Home Again

Our journey is over and we are back in Michigan. Following are the answers to some questions that you may have.

What did you think of Philadelphia?

The City of Brotherly Love was great! It is an attractive and interesting city, with lots to see and do.

Is it possible for two people to talk for over 12 hours straight without running out of things to say?

Yes, not only is it possible but we did it twice--there and back--and talked all day and half of the night for several days as well. We talked about people (lowest form of conversation), things (bridge), and ideas (highest level of conversation). We did it all.

Did you get any gold?

No, although we did get some red. It would have been nice, but our decision to go to Philly was about the experience, not the points.

What did you experience?

We met a lot of people from Jersey as well as other places and played against some tough competition. I finally saw the set-up for top players in games where they use screens. We met a very funny director who told jokes. We saw the sights (museums, fountains, liberty bell, etc.) and ate at great restaurants. We were part of the Nationals!

What did you learn?

Some of what I learned is hard to put into words. Playing so much bridge with the same person advances the partnership and our game--more things become automatic, more flaws are uncovered and theoretically repaired, more practice simply makes for better bidding and play. A couple of specific things I learned is that I will no longer go to no trump with only one stopper in the opponents' suit, and I will not undervalue a distributional hand. (By the end I was successfully going to game based on the shape of my hand and not the points.)

Will you go to another National?

Of course! I'm especially looking forward to Las Vegas in a couple of years.

Now that you are home, will you continue to write on your blog?

Probably not for awhile. I have three other writing projects in the works that need my time and attention. That said, however, Julie has become quite enamored of writing and so she (or we) will write from time to time. Also, Mike plans to write more. So stay tuned! In the meantime, play good bridge.