Drawing Power

Drawing Power
Last week I was in Las Vegas for a couple of days. I arrived on Thursday night to be there to celebrate a family event on Friday night. The event was a surprise birthday party for my boys’ grandma who was turning 70. This would be my ex-wife’s mom, but the family, love and attachment to each other doesn’t really have an “ex” in their lexicon. So even though my wife and I are not together, I’m connected to the family just the same.

When I arrived as so many visitors to Vegas can attest, one hits the tables to get their bearings on the luck quotient. I started playing draw poker, the video version. Draw means that you have choices. It deals you 5 cards and you can keep any or all of them or draw new ones. Depending on the game the odds and the payouts are different. The game that caught my attention was the double double bonus version. If you were lucky enough to get a Royal Flush you could win 4000 coins. That’s $4000 on a dollar machine and a cool grand on the quarter version. I was playing with quarters to start and was feeling lucky. I set my intention on getting 4 aces with a 2, 3 or 4 which paid $500 for a $1.25 bet.

The machine after only a few minutes of losers dealt me an ace and 4 other random cards. I held the ace and drew three more aces and a 4 – $500. Twenty minutes later it dealt me 4 aces and a king. I held the aces (duh) and drew a deuce -$500. I hit four aces 6 times on this trip playing a combination of quarters or dollars. The luck of the draw was with me.

The real drawing power on this trip though was the birthday girl, Virginia. Relatives and friends from all over came to Vegas to celebrate a life that has touched so many in so many positive ways it was tough to keep track of all of the stories. In some cases, stories I promised not to tell.

I was playing catch up with some people that I had not seen in years and plenty of new faces too. I used to think that I was adopted into the family but it’s more like being absorbed. Divorce is not a ticket out unless one chooses to leave. At one point after the dinner party I looked down at the bar in the Paris Hotel and saw nothing but family members and friends, standing, sitting, laughing and enjoying the moment. The energy was really positive and it seemed like the party could go on all night, which it did.

The next day I hit the video poker machines again but was not feeling as lucky until later that day when we all got together to sing happy birthday and share some cake and champagne. I noticed that there were a few generations tipping their glasses and I really could feel a buzz about the room spreading from the 18 year olds to the 80 plus. I was privileged to make a toast and then I reluctantly had to leave.

On the way to the airport I was counting my winnings and I surmised that life is a bit like draw poker. You can hold them or draw or fold. For me, I had been dealt a lot of love with these family cards and I knew that as long as I held on to them, I’d be a winner.

Gary
From the Book of Szen