June 2010 - 6

Viewpoint
By Brent Manley

When your hobbies get in the way of your
work - that's OK; but when your hobbies get
in the way of themselves ... well.
- Steve Martin

Letters to
the Editor

Deadlines
A few years ago, before I bought my current car, the automobile I drove was
a rolling container for clutter. When I purchased the new car, I decided I would
start anew and maintain a clean vehicle. So far, so good.
A couple of months ago, as we were packing for ACBL's move from Memphis
to our new home in Horn Lake MS, I vowed that the desk in my new office
would stay clean and uncluttered, as would my office. I threw a lot of stuff
away to accomplish my objective, and so far, I have stuck to the plan, amazing
co-workers who were familiar with my old office.
I'm doing more to keep things in order these days because I am taking a
slight, temporary detour in my duties for the ACBL.
Now that we are in our new digs, most of my time will be taken up with getting the 7th edition of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge ready for print. We
want to have it available in the fall of 2011, in advance of the 75th anniversary
of the founding of the ACBL, which will be observed in 2012. I will still be
writing this column and working on the Daily Bulletins at the NABCs, but the
encyclopedia will be my primary focus.
There is much work to be done, and in reviewing the material on hand, I
can't help noticing glaring omissions, mostly in the area of biographies.
When I took over as encyclopedia editor, I made a commitment to present
the player biographies in a new, more personal way. I encouraged all who submitted information to include more about themselves as people.
Perhaps you have an interesting background. I know a tournament director
who used to be a submarine commander. Maybe you have an unusual hobby or
accomplishments outside of bridge. Jeff Meckstroth told me that when he was
younger, he considered becoming a golf pro. His partner, Eric Rodwell, is an
accomplished pianist who has a master's degree in corporate financial analysis. There may be items like that on your resume. Why not share them?
Don't worry that I'm planning to de-emphasize accomplishments at bridge,
but there is more to most of us than piles of masterpoints and "skins on the
wall," as Bob Hamman likes to put it. Did you know, by the way, that if your
local golf tournament offers a Cadillac to anyone who hits a hole in one,
there's a good chance Bob's company is behind that promotion?
At some point - likely this year - time will run out for getting your name in
the biographies section of the next encyclopedia. If you end up being left out,
don't blame me.
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6 Bridge Bulletin June 2010

Look forward
To the Editor:
I have enjoyed the game of bridge
for more than 40 years, but I only
recently joined the ACBL. I very
much enjoy the Bridge Bulletin,
which I read cover to cover. In nearly
every recent issue there have been
comments about the awarding of
masterpoints, how the game has
changed, how "standards" have been
lowered, and how the rank of Life
Master doesn't seem to mean what it
once did.
It is human nature to look fondly on
the past, to a supposed "golden age,"
when life was simpler and everything
was better. We tend to forget the bad
that went with that past.
My first experience with duplicate was around 1975. I was about
17 years old. What I remember most
about the experience was the rudeness, the bad behavior (players
yelling at each other) and how unwelcome I felt.
Over the next 30-plus years, I
played bridge as much as I could: I
had a regular bridge game on the train
commuting in and out of Chicago;
played party bridge, rubber bridge;
played with the church bridge group,
etc. I loved bridge but I had no interest in duplicate.
When I moved to Augusta GA last
spring, my boss, Shed Jolly, dragged
me to the CSRA Bridge Club. Things
have indeed changed. Bad behavior is
no longer tolerated. Everyone is made
to feel welcome. Every effort is made

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2010