used to play.
But it would seem hide and seek in a department store has no age limit, so maybe we will play again. I just hope Ikea has lots of doors and closets.
Copyright 2015, Darren Handschuh
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Friday, March 27, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
It's not all about the money
The problem with people who have lots of money is they don't understand what it's like to not have lots of money.
Or to even not have enough money.
A recent trip to Mexico showed how great the contrast between haves and have nots are. In one area of the town we spent five days in, there was a vast landscape of shacks, barely running cars, dust and garbage.
Numerous homes were atop an old landfill site and many of the homes were made out of whatever material could be found.
And these were not druggies or alcoholic bums, but hard-working people who were trying to survive on a whopping $40US a week.
A few kilometres away, sat a strip of posh resorts. Pools, hottubs and condos with the same square footage or more as my entire house stretched for kilometres. BMWs, Mercedes and Cadillacs graced the parking lot, while the 'slums' were full of dented and rusted out cars that were as peace meal as the houses.
Having too much money has never been a problem I have had to face, but it is one I wouldn't mind trying on for size.
For a few years after we wed, my wife and I were so broke we could barely afford air, but we saved and worked hard to arrive at the humble abode we now call home.
During those broke years, I was covering an event as a photographer for the newspaper I worked for that featured a wealth-management specialist.
That is someone who tells people how to best take care of their money. Considering I did not have any money at the time, I did not pay too much attention to what he was saying.
That is until he said, “And with the extra money you have left over from each pay cheque, you can invest it in...”
Extra money?
What the hell is that?
What is this mythical thing called extra money of which he speaks?
At the time, we were 'foolishly' spending all our money on silly stuff like rent and food and we certainly did not have any 'extra money' lying around we could invest in something.
But to people in the audience with an abundance of money, it all made perfect sense.
I personally know a few people who are doing quite well financially. Some of whom made a lot of money in legal, yet somewhat unscrupulous manners, but that is for another time.
The common thread they all shared was they had no concept of what not being able to afford something was like.
This one guy and I were talking and I mentioned my truck needed some work.
His response, “Well just take it in to get fixed. Problem solved.”
He could not wrap his money-laden brain around the thought that, at the moment, I could not afford to have the work done.
He was baffled at the notion.
The conversation drifted in another direction and it wasn't long before he was telling me about his new boat, vacation plans and all the skiing they did last winter.
Years of working in newspaper has provided me with a career that I have come to regard as a job I have done for a very long time.
Coupled with a marginally acceptable wage and it was a way to pay the bills – most of them anyway.
The rich people I have met over the years – and I have met a few very rich people – cared about one thing and one thing only: money.
It was their god, it was their desire, it was their sole purpose for living.
They were not very nice people, at least not to us little people and I found some of the poorest people I have met were the most inviting, welcoming and generous with what little they had.
For someone who lusts, loves and covets money, they will never have enough. But for someone who loves people, life and giving you will always have enough.
Copyright 2015, Darren Handschuh
Or to even not have enough money.
A recent trip to Mexico showed how great the contrast between haves and have nots are. In one area of the town we spent five days in, there was a vast landscape of shacks, barely running cars, dust and garbage.
Numerous homes were atop an old landfill site and many of the homes were made out of whatever material could be found.
And these were not druggies or alcoholic bums, but hard-working people who were trying to survive on a whopping $40US a week.
A few kilometres away, sat a strip of posh resorts. Pools, hottubs and condos with the same square footage or more as my entire house stretched for kilometres. BMWs, Mercedes and Cadillacs graced the parking lot, while the 'slums' were full of dented and rusted out cars that were as peace meal as the houses.
Having too much money has never been a problem I have had to face, but it is one I wouldn't mind trying on for size.
For a few years after we wed, my wife and I were so broke we could barely afford air, but we saved and worked hard to arrive at the humble abode we now call home.
During those broke years, I was covering an event as a photographer for the newspaper I worked for that featured a wealth-management specialist.
That is someone who tells people how to best take care of their money. Considering I did not have any money at the time, I did not pay too much attention to what he was saying.
That is until he said, “And with the extra money you have left over from each pay cheque, you can invest it in...”
Extra money?
What the hell is that?
What is this mythical thing called extra money of which he speaks?
At the time, we were 'foolishly' spending all our money on silly stuff like rent and food and we certainly did not have any 'extra money' lying around we could invest in something.
But to people in the audience with an abundance of money, it all made perfect sense.
I personally know a few people who are doing quite well financially. Some of whom made a lot of money in legal, yet somewhat unscrupulous manners, but that is for another time.
The common thread they all shared was they had no concept of what not being able to afford something was like.
This one guy and I were talking and I mentioned my truck needed some work.
His response, “Well just take it in to get fixed. Problem solved.”
He could not wrap his money-laden brain around the thought that, at the moment, I could not afford to have the work done.
He was baffled at the notion.
The conversation drifted in another direction and it wasn't long before he was telling me about his new boat, vacation plans and all the skiing they did last winter.
Years of working in newspaper has provided me with a career that I have come to regard as a job I have done for a very long time.
Coupled with a marginally acceptable wage and it was a way to pay the bills – most of them anyway.
The rich people I have met over the years – and I have met a few very rich people – cared about one thing and one thing only: money.
It was their god, it was their desire, it was their sole purpose for living.
They were not very nice people, at least not to us little people and I found some of the poorest people I have met were the most inviting, welcoming and generous with what little they had.
For someone who lusts, loves and covets money, they will never have enough. But for someone who loves people, life and giving you will always have enough.
Copyright 2015, Darren Handschuh
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