Today would have been my maternal grandmother’s 111th birthday (1915). Alas she was not as long-lived as a hobbit with a corrupting magic ring.
She taught me Double Solitaire, Rummy 500, and many other games. Card games were folk games, passed along by word of mouth: the rules she taught us were different from the rules my dad’s aunts taught us. They would decry “Gramma C’s rules” when they played card games with us.
Years ago I tried to reconstruct Rummy 500 by interviewing my parents and my siblings but none of us quite remembered her rules. Reviewing some rules websites, I did remember:
- “A run is a sequence of at least 3 consecutive cards in the same suit (10♣, J♣, Q♣, K♣).” We played any sequence; the card didn’t have to be the same suit.
- “Points are determined by the face value of each card held, with Aces worth 1 point, face cards worth 10, and Jokers worth 15.” We played Aces = 15, face cards = 10, everything else = 5.
Alas, none of us remember her take on the rules, so we can come close, but not play exactly as she taught us. Time corrupts.
Photo credit: New Line Cinema.
