OK, I think that I just updated to the most current version of Wine.  I typed
"sudo apt-get install wine1.3" into the terminal and it seemed to
update.  Since then, my games have been running a bit less buggy, but Steam
still crashes anytime I click away from the main Steam page.  I don't have
to use Steam, but as I understand it, the only way to access the console for
games like Half-Life 1 is to go through Steam.  Any other ideas on making Steam
work, or any ideas for getting around having to use it?  Thanks for the help so
far!  Also, sorry if I sound like an idiot. I'm new to Linux and very new to
Wine, so forgive me if I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm learning! 
Thanks again!