July 2020 - 61

Special Contributors

George's World
BY GEORGE JACOBS

Sometimes I can be a tad humorous in my column, quick to point out
the foibles (try rhyming that word,
would you? The closest I come is a big
guy from Brooklyn with a cigar in his
mouth saying the word gerbils [why, I
have no idea]) of others, as well as my
own. But we are going to cover a serious topic this month.
Because I have mentioned it in 15
straight columns, you are probably
aware that Claude and I won our
district's North American Pairs and
Grand National Teams (with help
from Larry and Drew. OK, they carried us). My bucket list in bridge is
short. I would like to improve on my
second-place finish in the Bermuda
Bowl; I would love to get into even the
ante room of the Hall of Fame, finish
my ninth book and, most of all, win a
national championship with Claude.
We have led three events, including the
Life Master Pairs, with one set to go,
but we have never been able to close
the deal. So, getting an extra shot at a
title in Columbus and then another in
Montreal had me salivating. He does
not care, but I do. Winning with Claude
would be the cherry on the pizza.
I desperately wanted the tournament
to go on as scheduled in Columbus.
My bride Stacy, on the other hand, was
fighting like a soldier to prevent it.
She was attacked by the coronavirus
in early February and knew firsthand
the unbelievable danger it posed. She
lobbied the ACBL via Bridge Winners

NOBET8888@aol.com

and social media and BBO. She took
the extraordinary position of calling
the mayor of Columbus, the governor
of Ohio, the Columbus health department, the hotels and more. She and I
started playing "Let's Make a Deal." I
was willing to go for just the NAP and
forgo the rest of the tournament. I said
I would drive instead of fly, wash my
hands after every round, wear a mask,
run from coughers, etc.
We kept wondering what the League
might do. I am sure I felt like many of
us do: Let the games proceed, but be
careful. The problem was that this was
so early in the pandemic - so much less
was known about the issues and we
had many luminaries poopooing the
dangers. But I really wanted to play in
the NAP with Claude.
The governor of Ohio was among the
first, if not the first, to limit gatherings
to groups of 50 or 100. I had the answer
to that. I told Stacy that there were
only 78 pairs, or 156 players plus directors. They could simply play in two different rooms and solve that problem.
Tables could be farther apart. I did not
have a great answer about sick people
playing, but I might have come up with
something.
For the ACBL, the North American
Bridge Championships are the showplace of bridge. We get lots of publicity,
the treasury gets refilled, and thousands of people get what they want
and need in the form of competition,
friendship, satisfaction, endless stories

of what might have been and column
material. The ACBL was wavering and
I selfishly wanted them to proceed.
But I have the greatest admiration
for the three entities that ultimately
were responsible for pulling the plug
on the Columbus NABC. The ACBL
took tremendous flak, but they did
exactly the right thing. The governor of
Ohio took even more flak, but he stood
his ground. Stacy took the most flak,
because I really wanted to go and play.
Thank you from my heart to the trio
that did the right thing, even though it
was unpopular.
Now, the rest of the story. At some
point in April, despite being very cautious, I got COVID-19. To quote Craig
Gardner, who got it far worse than I
did, "There were days I thought I would
die, and there were days I would have
welcomed it." Five weeks later, I was
still recovering at home. Craig was
hospitalized for three weeks.
There is no way of telling how many
lives the ACBL saved by canceling this
event, but it could be thousands, as
people keep infecting others. Thank
you to Stacy for your unflagging efforts
to protect me and others. Claude and
I will have other chances to win a title
together but not at the risk of our lives.
Congratulations to the folks in
Columbus who worked years to put
on this tournament. It would have
been great and I hope you get another
chance.
See you all in Tampa.
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July 2020 Bridge Bulletin

July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2020