December 12, 2020

Thank you, Sharon.

Recently I unearthed an old note—"want to go bowling tonight? Mom is hosting bridge—gotta get out of there." Sure, sounds boring. Sail on—young, non-working moms seeking relief from boredom—someone knew how to play bridge. Yes, I will teach you. Picked up some little Goren thumbnail guides—stuck our kids in a big playroom to duke it out and went to it. Next up—bridge clubs—edibles, gossip, some pettifoggery and some bridge. Then, a singularly competitive soul suggested duplicate, interesting she'd heard. So a trip to Lincoln—oh my! Some silly rules it appears, swarming egos. Guess not. Then I move to Lincoln—there is a Monday night game rife with tyros I'm assured! The mystery and intrigue set in. I had to recognize how ignorant I was to learn a single thing. Some suggestions proffered—and then the breakthrough in the form of a mentor—mine, a tough bird who so loved the game she was willing to share—threw a slew of conventions my way—"now play" and I adored her. Egregiously breaking every rule—starting to get it—deductive logic. But what a game. Addicting and challenging.

Stalwart—bridge people are. Larry Cohen (in his book "My Favorite 52") tells of the abduction of Edith Rosenkrantz—1984 Springold—her husband George part of the team—play continued sans George. Edith was returned unharmed. In our club, we have re-perched many a player after a "spell" or a tumble-game goes on!

Then tourneys—my partner’s knees nearly toppled our table in a game with Warren and Bob in Omaha. Terror and joy—trips to many states—great fun.

February 2020—we returned from the Tucson tournament to utter despair—a standstill. A foul matter. Online bridge—not I.

My fearful fingers start the sojourn. As Dorothy Parker asked, "What fresh hell is this?"

Those wretched robots. What are they trying to pull? oh well, no one knows me and can't see me either. Have you seen that commercial where the gal latches onto the truck not meant for her? I love it—I love it

Well there you are—got points to the next level.

Until we are live—ACBL. Thank you thank you. You’ve kept so many of us who love this dratted game afloat!

Juanita Washburn