Unplugged.

When you realize you have not only a husband with a great eye for photography, but one with eloquent writing skills, there's only one thing you can do: ask him to start writing on your blog! Mr. Locke will be sharing his fave photos and telling a little bit about why they're so close to his heart weekly- and I couldn't be more proud. 


Mr. Locke here, reporting in.

It is just an old game after all, isn't it?  Or is it?  This is a game with many names. According to Wikipedia they include; Captain's Mistress, Four Up, Plot Four, Find Four, Fourplay, Four in a Row and Four in a Line. Most of us all know it by its trademarked brand name, Connect Four.

The game itself is a game of skill. However, the playing of the game itself is a chance, an opportunity. An opportunity to challenge a complete stranger and in turn make a new friend.  An opportunity to show off your logistic and strategic skills, your planar reasoning, and best psychological fake-outs. Or maybe a chance to spend some time with a loved one, as I did with Gracy, simply relaxing, tossing about a bit of (faux) competitive banter, and all in all enjoying the moment.  The moment, the fundamental building block of experience, a product of perspective.

Part of enjoying that particular moment was seeing the smiling face directly across from me. Another was the lovely Penn Pilsner that was going down as smoothly as any could. Yet another was just being able to enjoy my surroundings from the game itself, which is beautifully built from wood and milled aluminum pieces, to the 'Living Room' that we were sitting in at the Hotel Monaco, with its unique blend of classic style and and modern furnishings, to the City. 

Ah the City, my favorite place on earth, even on a rainy summer night: Pittsburgh, PA.  I have two loves in my life; Pittsburgh, PA and a voodoo woman named Gracy.