Roll 'Dem Bones

Damn I got an itch for goin' to Vegas! My brother brought his new boyfriend up to NoCal about a week ago to meet the folks. My mom sent a late Christmas gift for me back with him. She was bothered at Christmas because she really wanted to give it to me in person but it was back-ordered. I ripped off the paper and there it was - a Monopoly game, Las Vegas style. You know, just when I'm convinced that my Mom has no clue about who I am or what makes me tick, she goes and does something like this. I used to host a monthly game night. (I need to get that going again since I now have the time.) I would mention it to her but never really thought she paid attention. The Vegas part I get, that's one thing that runs in the family. Both sides. I'll have to tell this story another time but my Grandfather actually taught me, and all my cousins, all the ins and outs of Black Jack. Oh what the hell... The best part was, we played for money. He always kept old medication containers full of change in his dresser. Whenever any of us wanted to play, he was right there with us. And when we lost, there was no going easy on us. He kept every cent of it! That's why I learned very quickly when to stay, when to hit and everything in between. Thanks to Grandpa, once I got a little older, he'd let me deal the cards and my younger cousins would walk away broke. Lucky for me I'm full-blooded Mexican so you can safely assume there was no shortage of cousins. I always looked forward to the day I could go to Reno with my Grandpa. He died when I was sixteen. When my Dad cleaned out his dresser, he found container after container of coins. I wouldn't doubt if each one was from each grandchild. Some people might think it a strange way to bond with a grandchild. I'd say I was closer to him than any other of my grandparents. Sometimes when I'm sitting at that table covering third base and I have an ify hand, I can still hear his voice. He'd scratch his head and say "Whoo, doggie!" Good times, good times.