Childrens Game: My Father Owns a Grocery Store
Anne learned this game from her older sister when she was about ten years old. The method of this game goes as follows:
Person #1: My father owns a grocery store and in it he sells __. Person #1 will say the first letter of an item that is found in a grocery store
Person #2 will first say and in it he sells and then they would have to guess what the item is that the person #1 is thinking of based off of the first letter Person #1 gave them. Person #1 is allowed to give hints if person #2 asks for a hint. Person #2 gets five tries to guess the correct grocery item. If they guess correctly they will become the designated person to lead the game. If they lose, person #1 gets another turn to lead the game. This game can be played with 2 or more people. Anne says that the more people that participate in the game, the more fun the game becomes.
Example:
Person #1: My father owns a grocery store and in it he sells A.
Person #2: and in it he sells apples?
Person #1: No
Person #2: and in it he sells apricots?
Person #1: Yes
Person #2: My father owns a grocery store and it he sells
Anne said this childrens game is usually played in cars during long road trips, when an adult needs to keep a bored child busy, or with fellow friends and family at family get-togethers.
Anne, my grandmother, has passed this game down to her children and her grandchildren. This game holds sentimental value to me because I of the memories that go along with playing this game. The long road trip to the Grand Canyon or the nights spent around laughing while playing this game at the dinner table after a Sunday dinner are some of the few memories that I share when I remember playing this game. This shows that the deeper context of this type of folklore lies beneath the superficial framework of the game; it is more so the memories and anecdotes that accompanies childhood games that make them so important to my culture.