Days just run into other days, time warps move in and out of the conscious, focused mind, sifting away all the clutter and debris that seemed so important yesterday…presenting a fresh, clean horizon that one can only approach when the soul finds forgiveness of self and fellow man.
I drift into each new day, looking for the best in my fellow man, never being disappointed if I don’t find it, just logging the poor soul in my data base…allowing them to be where they are and myself to move past that bump in the road without jolting my inner peace.

I gave up trying to be a ‘nurse’ a long time ago. I nurse myself when I’m wounded and tired, weak and easy prey, salvaging some inner energy for my friends and people that I know will use my strength to improve themselves and never discard what I give lightly or take it for granted.

So a time of peace and quiet comes to an end…

Poker Time!

Thanksgiving Day found me rolling out of bed after drinking my Thanksgiving Day Feast in a long stemmed glass…finishing the last one somewhere around 8 a.m. Too early for you sissies? Well spend the night with me sometime and you might be ready for that early a.m. little glass of wine, followed by another, and another.

The room was busy, but not quite as busy as I thought it would be. Some people ate too much, some people didn’t eat enough…in my case, I didn’t drink enough. Ha!

I played twice this week. No explanation for the first play. Maybe there were too many dealers and not enough games…dead spreads looming on the horizon…or just tired of dealing. I’ve been on a very good behavior program for the last seven to eight months, spent almost all of my shifts in the box, give or take a few E/O’s.

My lower back was ‘killing me’ for some reason. It started yesterday and hadn’t improved by the time I went to work…please catch up, it’s Friday now. I signed up to E/O and play. I ended up playing for numerous hours. I won one hand, made quad Treys. That was about the size of it. I finally gave up and found the escape hatch about 12 a.m.

But…up until that point:

There are 12 tables in the pit area, adjacent to the poker room. The Fridays at Five Tournament was held out there. Around 8 p.m. games were being started in the pit. Yes…live games. The tables are licensed this time and games, plus tournament/satellites will be held out there also. That gives us approximately 42 tables for our card room.

The room was a screaming, noisy nightmare of microphones, bodies, heat, people, confusion, mumble jumble…and the goods news? It’s going to get worse…or better, depending on which side of the coin you’re on.

We have a ‘big’…’Big’…’BIg’…’BIG’ tournament coming up.

On the funny side of poker…a little $100-$200 Holdem Game. The game is full but the notables are: 1s – Ming, 3s – Gregg, 6s – Lee, and Ritchie W. drifting in to visit with Ming and Lee, from another game. They are gabbing and jabbing in…Chinese of course!

Grave Yard has taken control…Swing Shift Supervisors have left the building. Tony is standing behind me when the cry goes up, “We want the foreign language stopped.”

Some of the players contend that it goes on nightly. Some of the players contend that it goes on before, during, and after a hand. The major problem is that the players don’t want it go on at all.
Gregg says he can’t think around the noise and it makes him crazy. Hysterical!

Ming tries to go into the English standard to express himself. Gregg does a mock move with hands and shoulders, “What he’s trying to say is: ‘Emhhh, donnnn dooo, mugghhh givvhhee…” everyone cracks up, including me.

Tony comes back with the report that only English can be spoken at the table. Ming says somethings and Gregg takes off on it.

Ming finishes my down with, “When I speak English, he laugh me. When I speak Chinese, he complain me!”

Hey…ain’t that the way it is…

See You there!