The misty fog, wind and occasional rain kept everyone from entering onto the beach. However, inside was full of folks eager to play games and listen to the waves, from within the shelter of the club. There were card tables and Mahjong tables with enough players to keep us busy for hours. I played several games of Mahjong, jumping from one table to the next. I am beginning to see why so many people play regularly. Donna and I are both getting better at the game, understanding the rules and now have the ability to occasionally feel as if we are confident players. We're almost ready to walk into any senior center and throw down! There is a way people play the game for money, we haven't learned any of those rules yet, just playing for fun...for now. Although, next year we'll be ready to host a Mahjong tournament at our club, I bet everyone would love that and somehow everything eventually comes down to a competition. I was amazed at how quickly the afternoon flew by as we sat inside playing, unaware for a time that the sunshine was doing its best to come out. Once we finished playing we spilled out onto the deck to soak in the few glimpses of sun we could absorb. We sat listening to a friend talk nonstop, telling us story after story about her family, food, travel or whatever else she had to tell. She's a known talker and certainly didn't let us down with her constant chatter. Every so often Donna and I would squeeze in a word or two and try to steer the conversation but our efforts didn't penetrate the steady flow of words. Eventually we succumbed to whatever topics were chosen and listened to the continuous tales of food, family and travel. We had been so darn confident with our new found mahjong skills that we overlooked our vulnerabilities in a conversation battle. Thankfully, the sunshine peeked out and I could close my eyes as I listened, soaking in the wonderful vitamin D as the topic shifted to grandchildren, her love and pride for the kids giving me a smile. I will continue to perfect my game skills and may even gather a story or two to have on the ready so I can permeate the next conversation. I'm also keenly aware that I have my own chatter, writing whatever nonsense comes into my brain first thing each morning, telling tales of chickens, grandchildren and home DIY projects. I suppose it's all about finding the right audience, or at times, being the right one.
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