The weather in Montana changed to sunshine, perfect temperature, on the morning of graduation. One of my great nephews, Tyler, graduated with Jasmine. Three highschools, around 300 seniors in each, three different time schedules, graduated from the Adams Center Field House at the University of Montana. A mass of bodies, some clad in graduation togs, joined together to celebrate life and the future…my little group of family met, hugged, and joined with the mass. I escaped the need to cry but have to admit that my eyes misted for so long a few times I thought they were going to run over.

We arrived back in the desert on Sunday, shortly after noon. It was so nice to be home. Great to travel, great to come home. Nothing is better than my own little space, tucked quietly away from the rest of the world…and my bed! God! If I could just take my bed with me when I go somewhere. Now my schedule has kind of drifted to a daytime thing…eyes open before non…moving around in daylight hours and sleep somewhere between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Next week will send me back to the vampire schedule…the girls go home this weekend and I go back to work next Monday.

On the poker scene, the poker bloggers had a tournament here in Vegas while I was in Montana. Wish I could have been there but next time…

Before I left town, I dealt $20-40 7 Card Stud that had me in stitches. Kim AKA The Dragon Lady was in the 5s. Gus (more than one post on him) was in the 4s. Jeff (The General) was in the 8s but walking. The 7s was a familiar face but infrequent player and running over the game. The 1, 2, and 3s were all new faces.

Gus was doing his usual glare – mainly at the world and the other players, not so much the dealer. When I sat down, he asked me to just do a mini-scramble – followed by “…if you don’t mind,” but I missed that part of it. Gus has an accent and sometimes it’s hard to follow what he’s saying. I did the mini-scramble on the first hand, thinking that was what his request was.

The 1s lofted his cards into the air about the 3rd hand I dealt and they lit right on my hands. I hate it!!!! No they didn’t hurt, but it’s the idea. I said, “I don’t drop your cards onto your hands, please don’t drop them on mine.”

He went into a, “Right! I sliced your hands with those cards….blah, blah, blah.”

I started laughing. He was being sarcastically mean with his tone and I wasn’t going to war with him. I was prepared to call the floor if it happened again. It didn’t.

Kim was glaring when I sat down…it got worse.

The 7s mopped up the game and stacked all the chips. About the 10th hand he won, I did a min-scramble…for no reason…just a reflex I guess because it’s still a little strange to have Shuffle Masters on every table. Gus went off on me. “Now she decide to do a scramble?” waving his arms in the air.

Kim jumped on his bandwagon, making some comment about it.

I told him I didn’t realize that he wanted one every hand. Kim rolled her eyes. Still waving his arms, Gus growled, “Never argue with the dealer. Dealer is always right!”

I exclaimed, “Unnecessary!”

The 1s told Gus to stop, he couldn’t stand the stress because he had a weak stomach. Gus’s comment to the 1s was rude and short. The 1s replied, “I will throw up if you don’t stop.”

Later on though, the 1s forced every issue he could with Gus. Continuing to needle Gus when Gus asked the 1s to leave him alone. Kim was going into a twitch and jerk mode – she was low and glared the hating eye roll at me as she waved her hand at me!

By now I was getting into the ‘fruit loop’ mode that the players were in. I waved my right hand up into the air, looked at Kim, and asked, “What does that mean?”

Now…you must keep in mind that Kim and I have HISTORY! I refuse to be affected by her personal moods and player modes and in general, I laugh at her and she takes it pretty well…and usually starts laughing with me…if you can call the little eye glimmer and small mouth twitch the beginning of laughter. She softens up no matter how you cut it and how hard she tries to be mad, I can usually put out the dragon’s fire.

So…she glared at me, “You make me fucking low every time.”

I blurted, “I do not make you F-king low every time, just every fourth or fifth hand.”

She almost smiled.

I got pushed a few hands later, she was waving her hand in the air at me again. I said, “Hey…I’m going to the table right behind you, get on the list.”

She snorted, “I fucking kill you.”

I laughed, “You don’t kill grandmas.”

She snarled, “You aren’t a grandma.”

I walked around behind her, put my arm around her neck in a hug, and pulled her head next to mine…still laughing.

She was laughing by now, telling me to get the hell away from her.

About 20 minutes after I left that game, the Supervisor was called to settle a dispute. Somehow, someway, the 1s was heads-up with another player in a big pot and the other player declared a flush at showdown and turned his cards up. The dealer didn’t see it, someone else spotted the fact that there was a club in the spades or whatever the suits were but the 1s had already thrown his hand away. And obviously the 1s had the no pair, no flush hand beat but it was too late. The players ended up splitting the pot. It could have been much worse for the 1s for throwing his hand away without making sure he was beat.

What a playground! I tell people I’m only there for the insurance…