What a difference an equinox makes! Before March 20,
the doldrums were as deep as the snow that wouldn't melt. At the tables, I was
equally barren, mustering a meager 1.26 master points, despite playing almost
every day. Night was better on St. Patty's Day in St.
Catharines, Ont. That wine-fueled session added 0.63.
Then the season changed and, by coincidence, the
Airport Bridge Club started awarding extra points again. On the first day of
spring, Dotty May and I caught an updraft to 61.57%, second overall, 2.19
points.
Sick for the next couple days, I slumped, but things
looked brighter in St. Catharines on Friday. Selina Volpatti and I sailed in
fourth overall with 52.40%, collecting 0.46 of a point.
Saturday partner Denise Slattery, my comrade in
winning those 1.26 points earlier in the month, proved to be good luck again.
Our 53.70% earned us 1.07 point.
Back from Florida, Judie Bailey and I renewed our
collaboration on Monday to the tune of 52.68%, third in the B strat, 0.80 of a
point.
Certainly my fortunes would fail with Usha Khurana
on Tuesday. Our last venture in February netted 40.77%. This time we could do
hardly anything wrong. 60.12%. First overall. 2.63 points.
Ditto with my Wednesday partner June Feuerstein. Our
record this month – 44.91%, 47.50%, 42.26%. Not this time. 57.87%. Third
overall, second in the B strat. 1.36 points.
Could the heat wave continue Thursday with Gay
Simpson, with whom I'd bottomed out at 37.82% a week ago? It did. Until I found
a couple scoring errors, we were first East-West. Even with corrections
dropping us to second, we remained first in the B strat with 55.83% and our
point award was unchanged at 1.93.
What's been happening, someone asked at the end of
the game, when Gay and I still were on top of the standings. My partners, I
said, are getting better.
So is the outlook for the master point races. A week
ago, my 15-point-per-month goal seemed like the impossible dream. Now,
suddenly, I can almost touch it.
No comments:
Post a Comment