Pinochle - The game that helped build a fighting spirit

The art of playing cards can teach us a lot about life. I grew up playing cards and from a very young age, I would sit on my mom’s lap and throw whatever card she told me to throw in. (And I loved when we won the hand). I first learned to play cribbage, and then I advanced to pinochle. When I was old enough to play on my own, Grandpa Walter and I loved being pinochle partners and trumping Grandma Ruby’s Aces! Oh boy she would get mad. But this type of mad was different, as it had a playful spirit around it. And win or lose, we always loved each other…. (I was always more happy to be on the winning side… but I would get over the occasional loss).

When my boys were old enough to start playing card games, I would be nice and give them tips of the game while they were learning … but once they understood the game… It was every player for themselves, and I never “let” them win. My boys learned very young that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. (And the son most like me still does not like to lose)

Pinochle taught me that you can’t win without having the bid, so sometimes it is OK to go set, because the other team can’t go out if you have the bid. It taught me it is ok to get fired up when someone trumps your ace… and if they do it twice in a row, sometimes it is ok to swear (If you’re over 18)…. but the best thing it taught me is to finish the game as friends. Just like life… sometimes it is OK to have a setback… but you can’t win without trying. And sometimes we might swear, grumble or stomp our feet… because the hand that was dealt sometimes does not play the way we want it to. But at the end of the day, it is important to be thankful for the game, thankful for the friends and thankful for the fighting spirit to say… Want to play again?