The Magic Kingdom's New Lesson

You're never too old to learn something new.  Just hang out at a Bingo game for a few hours and you will be amazed.  Sometimes it not exactly good things you learn, but sometimes it is!!

I started off the afternoon in the upstairs lounge with my usual coke.  Apparently there was a memo, and I didn't get it.  The only one there was Apache Frank (Red Feather if you're a friend).  I think I've mentioned him before.  At 98 years old, he's survived more than practically anyone on the planet ... for SURE anyone in our little town.

It's not exactly easy to talk to him ... sentences are slow to come ... but he's got a great sense of humor for having lived an amazing life.  Born near Tucson Arizona, he didn't spend much time in school.  What he DID was make a few pennies taking care of the Buffalo Soldier horses at Fort Huachuca in the 1920's.

He was the oldest of four brothers, one of whom died in the war at the age of 17.  He survived Pearl Harbor, shooting lots of planes out of the sky.  "I killed a lot of bad people".  You really don't want to hear his stories of the time he spent in the Philippines.  The Japanese were amazingly cruel.

For an hour we exchanged stories about Southern Arizona and all the places we both had been.  Except for one ... the Reservation Casino.  I'm not exactly sure WHICH Casino, since sometimes he's a little hard to understand, especially when he throws in words in Apache.   Apparently Lorraine is one of the Head People on the reservation, who treats him like royalty.  Why don't you visit more often, Frank?  Because Lorraine wants him to stay permanently .... with her .... in the hogan where she lives.

He married an orphan gal when he was 39.  He was so smitten, he promised to find all of her family if she married him.  She did ... and he found her parents.  She passed away 12 years ago, and according to Apache tradition, he honored her for 10 years before dating again ... said with a big smile on his face!!

Finally time for Bingo, I headed downstairs, a little worried that none of our cronies showed up.  Not only because that means there's no one to help the Bingo-ites, but there's no one to take Frank home.

Right off the bat, the infernal machine did a number on me.  I imagine it's because I try to go too fast to keep the complaints to a minimum.  It "Received On Account" $100 when it should have paid OUT $100.

After finally making adjustments to clear THAT out, I got in trouble big time.  We keep track of payouts on a sheet by making sure the floor people tell us the exact game.  That's how we know how much to pay.  I was told wrong twice in a row and paid out $250 instead of $100.  You can imagine just how ecstatic the player was, matching my jaw dropping OH NO!!!

I have to say this NEVER happens!!  The nice lady gave back $150.  I tipped her $20 out of my pocket for being so nice ... after all, it was MY mistake.

That's how things went all night long.  One problem after another!!  I guess I was just too distracted by Frank not having a ride home from the usual Bingo crew.  I volunteered, but could't leave until 9:30.  That meant he spent entirely too much time upstairs in the bar!!

Here's the new lesson I learned.  Uber is available EVERYWHERE.  Even in this little town, you can sign up, call Uber and get a ride home.  Apparently all the Elks who participate upstairs do not drive any more, which I'm very happy to hear.  Even at that late hour, a driver came to the door, helped Frank into his car and drove him home, followed by a phone call that he was safe in his house.  Who knew??

Next time I need a ride to the truck repair shop, I'm calling Uber.  I never thought such an upscale kind of thing would be available in my little burg.  You're never too old to learn something new!!