Getting A Bridge Class Going

It looks as though the sisters will be doing it for themselves this time. I am still being challenged to find people to play bridge with, who are not very advanced players. I talked with a gentleman, Bob, who runs a bridge center an hour away, and he said I should try to start a class of my own, so everyone in it is at the same level. It sounds like I will probably be doing that. Trouble is, Summer is not a great time to start, since everyone wants to be outside. It may have to wait till September.

In the mean time I can "kibitz." Another great bridge term for watching other people's games. How did that come to be? The definition of the word kibitz is from the Yiddish. It actually means to look on, or to criticize from a distance. But it has mainly been used in-terms of card playing. As Brini Maxwell stated, tarot was derived from Jewish mysticism, and playing cards were developed to hide this intuitive art and form of divination from the inquisition. No wonder the terms or definitions in bridge are derived or influenced from European Jewish culture.

In the near future I hope to get a the class going though. I have a friend who has an art and community education center, just up the road from me, about 5 mls. I'm going to see if she will let me get a class started for the Fall schedule. I think it could be a lot of fun to find out who would like to learn in the neighborhood. There are a lot of folks around here that like to do a lot of things. Maybe they would like to add bridge to their list of fun and social activities that they like to do? Why not?

For the Summer, it looks like I will be doing a lot of kibitzing and studying of the rules. Maybe a little online bridge with an old High School friend, Amanda, who lives out in the Russian River Vally, in California. That should be interesting too. I try to stay off the computer, as much as I can, except for email and writing blogs. I see it as a great source of information and communication, but I don't want to live in-front of it. I enjoy real people too. It would be too easy to just play a bunch of computer bridge, which would defeat the purpose to which my master Michael, asked me to do the club in the first place.

So, tomorrow I am going to go to one of the senior centers in the area, an see what I can learn from my elders. I am told that bridge can keep the mind young, limber and active. I was told by a friend that her mother played bridge into her 90's and her mind was as sharp and clear as a 20 year-old. Actually, it could be debated how sharp or clear a 20's year-olds mind is, but that's another conversation. Too many hormones getting in the mix. I am prepared for some characters though. I love that the older you get, the less you seem to care what other people think about you. We'll see if these observations hold true for my soon to be bridge teachers, and partners.