Bridge Blog 482: The greener grass of home

          It was not a happy morning Friday at the Airport Bridge Club. The threat of the season’s first big lake-effect snow hung over everybody who ventured in. And so did the absence of club manager Bill Finkelstein, who, we learned, was hospitalized with a bowel obstruction. In fact, he’d undergone surgery overnight.

          So when substitute director Mike Silverman figured it was time to get the 10 a.m. game going at about 10:10, we had 4 ½ tables, not enough for a full-fledged STaC game. Instead it would be what they call a “small game,” with the potential for fewer district-wide points.

          The best players in the room, Bev Cohen and Judi Marshall, decided they did not want to play for peanuts, got up, announced they were going over to the Bridge Center of Buffalo, and left for where they figured the grass would be greener and the silver points more abundant. Indeed, the Bridge Center had a full-fledged STaC game – 11 ½ pairs. And did Bev and Judi win the big points? They were fifth in the A strat with a 49.54% game and got .37 of a point.

          Meanwhile, I was supposed to play with Mike Silverman, but because he was directing and because there were people who needed partners, I was paired with Barbara Libby, one of the best players in the room after Bev and Judi left.

Barbara proved to be excellent company and I tried to rein in my wilder instincts. The result? We won the morning game with 57.94% and were tops in the district (the only small game in the district), getting 2.33 points. In the afternoon, 5 ½ pairs showed up and it was a full-fledged game. Barbara and I didn’t fare quite as well (55.56%) but scratched nonetheless. And we made the list of district winners – fifth in B for another 1.11 points.