That picture brings me back. It is just outside my old bungalow and under that tree is where my Dad spent his weekends. The big hot Gin games were played there with all his buddies and of course on Saturday night the table was there with all the "goodies" for the crowd. Jeez! is that picture amazing or what?
Those Gin games had huge impact on me. I loved to watch those guys. It's the one card game I truly mastered and loved due to that tree. The dads were great, as long as we didn't react and stayed quiet we could watch, learn and enjoy
Those card games were more like rituals than games. It was an integral activity that happened from one end of the colony to the next. Rain or shine.
I can hear the shuffling decks right now. I can see the scorekeepers sheet, accurate to a micro-point. I see rocks sitting on the decks preventing them from being blown away. I see zippos , empty beer cans doubling as ashtrays, occasional 'lite cursing' and more.
I always knew when to 'hit' my father up for ice cream money. Always at the gin game . He would'nt dare saw no in front of his friends , even if he was winning or losing.. On a 'good' day we'd go to the Hillside, on a great day , the Skytop.
Close your eyes and imagine
6 Comments:
At 4/21/2006 10:32 AM ,
Mitch said...
That picture brings me back. It is just outside my old bungalow and under that tree is where my Dad spent his weekends. The big hot Gin games were played there with all his buddies and of course on Saturday night the table was there with all the "goodies" for the crowd. Jeez! is that picture amazing or what?
At 4/21/2006 10:49 AM ,
augie said...
Those Gin games had huge impact on me. I loved to watch those guys. It's the one card game I truly mastered and loved due to that tree. The dads were great, as long as we didn't react and stayed quiet we could watch, learn and enjoy
At 4/22/2006 6:36 PM ,
Rob said...
Those card games were more like rituals than games. It was an integral activity that happened from one end of the colony to the next. Rain or shine.
I can hear the shuffling decks right now. I can see the scorekeepers sheet, accurate to a micro-point. I see rocks sitting on the decks preventing them from being blown away. I see zippos , empty beer cans doubling as ashtrays, occasional 'lite cursing' and more.
At 4/22/2006 11:53 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Yeah! The cursing was usually at us kids for breaking their concentration! Was it 10 cents a point, a quarter a box???
At 4/24/2006 10:12 PM ,
Rob said...
I always knew when to 'hit' my father up for ice cream money. Always at the gin game . He would'nt dare saw no in front of his friends , even if he was winning or losing.. On a 'good' day we'd go to the Hillside, on a great day , the Skytop.
At 4/25/2006 6:21 AM ,
Mitch said...
Hey Rob
I loved the Skytop. You could see it from the Thruway nestled among the trees....always enjoyed the view from there.
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