March 2005 - 6

Viewpoint
By Brent Manley

It has been said that man is a rational animal.
All my life I have been searching for evidence
which could support this.
- Bertrand Russell

Commitment

Easter occurs this month, and the period leading up to it, for many
people, is known as Lent. Some of us are used to giving up something for
Lent. When I was young, I always wanted to give up liver or beets. Come
to think of it, I still do.
I'm sure it's admirable to make a - look out, bridge pun ahead -
sacrifice for a good cause, but it feels better to decide on a positive action
rather than vowing not to do something (nearly split an infinitive there -
that's a good thing to give up for Lent).
This year, therefore, I'm going to:
 Try harder to be friendly to everyone when I'm playing bridge. It's
more difficult when you're grumpy because you're having a bad game or
mentally berating yourself for a silly play or bid the previous round, but you
know your overall game will benefit if you can let those emotions go before
you pull the next hand from the board. Set an example. Always be cheerful.
 Make more bridge dates with inexperienced players. This is a great way
to show you care about the game. It will also help you keep perspective and
increase your understanding of the struggles some new players go through.
If you can't remember your own beginnings, this may jog your memory and
boost your tolerance.
 Try to be kind to everyone, even Yankee fans (that's a tough one).
 Write another bridge book (perhaps more than one).
 Get my favorite partner (Donna) to visit the bridge club more often.
She's very busy at work and occasionally feeling stress. A nice friendly
bridge game would help her relax (whoa - that's a bit of pressure, but I
can handle it).
 Keep working hard to improve my game. Bridge can be enormously
frustrating. Just when I feel I'm playing half decently, I want to ask myself,
"I know you took up bridge today, but what time today?"
 Praise an opponent - especially a newer player - for a good bid
or play. It's something you can give that doesn't cost but produces a huge
reward.
That's a lot to do in the space of 40 days - especially the part about
Yankee fans - so I'm going to cut myself some slack and not worry if I'm
still working on these mini‑projects into the summer. I've learned, by the
way, to be more tolerant of my own shortcomings as long as I keep trying.
If I achieve even a few of these positive Lenten goals, I'll feel that I
accomplished something worthwhile - and I can still pass (oops! it
happened again) on the liver and beets.

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Letters to
the Editor
Add one

To the Editor:
I think there should be one more
card in the bid box. It could be used
after play is completed, and it could
read, "Sorry, partner." Enough said.
SUSAN KATZ
Stamford CT

Time to stop
To the Editor:
In her letter urging the abandon‑
ment of the STOP card (January,
page 6) Audrey Wicks asks if
anyone agrees with her. I do, most
emphatically, because:
1. The rules require players to
pause, study their cards and act as if
engaged in thought in tempo‑
sensitive auctions whether STOP
cards are displayed or not.
2. Violations of this requirement to
pause are virtually never penalized,
and hence the STOP card is ineffec‑
tive for its intended purpose.
3. Jump bids can be weak, strong
or intermediate, natural or artificial,
and it's sometimes hard for players
to remember which bids have which
meanings in the different partner‑
ships in which they play. Players can
use or decline to use their STOP
cards to signal to their partners
which meanings their jump bids
have in each case.
Indeed, during the era of oral
bidding in a now‑defunct rubber
bridge club in Los Angeles, most
of the players would preface their
weak jumps with "skip bid" but say
nothing when making strong jumps,
Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2005