Story by Cris Shanks (BBO: crisandy5)

I had just moved to a new site in Watkinsville, GA, and I had played there just enough to know that one woman was quite a good bridge player and quite intimidating. I will never forget the butterflies in my stomach when she tapped me on the shoulder as I was leaving and asked me if I’d like to play with her the next week. I wasn’t even sure what her name was, but I managed to say yes.

Before that game, I took a power nap to allay my fears. When we sat down to play, I told her to take it easy on me, and she did! That first game went better than I expected. Little did I know that I would not only learn a lot from her, but that she would become my best friend.

Phyllis had tremendous card sense and knowledge of the game. We played every week from then on until I moved away eight years later. We traveled to Sectionals and Regionals and even Nationals. I know my new Virginia partners tire of hearing me say, “Phyllis said…” or “According to Phyllis,” but she taught me well, all in spite of the great difficulty she had seeing due to serious glaucoma.

I’m sure this simple story has been repeated over and over in the bridge world. And we all say, “Thank goodness for our mentors!”