Happy Thanksgiving!

The usual suspects gathered at the Vukelic residence for Thanksgiving. The menu featured a couple of birds: pheasant and turkey. There were enough other dishes to dazzle the eyes before filling the tummy.

While we ate, we got a call from Reed and enjoyed a chat with him. He's still at Fort Bragg, NC, but will be home in a few weeks for Christman. After a sumptuous meal, we cracked out the dice for a rousing game of Bunco [www.buncogame.com]. The rules are fairly simple: you get three dice and try to roll the designated number for the round, i.e. in Round 1, a player gets points for each ace s/he rolls. If a player rolls three aces in Round 1, or three twos in Round 2, etc., it is a "Bunco" and automatically wins the round for that player and his/her partner.

Franci points out a "Bunco" rolled by Firemann while Meredith and Jenna tally the scores. The elder Norwegian had the hot hand that night.

Teammates Firemann and Meredith congratulate one another after defeating three other teams. Then it was on to a game of concentration and quick reflexes, "Spoons."

This game always get 'em howlin'.

Again, simplicity makes for a pleasant contest. Players are dealt four cards. Then the dealer takes cards from the deck, one at a time, exchanges them for one in his hand if he chooses, or passes them to the left. The object is to get four of a kind. When a player get the foursome in hand, s/he takes a spoon from the middle fo the table. When other players see a spoon being taken, they grab for one of the remaining spoons. Trouble is, there is one less spoon than the number of players at the table. The slow grabber loses! The Heinle daughters, Jaylia and Jenna, were new to the game but were fast on the draw.

Pam points out the lone spoon remaining on the table. Finally, the group took up a game we called "I Doubt It" when I was young. The younger generation introduced it by another name I will abbreviate as "B.S." Players take turns placing a card or cards from their hand face down into the middle of table, declaring it to be a particular card. Other players cannot see the card and can challenge the declarer. If the declarer was honest, the challenger must pick up all the cards in the center; if the declarer was prevaricating, s/he must pick up the pile. First player out of cards, wins.

As you might imagine, good, honest, God-fearing people like my father-in-law, made terrible liars and were always caught. To no one's shock, a slick lawyer won this game. Others will have to practice for next year.

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