Goodbye & Hello

Goodbye, Columbus! That was the title of a popular Philip Roth collection of short stories of the late 1950s, with Goodbye, Columbus! being the lead novelette. The title of the book is derived from a song by the class of graduating seniors from Ohio State University as they leave the Ohio capital … [Read more...]

The Bermuda Triangle

The annual world championship of bridge is called the Bermuda Bowl because the event started out there in 1950 – and returned to the island twice more for the 25th and 50th anniversaries in 1975 and 2000. But all other years, it has been staged somewhere else around the world, from China to India to … [Read more...]

The Partnership Desk

At last week’s Orlando Winter Regional, as a member of the board of the Central Florida Unit (240) that stages the tournament, I felt it was my duty to volunteer any needed services and I was asked, along with my partner Christine, to staff the Partnership Desk for the last three days, which gave us … [Read more...]

No fear!

  A friend of mine once said that he likes bridge so much because anyone has a chance. If a decent club tennis player got on the court with Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, he wouldn’t win a single point; he’d lose every game 0-40 and the match 6-0, 6-0. However, in bridge, some hands just … [Read more...]

The best PASS I ever made

Various clubs in Florida, which probably has more bridge tournaments than any other part of the country, are experimenting with different formats to combat declining tournament attendance. To be sure, total tournament attendance is still up because there are more tournaments, and Regionals at Sea … [Read more...]

In Praise of Pre-empts

Personally I hate moving – I’ve done way too much of it during my life and don’t plan on ever moving again – but it must be said that a change of venue is good for some things. Take the Jacksonville bridge tournament, traditionally held just before or around the 4th of July holiday and the smallest … [Read more...]

No-Trump Country

As is our custom during our travels, my partner Christine and I mixed bridge and sightseeing at the New England Monster Mountain Regional bridge tournament in Nashua, NH, in late June, but this time we encountered some glitches in both our bridge and in the touristy things we like to do. For … [Read more...]

Director, please!

In a month or so I’ll get a letter in the mail from the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) telling me if I’ve passed the test to become a club director. I took it this past Monday (1/29/2018) just before the start of the Lone Star Regional bridge tournament in Houston, TX, and I guess I can say … [Read more...]

What a Gem!

She did it! My partner Christine made Ruby Life Master in the rankings of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), going over the 1,500 MasterPoints mark. She did it at the first Sunday (11/5/2017) game of the winter season at our home club, the Vero Beach Bridge Center. In Vero, where we have … [Read more...]

Remember the Alamo

T.J. Singer, one of the regular tournament directors in South Florida employed by the American Contract Bridge League, had told us that he was going to the 4th of July Regional in San Antonio, TX, under a new ACBL “directors exchange” program to let them see how things are done in different parts of … [Read more...]