Games, Games, Games

 

If you have ever played Rummikub with Grandma you know that you can not dawdle. Saying “Pass” is mandatory, and it is better to say it quickly. After reading this post you will learn why. She is used to playing for pretty high stakes.

The house was cold in the winter. We didn’t have enough bedding so Mom slept with Marva and I and Dad slept with Max and Tom. When Dad’s unmarried brothers lived with us many odd arrangements were made. Every night we would put the kerosene lamp in the center of the round front room table and play games. Our favorite game was Anagrams. It consisted of alphabet letters on tiles. You had to make words and you could take someone elses word, by adding a letter of your own. The winner was the first one to use all their tiles.

We didn’t have money for prizes so we did odd things. Right before bed, one man would check the sheep, during lambing season. The loser had to get in bed and warm it up and then move over to the cold area, when the winner was ready to come to bed. That worked and Uncle Morris would always slide over to the cold side of the bed, when Dad came to bed. When Dad lost, and he had to slide over to the cold area, Dad wouldn’t slide over. They never bet that again.

Another bet was who would wash the supper dishes. After the game, the loser couldn’t wash the dishes because the water was cold. Uncle Deak’s wife Vivian was well educated and very religious. One night someone took her word just as she was ready to win and she stood up and swore and stomped out of the room, to the two rooms they were living in, at the back of the house.

The wonderful thing about the evening games was that everyone played, it didn’t matter how old you were you were in the game. The adults would help us form words, until the competition got intense and then we were on our own.