Topic: What family traditions can you live without?
This particular tradition was introduced to me a short time after I was married. Richard and I were sitting at the kitchen table of his parent's home playing cards with our friends and my brother-in-law. It was a good clean card game, 5 Card Draw or Blackjack, I can't remember, but we weren't using the family-approved Rook cards. The cards in use had been smuggled in and worked much better.
We were having a great time snacking and enjoying the company, no one winning or losing because we weren't using money or even chips, when the garage door announced the arrival of parents. The look on my husband's face, as well as his brother's, was classic. Sheer panic flashed through their eyes. Immediately, the game came to an abrupt hault, cards began to fly and in less than 15 seconds flat, the cards in our hands had been replaced with old, jumbo "Follow The Prophet" cards (Yeah, I'd never heard of them either). Three of us sat there in awe and confusion as these two brothers expertly hid the taboo cards and replaced them with the next best thing within a quick reach. As my in-laws reached the top step, us twenty-five to thirty year olds were settled and playing a mock game of Go Fish with our prophet cards. And only two of us even broke a sweat. Never in my life had I witnessed an event that could cause two grown men to run for their lives over a deck of cards.
Traditionally, there is one kind of card that is not to be enjoyed within the walls of the Bean Home. I know this is not terribly unusual for some households, but it's a tradition we chose to live without. However, for those special occassions when Rook cards just won't do, we finally found an alternative that can be played at family reunions. Thank you M&M World. Pinochle can still live on!
Friday, May 16, 2008
FFA Week #9
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8 comments:
I think that story is great. And, cute M&M cards too. ;)
"Follow the Prophet" Cards?!?!
Oh. My. Gosh. Laughing. Hard.
If you need to borrow my Mickey Mouse "face" cards just let me know.
That's hilarious! I have a neighbor that we play cards with that doesn't like to use the regular face cards. We use Disneyland cards instead.
BTW-that picture of Niagra Falls is awesome. I love it!
Oh, yeah... The mormon "face cards are of the devil" philosophy. I know this one well. I should, I grew up with it. And I can't play cards to save my soul as an adult because of it. Seriously, I have no card-game-strategizing skills. (Of course, that could be because I'm unable to stragegize - period - but I do think at least PART of it was my parents trying to shelter me beyond all things great and small. Fat lot o' good it did them, too, I might add.)
It cracks me right up that Richard and the 'lil bro were able to just jump in and do the old switch-a-roo. We used to do that with TV. You know, flip back to The Andy Griffith show when we were really watching M*A*S*H and my parents pulled into the driveway. (Yup, we weren't allowed to watch MASH. Oh my holy freaking weird childhood...) Love my parents like I do, but they were nutsoes. It's nice to hear that someone else's parents were members of the super-mormon-coalition-against-the-face-cards movement.
The whole face card thing, huh? That's hilarious! Seriously, envisioning the whole picture of Richard and his brother frantically replacing the cards is so funny.
This was a clever choice for the topic. It gets me thinking of traditions a little differently. This was a funny story but, only because I know it's of such a serious nature:)
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