Misc World Wide (!) Pairs Game
No Afternoon Game, Friday, June 1
 "Nice Double" |
|
|
| Jim Somma | ||||||
| Saturday, July 19, 2008 | ||||||
|
One of the things that I love about playing duplicate bridge is the characters you meet. One such person was John Cleary who now lives in Brazil with his lovely wife. John organized the first Brooksville Sectional and was an outstanding player who had a ready wit and an acerbic tongue (just ask Tom Madden). Here are a couple of John’s one-liners.
We are playing in New Port Richey, and as we sip coffee waiting for the game to start, players begin to arrive. One woman needs assistance with her wheelchair, one man has a portable respirator, and another hobbles to his seat with the help of a cane. John looks at me and says, “We must be in God’s waiting room.”
They are red, we’re white, and John and I draw our cards for the Wednesday game in Brooksville. After three passes, I open a 17-count 1NT. LHO bids 2  and, without a moment’s hesitation, John doubles. RHO passes and I bid 3NT, figuring that John has spades covered since I only have two small. LHO leads and John tables a 10-count with five spades. John says, “You think my double was for takeout?” OUCH!
A new lady (Mary Ellen Long) moved into my development and we had some success at bridge in New Port Richey. She agreed to play in Spring Hill and we faced John on my left and Barbara Ludwig. I introduce Mary Ellen to them and they kid her about what a tough game it is at Regency Oaks. Barbara opens 1  , I pass, and John bids 3 (a splinter), Mary Ellen and Barbara are totally bewildered, so Barbara rebids her diamonds. John goes into Blackwood, ending in 7 Diamonds. I lead a spade and John tables a 20-count with 5-5 in the minors and no spades. It doesn’t take Barbara long to claim. Mary Ellen’s first deal in Spring Hill and she gets hit with a grand slam. John looks at her and says, “Welcome to duplicate bridge in Spring Hill.”
John was also a great player. For example, I hold:
John loved this story. Playing in the Motor City Classic in Detroit, John and his partners have enough MP’s to qualify for the Bracket I Knockouts on Tuesday. John and his partner face Mike Smolen and Barry Crane (yes, that Barry Crane). On one of the boards, Crane gets into a bad 4  contract (ed. note: all 4-Club contracts are bad). Sitting with a trump stack, John doubles and they score a nifty +300. On Thursday, John and his teammates are leaving a restaurant after dinner. As they head toward the exit, John’s sees Crane sitting in a booth. Crane looks at John and, without missing a beat, says “nice double.” They nearly have to pick John off the floor. Two days and hundreds of deals later and Crane still remembers John. “Nice double” - WOW!
Sincerely, Jim Somma {easycomments}
Only registered users can write comments.
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
||||||
A, | < Prev | Next > |
|---|
