I took Monday away from the golf course and returned to the bridge table after a long layoff. As there is no golf news from Monday, I think I can drip in a bit of nostalgia and maybe talk about a hand or two.
David, my friend from the UK, took up bridge late in life and still is on the path upwards towards enlightenment. He is leaving the country soon and the Monday game in Livermore represented a chance to get together another time before his exit.
I've never played in the Monday morning game as when I was playing I was also working, so a 10 am game was not in the cards (ha ha!). I think the game has moved around a bit over the years. It's currently in the "IOOF" building on First Street. Which was built in 1874 and the IOOF guys started their gang in 1873.
The block along First Street where we find the building, is doing some construction and if you are early enough, you can find a parking place behind the building, which is scarce. Assuming a construction vehicle does not crush your car during hte game, this leaves you a short walk to the back stairs. Up to the second story we go and there are a number of rooms there for dining and meetings and you also find some strange hallways and small rooms. They are no doubt useful for arcane lodge type activities. Has the layout changed over the 100 plus years? Hard to tell, this was my first time in the building.
One the street front, the building hosts a couple of small businesses. There is a small front door with label of "IOOF" on it. Old pictures of Livermore typically show this building. It's gathered a number of fellow buildings over the years and no longer stands alone and proud on this central section of the Livermore downtown area. And how odd do you have to be to be an "Odd" fellow?
Back in the day, I was considered to be one of the younger players at my various "home" clubs. Well, that has not changed! This was an old crowd. I felt pretty spry. It's been about 20 years since I played in the Pleasanton - Livermore valley. I think I recognized two folks. What happened to my peer group? I know a bunch have passed on to the great table in the sky, but I did think I'd recognize a few. Maybe the day bridge crowd was different than the one I hung with?
David and I finished almost at 50%, sadly I have to round to get there, but we were rally close. And a casual survey of the hands revealed not too many disasters. Oh, we had to guess a bit on a couple of hands as we've never spent any time working through the details of the bidding and there are always some strange things that come up. But we worked our way through the game and got the last sit out, and ate some of the snacks and had a nice time.
I was going to put a couple of hands in this post, but to my amazement, I don't have a head crowded with the hands. And, this is important, in the night following the game, no bridge dreams! This is nice and unexpected. Even with my 20 year layoff I still get the occasional bridge dream. They are not very pleasant and I do not look forward to them.
So all in all it was fun to see an old friend or two, try to figure out some problems and get a bit of time in with David.
Tuesdays and Thursdays have opened up as Phil, who has the membership at Wente, has gone back to work for the Summer. Pickleball may fill those slots. I played today and then went to the golf course. I felt rusty. Just goes to show that taking a day off is just not a good idea. I got behind a foursome and was able to do some practicing. I have a tee time tomorrow. And I've ordered a Gravity Grip! I'll talk about that down the road...
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