Saturday, May 12, 2012

Shanty Town

It was spring at its finest - warm, bright, refreshingly breezy - so I was surprised to see the Bridge Center so packed. I thought maybe gardening or golfing might trump cards that day. 

But when I walked in, the room was filled from the candy table all the way to shanty town. "Shanty town" is what I call the area on the far end of the room right outside the men's room. When there are a lot of players, one or two more tables are squeezed in over there in a most unpleasant manner and just inches from the bathroom door. The only thing missing from shanty town is a clothesline draped with torn undergarments.

So the game was well attended and Cindy and I were back to playing there together for the first time since winter. Our focus was laser-like, our bidding on target and we played the hands like our lives depended on it. We came in first! First out of all those players! We got 62.30% and 1.87 points. 

I was so proud of us the glow stayed with me all afternoon and evening. That night I was watching a movie in which the main character said a line that threatened to douse it. He said:

"A man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing however, elicits much wisdom."

I pooh-poohed that nonsense until the following week when we didn't even get on the board. It was then I saw the sagacity in those words and I was glowing again - this time with wisdom. 








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