You know that things are just not going well when you get consistently killed (that is peeled, chopped, diced, and then spit out) in cards. My so called "loving" wife has been dominating me lately when we play our favorite card game. It is a made up version of Head and Foot, which is a form of canasta. Our friends Lorie and Ken of S/V Trim taught is this version, which some other cruiser friends (Ron and Roz Worrall of S/V Worrall Wind) made up in Fiji last year. They call it "Fiji Rummy - Cannibals and Coups" because it is such a more vicious version of the tamer game. Why they call it rummy instead of canasta is beyond me but it really does not matter.

Anyway, memories of me killing Mary Margaret in one game where I scored 6,400 points in one hand (3,500 points is about the average per hand) have almost completely vanished. Instead, I am faced with one loss after another. It is now getting to the point where after playing the second hand (you play three hands to determine the winner), Mary Margaret is now asking me that since I am so far behind, do I really want to play the last hand. Humph, the nerve! OK, so I now have a history of conceding defeat after two hands but it is my prerogative to throw in the towel when I am so far behind. Do I come across as being a poor sport and a little bit bitter? Naw, I am just telling it the way it is...

Since each hand takes so long to play, I have patience for only playing two hands at a sitting. We usually sit and play cards two or three times a day and usually can get two complete games in a day. We mix playing cards between boat projects, reading and listening to music. It usually makes the day pass by quickly and enjoyably. However, when all one does is losing and then lose again, one starts to pout!

I am now starting to dream of playing this dumb game. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment; after all, it is just a game...