Article 8X98 by Richard Pavlicek
Article 8X98 by Richard Pavlicek
| Final Stats | Bidding Polls | Play Contests | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events | 36 | 36 | 72 |
| Locations | 162 | 160 | 166 |
| Entries | 37319 | 26626 | 63945 |
| Persons | 6283 | 5351 | 7187 |
| Average Score | 46.08 | 39.66 | 43.41 |
Como Esta?
The May 2001 bidding poll was the first occurrence of a bizarre coincidence. I titled the event, “Catch a Falling Star,” after the song made famous by Perry Como, as a clue to the location of Como, Italy. Curiously, the song became a #1 Hit the same year (1958) as the tournament, so it was the perfect choice. All was going fine until I read the shocking news that Perry Como died (May 12, 2001) and in Florida only about 50 miles north of where I live. Is that eerie, or what? I swear, I never touched him! This left me dazed the rest of the month, but it was surely only a coincidence. Nonetheless, I had great reservations about my choice to use Sean Connery for a James Bond theme in June. Was his life on the line, too? Whew! He made it, but my concern was unwarranted. Nobody else could eliminate Agent 007, so why should I be the first.
Triskaidekaphobia
Bridge players are accustomed to the number 13, as it’s the basis for all hand and suit patterns. Fear of this number is almost unheard of in the bridge world, although a few of my students have made me wonder. Was it a coincidence that the tragic September 2001 attack on our country came during my 13th event? Perhaps more eerie was my prophetic title, “When the Chips Are Down.” Of course, the title was related to casinos, being a clue to the tournament location in Monte Carlo — I wish to make this perfectly clear, lest I be visited by Homeland Security. Scary. My birthday is September 10, and we had just spent a wonderful evening at my favorite restaurant… then Black Tuesday. Despite the fear and sadness, bridge players regrouped, and the series continued.
Uncork the Champagne
In August 2002, I decided to correlate the idea of defeating slam contracts with baseball, or more specifically, catching a deep fly ball hit by one of the game’s respected power hitters, Sammy Sosa. “Slammin’ Sammy Goes Deep” proved to be a fun event, especially because of some curious terms that are shared by bridge and baseball; e.g., grand slams, doubles, squeeze plays and sacrifices. Foul! About 10 months later it proved that Sammy was not so respectable after all, as he was caught red-handed using an illegal “corked” bat. I suppose that’s no worse than the steroid scandal of more recent times, but it brought up an interesting question: Should I rescore the event based on foul play? Nah, nobody cried foul. If necessary I’ll say my awards were tainted by a foul lie of the Cubs, er, cards.
The Mummy Returns
Another remarkable coincidence occurred in June of 2003, when I ran my “Valley of the Kings” play contest. The Egyptian theme was inspired by my penchant for those old “Mummy” movies — aah, the tana leaves; the visions of Kharis limping off into the night carrying his “princess.” As a child I remember having nightmares about these films; but I digress. While my contest was under way, a surprising news story broke: The mummy of Queen Nefertiti, supposedly the most beautiful woman of ancient times, was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. Was I a prophet? No, I hardly think so; but I will prophesy one thing: Any woman whose name ends with titi ought to be beautiful. Smack!
Not Falcon Serious!
For my June 2004 contest, “The Falcon Is Found!” I spun a wild tale about the infamous Black Bird and its treacherous history, culminating in my recovery from a Gypsy, who was unaware of its value. The contest posed only spade contracts in honor of Sam Spade, the fictional detective in Dashiell Hammett’s, “The Maltese Falcon” (Humphrey Bogart’s classic role). I doubt there is any connection, but next month while we attended the New York City Nationals, our home was robbed! This was no laughing matter, as we lost many precious things, including our computers. Fortunately, I had my laptop with me as usual, else my life works would have been gone as well. They even took a fire safe, which had no valuables but only important papers and CD backups. Oh well; we recovered (I think we’re still married even without our license), but I can’t stop thinking about that $28 million Falcon, which I wrote was sitting on my mantle. Could anyone be that naive? After three years, I can almost laugh about it.In case the burglars are reading (or anyone else with the I.Q. of a toad), my January 2007 story “Diamonds in the Ruff” is fictional. That means not true, you idiots, so stay out of my falcon house!
Wilma and Deja Vu
In October 2005, I was preparing my November poll, “Fair Winds on the Plate,” and needed to concoct a story to justify its title. “Fair Winds” actually translates to Buenos Aires (pictured at right), the tournament location, and “on the Plate” refers to the River Plate, or Rio de la Plata. I noticed on a weather report that Hurricane Wilma was headed our way, so I decided I would be hired by the National Weather Service to test plate glass during the storm (fair winds on the plate, no?) and my bogus tale concluded with the glass being shattered by a flying two-by-four. Argh! Eight days later we were hit by the worst hurricane since Andrew in ‘92, losing every tree and most of our roof shingles. If that wasn’t enough, one of our storm awnings broke loose and shattered a window. Is that deja vu, or what?
New Life and Farewell
On a personal basis, the series had its ups and downs. Certainly, the brightest moment was the birth of my only grandchild, Seth, in February 2004. Rich has become a devoted, caring father, which means less free time, so our online bridge sessions are rare; but having such a wonderful grandson is true happiness. Seth is so bright; looking through a book of dinosaurs at age 2, he would point to each one and announce, “brontosaurus,” or “triceratops.” Say what? Sure kid, whatever you say. Unfortunately, Rich and Lisa live far away in California, but they visit two or three times a year (we used to go there but can no longer travel).In November 2005, I had to bid farewell to my Mom, though at 96 she certainly lived a full life. She herself made it very clear we were “not to mourn but only remember,” as she quoted from one of her favorite poems, “happy times, and laughing times, and bright and sunny days.” The picture at right, taken in June 2005, shows four Pavlicek generations: Rich, Edith, me and Seth. (Seth is the shortcake, LOL.) Alas, a bridge team that will never be.
World’s Best Wife
Finally, I must reflect on my wonderful wife of 38 years. Until recent times in illness, Mabel has devoted her life to my happiness and well-being. In the early years of this series, she eagerly entered each bidding poll (sometimes in play contests with coaxing). One time I wrote in jest, “Sorry, but I couldn’t stop the respondent who placed 42nd. I tried everything. I took away her mouse and keyboard, but she kept buying new ones. I hot-wired her computer, switching her CPU from Intel to Mattel; even that didn’t work, though her entry was mysteriously signed Barbie.” Once I even removed Mabel’s name from the overall standings (she agreed) because her high ranking might cause people to think she had unfair advantage. Hardly; she was an excellent player in her own right (Diamond LM) and even taught me a few things — I mean, besides not to double her if I wanted dinner. While she is no longer able to understand bridge, she finds ways to help me to this day. For example, if I need to select a picture or background to use, she’ll render a valued opinion. Indeed, she chose the sunset picture below.
Copyright © 2007 Richard Pavlicek