Dominoes Anyone?

There are plenty of different types of domino games around now-a-days.

I grew up with a bunch that liked to play just regular old dominoes.  You could get a wooden set at the store for just a little change, but those things wore out kind of quick around a bunch of domino hands.

As a youngster, I hung around with the cowboys that liked to play a few hands after dark.  After a hard day’s work, it wouldn’t be long before everybody was ready to hit the hay after a few hands, but boy could one learn how to play dominoes.  And it was fun to watch them laugh and cut up!

Four players at a small square table in the middle of the room made for an evening of quips, curses, and a tad of hollering when things worked out.  The surface of that table was like a chalk board.  Easy to shuffle those “rocks,” and each player had a piece of chalk to keep their score. The score was a column of marks that ran up to two hundred fifty.  Rarely did anyone get called out for adding too many points to their score, but occasionally one could see a neighbor use their little finger to take off five or ten points from their opponent to their left.

I have grown to really enjoy a game of plain old dominoes.  Dad and I used to team up and take on all comers.  That was when I learned how important it was for my Dad to be on the winning team.  Kicks under the table warned the teammate of the double six.  A knock on the table when an opponent played a particular domino that would score points for the team. It goes one and on.  We were always the champions, and to this day, yet to be beat.  (he has passed away so I guess the team is one of legends now) I do not play teams anymore. I think my Dad spoiled me with the winning.

There was a particular pool hall in town that also was home to some domino players.  I was no longer around the cowboys, so I hung out in that pool hall.  I played pool of course, but it was an end to a means.  I was waiting to be invited to the domino tables.  It happened one summer. All these players were seasoned veteran domino kings in their own right.  I know they thought they could roll this little whipper snapper that has been licking his chops to get to play.  And roll me they did for a couple of games.

Mind you, there was no money involved in these games, at least at the table where I played.  I began to find a groove and started picking up points fairly fast when I noticed my neighbor to my right walked his little finger over to my scoring line and wiped about ten points.  I went ahead and put them back on the table, and went on to win the game.

Those fellows just stared at me after the game was over.  They couldn’t believe a young fellow had just won a game from them.  After a while, I had earned a permanent seat at that table, and the senior veterans just shifted around so I had a chance to play everybody.

This happened late in the summer.  Of course, school happened for me, and I heard through the grapevine those players were glad to see me get back to school so they could resume their regular routine.  Little did they know, I had a knack for skipping school.  And, I did just about every other afternoon, you could find me at the domino table at the pool hall.

We had a big tournament coming up, and there was money in the purse to win.  I wanted that money, and thought I had a shot at winning the tournament.  During the very first round, I looked up and saw the principle of the high school walk through the door.  This fellow was one of my favorite people.  He had been around the block a few times himself, and understood a lot of things that educators have difficulty with today.  Anyway, he stood by my chair as I finished winning the game.  He congratulated me, and asked to speak to me privately.  He told me that he had heard about the domino tournament, and he knew I had been playing frequently.  And he knew I was winning.  He had received a call from the domino parlor telling him that one of his students was at the domino table instead of in the class room.  He said since he had received the call, he came down to fetch me back to class.  My seat was quickly filled by another player.

On the way back to class, the principle told me he was proud that I was such a good domino player the old veterans were worried I was going to win the pot.  When we got to his office (he had to write an absence slip so I could get back in class), he handed me a twenty dollar bill.  That was the exact amount of the pot in the tournament.  He told me the old vets had previously mentioned the tournament and me, and gave him the money they knew I would win.

I never felt comfortable enough going back into that pool hall. Now, I play regular dominoes with my family and we always wind up laughing and cutting up. And I think that training I got from those cowboys has come full circle.  They even beat me every once in a while, too.  That is the way it is supposed to be.