Day 6: Random Observations

After a young man had caddied for the first time, he told his parents that he had never before seen so many weird people in one place at the same time.

Some people don’t play in the side games because they don’t think they get their money’s worth when only 24 boards are in play.

A director was called because the opponent had opened 1 NT with a small singleton.  When the director arrived, the opener protested that it was no big deal, she did it all the time.  “Is it on your convention card?  Do you alert it?” The director’s questions were met with silence.

There are a lot of places in Gatlinburg where you can sample different flavors of moonshine (corn liquor) for free.  There are also a lot of places that sell strange purses.  Make what you will of these (unrelated?) facts.

As the week progressed, the general mood of the tournament seemed to change from relaxed and happy to include some elements of tense and crabby.  For example, some people thought they weren’t getting their money’s worth because they didn’t declare very often.  But you will be relieved to know that everyone I saw from Michigan remained cheerful and were having fun, especially members of my team.

I kept running into players who said, “We just met some other people from Grand Rapids.  They were the nicest couple!”   “Was it the Burpees?” I learned to ask.  Because it always was. 

People from Long Island were amazed at the $5 cost of playing bridge at the Grand Rapids club.  They pay $20 at their club, although they were quick to point out that this includes a catered lunch.  They considered the $11 tournament entry fees a bargain.

Every time we played, we got some sort of little prize:  a chocolate bear on a stick, candy fruit, a USB light (most people didn’t know what this was, but Kathy got very excited and tried to steal mine), gourmet chocolates, and dollar coupons for the food stand (we mostly used these for coffee).  I heard that the budget was $11 a table for these favors, and there were hundreds of tables.  We also got flashlights when we registered and free play coupons when we won the knockout.  A man from Louisville reminded me that at the Nationals there we got Magic 8 Balls that displayed bids.  “How embarrassing,” he said.  “I guess someone must have thought it was a good idea.”

Most interesting of all, I saw a mama bear and her cub.  No, not at the tournament—although that would have been quite exciting.  It was in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.