Texas 42

This is a domino game, a Smith family tradition, and the National Game of Texas according to a Texas 42 on-line club site, and at the risk of causing some angst among my family, I am going to be brutally honest and forthcoming. I have never liked 42! Never! I just play because they need a partner so the others can play. BTW, that makes me a bad bad partner. Also, it is a rule at least when we play around here that husband and wife cannot be partners because it will cause arguments and/or cheating because they know each other too well I guess. So my partner is usually anyone but Jeff. It is a bidding game and I hardly ever, I mean never ever bid. I am not known for my chance taking. Bidding is based on the 7 dominoes you pick from the pile after they have been "shook". I grab dominoes from my left and right near my opponents because I figure I will get dominoes they would have bid with and that will give me a good bidding hand. That never works! I try to understand the game, but I cannot think that far ahead or that fast. I cannot stand the dominoes being turned over on the table or when someone (like Jeff) slams all his dominoes down when the game is over and he knows there are no more plays (especially when it is my table). I mean… come on! Why are there no more plays! Maybe one of us can pull a rabbit out of the hat! How come threes are trump, but the six-three domino cannot be played as a six? How come sometimes, I cannot play any dominoes and have to watch my partner get all the glory… or get hammered? Oh, I mean “set”. How come sometimes you stack the dominoes so that you cannot see what is played and sometimes you pull them to the side? Oh well, the game goes on and I’ll figure that out later. How many times have I said that? How many years have I played now? Believe me I am not a good partner. I think that my co-players think that somebody is better than nobody. It boils down to I know I am going to mess up and disappoint my partner… on a continual basis. I know I am rambling but this is going somewhere.

For the first time ever, and I mean ever, I bid 42 and knew that I would take all but two tricks or maybe one. I figure that is what my partner is for. For some reason, something clicked this night. Was it my new contacts? Was it because I took my vitamin that morning? Was it because I was “dressed for success” and not in my jeans and t-shirt? Or maybe I just have been playing long enough that it is finally sinking in. I still have a long ways to go, but this was a milestone. I took every trick and won the game and added a mark to our score. We beat the guys, 4 games in a row!

So, do I like 42 any more than I use to? Maybe some… I’m getting there. The company, good times, laughter, and sometimes food make this friendly competition worth continuing my training.

Snow!

What a great day! I heard this was the first snow in 10 years in San Augustine. That means that this opportunity for pictures does not come around often. I woke up before daybreak and took a few pictures with a 50mm F1.4 lens and 270EZ flash. The neighborhood was eerily quiet and snow was still falling softly to the ground. I avoided disturbing the blanket of white and snapped away. Several shots actually showed the geometric delicate shapes of the snowflakes, which I am so impressed with. I ended up being able to take the day off and took even more shots after daybreak, including the little birds. They are sparrows or wrens, I think. They seemed more agressive this morning with their feeding. I think cold weather makes me hungrier too. The cat and dog did not really want any part of that white stuff. Children played in the distance laughing and enjoying snowball fights and making angels and snowmen. I drove to the dock after the roads cleared a bit and watched the geese move to the other side of the lake yet again. Tomorrow the snow will be gone, and life will return to its normal grandness -- for San Augustine anyway.