“For each and all I bid thee a grateful welcome.” We had quite a few guests and visitors this week. Welcome back to JB and Tom Reed, and welcome first-timer Kelly Reed! We were also pleased to see Robert Reister visit us from Winston-Salem, and we were VERY good to him this week :) It was a heckofa trip to Omaha for the Grand National. All of your clubmates who attended came away with some cash prizes (some more than others), and a good time was had by all. I came home with a cold, which didn't thrill me, but hey, it's not COVID, so I can deal. That's why this week's blog post is a little light in material. I'm just so dang tired. We had another great showing this week, with 24 players coming out to peg. We had seven people this week earn GRPs, though not all those GRP winners earned money this week (!!) We paid out six places and three teams. Visitor Robert Reister took 1st with a 16 / 7 / 87 Jerry Gooden took 2nd with a 15 / 6 / 100 Jeff Seidenstein took 3rd with a 14 / 7 / 78 Allan Simpson took 4th with a 14 / 7 / 58 Frank Abernathy took 5th with a 13 / 6 / 11 Joseph Greiner took 6th with a 12 / 5 / 47 First Team (22/10/83): Bob Hewitt (11) and Andy Wagner (11) Second Team (20/10/-72): Ernie Hodgson (10) and John Morch (10) Third Team (20/8/84): Roger Doenges (10) and Jennifer Johnson (10) Here are the current standings, after this week: It's really this day in TELEVISION history -- Growing up, September always meant back-to-school, bringing the sweaters out of storage, and new TV shows to try. September 26th was apparently a good day to debut some (now) classic television shows: In 1962 the TV comedy series "Beverly Hillbillies" premiered on CBS In 1964 the TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island", starring Bob Denver as Gilligan, debuted on CBS 1968 featured the first broadcast of "Hawaii Five-O" on CBS The 1969 TV sitcom "The Brady Bunch", created by Sherwood Schwartz, premiered on ABC And in 1982 "Knight Rider", starring David Hasselhoff, debuted on NBC It was also the day that Dallas fans (the show, not the NFL Team) incredulously muttered the phrase, “it was all a dream” over and over. Yep, that’s when in 1986 Bobby (Patrick Duffy) returned to the show, his death having been attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream. You may have noticed a few of us keeping track of our cut cards on our scorecards. We're playing "Cut Card Poker". Just for fun, we're seeing who can cut the best poker hand. Jennifer: Flush in hearts, Queen high Andy: Pair of Queens That's it for this week :) See ya'll on Monday!
~Jennifer
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"Rule one: Always keep your points. Dad would have been 80 years old today, and would have loved to have been playing with everyone last night. His list of "rules" is decidedly shorter than most folks' rules, but they never seemed to steer him wrong. I used some of his pegs in his honor tonight and, well, so did Liz. While she skunked the ever-loving heck outta me, neither of us made points tonight. This week, we had 22 peggers come out to play, including three guests. John Morch's son, JB, was on hand, as were two potential new Club members, Tom and Elizabeth Reed. We had eight people (including Elizabeth) score 12 points or more. Of course, on the flip side, we had two players who had 3/1 cards (not me, I had a bridesmaid hand). With this number of players, we paid out five places and three teams. Birthday Boy Frank Abernathy took 1st with a 15 / 7 / 64 Joseph Greiner took 2nd with a 15 / 6 / 114 Jeff Raynes took 3rd with a 14 / 7 / 47 Kristy Haught took 4th with a 14 / 6 / 114 and Brian Wilson rounded out 5th with a 13 / 6 / 87 First Team (24/11/128): Bernard Whitfield (13) and Megan Player (11) Second Team (22/11/94): Elizabeth Reed (12) and Larry Phifer (10) Third Team (18/8/-57): Jennifer Johnson (11) and John Morch (8) Here are the current standings, after this week: We’re going to go not-so-far-back as last week, stepping only back 60 years or so… On this date in 1960, Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Twist” is the only song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to enjoy two separate chart runs to No. 1: September 19, 1960 (one week), and, after an October 1961 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” January 13, 1962 (two weeks). It also set a record for the most weeks (39) on the Hot 100 by a No. 1 song, which held until 1998. “The Twist” first came out as the B-side of Hank Ballard & the Midnighters’ 1959 single “Teardrops on Your Letter.” DJs largely ignored “The Twist,” but inner-city youth who had flipped the disc began doing a hip-wiggling dance to the track, which did not go unnoticed by “American Bandstand” host Dick Clark. Clark went to Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway label and suggested that Checker take it on. Checker had recorded “The Class” for him in 1958 as a holiday single to send to friends. “I said I didn’t want to sing that song,” Checker remembers. “It had been out already. Nobody was playing it. But I wanted to make records, and so when they said, ‘Come up here and sing “The Twist,”’ I said, ‘OK.’” In July 1960, Checker performed “The Twist” for the first time in front