Aug 25 2008
Bridge
Contract bridge that is. Not surprisingly, I found bridge on the cruise. Jeanette gave an hour long lesson in the morning and an actual 2-hour play followed in the mid afternoon. The most players we had were 12 one afternoon. All of them are to be retirees or around that age.
I was often asked how long have I been playing. Actually I don’t play often enough to warren as how many years I have labored in this game. I first played it more than 20 years ago. But that certainly don’t qualify or quantify me as play for more than 20 years. Jeanette pays a discounted fee to cruise in exchange for her to hold bridge game almost daily (she’ll be sailing back to Vancouver on the same ship). She has different partners play with different couples. When she heard that I was onced scolded in a club, couple of other players joined in unsion to mention the importance of experienced players helping and nurturing newbies, in order for this game to survive. Same boat as classic music. “Being snobbish isn’t getting us any new blood.” That, sounds very familiar - like the classic music, although I never thought the bridge players are snobbish lot.
Years ago, while working at the UN, one day my coworker and I decided to play at our bridge club. We both love the game but inexperienced and couldn’t find anyone, actually two more people to play with. When we got to the the club, we found people were rather serious. But what the heck, we stayed and played. One of our opponents were two older ladies, well dressed with coiffed hairs, lower end of the Park Avenue dwellers. I had a Royal Flush and couldn’t wait long enough to tell my partner: I opened 3 hearts, 
(Most pairs played it NT - was the duplicate game). Obviously we failed to make it. They both seized the opportunity and scolded us. We were stunned at their tone. So we both cried (not really, but you got the picture) to the club president. He looked at the ladies, “oh, no .. not them again .. I’ll make sure you don’t play them again ..” He was of Indian decent and really good looking. The most players that night (we only went once) were in their 30s and 40s, geeky Indians.
I hardly know the terms. But Jeanette was very accommodating and gone out of her way to teach me. One of the ladies at the table mentioned that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have endowed a small sum, trying to entice school kids to learn the game. I long know that the pair are avid bridge players. And I’m kind of surprised that it took them this long to actually trying to popularize the game they both love so much and that rarely makes headline news.
Few old neighbors have bridge games once a week. I just don’t see any younger ones to have a game going on regularly, finding time seems secondary. Bridge anyone? I know there is Internet bridge. But, but .. ..