WWOD?

Overheard
"If Owen were here, what would he say? NEVER GIVE UP!"

Who
Me, to Alex.

Where
My second CBP-OCC Poker Night, at Ellen's.*

Response
[pensive] "He'd say never give up. I'm in for a dime." And with that, Alex went in for a dime, and reaped at least half the pot (5 hours, several beers, and probably half a pizza by myself in to the night, I don't remember exactly which game we were playing). The Tao of Owen never fails.

As noted below, in my only other post, I do love playing cards. From traditional games of Uno and War, to the overnight camp favorite Spit, and the Munster High School Speech and Debate Team favorite, Egyptian Ratscrew**, since the time I could count, I have enjoyed cards. And now that there is actual betting involved, instead of a brief triumph over some poor tweenage girl on a cabin floor (marred of course by the dull back pain Spit elicits, it can really be a physical game), all the better.

Is Owen a friend of mine? I wish. Owen is actually a one year-old dehydrated baby hippo, who got stranded from his herd. When rescued by Kenyans, and taken to a nature preserve, or conservatory, or park (is there a difference? are those all relevant words?), Owen, the lovable scamp he is, lumbered up to Mzee, a tortoise. Reports of Mzee's age vary, but he is certainly over 100, and possibly 120. A real-life "Are You My Mother?" ("No, I'm a 120 year-old male tortoise, but I'll take care of you.). The unlikely duo is doing well, by all accounts. Owen truly epitomizes the Successory I turn to most often in tough times.

* Incidentally, Trixie took all(!), and I won the Texas Hold'em tournament, no doubt to the dismay of many, but ensuring my invitation to the next Poker Night, so all can win their money back.
** Of course, when there were adults around, we'd slyly say we were playing "Egyptian." Not that we knew what "Ratscrew" even meant, not that I do now, and not that it could ACTUALLY equal the sum of its parts.

Life skills, coming back to haunt me

Overheard
"But Becka Boo, Bridge is a LIFE skill, you HAVE to learn how to play!"

Who
My grandma, Ga. (So named because my older brother, at 2 years old or so, couldn't muster up the lingual coordination* to say "Grandma." He also brilliantly nicknamed my other grandma "Cookie" because she always held out a cookie for him when she saw him)

My response
"Ga, NO ONE my age plays Bridge. I don't know ONE person. It is NOT a life skill if you never encounter anyone who plays Bridge." Besides, it's pretty hard to take life advice seriously when it's prefaced with "Becka Boo."

When
Oh, I don't know, she used to say this every few months when I was younger, trying to convince me that I would be a social outcast if I didn't learn a game that I considered to be, well, for those of my grandma's generation. Not to insult any bridge players, but you have to admit that the term "Bridge Club" doesn't exactly elicit images of youth and fun to a teenager. I submitted to one lesson, and one visit to Ga's Bridge game "with the girls" in Evanston when I was at Northwestern for college. It may have been the proudest day of her life (and could of course been improved upon had I actually been able to play).

Aftermath
Of course, I am now an adult (they say), and I was asked by a co-worker just this week if I wanted to get a group together to play Bridge occasionally. Jury's still out on whether these co-workers are "my age"** but I agreed, and will have to learn from scratch. Sigh. I do love cards. Silly of me to assume I could sneak through life without joining a Bridge Club. Thanks for trying Ga!

*i dont even know if "lingual coordination" is a thing
** just kidding guys :)

It starts...

Overheard

"You have a blog? I haven't decided which to tell you first--that you're a complete dork, or that you have WAY too much time on your hands."

Who

Krista, law school buddy and constant sanity-checker.