Fun And Games - But Not Always - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Entry

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"What are you two munchkins up to? I hope you are enjoying your weekend."

"We're playing Farm Heroes. Want to play too, Dad?"

"Sorry Jim, I have to do some paperwork." said the still young at heart man sadly.

"Is that like homework?" asked Betty curiously.

"Yes honey. It's homework for grown-ups." he said grimacing.

"If you get it over with as soon as you get home it's easier." offered Jim.

"Yes I do wish I had finished it last night..." he admitted.

"When you do finish come play?" pleaded Betty. It had been weeks since she had laughed with him. She sensed something was wrong.

"If I get done before bedtime I will, for sure." he promised before trudging away. His boss had been working him extra hard lately.

Tad Broder already knew it would be after midnight before he finished. He hoped he wouldn't be too tired to grab a late meal.

He had in fact spent most of Friday night, well into the morning working. If only he had pulled an all nighter, he could have had time to play with the kids.

"I'm just going to have to power through..." He mumbled, yawning. If he was lucky, the overworked businessman would get a decent night's sleep. Then Sunday would be his - free and clear!

Sitting down to his work, Tad's mind kept wandering to Farm Heroes. Dreemer Duck had always been his favorite character when he was a child. He could fly almost anywhere on the whole farm as Dreemer.

"And ducks don't have to write recommendations about which subjects are more popular..." he thought resentfully. Yawning, he doubled down on the work. At almost eleven P.M. he was over half finished.

At two, the finish line was in sight. But his vision was blurry, and his head nodding.

"QUACK QUACK!"

Who quacked, he wondered.

"Moooooo!"

"What on Earth?" thought Tad. He looked around. There were vibrant colors everywhere. The soft grass smelled incredible, and was so green. The neat little farmhouse was a blue which could rival the sky. And the red barn could have been painted yesterday.

Tad looked down at his feet. "WHAT THE -" KABOOM!

Jerking his head up, Tad saw a massive white cube, with black dots. It had landed mere feet from him.

"What is going on?!?! I have blue duck feet. And could that be a giant dice? This looks a lot like Farm Heroes, but that's just a child's game..."

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted into the air. From above, the countryside was glorious. Then he was plunked back down to earth. Halfway between the pigpen and the cow pasture.

"Well. Maybe Dreemer Duck doesn't have it quite as good as I thought. But it's still better than being trapped in an office all the time."

KABOOM! This time the dice landed with a hard crash further away. He could barely see it.

Then a red duck took flight, and landed several yards behind him. It seemed utterly bored.

"Hey Dreemer, I see you are ahead. But we still have a long way to go yet!"

"Jack Duck? Is that really you?"

"The one and only. What's wrong? You seem different today."

"You could say that. I'm a bit off. But it's not so bad here, the air smells amazing!"

KABOOM!

Again the dice hurtled down from the sky. He saw it hit the pigpen, leaving a deep scratch on the middle pole of the far side of the fence.

Tad again took flight. This time he landed by the horse corral.

"Neighhhhh! Neighhhhh! Neighhhhh!"

The neighing seemed to be coming from far away. He lifted his head. Tad was in his study, papers under his hands.

"What a dream! It seemed so real..." He marveled at the smells, sounds, colors, and sensations.

"Neighhhhh! Neighhhhh! Neighhhhh!"

It was coming from the other room. He got up, and went to investigate. It sounded just like the "noisebox" which came with Farm Heroes. Once it was your turn, you would press the button. Whatever animal noise you received would determine the direction you took.

But the children had been asleep for hours. He was the only one up. Groggily he made his way towards the source of the noise. "Ah. This explains both the noise and the dream." he said to himself, as he opened the box which had been left on the coffee table.

The dice had been dropped on top of the little noisebox, and the lid of the game put just enough pressure on it to make it go off every so often.

Tad removed the game, carefully setting each little structure in its place. The colors were exactly what he remembered from the dream, except that they were dull.

Strange, he hadn't even looked at the game in at least thirty years. How could he have remembered so precisely? And had the company not changed the design even slightly?

He sniffed the board. It smelled like cardboard. He picked up the pigpen. When he saw the deep scratch in the plastic on the middle pole, his hand shook. This game was only a few months old. Jim had received it as a Christmas present, and hadn't played with it very much.

Tad went back into his study, and placed all of the paperwork in his briefcase. He smiled, and climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

The next day, he didn't open his briefcase. The whole day was devoted to family and relaxation. For a finale everyone played Farm Heroes. It was the first time since childhood that Tad had played it, but he hadn't lost his touch.

"This is early, Tad. I'm glad you got everything done yesterday." exclaimed his lovely wife, when he accompanied her upstairs after the children were tucked in.

"Actually I didn't, Dear. But things are going to be different from now on."

---

"Good morning, Tad. Is the Robbles account ready?

"Almost, Mr. Johnson. I worked most of Saturday on it. But this will be the last time I take any work home."

"You do know that will put any chance of a promotion out of your reach?"

"No Sir, I will still give a hundred percent. I just won't work extra hours at home."

"Well. I guess I will just have to find a new assistant designer."

Several seconds later the intercom went off. It was the CEO, Mr. Trexler.

Mr. Johnson, I wish to speak with you. Mr. Broder, I need to have a word with you as well.

Both men nervously sat before one of the most powerful men in the company.

"Mr. Johnson, I have been closely monitoring Higher Management for the last three months. It has come to my attention that some people are delegating most, if not all of their workload. This is specifically prohibited, as you know."

"Of course, Sir."

"Approximately how much of your workload would you say that you delegate to your assistant, Mr. Broder?"

"Uh, I really can't say, as I don't keep track. But certainly not over 20%."

"Try close to 90%. You don't do a fraction of the work which you are paid for." the CEO growled lowly.

"I can explain..."

"Submit it in writing. I don't have time to listen to excuses. As of now, Mr. Broder has your position. He has certainly proven that he can do your job - along with his! You have the option of starting at the very bottom or resigning, Mr. Johnson."

---

Tad Broder went home a very happy man that Monday evening. Not only was his workload cut significantly, but he had acquired the promotion which he had been praying for.

Remembering the dream the night before, he wondered if the two events were connected. Regardless, he had decided to enjoy his home life more. Oh, he would still give everything he could to the company. But he would also make sure he was never too busy for family time.

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