of a live audience at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey and just weeks later, on Aug. 6, 1960, the song became a national sensation after Checker performed it on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Checker continued to re-record the song throughout his career including some variations, being the most famous one “Let’s Twist Again”, one of the biggest hit singles of 1961, it reached No.8 on the U.S. Billboard pop chart in August of that year and subsequently reached No.2 in the U.K. in February 1962. Curiously, “Let’s Twist Again” turned out to be a bigger hit for Checker worldwide than “The Twist”. “The Twist” was the gift that kept on giving: Five more of Checker’s 32 Hot 100 entries mined the dance. He even joined the Fat Boys for “The Twist (Yo, Twist),” which hit No. 16 in 1988. Not a whole lot was happening specifically on this day back in 1942, when my dad joined the planet, but that’s OK. He deserves to have his own day. Cost of Living in 1942:
Oh, if only I could take my current savings account, and teleport with it back to 1942. I could definitely live like a queen! But, alas, that is not possible, so I will continue to live like a normal person… but I’m not giving up my tiara… You may have noticed a few of us keeping track of our cut cards on our scorecards. We're playing "Cut Card Poker". Just for fun, we're seeing who can cut the best poker hand. Someone asked if I'd post how we do, so SURE! In no particular order (well, alphabetical by last name): Liz: Three-of-a-kind in 6s Jennifer: Full House, 4s full of Jacks Megan: Queens full of 7s Andy: pair of deuces I'm gonna call it a night now; I've had to go IN TO THE OFFICE for TWO WHOLE DAYS IN A ROW (lol) and I'm exhausted. That 10 minute commute is killer. Having to wear something other than pajama pants and long-sleeve t-shirts wasn't any fun, either. Good luck to those of us who are going to Omaha for the Grand National -- it's not many of us, but may we come home with most of the prize money!! See ya'll on Monday. ~ Jennifer "Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light." Yes, my dark time has passed (for this week, anyway). I had a much MUCH better showing this week, earning a Grand Slam 19/9/162 this week. Not that cribbage players are a superstitious lot, but I hope I remember what pegs and pen I used, and what jewelry I was wearing, lol. It was definitely refreshing after my cards in the past couple of tournaments and last week's terrible showing. BUT. There are still 34 weeks to go. And only 91 points until I earn my Bronze! IT IS WITHIN REACH THIS SEASON! Unless the Cribbage Gods punish me for this brief moment of hubris. Time shall tell... We had a whopping 28 players come out this week, including Henry Douglass and Robert Smothers, whom we haven't seen for a while. This was also the second week in a row that we had Ms. Dot and Jim also attend. It was so fun to have a big crowd again. Feels like old times. With big crowds come big numbers. We had nine of the 28 folks earn GRPs tonight, so four of the 12-plus crowd did not earn place money. With big numbers come corresponding bad ones, and alas, our 12s paired up with them so were shut out altogether. With this many players, we had six places and four teams to pay out. So, without further ado... Jennifer Johnson took first place, with a Grand Slam 19 / 9 / 162 Bernard Whitfield had an almost Grand Slam for second place, scoring a 17 / 8 / 109 Jeff Raynes took third, with a 16 / 7 / 61 Kristy Haught took fourth place, with a 15 / 7 / 87, giving her the lead in club standings. Frank Abernathy took fifth place, with a 14 / 7 / 73 and Jerry Gooden rounds out the place winners in sixth, with a 14 / 6 / 113 First Team (22/10/2): Joe Greiner (13) and Heather Chilsen (9) Second Team (22/9/78): Mike Due (13) and Larry Phifer (9) Third Team (19/9/49): John Morch (11) and Roger Doenges (8) Fourth Team (18/7/18): Henry Douglass (11) and Ernie Hodgson (7) Here are the standings, with two weeks under our belts: We are going wa-a-a-a-ay back for this one. This date in 490 BC is the traditional date of the Battle of Marathon, where a small Athenian force defeated the Persian Empire. This battle was the first time that the Greeks had bested the Persians on land. Historians argue that this victory was pivotal in the development of Western civilization because it preceded a flowering of Athenian culture that led to great advances in mathematics, drama, philosophy, and astronomy. The traditional story relates that Pheidippides, an Athenian herald, or hemerodrome (translated as "day-long runner"), was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. He ran about 150 miles in two days, and then ran back. He then ran the 25 miles to the battlefield near Marathon, where the Greeks won the day. After the battle ended, the heroic messenger was immediately dispatched to deliver the good news to Athens, a paltry 26 miles away this time: the world's first marathon. After running to the Acropolis, the heroic messenger burst into the chambers and gallantly hailed his countrymen with “Nike! Nike! Nenikekiam” (“Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!”), after which, he collapsed from exhaustion, and died.
