August 2005 - 6

Viewpoint
By Brent Manley

There is no cure for birth and death save to
enjoy the interval.
- George Santayana

Letting go
My friend and co-worker Jody Latham died in June (see page 69).
Through my tears, I read the following at her funeral.
It is very difficult to say goodbye to someone you have known for
decades, someone you have worked with for 15 years, a person who has
been your friend for all that time.
Jody and I had a lot in common - a love of sports, favorite teams and
mystery fiction. She shared her favorite authors with me and introduced
me to several. We often had lunch at a local bookstore, and Jody usually
couldn't wait to get over to the mystery section after eating on the off
chance that a book would turn up that she didn't have.
Jody never tired of talking about her family - her brother, Wayne, and
her nephew Zach, her sister, Linda, and her two nieces, Beth and Melanie.
Jody took it hard when Linda died last year, but she found comfort in
her ACBL family. When she had heart surgery in 2004, she learned how
many people at the office loved her and cared about her. After she had her
surgery earlier this year, my office was a focal point for people checking to
see how Jody was doing.
I hope Jody understood the impact she had on the bridge world - the
writers she edited and the players she met. Women's bridge was Jody's beat,
and she regularly attended the women's trials to determine our representatives to the world championships. I hope she knew how much her work in
that area meant to the women she encountered. I have heard from many of
them over the last few weeks, all of them shocked and dismayed to hear
about Jody's illness.
Jody loved bridge and bridge players. She worked hard at her job and
represented the ACBL with class and dignity. She didn't have a mean bone
in her body. Everyone who knew her liked her and what she stood for.
I don't want to let go, but I have to. Instead of remembering her last
days, when I think of Jody I'll remember her laughter, her joy when things
went right for Ole Miss, her fascination with the game of bridge and her
love of life.
The last time I saw Jody, I told her I was going to run a marathon in
South Bend IN in her honor. I put a sign on my back that said "For Jody."
A lot of people asked me about her during the race. It was a very hot and
humid day and I was struggling toward the end. Of course, I was thinking
about Jody and her fight the whole time. At mile 24, out of the blue, I got
a burst of energy and picked up the pace by about three minutes per mile.
Was that Jody helping me out? I don't know, but I like to think it was.
Thanks, Jody. Goodbye.

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Letters to
the Editor
Who gets it?
To the Editor:
I couldn't agree more with the
May Viewpoint (page 6). It ended,
however, with a question, "Is that
too difficult to understand?" I will
answer that with an emphatic yes.
Since I read the column, I have
encountered situations where 1) a
bridge aficionado finds fault with
really technical issues about duplicate
games, e.g., director's calls, roundrobins, a movement that allows all
Flight A players to start against other
A players, subjective interpretations
of Zero Tolerance and 2) a situation
where a brand-new player (my partner) is incorrectly giving information
to me by touching the bidding
box. This person could not convey
information to their partner if they
were allowed to speak! In this latter
incident the accuser said to me later
that my partner "does not belong in
this game."
You said it wonderfully when you
started with the quote, "The people's
good is the highest law."
Unfortunately, most duplicate
players do not understand the quote
as it pertains to what the ACBL is
trying to do for the game.
JOHN CAROZZA
The Villages FL

Around the world
To the Editor:
A slight, mixed grimace and smile
come across my face as I read letters by Fred Graf and Ki Punches in
Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2005