But at least not under the tables on Thursday morning
at the Anchor Bar at Maple and Sweet Home Roads in Amherst, my first game in
nearly two weeks after a trip to Washington, D.C., for a wedding.
This was Third Thursdays, a non-ACBL-sanctioned game
directed by my dear friend and sometimes partner Judie Bailey that I never
expected to play in. Back when it met at a country club, it was ladies
only. Lately, however, a gentleman has been invited to fill out an empty chair
and on Wednesday, while I was homeward bound and stopped at a Starbucks in
Clark's Summit, Pa., Judie texted an invitation to me.
Indeed, I was not the only gentleman who helped fill
up four tables in the side dining room at the Anchor Bar. There were three of
us. Entry fee was $1. Judie told me to sit anywhere East-West. I'd never met
the attractive white-haired woman across from me, Judy McDermid, one of three
Judys present, but we quickly determined that we could do things like 14-30,
asking for key cards in a slam attempt.
Before play, a waitress took orders for lunch and when
food came out, we took a break after the second round. Music from the
restaurant's sound system sifted into our area. Elsewhere sports channels
played on flat-screen TVs, a few patrons sat at the main bar and, in the
regular dining room, there was a group of Red Hat ladies having lunch.
In all, we played 16 boards in four rounds. Aggressive
me, I took the bid on at least half of them and was nailed for minus 1,100 on
the second hand when I went after a 5 Spade sacrifice. Sitting North and
doubling was Paula Kotowski, who reminded me how I kept her from getting her
final points for Ruby Life Master 17 years ago when I failed to return a card
for her to trump. She was delighted to inflict some revenge. Down 5. But was it
a bottom board? The scoring slips later showed that North-South could take 12
tricks.
Even so, this was not a slam-bidding crowd. Mostly,
they were social players familiar with some of the modern bridge basics. Nevertheless,
there were a few that I know from the clubs – the aforementioned Paula
Kotowski, Florence Boyd, Dorothy May, Judy Kaprove and Paula Salamone. I hadn't
seen Paula Salamone since before the pandemic. We greeted each other with a
hug.
No results right away. Judie let me know with an email
on Friday and it turned out that we club players carried the day. Judy McDermid
and I tied for first with Paula Kotowski and her partner with a 29. Figuring a
maximum of three match points on 16 hands, that would translate to 60.41%.
Paula Salamone and Flo Boyd and their respective partners tied for second with
28, or 58.33%.
