CALL THE PO PO!!!!

 It's time for that always exciting BINGO event at the Elks Magic Castle!  The morning started out nicely enough with none of the expected gully washer appearing over the horizon.  It was a little overcast, but not a drop of water fell.  Too bad, because if it had been raining like the cats and dogs that were predicted, it might have kept a few of the lovely bingo players away.

Wishful thinking I guess.  I landed upstairs early in order to take care of some Trustee business and chat with the accountant.  Not only are we kin by occupation, but she and her family lived (and still do) not far from our ranch.  If you are within ten miles, you are a neighbor.  

As you know, when it comes to Bingo, there is always one to deal with (I won't mention names) that raises my hackles.  She's a helper, though I seriously don't know what she HELPS with.  She railed at me a few weeks ago ... and I didn't even know why.  Turns out I opened a little early and she was not FIRST in line.  I'm sure you know what was going through my head.  I heard later that she was cussing me out behind the door.

You probably shouldn't be antagonizing the person you want to serve you before everyone else in the building.  BAD NANCY appeared in a flash.  My opening time is now at the whim of the winds.  

Everything was humming right along as I tried to choke down that tamale offered by a player.  Having been in the RV world for quite awhile, I know better.  Everyone doesn't sanitize their tanks and I'm sure they follow the ten second rule, right?  You know what I mean.  It's just hard to refuse when they are being so nice.

That's when it happened.  I heard the softest bingo and instantly knew we were in trouble.  If you get a bingo, you better yell your lungs out.  This place is run by old folks who can't hear very well.  There are rules.  If you don't yell loud enough for the caller to hear you and he/she calls the next number, you lose.

I know, it's a stinky rule ... but absolutely EVERYONE knows it because the rules are read before EVERY section of games.  The problem escalated by epic proportions when the NEXT number was called and the crowd erupted in screams of BINGO!!!

No no no no no!!!!!  The lady who called it first went ballistic.  Had she called it louder, she would have had $250 in her pocket.  I felt bad because I knew she couldn't afford to be there in the first place.  When they told her she didn't call it loud enough, she came straight to my table and demanded a refund!  Well she's talking LOUD NOW!!!  She was SCREAMING loud enough for the entire building to hear.

I kept saying it was up to the man in charge of bingo.  Whatever he said goes.  She wasn't taking no for an answer.  Pretty soon she and the King were yelling at each other in front of my table.  CALL THE PO PO!!  To make matters worse ... there were NINETEEN bingos called with the very next number, meaning those people got all of $13 each.  That's what happens when just ONE player doesn't call out loud enough.

The lady kept saying she was calling TikTok while looking at her phone.  WHAT?  Over and over ... I'm telling TikTok.  Okay, but I don't think that's going to work unless the King has changed his name to TikTok.  I felt bad for her, but what can you do.  The rules are the rules.  If we didn't enforce them we would have 120 other people screaming at us.  In the end, we didn't call the police and the lady disappeared.  Me thinks we better keep an eye out for her return ... you just never know what people will do when they lose at Bingo.

The Castle finally quieted down.  The rest of the night went by without any problems except for the people screaming BINGO at the top of their lungs to be sure they were heard.  

AND I came home with a 15 pound turkey for Thanksgiving.  Bingo buys turkeys and gives one to each volunteer.  Nice!  It's not a Butterball (my favorite tasty treat) but that's okay.  Cooper and I will appreciate having lots of turkey sandwiches for all of December.  Had I run into the lady, I might have given it to her.  Not the same as a payout, but at least it was something.

By the way ... that tamale?  I will never EVER eat anything from a Bingo player again.  When they aren't looking, it will go in the trash!!!  I learned my lesson in spades this time!!!