It’s another record-breaking year for the Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game, with 18,881 players earning more than 532.3 million points so far, AADL spokesperson Rich Retyi tells a2view. That’s up 25 percent from the previous record of 17,416 from last year – and there’s still a month left to play.
For the first time, my family is among the participants. We are the Mighty Friesses and, as of this moment, we stand a firm 7,062th on the leaderboard. We’ve even traded in our points for two T-shirts. And we have a code, too: A2VIEWRULES.
To us, it’s all about the lawn codes. The kids like to read, sure, but they would be doing that regardless. Spotting those circular signs everywhere, though, has made the car a lot more fun. I admit I’ve found myself wandering around neighborhoods I’d never driven in looking for more.
My favorite part, though, are the cute little messages slipped into the confirmation texts when you log points via SMS. The texts will say, “You found a Lawn Code on [fill-in-the-blank street]” followed by a few words from the code purveyor. Frequently they mention pets – So. Many. Cats. – but others provide entertainment recommendations, factoids, witticisms, or deep (and shallow) thoughts. A few favorites:
GEMSPARKLES: “Gems are not always obvious, but they are precious.”
LOVELAND: “The Love Land Frog Man! He’s single and ready to mingle.”
RUBIKSCUBISM: “There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 Rubik’s Cube combinations!”
4014BIGBOY: “The world’s largest and only operating steam locomotive.”
DOLLHOUSEFUN: “Remember to include play in your day, no matter your age!”
NYCKELHARPA: “Or ‘keyed fiddle’ is a traditional Scandinavian instrument.”
BIRDBISTRO: “If you like suet, jelly, seeds, or nuts, we’ve got you covered!”
CABOTCOVE: “Have a nice cup of tea and solve a mystery with Jessica Fletcher.”
SWIFTIE: “It’s me, hi.”
FAAILOKBAKER: “Asian American bakery; means ‘happiness’ in Cantonese.”
HEARTSTOPPER: “A beautiful story on young, queer love!”
LAFAYETTE: “Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan is a fantastic book.”
HUDSONMINK: “We saw a mink at Hudson Mills Metropark! Happy Summer!”
BUILT1873: “The Parkers recorded seeing Halley’s Comet in May 1910.”
I do wonder/worry about the folks on Creal Crescent whose message with POPSICLEHOUR is an invitation: “Come over for popsicle happy hour. Every day at 5pm!” We may have to go check it out. Are there other invitations like that out there? Anyway, enjoy that 1,650 points if you’re playing and don’t forget to peruse your August Observer for a 500-point code.
Your news is here. Election Day is Tuesday; Morgan Wallen hurt his ankle; AAPS is facing federal scrutiny over its transgender policies; Warde Manuel’s buyout deal was revealed; and the cyclosporiasis outbreak is most definitely not, despite claims from that esteemed health expert RFK Jr., “under control.”
This is last week’s most-clicked link.
– Steve Friess, editor
Correction: Last week’s a2view incorrectly said council had put a six-month moratorium on new short-term rentals. The 7–1 vote instructed city administrators to explore enacting such a moratorium.
