Reflections from The Philadelphia Airport

While awaiting our return flight to Vegas, my mind flashed back upon the previous exhausting nine days where the irregularity of the morning shuttling back and forth between the WBF events at The Marriott 3rd to 5th floors and the Regional goings on taking the circuitous route to the magnificent convention center via our scooters were so stressful with such short lunch breaks.  Notwithstanding all the navigations, the WBF covered itself with its continuing splendor, particularly Friday evening at the special dinner honoring Jose Damiani, the outgoing President and recognizing Gianarrigo Rona, his popular successor.  And being a District 4 volunteer myself, for forty-some years, it swelled my heart with pride to see my old cronies and lots of enthusiastic unfamiliar faces taking up the slack of us old bucks now either moved away or retired.

Sadly the bridge was not the highlight of our trip, but I got my kicks from making the Marriott jewelry lady a few shekels richer with two purchases as well as my good friend, Gail Bell, of Encounter Cosmetics, where I practically bought out the store.  Bobby felt like a winner compared to my mile-away expeditions to our local Chico’s where he always teases if I am carless, they’ll be delighted to send a limousine for me. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, I confess.  But shopping for me in Philly felt like old home week.

Because our plane seats are so cozily close, he could not help see my subject matter and it brought a smile to his lips.  Though we are married only two months shy of seven years, we have this eerie capacity for reading each other’s mind. (It would be great for yours truly at the bridge table but I might add that you don’t always get everything for which you wish.

Bobby had a glimmer in his eye and I just knew he was reflecting on the result of last night’s Rosenblum finale.  Indeed, he was – AND for good reason!  If you read TLW, you will recall his involvement in the training of the promising Juniors.  He had prepared an Aptitude Test which I came across recently buried with his old bridge memorabilia.  In the old tests (back in the very early nineties) he spotted an exceptional pair who were EACH rated INDIVIDUALLY with the score of 100 while the top was only “99.”  The reason for +1 was because each further elaborated on the depth of the questions and were always on target.  

His predictions came to fruition twenty years later (as they enjoyed normal lives like working for a living and devoting themselves to more pressing interests).  The time was finally right to start coming back to the fold!   They were the teammates of  other young superstars like Fred Gitelman, Eric Greco, Geoff Hampson and Brad Moss.   The 100%ers  were none other than THE WINNING CAPTAIN JOHN DIAMOND and his partner BRIAN PLATNICK.

To make this a further candidate for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, five of this six-man team all came from the magic of  junior bridge from the early 1990’s.  Only Eric Greco, a few years younger, who played on the Junior Team in 1999, rounded out the successful Rosenblum Team in partnership with Geoff Hampson.

Pretty good handicapping for my Lone Wolff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!