The Gambler

Peace and quiet.  Such a welcome relief!

Scarlett made her weekly pilgrimage to the Holy Hall of Hypocrites (church) yesterday morning and was away from the house until early afternoon.  I was called out on a tech support job shortly after she got back (darn the luck) and by the time I returned it was getting near to my appointed time to make a call to the northern wilds.  All of which is a long way of saying that nothing much really happened good or bad yesterday.  In truth, Scarlett has been on very good behavior though I suspect it is more a matter of  Hoovering

It also strikes me that the term FOG may not be known by some of my many thousands of world wide readers =) so if that describes you please see Fog .

JADE is another term you will see here from time to time - JADE

And that I believe completes my little bit of housekeeping for the moment.

I still have not unpacked (well, unboxed really) much if any of my belongings simply because I do not yet know just how long I will be here.  I've also been hesitant to do very much in the way of Household R&M (repairs and maintenance) for fear of giving Scarlett some idea that I am perfectly comfortable in this present situation.  That changed a little yesterday when I found I had some "free" time on my hands.  Not really free but there is only so much time I can spend reading and working.  Sometimes you, or at least I, just need to get away and do something with your hands for a while.  Yesterday that involved some minor R&M, painting of a couple of items and sharpening some very dull knives.  Exciting stuff!

Realized, or probably just choose to remember, that this house and the items here are just as much mine as they are Scarlett's and I am tired of the neglect that has occurred since I've been gone.  Besides, I am told that that can be good therapy and for the most part I agree.

The roller coaster has slowed down, as it does from time to time.  Tried to determine yesterday whether there is any sort of predictable pattern or set of triggers to her behavior which is something I've tried in vain for years to figure out.  I just didn't know exactly what I was dealing with prior to this past year.  My conclusion?  There's nothing here you can count on.  I may have some vague idea about what will trigger her but for the most part it's nothing concrete.  Certainly nothing that were I in Vegas I would be willing to put my hard earned money on.  At least when you're playing blackjack with one or two decks you can get a fairly good sense whether the shoe is feeling heavy or light and adjust your bets, holds and hits to accommodate that.  Scarlett must know this, or maybe they are taught this in Borderline/Histrionic Class because, just like most casinos, she is using at least 5 decks of cards which makes the game exceedingly hard to predict.

As Kenny Rogers has sung -

On a warm summer's eve On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with the gambler We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-starin' Out the window at the darkness
The boredom overtook us, And he began to speak

He said, "Son, I've made a life Out of readin' people's faces
Knowin' what the cards were By the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind me sayin' I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice"

So I handed him my bottle And he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette And asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet And his face lost all expression
He said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right

You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away And know when to run
You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for counting When the dealin's done

Every gambler knows That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner And every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for is to die In your sleep

And when he finished speakin' He turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette And faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness The gambler he broke even
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done