During one of our Saturday games of Capture the Flag, I had a great idea. As the first half of the game wound up, I found myself way at the far end of the athletic fields, near the far flag at the border of the woods. I was actually guarding the back of the flag, against anyone who might have circled around through the woods to attack the flag from behind.

And then it dawned on me: for the second half of the game, the sides would be reversed. All I had to do was to hide in the woods behind the flag, and in the second half, I would be right next to my target. I could then swoop in from behind, before anyone would have had time to circle all the way around through the woods, catching the defenders unaware.

And so that is what I did. I'll admit to feeling a bit sad as I watched everybody run to the opposite end of the field for juice and cookies, which I was missing in my hiding place in the tall grass. And the boring half-time period seemed to go on interminably. Nevertheless, I stuck it out, and nobody seemed to miss me at all.

When the game resumed, there I was, within fifty feet of my goal. I waited for what seemed like a good opportunity, and then raced out of hiding, only to be caught short of the circle by a speedy defender.

Oh, well. It wasn't a bad idea.

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