Bits & pieces

Just got up. Was up earlier but went back to bed. Will do this post and then take a shower and head on down to Pearland, where I'll meet up with Beth and we'll go somewhere for a late lunch ... ... maybe Galveston, maybe Kemah, who knows?

That'll be nice. Haven't seen her since February, when I drove her to the airport to take off on what turned out to be a very long business trip. Have spoken with her several times since she returned, of course, but it'll be good to see her in person.


News from my daughter yesterday. While hiking in the woods in New England, she stepped down hard wrong on her left foot and broke a major bone. Thank goodness her husband was with her to assist on what then seemed like, I'm sure, a four times as long half mile back out of the woods.

They're flying into Houston later today, and she has an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon Monday morning to have it X-rayed again (I would think!), set and taken care of. Meanwhile, she's in a temporary cast and has visions of her whole summer being ruined, a pin having to be put in her foot, etc. You know, all those awful thoughts one can have when bad things happen? We (as least I do!) often imagine a worst case scenario. That's probably a good thing, actually. Then we're somewhat-fully prepared for the ultimate reality.


Bridge-wise, I only played once this week, and that was Thursday night with my newest mentee. (It was our third time playing together.) We won our direction with a huge game - 63%. He's playing two sessions today in a 299-er tournament at the Bridge Club of Houston, which is located on the FAR north side of town. I'll be thinking of him all day long, and sending as many 'lucky' and 'kill' thoughts as I possibly can his way. Can hardly wait to see how he does!

He's a lot of fun to work with. He's relatively new to the game, but he's taken it up like a little kid with a brand new toy. He's not afraid to bid his hand. While he knows he might fall, it really doesn't matter because it's all so exciting for him. As his mentor, it's almost like trying to keep a wild bronco tightly reined. (Probably not the best simile, but I'm a little parched for time here.)

However, like an adult he researches, reads, practices, asks questions and is trying out all sorts of new (for him) bids. He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure!


The only article I've published for the Examiner in the last two weeks was the one I linked above. I'll be spending a great deal of time the rest of this weekend working on the fourth in my "defense" series. The focus of this next article will be "What card?"

You have probably noted, if you had clicked on the link above and checked out any of my other published articles, that I still do not have my 'act' fully together - particularly in re formatting and linking. I promise that I WILL, and will announce same with appropriate bells and whistles.

I now have nine subscribers. Where did they all come from? I have NO idea, but I'm glad they're there! I hope they will 'stick with me' in these struggling early stages of my Examiner authorship, and invite any and all of you who have not yet done so to become a subscriber. How do you do that? Well, you simply go to my home page, click on to where it says "Subscribe to Email" and the rest is 'history' (after you fill out the form that appears, that is).

You will receive an e-mail notification each time I publish a new article. Be sure to click on to where it says "Read more" (or some such). You should NOT be placed on any unwanted or spam-type mailing lists ... ... I want to be the first to know if you are, OK?


Other bridge-type news? I finally met with a husband/wife combination this past week for our first-ever bridge lesson. We're scheduled to meet again July 7th. I know that several of my readers are themselves teachers, and so each of you will fully understand when I say that there is nothing that makes you learn your subject better than teaching it!


Gotta go. The shower beckons, and I've taken (again!) much too long with this post. Expect another from me Monday, when I'll be doing a baseball recap for our 'club'. Meanwhile, keep the powder dry and take no prisoners!