Greetings and salutations from your contemplative Bubbe on this Easter Sunday.
I have been writing these card reviews at a breathless pace, and I think I will take a moment today to go on a different tangent. I am dedicating this column to two women who embody something very important about mah jongg.
The first is well-known in the mahj world. Her name is Fern Bernstein and she has written "Mah Jongg Mondays," a book about how mah jongg provides an opportunity to make friends and support one another through good times and bad. In the book, Fern talks about how her network of mahj friends helped her, and others, through family illness and bereavement.
Fern has taken her love of people, and natural curiosity, to the next level. For the past several years, she has run a podcast, also called Mah Jongg Mondays, where she interviews players and other people tangentially related to mah jongg. The topics vary widely, but her grace and enthusiasm runs through every episode. Especially during COVID, her podcast was a lifeline. She's helped people develop a connection.
The other is a woman who perhaps only a few of you know: Terry Hofflich. Terry took one of my beginner mah jongg classes, way before COVID began. She had been recently widowed and was trying to get back out in the world.
Terry was a memorable student. She was not someone who mastered the game quickly, but she was outgoing and upbeat. She relished being out and about and making new friends; she was strictly there for the social aspect of the game.
I have often invoked Terry's playing style in my lectures and writing. She was the one who preferred playing dots, only, because they were easier to keep straight.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that playing style. Terry's objective was to spend time with friends. Just by being at the table, she'd already won.
I found out that Terry passed away this week. I'll never forget her joie de vivre. Our perspectives on mah jongg were different, but I completely respect hers. I will never forget her.
There is an epidemic of loneliness in this country. A strong mah jongg community can be part of the cure.
We can go back to strategy again tomorrow.
Bubbe
Thank you for all of your columns and insights. But this one is very on point. We are indeed a community and as such everyone is welcome. It is a good place for someone who is alone. Covid changed a lot of people's circumstances and as we go through different stages of life it is nice to know there are others who will be there for you.
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