That is all I've got for tonight, folks. Have a great week, and see ya'll on Monday!
~ Jennifer “I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” September 5, 2022. Our home-opener, as it were. Welcome Back!! "There are still 35 weeks left in the season." My net spread wasn't as bad as it could have been as my first win was a near double-skunk in my FIFTH game -- thanks for having worse cards than me, Tom! I was already planning what outfit to wear with my wedding pearls next week, but NEVERMIND! Not this time. This was our first week doing a couple things new. First, we've increased weekly dues to $16. This will allow us to build up a small treasury for things like scorecards, greeting cards, and other things we may need. The other thing we did was utilize seat numbers. I cannot thank you all enough for doing this for me. It only took half an hour to process this week's results, where it would take twice that just to assign everyone seat numbers after the fact and mark out the rotation. We had 23 players come out to peg, including our favorite honorary mom/grandma, Dot Davis. It's Dot's 98th birthday next week, and we celebrated with a delicious cookie-cake (thanks Jim!) and a lot of fun. None of the 12 cards made place money, though they did make for good partners, and of course, earned GRPs. Heather Chilsen had an outstanding start to the season. She won the night with a mighty pretty 16/7/+121. Kristy Haught's night was not too shabby, with a big 15/7/+99 to take second. Andy Wagner earned third with a 14/7/+32 Jerry Gooden took fourth with a 14/6/+86 And in the first tie of the season (because, why not), both Mike Due and Joe Greiner earned 13/6/+35. We, of course, went to the plus points, and Mike edged out Joe for fifth place, with 99 positive spread points to Joe's 85. Joe took sixth. We also paid out three teams last night: 1st: Dot "The Birthday Girl" Davis (12) and Bob Hewitt (9) 2nd: Larry Phifer (12) and Jim Townsend (8) 3rd: Liz Henderson (11) and Ernie Hodgson (6) September 5th was the 130th anniversary of the first Labor Day. Before it was a federal holiday, Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and individual states. After municipal ordinances were passed in 1885 and 1886, a movement developed to secure state legislation. New York was the first state to introduce a bill, but Oregon was the first to pass a law recognizing Labor Day, on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York – passed laws creating a Labor Day holiday. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday. Many Americans celebrate Labor Day with parades, picnics and parties – festivities very similar to those outlined by the first proposal for a holiday, which suggested that the day should be observed with – a street parade to exhibit "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. For most Americans, Labor Day signals the end of summer (though it doesn't officially become fall until September 22) and the start of the new school year. It's a day of barbecues and beach-going or relaxing on the back deck with a good book. However you chose to celebrate Labor Day, I hope it was a good one! Grass Roots dues are due. They are $8. I've got most folks' dues, but are still missing some. I'm sending a check to Cathy (our Regional Statistician) for those of you who paid this week. Remember you can renew online as well, at cribbage.org.
The John Medeiros Memorial Tournament is scheduled for October 28-30 at the DoubleTree in Raleigh. The flyer is up on cribbage.org, and there are some in "the supply box" for your taking. That's the scoop for this week, folks. I hope everyone has a great week, and see ya'll Monday! ~ Jennifer |
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