Saturday was Windy City Nights Casino Night, including a celebrity Texas Hold 'Em tournament. This was an event sponsored by the Junior League in which two of my friends were playing as celebrities. It was also designated by one of my friends as her birthday celebration and invited all of us to play in the tournament.
I don't know much about poker. In fact, I had to google it to learn the order of winning hands and get a general sense of when to automatically fold. (God bless Al Gore and his internet.) Nonetheless, I figured that if I lost everything quickly, no big deal. It was a charity and not real money. So, I was in.
Shortly before the event, I got a call from my mom telling me that my great uncle had died. He had been sick for a couple months but last I heard, was improving. In retrospect, I think that he spent the last 60 years or so being completely independent and the past two months of being totally dependent with people constantly in his space just wore him down. Faced with a future of daily medical assistance, it seems like he was just done because he died shortly after they removed that assistance.
Now, I realize it sounds rather cold to attend an event after hearing this news. But, in my opinion, I think it was the best possible tribute to my uncle that I could do. He lived in Chicago in the 1950s and I don't think I ever had a conversation or communication with him since I moved here that didn't express his love for the city and directing me to enjoy it while I could. Moreover, the man loved to play cards, going up to the casinos several times each year. I didn't win but I also didn't embarrass myself. If only I had finished the night with a big steak, it would have been a perfect night in honor of my uncle.
I don't know much about poker. In fact, I had to google it to learn the order of winning hands and get a general sense of when to automatically fold. (God bless Al Gore and his internet.) Nonetheless, I figured that if I lost everything quickly, no big deal. It was a charity and not real money. So, I was in.
Shortly before the event, I got a call from my mom telling me that my great uncle had died. He had been sick for a couple months but last I heard, was improving. In retrospect, I think that he spent the last 60 years or so being completely independent and the past two months of being totally dependent with people constantly in his space just wore him down. Faced with a future of daily medical assistance, it seems like he was just done because he died shortly after they removed that assistance.
Now, I realize it sounds rather cold to attend an event after hearing this news. But, in my opinion, I think it was the best possible tribute to my uncle that I could do. He lived in Chicago in the 1950s and I don't think I ever had a conversation or communication with him since I moved here that didn't express his love for the city and directing me to enjoy it while I could. Moreover, the man loved to play cards, going up to the casinos several times each year. I didn't win but I also didn't embarrass myself. If only I had finished the night with a big steak, it would have been a perfect night in honor of my uncle.
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