Bingo Fun At Britton Budd

Location: Britton/Budd Apartments

Date: Monday, February 09, 2015; 6:15 -7:30 pm

It had been a long time and I was looking forward to meeting my playing buddy Elvina.  I arrived at the doors and they were closed with a dial pad outside…but no number to dial so as to reach security.  After banging on the doors I was finally let in.  I saw Elvina walking towards the Bingo room and I told her to save me a seat as I checked in.  I went inside and as I put my stuff down next to her, she said, “We meet again”.  As soon as I sat down, she said "Wish me Happy Birthday", since it was yesterday.  I knew that it fell on an 8^th since it's her favorite number, but did not know which month, until now. 

Elvina's Bingo Board

There were several volunteers present today and we actually had one at each table, with our Volunteer leader Veronica calling.  It was just Elvina and me on ours.  Elvina had her own Bingo cards and they looked new, each with a different design.  She said that her daughter had gotten them for her and was having a tough time selecting 2 from the 3 that she had.  I asked Elvina how she had spent her birthday and she said that her entire family was there, including all of the grandkids.  I asked if her dog was at the party and she said not with so many people around!  I asked what presents she had received and she said cash and some gift cards. I said that works!  I asked what kind of cake she had and she said layers of Strawberry and Pineapple.  I said so she's not a 'Chocolate Cake' person.  At this she got excited and said that they had her favorite ice cream –“Chocolate Oreo cookie”.  She said that she had all of it, but in moderation. I said that's the key.  I said that it sucks to have a birthday in winter since you can't go out. She said yes, you can if you bundle up.  I said but not in a dress - referring to a comment she had made in the past - and she said yep.  Man I love her spunk.  It seems that yesterday they had played some game called “Left-Right-Center”, where you roll dice and depending on “L”, “R” or “C”, took money from someone sitting on your left, right or center.  She said that she had turned 69 but then corrected herself saying 89.  I said we should stick to 69 since she looks that - and she really does

The game started and we were struggling, with all the wins were coming on the other side of the room.  After we hadn't won in several rounds, I said that we should probably switch places with the folks on the side that was winning!  Elvina would every now and then remove the 3rd card and see if she wanted to replace one of the two she had.  But then she would end up keeping the original ones.  But she would not be denied and finally won.  She went and picked some 'Tupperware', and I said that it was a good choice.  Another volunteer took over for Veronica and she was nervous initially, calling "Zero" for “O”.  Hey, speaking from experience, it's not easy calling a game, especially when some people are complaining.  But this is a friendlier crowd and was encouraging the caller.  I said to Elvina that she would be lucky for us since the volunteer was wearing a Violet sweater, to go with my Violet scarf and Elvina's Violet water bottle cover!

Our side of the room was still struggling, but we finally won a couple - still not as many as the other side.  Elvina kept saying that I should win, but the problem was that we both had many numbers in common, meaning our fortunes were linked.  She won again and unfortunately some of the disposable Violet cups were gone, since they would have gone well with her bottle.  Elvina chose a word search puzzle over a photo-frame.  When everyone had won, the person with least prizes would get one, provided they put their hands up.  Elvina had less than others and so I kept saying that she had to be fast with her hands.  But she still had her sense of humor regarding the game, as earlier she had mentioned to me "Watch me else I will cheat", when I had said that one can win only once in the same round. 

When all prizes were gone, it was time to leave.  Elvina said that she would tell her kids how she had told me that she was 69.  Once again, I reiterated that she should stick to that age.  I asked what had been her favorite birthday to date. She said that at her age all of them are special.  I said that is true at any age.  I helped put her things in that lovely pink bag which I have known her to always carry and then she left.  So did I, after promising Veronica that there would not be so much of a gap between my visits next time.

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy