SHANGHAI!

Dearest Friends,

Not long after we moved to Sumatra I was shanghaied into learning a new card game called, you guessed it, Shanghai!  I was hesitant to learn at first, fearing it would be too much like playing bridge -- the game my parents had been addicted to for years, but which always ended up making them snipe at one another.  Thanks, but no thanks.

When I realized I was missing out on all the fun by not playing, I finally conceded, and am so glad I did.  It was more fun than you could shake a stick at, and I had, indeed, been missing out on a lot!  Not only was there a regular game every Wednesday afternoon, which my friend Hanna referred to as "the moveable feast" (it rotated from house to house, and always involved some good eats), there were also Shanghai luncheons, Shanghai dinner parties, Shanghai Christmas parties, and even one very memorable Shanghai pajama party (with special guest dancer) to celebrate Miss Patti's 40th birthday.  (I never should have let my kids stumble across the photos from that one!)  Why, we even took our cards and special Shanghai coin purses along with us when we traveled, and once or twice, were caught rearranging hotel furniture in our nighties, to have enough table space in one room for us all to play a hand or two.

What made it really fun was that it was just a glorified version of gin rummy, rummy cube, or Mah Jong (saving a certain combo of books and runs before you can lay them on the table, then trying to get rid of as many of your remaining cards as you can before someone goes out) so it was fairly easy to learn; it was each woman for herself, so you didn't have to worry about ticking off your partner if you failed to read their signals; and best of all, we played for moolah!  Of course, two thousand rupiah was actually only worth about a dollar, but it seemed like a whole lot more, and it kept things interesting.

My only mistake was in teaching my family how to play when we went home on leave that first summer.  My dad became obsessed with the game, and if my sisters and I didn't play at least a couple of rounds with them each time we were together, his lower lip started to droop and he got all sad and pitiful.  As it turns out, it wasn't being partners at the bridge table that made my parents snipe at each other.  They did it even when they weren't partners!  I almost got burnt out on the game after playing with the two of them for a while, but then Dad got Leukemia and started going downhill.  No matter how weak his body got, his brain never faltered.  That was the other good thing about Shanghai.  It was challenging enough for someone like him, who could remember what cards everyone had picked up or discarded, so always knew exactly what everyone was saving. But, it was also easy enough for someone like me, who was doing good just to remember what was in my own hand, and involved just enough sheer luck to give me a good chance at winning on a regular basis.  You should have seen the way Dad's eyes would twinkle, whenever he said "Did someone mention cards?"

I'm really missing that game now.  My sisters and I still play once in a while, when we go on a little get-away together, but I really miss having a regular group to play with, and the fun excuses for a party that we always came up with.  Guess I'm just gonna have to break down and teach some of my Wimbo-buds how to play!