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History of this essayI wrote this essay to be published in the Dayton Area Mensa MPulse in February 2005; it was supposed to advertise the RG (a Mensa Regional Gathering, which is a weekend-long party and conference). Unfortunately, Micki didn't have room to print it, but the great thing about websites is that anyone can easily publish anything they want! --Beth p.s. What is an RG? Romance, Mensa RG-styleAs the RG Registrar, I intended to write another column about how much fun the Dayton RG is going to be. But Micki said that this issue is supposed to be about romance, given that it’s February, which is National Weddings Month and Human Relations Month, as well as having Valentine’s Day and National Heavenly Hash Day. Fortunately, I can write simultaneously at the same time[1] about meeting my sweetheart and attending RGs. That’s because I met Stan at HalloweeM, which is Chicago Area Mensa’s Regional Gathering. It was Halloween of 2002 about 2 in the morning; I was playing Double Deck Cancellation Hearts[2] with Judi (who is from Cincinnati) and six men[3]. Judge Judi, as she’s known in the hearts-playing world[4] decided she was tired and went off to bed. A good-looking guy asked if he could take her seat. His badge said “Stan Musial” and he told us his hearts name was Comissar[5]. So, I scribbled Judge Comissar in place of Judge Judi and we kept playing. I remember the way his eyes lit up when he heard that I was single. Even though I was scorekeeper[6], my nefarious plans were thwarted and I lost the game in the final hand[7]. The cute guy asked for a hug[8], so we exchanged a hug and said good-night. We exchanged a few emails but then that stopped. In July, we met again at the St. Paul Annual Gathering[9]. He told me later that he was hoping I would be there. I could share the story of how two other women and I relieved him of his shirt[10] in front of the Mensa Boutique[11], but I’ll save that one for another time. It had the makings of a wonderful vacation romance but nothing more; after all, we live almost 400 miles apart[12]. But just a few weeks later, though, there we were—at the Columbus RG. And then in September, we went the Western Pennsylvania Area Mensa’s RG near Pittsburgh. Cleveland’s RG was the first weekend in October; the kids enjoyed the Outdoor Gathering in mid-October during the height of Central Indiana’s fall foliage. We went to HalloweeM without the kids; I guess that was our first anniversary. There has been more than a whole year of RGs since then as well as vacations, parties, and other shared weekends. But it all started at the hearts table in Hospitality late one night—during an RG. [1] “Simultaneously at the same time” is one of my favorite phrases. [2] Double Deck Cancellation Go Fish Hearts is one of the most popular games at Midwest RGs. It’s a version of hearts which is played with two decks where two identical cards played on the same trick cancel each other out. [3] I do remember who most of the men were, but they’re not necessarily relevant to the story. [4] Double Deck Cancellation Hearts (DDCH) players almost all have hearts nicknames. It took a long time for me to acquire mine. It was finally given to me at the following HalloweeM, when I complained “I don’t have a Hearts name. Nobody loves me.” Dave immediately christened me Lovey, which is still used. [5] Yes, it’s spelled Comissar. Our esteemed editor did not make a mistake; Stan did. For whatever reason, he has chosen to keep the misspelled version. I think it’s because he’s an Engineer. [6] Scorekeepers, if they’re competent, should always win. [7] It’s pretty common to lose in the final hand. Everyone gangs up on the “target” and whoever was in 2nd going into the last hand ends up winning. [8] Mensans are a very huggy group. In fact, we’re so huggy that many attendees at RGs wear “hug dots” to let others know how they feel about being hugged. Red dots mean “don’t hug me”. Green dots mean “sure, I hug”. I bet you can guess what Yellow dots mean. I don’t wear a dot—it’s more confusing that way. I grew up in a huggy family; it feels very familiar to me. [9] The Annual Gathering draws about 1500 people. [10] It was a beautiful blue dragon shirt. You couldn’t really blame us for wanting it. [11] The Mensa Boutique sells shirts, games, books, and all sorts of Mensa-related items. [12] It’s exactly 381.95 miles, according to MapQuest. Last updated: 05/14/2006 |
©2006 Beth Weiss, All rights reserved
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