~ Anticipation & Excitement ~

I have hi-jacked Dottie's journal today ....... HI DOTTIE, IT'S MARYDON!

Just pretend that wee girl is Dot standing on the good 'ol USA ...

She's getting ready to throw her 'chalk' about 1/3 the way around the world ... Oops! it landed on AFRICA ... YUP!

She's heading out in just a mere few months on a mission, maybe even a safari (don't forget the sunscreen, sunglasses, pepto bismol, listerine to kill the bugs, dramamine for motion sickness when you are riding the elephant ... chuckle). If you could only KNOW the anticipation that fills her daily. I get such a kick out of hearing her joy in just getting each step taken care of ... shots, itinerary, chatting with associates she'll travel with, etc ... the excitement wells more with each conversation.

** Since I love history I am sharing with you the origin of this wonderful childhood game of yore **

Game origin (Can't tell me you all knew this, cause I sure didn't)
Hopscotch began in ancient Britain during the early Roman Empire. The original hopscotch courts were over 100 feet long! Can you imagine that? They were used for military training exercises.

"Hey, Claudius! how bout a game of Hopscotch?" "Okay Brutus, but first I have to put my gear on! Hang a minute and wait for me?"

Roman foot soldiers ran the course in full armor and field packs, and it was thought that Hopscotch would improve their foot work. Roman children imitated the soldiers by drawing their own boards, and creating a scoring system, and "Hopscotch" spread through Europe. In France the game is called "Marelles", in Germany, "Templehupfen" (try saying that three times fast!) "Hinklebaan" in the Netherlands (probably played with Heineken beer cans) "Ekaria Dukaria" (played while while watching Daria) in India, "Pico" in Vietnam, and "Rayuela in Argentina."

In order to begin the game, each player must start with a marker. Common stones were used in the days of the Roman Empire, but in more modern times, items such as bean bags, pennies, and other assorted items were used.

Hopscotch boards were usually found in playgrounds, but if there weren't any, a good piece of chalk could easily remedy that.