Another Night at Bingo...and Then George W. Bush

Our friend who visited Maine is now back but he did email me one commentary that I thought was worth sharing with all of you. 

"My daughter and I went back to bingo the night before I left to return to Philadelphia.

Again, it was chaotic and packed. There were a lot more women than men at the senior center. It seemed like most of the winners were women. That’s no surprise since there were many more of them, but it did surprise me that it looked like a couple of women won multiple times. I found myself having my sidekicks at our table trying to fill in numbers I missed on my bingo cards. It may be my poor hearing, or maybe I'm just not quick enough.

Sadly, our hilarious table mate was not there. Apparently, she had houseguests. Houseguests in Maine are common (I am one), but sometimes one may wish they'd stayed home.

The good news was that my daughter won one game and got a check for $25! At some point, she looked at my card and pointed out that I'd had bingo but didn't realize it. Bummer!! As I've said before, the games move quickly and you need to have an eagle eye. And I'm old and slow!

The Maine Bingo Menu

One note about the food menu, which I did not mention in my first post. The food prices defy inflation. A grilled hot dog with mustard, ketchup and relish is $3. A basket of chicken fingers is $6. Bottles of water are $1 and cans of soda are $2. For dessert, you can choose a drumstick ice cream cone for $1 or splurge on a Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar for $2. Cheaper than eating at home!

One Other Note About Maine

One night, my daughter took me to a fundraiser for the local Episcopal church. The church is only open in the summer and sits out on the Atlantic Ocean, where it is constantly hit by storms.

The fundraiser featured President George W. Bush, talking about a series of paintings of immigrants that he has done and turned into a book. The paintings range from immigrants none of us have ever heard of to a few, like Henry Kissinger and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who we have heard of. President Bush gave a short talk that was funny and moving. He said that when he left office, he felt he needed a hobby and ended up with painting. He spends three or four hours a day at it.

I read through the book when I got home, and it is worth reading. It tells the stories of each of the immigrants whose portraits Bush painted. The book, Out of Many, One, will make you feel really good about the United States and the freedom and opportunity it offers to all of us. And it's a reminder that all of us were immigrants."

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