Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
The Old Codgers Club tried to hold a meeting the other day, but only three of our seven members showed up.
It's getting more and more difficult to get all seven OCs together, especially during the season for flu, common colds and walking pneumonia.
Our cheerleader, Chester, was present and so was our treasurer, Floyd. Also the OC's scribe, that's me. The other members were sick, out of town, or both.
Chester called Ed, our professional grandfather who had promised to be with us.
"I'm still in bed," said Ed on the phone. This was about 10 o'clock in the morning.
"Are you sick?" asked Chester.
"No," Ed said, "but about daylight this morning I discovered I was comfortable in bed, for the first time since I can remember, so I just decided not to get up."
All of us nodded in understanding, and when he hung up Chester said, "I don't blame him. If I ever woke up comfortable in bed, I might just lie there and die happy."
At this meeting we were scheduled to vote on whether to take in new members, but we couldn't conduct business for lack of a quorum.
Floyd said, "How about let's play a little poker? I haven't played a hand of poker in 20 years."
Chester seconded the motion.
"But let's keep it simple. None of those fancy games, like Texas Hold 'Em."
We were meeting in Floyd's house. He produced a deck of cards and said, "I don't know how to play that Texas Hold 'Em. They play it on these TV poker shows all the time. But I sat in card games from the day I was 18 until I was 50, and I never heard of Texas Hold 'Em when I was playing."
Chester said, "During the war (when an OC says 'the war' he means World War II) I played poker in 10 states and four foreign countries and I never heard of Texas Hold 'Em, either."
Your scribe's experience was about the same. In the old Army Air Corps the new game, to me, was seven-card stud, and some of the older guys didn't like it. Said it wasn't real poker.
We had cut for deal. Floyd won. We anted up a quarter and Floyd issued a proclamation: "Far as I'm concerned, the only poker games worth playing are draw and five-card stud, and no wild cards allowed."
"Come on, Floyd," Chester said, "you'll let the joker be wild, won't you, and maybe deuces sometimes, just to make the game more interesting?"
"No way," Floyd said. "You ask me, it ruins the game. Messes up the percentages. Did I ever tell you about the best poker hand I ever drew in my life?"
I thought he was about to deal but he put the deck aside to tell his story.
"We were down in the hold of a Liberty ship, October of '42, in the middle of the Atlantic, 12 days out of Newport News. Everybody who wasn't seasick was shooting craps or playing poker.
"A ring of kids, looked like they oughta be back in high school, were playing girlie poker, dealer's choice, where they called deuces and one-eyed jacks wild, and nonsense like that. But it was the only game I could get into.
"On the hand I'm talking about, this kid was dealing a silly game they called Dr Pepper, with 10s, twos and fours wild. I knew better but I anted up and on the deal I got the 10, nine, eight and seven of spades, and on the draw I caught my jack and made the first straight flush I ever held in my life.
"A jack-high straight, all spades, and natural as a new baby. It was so beautiful. This was a pot limit game, and I bet all the law allowed."
Floyd paused here, until Chester and I both asked at once, "So what happened?"
"A kid across the blanket called me," Floyd said. "He held the king and queen of hearts, two deuces and a four, and beat me with a royal heart flush. That's why I hate those wild-card games."
Finally we played a few hands. Chester broke even and I lost about four bucks to Floyd, which made him smile.
The next meeting of the Old Codgers will be held sometime in March, weather permitting.
LEON HALE
P.O. Box 4260
Houston, TX 77210
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