"My Mind Is Not Loose Enough For Ms. Pacman"

Last night I played my best game of Ms. Pacman ever, on the 1980 machine at the Video Saloon (a local bar). I advanced to the third pink level after the stork brought a second baby. Tracey Trance was witness to this epic performance, and we were both shocked to find that eating the "energy dots" no longer had any effect on the ghosts in this new and strange pink world of the Ms. Pacman universe, a world we could only guess about before last night.

After that game I asked myself, "why do I love playing this silly video game so much?"

Today I can think of 2 reasons:

1)The Practical reason -- I realized that playing the game actually provides training for my job. During last night's game Tracey Trance kept saying things to me like "you gotta maintain field vision" and "know where every ghost is at all times." The children in kindergarten are like the ghosts in the game, running wild and loose through the labyrinth of their imagination or all around the playground. My role is to remain aware of each one, know where they are, maintain field vision, and not get in their way. The Ms. Pacman game trains me in this way.

2)The Mythological reason -- The backstory tells the universal tale, and from a woman's perspective: Woman runs from ghosts seeking fruit and "dots" for nourishment, meets a suitable male and falls in love, then gives birth by way of a stork. She is Isis falling for Osiris and giving birth to Horus.

And why oh why is it called "Ms. PacMAN" and not just "PacWOMAN?" We will have to consult Hanz Bronze for the answer to that question, methinks.