Brady vs. TGO
If you read my last story you know that I asked for your help in judging a poetry writing contest. I’d like to thank all of you who read and responded. I appreciate those of you who read and chose to let others decide the outcome. If you didn’t read it, shame on you. I’ve posted it below for your review. Please understand the polls are closed. No late arriving votes will be counted. If this upsets you, just think how you’re going to feel when your unrequested mail-in-ballot doesn’t get counted on November 3rd. But I digress.
In short, Brady’s poem won. I think much of his backing was more about me not winning than his personal worthiness, but none-the-less, he won. I would like to sincerely thank the person who voted for me. Without your support, I would have been wiped-out.
TGO vs. Nana
Ruth and I play two headed Euchre almost every day. We play directly after sharing a meal, which means we play up to three games a day.
When we were first married we played Gin Rummy. I beat her every game. We played for a couple of years, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t beat me. There were several close ones, but she just couldn’t get the best of me. One day, she finally prevailed, and that’s the last day we played. She won, and she quit. That was over forty-five years ago.
Euchre is another story. We’ve been playing in streaks since the kids moved out. That’s been over twenty years. In all those years we’ve skunked each other once. (For non-Euchre players, a skunk is a shutout. One player scores 10 while the opponent has nothing.) She has been complaining of late that she can’t beat me. With that in mind I offered up a challenge.
We started playing “stick the dealer” about a month ago. Sticking the dealer requires every hand to be played. It also changes the strategy a bit. After a few days with that format, I offered up a second challenge. “How about playing for $1.00 a game. We’ll save the money and go out for a nice dinner.” She consented.
My friend, Jim, and I agreed that money was a way of keeping score. When gambling is involved, accumulating money is the best measure of success.
This morning I suggested that we continue the competition, and the accumulation of the money, until our fiftieth wedding anniversary. We’ll be married fifty years on September 11, 2021. We started our little cash competition on August 8th. As of this morning she’s placed $18.00 in the pot, and I have contributed $28.00. I’m down $10.00 with 380 days to go. At our current rate of play, we’ll have a grand total of $1,074 when our fiftieth rolls around.
I’ll let you know how things shake out and where we decide to go to dinner.