I got interested in duplicate bridge in 1980. My grandmother played into her nineties. She encouraged me to play. I played a lot of bidding card games growing up, but never bridge.

I went to a duplicate bridge game in Pittsfield, MA and kibitzed a while before I got the courage to play. I played for about a year in MA then life sort of interfered with work and my interest in dog training. When I retired in 2013, I started playing more regularly.

I play mostly in southeastern PA 7 months of the year and Tallahassee FL in the winter. In June of 2016, I had less than 4 gold points and did not think there would be much of a chance of progressing to life master. I have enjoyed playing with a number of good partners who have been willing to teach me. Southeastern PA vicinity has provided many regionals so that I now only need about 6 gold points towards my life master.

I absolutely love the game and play a lot on BBO. My duplicate bridge partners have become good friends and I feel truly blessed to have returned to the game.