susandennis | Betcha

When I was 6 my Dad taught me how to play Gin Rummy. He taught me the rules of the game and the strategy and how to trash talk my opponant. My Mom played tennis but Daddy played Gin Rummy. Seriously. For recreation he played Backgammon. He and Mom alternated pretty much depending on whether they had cards or a board available. They kept a running score. My always had it in her purse. When Daddy died, he owed Mom something in the neighborhood of $2K for Backgammon (penny a point). She owed him on the Gin Rummy tally but it had recently been wiped out by one of their Big Bets.

Periodically, they would lay the score on the line for various big things. Dinner someplace that Mom wasn't wild about but Daddy loved...'if you'll go, I'll wipe the Gin score".... Or settling a 'remember' disagreement... 'we can check for sure when we get home but I'm sure we paid xxx for that.' 'Nope, it was xxxxx. If I'm wrong, I'll zero out the Backgrammon score.'

The best one was the Piggly Wiggly sweater. Daddy had this beautiful and very expensive sweater that we always called the Piggly Wiggly sweater. He won it on a bet.

Daddy: What's the name of that grocery around the corner from where we stayed? Wasn't it a Piggly Wiggly?
Mom: It was a Kroger.
Daddy: Nope, it was a Piggly Wiggly.
Mom: Wrong. Kroger. Bet. Big. You want that horrendously expensive sweater we saw yesterday?? Ok, when we confirm it's a Kroger, then, I get those serving dishes I've had my eye on.

I think Mom did eventually get the dishes but that Piggly Wiggly sweater gained unsurpassed family fame.