Parents, Relatives, and Bridge

Tal and I are off to my parents in Beit Shemesh for Shavuot. My aunt and uncle will also be there.

My aunt and uncle and parents played Bridge before I was born. My father took it somewhat seriously, but he was never a tournament level player - though he got upset with everyone else's mistakes as if he was. The other three were casual, social players.

My parents taught my brothers and me how to play as each of us turned four or five years old. By the time we were ten or so, any of us could outplay any of them. My dad eventually gave up playing because it led to too many fights. We can still rope him in occasionally, for short sessions, if he doesn't partner with my mom. My mom's playing has deteriorated somewhat, though she's still quite intelligent; other than for the made up modern Scrabble words, she's a tough Scrabble opponent.

Both of my brothers excelled beyond me in Bridge. David became tournament level, while Ben became even better and actually won or placed in several tournaments. Partially, I didn't excel as much because I also enjoyed playing other games as much as Bridge, while both of them thought, and think, that Bridge is the only game to play when you've got four people.

It's probably too late to teach my parents and aunt and uncle new games. My mom has tried Settlers of Catan and It's Alive, but both without much enthusiasm. She prefers Sorry, Scrabble, and Progressive Rummy. But I would like to see how they fare with something like Tichu or Mu. Heh. Or RoboRally.