GRRRR, HISS, YELL, SIGH
By: Dee
Dogs growled, cats hissed, puppies yipped and yapped, kittens mewled and purred, other species chriked and chirked and squeaked or made whatever other noises were appropriate for their species and another registration began – and so did problems. Partners forgot to show up. People left. Partnerships changed. And thus it began.
The dogs announced the first win and the second and the third … Amidst puppyfinn’s barks of joy, there were yells by humans – "Don’t ever put me at a table with so and so" and on and on. By the end of Round 1, it was determined that kibitzers should not talk at a table (yes, even to let people know they had miscounted hands) and that the dogs were doing their dogly duty (along with two cat teams who graciously volunteered to be dogs) by winning Round One 9-4.
Round Two began with two cat wins and then dogs took over. Barring growls and yips and a few untoward comments about being on ignore, Round Two was uneventful. The hounds celebrated their burgeoning lead with a final score of 16-10.
Round Three began with this director trying to pair the same opps at one table, but, fortunately, managed to quickly rectify this. Again, things were uneventful until a call was made that the director was needed at a table. Fortunately, things were easily (and appropriately resolved). Results were coming in fast and furious. The cats kneaded their claws and the hounds bayed their success. Then! Oh, no, cheating?? Someone was accused of cheating??? It couldn’t be and it wasn’t, but the comment had been made and the feelings had been hurt. Finally, the round was over with the dogs again victorious and semi-vindicated (remember, two of these teams were cats wearing doggie masks) with a 30-22 win.
Now, some comments folks. First and foremost, Dave created Ryders for all of us to have fun. After Max’s death, all of it was dedicated to him. Some of you are new and didn’t know Max. Some of you remember seeing Opensesame around, but really didn’t know him. Some of us were close to Max and remember his warmth, gentleness, kindness and generosity of spirit – both on the table and off. He NEVER had a bad word for an opponent, kibitzer or anyone else in bridge. "Well done partner/opp" were always part of his vocabulary. If a bad play was made by him or his partner, he might "sigh". Good plays by anyone were always acknowledged. Roses were handed to his partner for a truly good play and there were always "smiles" for everyone. Can we all work hard to return to that same grace in our Ryders? It is a place of fun and caring and, with a little thought by all of us, will remain that way.
If there’s a problem at the table, CALL THE DIRECTOR then and there. Don’t wait and announce it in the lobby, don’t act on it. Just wait for the director to come and let them handle it. Misunderstandings happen! Feelings get hurt, but the lobby is NOT the place to air any problem.
Kibitzers are just that – kibitzers! They have no right to talk, comment, chat or anything else. Some tables don’t mind chat and some even welcome it (I certainly do). But never, under any circumstances, should a kibitzer make a comment about a hand until after the hand has been played and then, again, only on the sufferance of everyone at the table. This is not a rule of Ryders or Yahoo, but a rule of bridge.
Pagers should be turned off during play. Yes, I know they’re not. Heck, mine is always on and I’ve been known to (on more than occasion) to chat with my partner and others and even to discuss the previous hand with my partner to clear up bidding misunderstandings, etc., but not to discuss the hand being bid or played. Quite honestly, I believe that is the case with all of us here. But, we should all be aware that we take a risk by leaving our pagers open that others will assume we are using them unethically.
Please be sensitive in your comments. While you may be joking, your opponent may be from a different country or different ethnicity and take offense where none is meant. It is easy for a misunderstanding to occur because of cultural or ethnic differences. My suggestion here is just to not make ethnic type comments in any way, shape or form. Some political correctness truly doesn’t hurt!
Also, try to make the director’s job a little easier – don’t register until both partners are present. It truly is difficult to rearrange pairings and teams when this happens.
Thank you one and all.
Cat Teams were: Incognito_UK/SugarMt, Momscottie/Irish, Rae_Jean/Lucia_Mc, Star_392000/PPP_P3, Ramy2_000-Rueful_Rabbet/Jonnie26, Little_Ladybug_2000/Slam1931, Acastofmany/Melkor, Orla_11/Willreich, Aimejoue/Smilodonkiwi, Theholyguy/Suzy, Harlequin_Smiles/Jawall, Wombiepie/Producer, Earnietomcat/Bert
Dog Teams were: XBrorsen/Jean1998_1999, Rsquirrel/Megin, BetterDuck123/Mean_Ole_Dog, PssPill/Tuffypar, Jamesgreywolf/Joysandra_uk, Pob01br/I8catsfordinner, Woo7NT/Drannalee, Bichon_Puppy/Springer, Slush_Puppy/Dittny/Sive1875lin (originally cats!), Debb_26/Dastarly (Cat Team #2), Badatbridge (Welcome!)/Lorrob, Glossit/Ccwaxman, Seaweed/Lorrainew
Slams were made by: Woo7NT/Drannalee (6S in Rd 1, 7D in Rd 3 – nice going ladies!); Aimejoue/Smilodonkiwi (6D in Rd 3 – see, Kate, I was just psychic and got it a week early J), and Debb/Dastarly (6S in Rd 3). Kudos to all of you!
Undefeated teams were Slush_Puppy-Dittny/Sive and Debb/Dastarly. Well done all of you!
The wonderful subs were Puppyfinn, Kittny, Jimkat, Annaskitchen and Rueful_Rabbit. Thank you one and all for ever-so-wonderful assistance!