What's On Bubbe's Mind?

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, who’s ready to share lots of thoughts and opinions today.

The first is that, as some of you know from my appearance on Tile Talk, I'm somewhat obsessed with SP3, the singles and pairs hand that is essentially a mini 369 hand. I told Christina and Elizabeth (the two co-hosts) that it is my “white whale” this year. (For anyone who doesn't know, that's a reference to Captain Ahab’s obsession in “Moby Dick”),

 

Well, last night at about 11:30 p.m., I made that hand online. I immediately texted Christina a screenshot and wrote, "What will I do with the rest of my life?" But let's be honest, the bots are not the brightest opponents. They often pass things in the Charleston that a real player would never pass (not jokers, but anything else!) I guess my next challenge will be to make SP3 in an actual, face-to-face game against experienced opponents–although I hope I get to play against people who don't read my blog; otherwise, they'll know not to pass 3, 6, or 9.

 

The second thing I want to share is related to SP3. I was giving a Zoom lecture on Sunday to the nice ladies of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, and I brought up that hand. Later on, during the Q&A, an attendee named Sonia told me that she'd had a problem completing a similar hand, 369 #5. She said her hand was declared dead because the kongs didn't match the pair.

 

Uh-oh, embarrassment for Bubbe! I, too, had yet to successfully make that hand. I looked at the card more carefully and realized I'd been taking it literally. I thought that it always required a pair of 3s and that the kongs only had to match each other. In actuality, 369 #5 is another floating pair hand–you need a pair of ANY one of the singles (3, 6, or 9) and then the kongs have to match that number in the other two suits.

 

I thanked her for bringing me up to speed and said that, hereafter, I'll be referring to it as “Sonia’s Hand.” Now that I know how it works, I have actually won with it twice!

 

The third thing, this morning, was a follow up to my white whale text last night. Christina called me and said Bubbe's mnemonics had been really helpful for remembering hands, so she created some of her own. One of hers was fantastic and she said that I'm welcome to share it with all of you. I'm going to be adding it to my lectures, too, with full attribution.

 

It's W6, the hand that I sometimes refer to as the Secret Super Chow hand. It's like W2, the super chow hand that requires ANY four consecutive numbers in the same suit, but for W6 they MUST be 1234. I say it's a secret super chow because you might, at first glance, not recognize the super chow itself. 

 

I'll still refer to it that way in explaining what chows are, but Christina’s nickname is too darn clever: she has named it the Treasure Map. Picture a little kid in their backyard, trying to decipher where the treasure is buried. “Take one step North, two steps East, three steps West, and four steps South…” (For the engineers and science brains among you, that amounts to taking one step West and three steps South, but that's a whole nother story….)

 

Adorable!! I'd call it “Jim Hawkins,” but I think "Treasure Island" references are just a little bit too obscure. I'm already getting blank stares when calling CR5b, my secret knit hand, “Madame DeFarge” after the woman in “A Tale of Two Cities” who is constantly knitting and observing everyone during the French Revolution.

 

It's not surprising that I draw these parallels between literature or movies and mah jongg hands. This game is always on my brain. When I look at phone numbers, I try to detect a pattern. I just sent an invoice for three books, $42.22, and told the buyer I’d recommend a Like Numbers hand. I watch the basketball playoffs with my husband and find myself comparing rebounding and shot clock management to joker strategies. I'm sure if I thought about it long enough, I’d even find mah jongg analogies about the plants blooming in my garden.... Something involving Flowers, obviously. Give me time.

 

Anyway, I am always happy to hear from you. You can email me at Bubbefischer@gmail.com. Feel free to send any questions or comments you have, and please check out my other articles. I'm also happy to give a zoom lecture to your group, or if you're local enough, in person–I might even help out with a fundraising event!

 

Talk to you soon.

 

Bubbe