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Volume 11, Number 3 | February 28, 2019
Let the games begin! Crossing the bridge to Mah Jongg By Jeanne Souldern Special to The Sopris Sun
The first step is to build your wall, two tiles high. Nancy Peterson (foreground), Sandy Towne (left) and Jon Towne (right) choose from the Mah Jongg tiles to begin their game at the Carbondale Recreation Center. Photo by Erin Danneker
Mah Jongg is a long stretch from my Northwoods Minnesota roots of Buck Euchre, whist, and cribbage, but a good strategy game is never dull and always gets the brain chemistry percolating. The camaraderie and friendly competition of playing board and card games seemed lost, like an ancient relic to some bygone era. I think of the hours, as a kid, playing Clue, Stratego, Monopoly, or just plain old checkers. My father grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. Playing cards and games were what you did to pass the endless hours of subzero temperatures. Mah Jongg has been on my radar to learn, but I never found the right opportunity to learn how to play it. You can imagine my delight when I met River Valley Ranch (RVR) resident Carol Sherman at The Sopris Sun’s tenth birthday party a few weeks ago, and she asked if I golfed (“No”) or skied (“No”) or played Mah Jongg (“No, but I certainly want to learn!). Sherman learned the game about four years ago as a way of meeting new people. It became an embarrassment of riches as she recalls, “The day after my first visit to RVR’s Ranch House to learn to play, I received three phone calls inviting me to play bridge, hike, and go out to lunch.” Some cite Mah Jongg as taking over in popularity where bridge once reigned supreme. Recently
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