Thursday, March 26, 2009

J-J-J-Jenga!

Is anyone else a fan of this "great game with a strange name"? It was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I very clearly remember a series of TV advertisements set to the following jingle (I would link to a video for you, but this is the first time that YouTube has failed me):

You take a block from the bottom and you put it on top
You take a block from the middle and you put it on top
That's how you build the tower and you just don't stop
Keep building up that tower putting blocks on top
It weebles and it wobbles but you don't give up
It teeters and it totters but you build it on up
Till someone knocks it over and that's when you stop
But you can start all over putting blocks on top

That's what was running through my mind this morning when I put Georange (pronounced gee-orange) through his first paces by turning the contents of the manure bins. As in "you take some poo from the bottom and you put it on top, you take some poo from the middle...". The exercise went quite well, and I was getting proficient with the loader by the end of the first hour. I only dumped one bucketful of manure backwards onto Georange's hood and I only gave one of the fence posts a solid whump and I only removed two big chunks of earth by misgauging the position of the bucket. So far I am impressed with how easy and intuitive the machine is to use.



9 comments:

Funder said...

I remember that game! I don't remember the jingle, but I remember the visuals from the commercials. Like so many 80s toys, it looked much more fun on TV.

Ok, I'm officially jealous of you and Georange!

The Border Collies said...

My friend Grant used to arrive at all parties with a Jenga game in his bicycle panniers. All parties ended up as a big ass Jenga free for all.

Oh whacky youth.

EvenSong said...

Hey! I just bought Jenga for my grandson's 6th birthday! And I have a "counselor" version at school (every block has a self-esteem building question or comment).

Yeah! for getting to play on Georange! Let it be said that into each tractor's life, a little manure must fall....

yaule = dp's yodel in the last photo

Carole said...

There's a tree on my property at a permanent 50-degree angle due to my mad tractor skillz. You seem to be doing extremely well!

Anonymous said...

My kids like to play that game!

I think Georange sounds like a name a small child might come up with for their grandpa. LOL! I love it!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

lol! Manure Jenga! The newest craze on a tractor no less!
That last photo made me grin HUGE!

~Lisa

Black Jack's Carol said...

There are quite a large number of well-known phenomena that flew right over my childhood head. Ah, but I see Funder classifies it as an 80's game, so I feel better. My point is still true, a result of being tucked inside my own small world much of the time, but I definitely wasn't a child in the 80's, nor even the 70's, and didn't have a TV at that time, so at least I have some fairly good excuses for not knowing about Jengal:) It sounds like a great game, especially since two of your readers indicate that it's still popular. I like the thought of the jingle going through your head as you become familiar with Georange's capabilities. I do love that last picture of you, triumphant in the knowledge that you and Georange make a damn fine work team.

dp said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Georange was put to his second test today when forced to move some large rocks around. One so large that he refused to lift it more than an inch off the ground with the loader, but he was willing to move it from one location to another (though we had to back up the slope). I am in love all over again!

Grey Horse Matters said...

I remember the game too. I'll bet you had that running through your head all day while you worked with Georange. You look like you're enjoying your new toy. Have fun.