08:33 12 January 2016 Interstate Highway 29, Iowa GS Jade Barrett
“Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper in sinks into the mind” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The beginning of our 6 weeks on the road comes complete with a sudden and heavy snow, coupled with high winds and ultra low temperatures. Perfect for our four hour drive from Elk Point, South Dakota – if you are a polar bear or a penguin.
Each new year brings different challenges with the aging process. Many older players have some concerns regarding their potentially decaying ability to remember, but I share no such worry – it would be a blessing to be able to forget any of the silly hands that I have perpetrated over the years.
Not a week goes by without the terrible recollection of losing a North American Championship by simply failing to cover an honor with an honor. More unfortunately, my partner from that ill-fated event has not forgotten it, either.
The pristine snow of the New Year harbors hope for the future, its purity covering all the land’s features regardless of their intrinsic beauty or lack thereof. Each new deal carries with it that freshness, providing the opportunity to prove to ourselves that we are truly the excellent players that we secretly know we are. We will dazzle the table with our play, receive accolades for our poetic auctions and triumphantly carry home first prize. If not today, then tomorrow, or perhaps the day after that – our success is just an eventuality.
Until the snow melts.