The skies were blue outside my office window as I read that Phil the Groundhog did not see his shadow today. Clearly, with temperatures well below zero and snow burying half of the country, Spring is right around the corner. I love Groundhog Day, but not because of this furry harbinger of Spring. No, I love it because many years ago, I had an extraordinary run of good luck on Groundhog Day.
My family and I were playing games that night, Bingo and Parcheesi. I don't usually win games when I play with my family (oddly, I do much better when I'm playing with Tim's family), but that night, I couldn't lose. I won two games of Parcheesi and five games of Bingo, but what was more, I won by a lot. In one of the Parcheesi games, I somehow managed to move 60 spaces in one turn (I think I kept rolling doubles...You get to roll again if you roll doubles...maybe). During one of the Bingo games, I got multiple "bingo's" before anyone else had even one. It was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I wrote about it in my journal that night. It was only then that I noticed the date--Groundhog Day.
I've always remembered that extraordinary streak of luck, and tonight, I decided to test it. "Hey Tim," I casually asked, "you wanna play a game?"
"Sure," Tim replied. "Which one did you have in mind?"
"Which one do you feel like losing?" I asked grinning. "How about Rummikub?"
For the uninitiated, Rummikub is played with number tiles that you play from your hand in sets or runs of threes. If you can't play on your turn, you have to draw a tile and the goal is to get rid of all your tiles.
We set up the game and began to play. It was the shortest game of Rummikub I have ever played, and I soundly beat Tim. I put down half my tiles at the start and every tile I drew made it possible to play another out of my hand. The most amazing part was that every time Tim played a wild, I had the exact tile I needed in my hand (or else I drew it on my next turn) to take the wild and play it elsewhere. It was incredible, the perfect game orchestrated by my Groundhog Day Luck.
"Yesss!!!" I raised my arms in the air, laughing in disbelief. "I won!"
Tim shook his head. "That was...wow."
High on my victory, I asked mischievously, "Wanna play again?"
We began setting up. I, in my childish triumph, was certain I would win again. Tim, in his wisdom and maturity, thought about being married to me and how that made us one person in many ways. The Luck, confused at this rational thought, wasn't sure what to do. The game progressed more slowly, each of us advancing by turns, until the Luck, persuaded by Tim's logical argument and superior tiles, gave him the win.
"Yesss!!!" He raised his arms in the air, and I laughed again in disbelief. "One more game?"
The Groundhog Day Luck decided what to do, and it was clear from the beginning that neither of us was going to win. We each picked up more tiles than we could play for a long time until we finally combined the tiles we had left and called it a tie. The Luck was satisfied, and I was too.
Maybe my Groundhog Day Luck has been used for the last time. Maybe it only appears when the groundhog doesn't see his shadow, or when it's particularly freezing outside. Maybe today was the only day I believed enough in my luck to win. Or maybe I was just lucky. Regardless, I have to say, I love Groundhog Day.
