April 2024 - 7

IN Box
In defense of a friend
I usually enjoy reading stories in
the Bridge Bulletin about the life
achievements of people I have come
to know in the bridge world. But the
February issue left me with a truly
bitter taste in my mouth and makes
me wonder where the copy editor
was. I'm referring to the piece about
Mike Levine, outlining many of his
accomplishments outside of bridge,
as well as all his endeavors to further
the game. I'm at a loss to understand
why, in the course of detailing Mike's
many achievements, one would find
it necessary to impugn the character
of a former bridge partner, especially
one as accomplished and well respected
as Dennis McGarry. I find
this particularly distasteful in light of
the fact that there are always (at least)
two sides to every story, and Dennis
is no longer around to defend himself.
Dennis was a dear friend and a great
bridge player, but apparently that
wasn't enough in itself to escape unscathed
in a list of the achievements
and accomplishments of Mike Levine.
The offending passage: " Levine
played with Dennis McGarry for a few
years, until McGarry's alcoholism
became too much. Levine sent him
to rehab. " I've been with Mike many
times through the years at tournaments
and at charitable events. I've
played against him often, and chatted
with him. Perhaps if the opportunity
arises again, I'll get the chance to ask
him why he found it necessary to add
these hurtful words in such a piece.
My heart goes out to my dear friend
Linda McGarry, who should not have
had to see these words in print. I miss
Dennis. We had some great times
together, and I'll choose to remember
him the way his friends saw him, and
not the way one of his clients chose to
refer to him and their time together
as a formidable partnership.
Shame on you, Mike, and shame
on the Bulletin editors for printing
this hurtful description which added
nothing at all to the accomplishments
of the subject.
GLENN EISENSTEIN
New York NY
Ed. note: This was indeed a terrible
oversight on the part of the editorial
staff. The offending passage was unnecessary
and irrelevant to the piece.
Our apologies to Linda McGarry for
this unforced error. Correction: The
label of " alcoholism " was purely based
on opinion, not on a clinical diagnosis.
Further, Mr. McGarry never entered a
rehab program.
A 10-bagger
In the 55 years I've been playing
bridge, this is a first for me: I picked
up a 10-card suit. I'm South on this
layout:
s J 10 4 3
h A K 8
d K Q 5 4
c J 4
s A K 9 8 7
h -
d J 10 8
c K 10 6 3 2
s Q 6 2
h -
d A 9 6 5 3
c A Q 8 7 5
s 5
h Q J 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 2
d 7
c 9
I opened 4h and partner raised to
6h. The opponents remained silent.
West led the sA and then paused to
consider what to do next, as I said a
short prayer.
West continued with the sK. I
ruffed with the hQ, played the hJ to
dummy's ace, and called for the sJ.
It was covered by East's queen, as I
ruffed with the h10. I used the h9 to
cross to dummy's king and pitched a
diamond on the good s10. I then led
the dK, covered by the ace, and ruffed
with the h7. I returned to dummy for
the third time by overtaking the h6
with the h8, and pitched my club on
the dQ. I led a club from dummy and
ruffed with the h5, and tabled the
h4 3 2 and said to partner, " All I have
left are these little hearts. "
6h bid and made missing three
aces. Should I have mentioned to the
opponents that they were cold for 6c?
FRANK SALEM
Cincinnati OH
See you at the table
Humans are social creatures. We
seem to have overlooked this fact
with the COVID restrictions and
expansion of online bridge games. As
a result, the game we love has been
damaged significantly.
I have had the honor of running the
prize desk at the Gatlinburg Regional
for 30 years. I have loved seeing
longtime friends at bridge clubs and
tournaments. I watched Gatlinburg
grow under the leadership of Marlene
Wass and Judy Nolan. Gatlinburg
made the players want to come; the
hospitality and friendships made
there made people want to come
back. Pete and Julia Misslin have
done a yeoman's job and have done
everything they can to help with the
resurrection of the tournament. They
certainly deserve the support of all
the bridge world.
It is time for us all to return to the
bridge table in real life. I ask all bridge
players to make an effort to attend
some tournaments in their district
and region. I would love nothing better
than to be overwhelmed this April by
all the winners stopping by the prize
desk in Gatlinburg. Time to leave the
quarantine: See you all at the bridge
table in person. Oh, bring a friend!
CHRIS MORRIS
Kingsport TN
April 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
7
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April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024
