Running Joke Becomes Merchandise?

Carrie and I play a series of three hands of rummy most days. We've played so often that we've seen some highly unlikely probabilities play out.

It's become something of a running joke that the deck does crazy things.

"I hate when the deck predicts the future," is my code when I discard a card and the immediately draw something it would've linked with the next turn.....so I can't discard it and the card it would've worked with is already down!

"The deck hates me" and "The deck giveth and the deck taketh" are all parts of the vernacular. 

Once, I lost a game against Shane where he flashed his whole hand. I had perfect information and figured I'd teach him a quick lesson. But then I watched as he drew the exact card he needed each and every turn. My lesson became a rapid defeat!

At some point, I coined a phrase. Carrie laughed and she designed a shirt.

I wouldn't be surprised if she's already designing a whole line.

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Cards!

We've played a lot of cards over the break.

The main game we play is rummy. We play it at least 10 times more than the next game! Shane even plays with us some.

King's corner is the second most common and we've played several rounds of gin rummy. Carrie plays some Klondike Solitaire (Freecell is far superior in my opinion!).

We've developed some running jokes with all the games we've played.

There was one series of games where the first card off the deck was the 5 of spades three times in a row! What were the odds!?

I started to drop the 5 of spades in the pile as quickly as I could "to start the game" and it became a running joke.

The 8 of hearts has a crease in the card that's not visible, but jumps to the forefront when drawn.

Shane is ace hungry. He always wants the aces!

It's funny how the little narratives start the more you play something. I'd love to play more board games, but cards are so simple to shuffle and deal out they will always have a place at our table.

If only we could get one more player.....then we could play hearts and my favorite, Spades!

PokeHearth Night Out

Last week, Shane opted not to go to Pokemon League night. I was pretty surprised. This week, I took him straight after school. I needed gas and Costco is only a mile down the road from the game store (side note: prices are up 11 cents to $2.04 after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston).

Sadly, there weren't any other kids around. With the start of school, the usual crew must be busy. I played a quick game with Shane myself.

To show my love and support the game store, I picked up a new copy of Exploding Kittens for Carrie on the way out.

We didn't go straight home, though. I saw there was a Hearthstone gathering at a local beer hall. Shane and I went to see what it was. He was the only kid, but everyone was kind to him. Shane got to help one guy play against "the boss," and then got to look at things from "the boss's" computer he'd been playing against!

We only stayed a short time. Like I said, Shane was the only kid. Everyone was welcoming, but he has a set bed time (especially on a school night).

A quick confession:

On the way out, we saw a man begging from cars at a stop sign. He saw us and asked for some change or cash. He said he was stranded in Cville and needed to get to Lousia (the county east of ours). I had no cash and offered to buy him some food from where we'd just stepped out of if he was hungry. He started to accept, but then insisted he needed cash to help him get home. What would food do? I pointed out the Region 10 services building was next to the beer hall and there was a grocery store down the way (pay phones, atm, etc, plus closer to downtown). We shook hands and he went on his way.

When we got back to the car, I felt it was important to show Shane my wallet was empty and say a prayer for the man. If the man was telling the truth, I'm sorry I did not do more for him. Part of me hopes he was lying, but that's selfishly for my own conscience. If he had gone towards Region 10 (Open 24 hours - I checked), asked where a nearby church/police station was, or accepted the offer to sit and eat I would have been more convinced of his plight. I want to be generous, but I don't want to be foolish and aid lying or addictive behavior either.

Still, I might have handed over cash if I had any just in case it was the truth. Asking for money normally indicates some sort of problem and the world needs more kindness. I didn't, so it's a moot point.

Pokemon Night #3

Tonight marked our third visit to the Pokemon League. I guess that makes us members. I recognized Samuel and Liam.

They passed out some free cards and made Shane's night! He was beside himself with joy. We haven't talked about deckbuilding yet, but he was ready to start with his new Oricorio.

I bet he begs extra hard to go again next week.

Pokemon League

Carrie went to Dover. Shane and I went to the Friendly Local Gaming Store. By the grace of God, a little boy named Samuel who liked Pokemon showed up right after Shane and I. He was 7.

The two talked Pokmeon and oogled over cards for an hour. I talked to the dad some, but he was on a mission. He'd clearly been researching and was looking for certain cards for his child's decks. We did talk about league night on Thursdays. He told me that there had been kids near Shane's age whenever he and Samuel showed.

Side note: I bought a booster pack for Shane, but told him he had to earn it somehow. He practiced writing eagerly.

Shane and I went to Pokemon League Thursday. Shane played two games. First, against a new challenger...

...and then Samuel showed up.

Shane played him second.

Takeaways:

1 - Shane needs to practice listening. However, he's not the only kid.

2 - He did really well! Shane went 2-0. I made sure the games were fair, but wandered away at times and let Shane make his own choices. There were a few times I bit my fist and cringed, but he's definitely got the basics down. Experience will teach strategy.

3 - There were a few rules we had wrong. There's nothing like going somewhere to learn more.

4 - Prejudice: We all have it. It's a matter of whether we admit to it or not. Go somewhere new and look around to see who you think looks the most friendly and that you'd find the most comfortable to talk to. What do they look like? How did you pick them? Now, are there any people you would hesitate to talk to? I have to admit that I looked a little askance at the adults playing Pokemon, at first. I thought, "It's a kid's game. I would feel odd going to a league night I knew 6 and 7 year olds were going to." .....and then I bought a used board game about magic knights. That filled my hypocrite quota for the day. It was a good reminder to be vigilant of my own thoughts and attitudes. Jesus died for all. There was a great quote on the radio, "You may be better off than someone, but you're better than no one."

How our day ended

Twas a normal Thursday.

I had to stop for gas on the way home and remembered there was a Pokemon league at the FLGS Thursdays. I asked Shane if he wanted to pop in for a second.

Obviously, he said, "Yes!"

We only stayed a few minutes. Most of the players were much older than I expected and I didn't want Shane grabbing or calling out other people's cards ("WHOA! You have a..." "Shhh! You can't do that!"). There were a few kids around Shane's age, though.

Maybe we'll go back some day.

New Pokemon Cards

Shane had a blue day at school!.....which was perfect timing, because the Pokemon cards I ordered showed up, too. 

There were three themed decks. I told Shane he could have one for his blue day. The others would each cost a blue day as well (but he'd get for summer regardless).

Shane was ready. He wanted to play!

I put the trainer decks together and played him in a round after dinner.

Raheem knocked and came in to watch the finale. I suspect Shane didn't shuffle, shuffled badly, or cheated because his initial hand was all the evolutions for his big guy, but no power cards to do anything. I felt a little bit bad about beating his new deck. He'll appreciate it when he finally wins one, though.

I hope Shane has another blue day tomorrow. More cards make it more interesting for me, too.

Cards

Carrie and I have been on a Rummy kick. We even played on our date night. She's the official shuffler. She just kicked my butt twice in a row before I wrote this, too. Jama (the card shark I'm descended from) would be proud....of Carrie, not me.

Battle Damage

Looks like I won't be using those scrabbles cards again. Shane enjoyed shoving them into the table and then pulling up the lid, so they'd fall in.