Brad’s Gambling Life – Part 1,The Beginning

Brad turned 79 last week and some of our friends were asking him how long he had been gambling.   That reminded me – again – of all the interesting stories he has told me about his past life before we met, many of them connected in some way with gambling.  So I have decided to share them here, off and on, under the title of “Brad’s Gambling Life.”  Today is Part 1.

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 Part 1, The Beginning

To find the beginning of Brad’s interest in gambling, I had to go back to when he was just a toddler in Richmond, Indiana.  He had two older brothers, one five years older and the other seven year older, and his earliest memory is watching them gambling for pennies in a game of Tonk.  This was – and still is – a popular gin-rummy type game in the Midwest, a game that has played a prominent part in Brad’s life, from his very first gambling adventure to the life-changing game when he was 53, the game in which he and I first met. 

But I digress – back to the beginning.  Brad had been watching his brothers and their friends in Tonk games for a couple of years and by the age of five he was sure he knew how to play and wanted desperately to join their game.  Big brothers can sometime be cruel, but they taught Brad his first basic gambling rule:  No money – you can’t get in the game.  So he started saving up for his first gambling bankroll.  Sometimes a relative would give him a penny.  And once in awhile his older brother, who had a Grit route (you have to be pretty old to remember this home-delivered weekly newspaper), would allow him to deliver an issue to a nearby neighbor, who would give him a penny tip.  (Remember, this was 1937 and the depression was still not over.)

After many months, Brad had saved a whopping 11 cents. His brothers, now 10 and 12, condescendingly allowed the 5-year-old “shrimp” to join their Tonk game.  However, it did not take long for experience to overwhelm the newbie.  The brothers showed no mercy and Brad’s bankroll had disappeared into their pockets.

Brad left the game in tears.

People ask him if he has ever lost since then.  He says, “Of course I have lost since.  But I have never cried again.” 

He immediately started saving again and he continued to watch his brothers play.   At 5 he already had learned the two basic building blocks for successful gambling:  bankroll and study!

Brad’s Family in 1936:  Brad, 4; Carolyn 2; John, 11; Bob, 1; Dick,10

Brad’s family in 1995 – Same pose!