story – Page 33 – ACBL District 4

Betty Duncan – Life Master

I decided to learn to play bridge a little over 10 years ago at the instigation of a good friend and future bridge partner. At the time, I had recently retired from Dupont and keeping my brain stimulated seemed like a really good idea. Fast forward to February of this year, I met the requirements for Life Master. Besides having a love of the game and a passion for learning, I believe the following approach helped me over the years to achieve this milestone.

1). Played “social but serious” bridge with a consistent group of friends and learned much from the experience and comfortable setting.
2). Participated in bridge lessons (Intermediate & Advanced) offered at the Bridge Studio of Delaware (BSD) which were absolutely invaluable!!
3). Actively pursued opportunities to play in sanctioned duplicate games with others at my level (BSD and elsewhere)
4). Played fairly regularly in the stratified Swiss Team games at BSD.
5). Read and consumed many Bridge books and pertinent sections of the Bridge Bulletin
6). Attended numerous lecture sessions by the “pros” (e.g. Seagram, Cohen, Bergen)
7). Played in many Sectionals and 3-4 Regional Tournaments most every year.
8). Purchased Bridge Baron for my Mac and greatly benefitted from playing the hands and using the learning tools.
9). With a partner, engaged a seasoned bridge player for private lessons which focused on opportunities for improvement. 10). Remained committed to the game, was self driven to improve my play, and always had fun!

Peter Hartogensis – Junior Master

My parents were big bridge players in our hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey, particularly my father. When I was 12 years old, my dad said it was time they taught me bridge. They played in a lot of social games, and the persistent problem was that someone would frequently back out at the last moment. I was to be the standby.

With my dad’s teaching, I learned the game well and filled in when needed. I also really liked the intellectual challenge and when I started dating girls, found it was a great “cheap date.” In high school I played in the bridge club and on the bridge team that played against other schools. In college, at Brown University in Providence, RI, there was usually a bridge game going on in the dorm and I was a frequent participant. I went on to law school at Georgetown, in Washington, D.C. With a friend from Brown, I played in the duplicate games around Washington. However, there were a few too many distractions. There was the course work, I clerked with two law firms, we had frequent poker games, and I started seeing this one girl regularly, who did not play bridge. We got married at the end of my second year of law school.

The marriage lasted 18 years and produced two wonderful children, and from them I have 4 grandchildren. Unfortunately no bridge players in the family.

Around 2007 I started dating a girl who did play bridge very well (she was a life master) and we started playing in the ACBL games around Washington, D.C. However, we broke up, and I started dating someone else, a non-bridge player but wonderful tennis player. We won some tennis tournaments together, and in June, 2008 we were married.

In February, 2017 I retired from law practice, we sold our house in the Washington suburbs, and moved to Bethany Beach, Delaware. Our real estate agent was an active bridge player and has introduced me to the local bridge clubs in Bethany and Rehobeth Beach. It is a wonderful activity, great for keeping the mind sharp, and also a good way to make a lot of new friends. I have been playing here now for about a month, and enjoying all of it. We play a good deal of tennis and have joined two local tennis clubs. We are both in our early 70’s, and we want to keep our minds and bodies in good shape for the long haul. Bridge for me is a big part of that.

Janet Johnson – Silver Life Master

I’ve been asked to write an inspiring note on reaching Silver Life Master status. I’ve been digging deep, but coming up empty. Is there a more humbling game than bridge? Just as I’ve mastered a killer convention that will stop Precision players in their tracks, I miss a routine relay. (sigh.) When I started playing competitive bridge, longtime Center City players told me, “First you become a Life Master. Then, you learn to play bridge.” Well, it’s a start, anyway! But those of us addicted to bridge, and to lifelong learning, celebrate the endless conventions to conquer, complex scenarios to unravel, and — maybe best of all — new friends to share our passion. It’s worth the journey!

Marcia Yanoff – Junior Master

Thank you for congratulating me on earning the Junior Master Status. I am a very active person who enjoys challenges, activities which stretch my mind, and interactive relationships I have with others. I have played competitive tennis for years and that has been very satisfactory for me. So I decided several years ago to learn to play bridge as another activity which meets the same criteria. As I became intrigued with the game, I then suggested that my husband learn to also play bridge. He began a little over a year ago, and now we play as a team, if you can call it that (both of us being novices). In all seriousness, we are loving the game, learning together, communicating better, enjoying the mindfulness of the game, and are having fun. We are both competitive and like the interaction with the others and the cognitive stimulation that bridge requires. I am very happy with having reached this first goal and look forward to more bridge in our future since my husband, Jay, is soon retiring. I look forward to reading the monthly ACBL magazine and learn a lot from taking the quizzes and reading other player’s stories. I hope it does not take too long to reach the next goal. I strive to learn as much as I can each time I play this wonderful game.

Laura Rabenold – Junior Master

I have really enjoyed learning this fascinating game of bridge and would especially like to thank Sara Gainey who has been a patient, knowledgeable, supportive, and down-to-earth teacher of our group of learners at Lehigh Valley Active Life on Wednesday mornings and Brookside Country Club in Allentown on Thursday afternoons.

I have made a lot of wonderful new friends through this game, and enjoy the fellowship we have together. My husband and I also organized a “practice game” every Tuesday at our church where we talk about the hands and don’t keep score. That has been a lot of fun.

Thanks to all the mentors in our district who have played in the mentor games Sara plans for us- they are very patient!! And the Swiss game experience we just had recently with them was loads of fun!

I hope to enjoy more years of bridge and keep learning more layers of this fascinating game.

William Hankin – Club Master

I grew up in a card-playing family. Canasta, hearts, and my mother and her siblings played rubber bridge. My mom taught me and my sister bridge when we were teenagers. I played a lot in college, learning the old Goren rules. I developed a certain card sense but never learned to visualize all the other hands.

In late 2016 I was introduced to a Chicago game at the local senior center. Soon after in Mar. 2017 I started playing duplicate bridge at the Bayside Bridge Club in Somers Point, NJ. I joined the ACBL then.

I have attended some lessons at the Northfield NJ’s Shore Bridge Club and get tips from the many experienced players. I have been reading bridge books by Grant, Cohen, Stewart and others. A partner and I won some gold and red points at the Nationals in Philadelphia just recently. I am still working on visualizing the other hands. There is so much to learn and so little time to learn it.

4 THE LOVE OF BRIDGE

Tag Archives: story