Broken Slate

The Origins of "Cochise!"

Sean's past relationship with his father is touched on earlier in the series, but this is the first scene where the memory is a fond one. I wanted to reveal that there were some rare, good times in the Hanson household, and I described the game "Cochise" to demonstrate that. The name ties back to a night in my own life, back in college, when my roommates and I had some company over. What started out as standard horseplay turned into a situation where newly-purchased toilet-paper rolls were turned into projectile weapons. People were beaming each other left and right, until a loud knocking at our door halted the action. We worried it was the landlord acting on a noise complaint. Instead, it was a friend of ours who had unexpectedly stopped by for a visit. We collected ourselves and let him in. But the moment he took notice of our disheveled appearances and mischievous grins, my roommate yelled "Cochise" (an impromptu attack signal), someone turned off the lights, and we absolutely pummeled the poor guy with a relentless onslaught of t.p. We didn't stop until he was huddled up in a ball on the floor.