The year was 2008. I was a freshman in high school and for spring break, my parents decided to take us kiddos on a quick trip to the Smokey Mountains. This trip was characterized by endless games of ping-pong and foosball in the game room of the little cabin we rented, the viewing of some terribly cheesy (and if I'm saying that, you all know it's bad) feel-good-underdogs-come-out-on-top-in-the-end-Christian-themed football movie, and the creepy cow doll on my bedroom wall that truly freaked me out. This was also the trip when I kept score during a friendly game of miniature-golf and somehow forgot all of my basic addition skills. When, at the end of the game, my score was the best, my family knew something had gone terribly wrong. To this day, nobody believes that it was unintentional. I guess they prefer to think that they have an overly-competitive daughter/sister who is prone to cheating, rather than a plain old stupid one. (:
Most notable, however, was the game of 20 Questions. You see, it was unseasonably cold that spring break (it actually snowed) and we simply weren't prepared for such chilly weather. So, when we decided to go for a hike (because that's what you do in the Smokey Mountains), the weather made it a less than enjoyable experience. About half way through, everybody was getting a bit cranky. We were all cold and I was very tired due to my inability to sleep in the same room as that stupid cow. I'm telling you...it was SO creepy. I believe we have a picture of it somewhere, and if I ever get my hands on it, I'll be sure to share it. But I digress. It was proposed that we play 20 Questions to keep our minds off of our numb fingers and noses. It started out with normal people, places, and things. Keep in mind that the *trips were only 9ish at the time, so their chosen words didn't reach levels of sophistication past their favorite TV show or breakfast food.
But then, it was Preston's turn. Knowing the witty, jokester that Preston
Oh, important side note...the Greenhalgh version of 20 Questions doesn't actually end after 20 questions. It ends when the word/phrase is guessed. I believe this is an attempt to keep us occupied for longer amounts of time
We guessed for nearly an hour. It wasn't a person. It wasn't a place. It was "sort of" a thing. Question after question, we grew more and more confused as to what in the world he could possibly be thinking of. Finally, out of sheer frustration, we flew the white flag. He'd won. With a smirk, Preston revealed unto us his secret: Burgundy. That was what we'd been trying to guess. Burgundy. The triplets didn't even know what it was. I don't even think they knew it was a color. But, really, who can blame them? Nobody learns about burgundy in elementary school. It's not on the color wheel or in the rainbow and there are no burgundy Skittles or M&Ms or Starburts.
There was a bit of an uproar. Burgundy isn't a thing. Not really. Preston defended that "thing" is the best category for a color without actually saying "It's a color." Which I guess it true. But, regardless, his answers weren't very clear and didn't aid to any semblance of understanding.
I think it was the frustration that his choice caused that has allowed the joke of Burgundy to stand the test of time.I'm pretty sure that if he'd chosen something normal like Albert Einstein or African elephants, or Uzbekistan, we wouldn't still bring it up in daily conversations. In fact, it has since aided to other family jokes, such as the establishment of the community college Burgundy Chen. But that's another story for another time.
* I realize some people aren't aware of all my Maddie-isms. 'Trips' is one of the affectionate nicknames I have for the triplets
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