The Wednesday night crowd
around the big table
center of the brewery beer hall
was middle-aged men
boisterously playing cards
trash-talking
howling with delight at
winning hands
or someone missing a bet, bid
the beer, the game
was all flowing
we were living
semi-vicariously
two-tables away

As we got up to leave
I passed the big table just as a
hand was being
closed out
another dealt
curious as to what variant
five-card
seven-card
Texas hold-on…..

My companion and I
did a double take at the cards
being dealt
this was no stud game
no croupier riding herd on this
rousing game of
Point Salad
noted, per the game website
as a game where players
‘Collect groupings of fruits
and vegetables – with
loads of ways
to score points’

Head-scratching, we left
pondering
what we had seen
concluding
with some logic that
considering the demographic
its not a huge step
from discussing dietary
roughage
to a little rough-and-tumble
gambling with it.

– Mark L. Lucker
© 2022
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