We met up with Sandy and Jenny, and their family, for dinner last night. Good food and company, so very successful. We were at the Master Builder's Club which has just had major refurbishment and is quite spectacular, in a glitzy, over-the- top way which is typical of the NSW club scene.
I was reminded of a night in the early 1960s when I was in that club with two or three friends. We pooled our funds, got a container or two of 20c coins, and played the poker machines as a syndicate, in the belief that you have more chance of success if you invest more money.
We had a few wins but nothing serious and the time came when the very last coin was inserted and disappeared. Oh, well, just like every other time.
As we walked away, one of my friends found a solitary 20c coin in his pocket, inserted it into the machine which had swallowed all our investment and JACKPOT!! We were ecstatic, only to have our hopes dashed.
"This is not syndicate winnings," said our friend. "It was my 20c, so my winnings."
He was right, of course, but we were devastated. No doubt we all asked ourselves what we would do in the same situation. Some might even have asked, 'What would Jesus have done?'
Funnily enough, I saw the friend at Alan's funeral last week. He was in a wheelchair and I had real sympathy for him but I still remember that night more than 60 years ago.
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