Ma is playing mahjongg

Summer is here and after living in my house for 17 years I decided to buy a swimming pool.  And I know exactly  what I want to do in it.  Click here to see.  In fact, I think the lady on the right is me in my prior incarnation.  Love that schmatte on her head.

Apparently mahj was very, very hot in the 1920s.   If you click here you can see how hot by the number of books that were published.  Undoubtedly, 1924 was mah jongg's banner year.  I just received my copy of the rare and out-of-print Foster on Mah Jongg.  It came embossed with the name of the prior owner - Schaler C. Hauser.  Isn't that a lovely name?  So 1920s.  Of course I immediately Googled him.  And this is what I found.   Whoa!  Here is a good question for Jeopardy:  What do  Jewish ladies in a public pool have in common with a civil engineer in Alabama?  


I'm really crazy about that table in the pool, and I'm wondering if I can find someone to make one for me.  It appears as though the racks are built right into the table, but it's hard to tell if it's floating or standing up on the bottom of the pool.  Now, I've heard of automatic mahj tables (see video below) where you don't have to touch the tiles, they just go down a hole and come up again in the formed walls.  Very expensive, but nice to have!  Robert F. Foster in his book described the ideal mahjongg table:  Something slightly higher than the ordinary card table, and he recommends taking an oilcloth (remember those?) and turning it upside down to use as a table cover. He says it "allows perfect shuffling without catching and turning the tiles over, reflects the light well, and is noiseless."  Nowadays there are special mahj table covers that will do the job - quilted fitted ones or flat sheets that sit on top of the table.  And if all else fails, you can sprinkle a little baby powder on the table (just a drop) to make the tiles slide around.  Foster spoke of tables that have racks attached, but I've never seen such a thing.  Ingenious idea, but not very portable.  Can you imagine schlepping a whole table to the clubhouse?  It's hard enough to drag a case with wheels...


Now, where was I?  Oh, yes, the pool.  Well, a new set of challenges arise for me after Memorial Day.  Swim clubs are open, making it hard to find weekend fill-ins.  Teachers with the summers off start hivernating at their pool clubs and play every day.  I can't blame them. A little mahj, a little dip, a little snack, a little mahj.  It doesn't get much better.  But maybe I can lure some folks away.  I'll post pictures of me in my private pond, no splashing kids, just a floating mahjongg table and the four of us playing (the fifth will be getting a nosh).   I won't ever leave my yard - who would?  When people call, my daughter will say...

Ma is Playing Mah Jongg...

The Rich get Richer

I played last week with my cousin at her country club.  I'm on my best behavior when I go there.  I play by their rules; throw and pick - or "t/p" as my cousin calls it and a hot wall.  There is an unlimited pie, but I was instructed to start with $10 in my purse and go from there.  ("And don't bring too much change," my cousin told me.  "I never heard the end of it last time.")  There are other, more subtle rules at the table, and fitting in with the group becomes as much a part of the game as the game itself.

In many ways I can never compete with these gals.  They dress for mahj in expensive silk twinsets and full makeup and chat about world cruises and the grandson's second year at Harvard Law.  I listened quietly as they kvetched about the deteriorating quality of the bagels ("they must get them from Costco now") and lambaste anyone who happened to be unavailable to play that day. ("Did you see that outfit?")  I just focused on playing my best and held my own.  I won a lot of games and I could see it made someone cranky.  So cranky, in fact, that she redoubled her efforts and won a couple of biggies.  Just a few, but enough to make a difference.  Because at the end of the day when I counted my winnings I found I had only won 15 cents.

I wasn't sure how that could be because I knew how many games I had won compared to the others.  I hadn't thrown mahj very much and they only double the card when a game is a double.  But then I thought about her big hands and the wall games that went into a pot and the double-double and I realized that this woman's strategy of making a few big hands paid off against my chicken hand wins.  If she, in holding out for a big hand, threw my tile, she would have to pay me .50, but if she won on a self-pick quint, she would make $2.40.  More if there was a pot.  More if she threw a double.  She took into consideration things I hadn't thought of, weighed the risks and went for it when it was worth it.  In the end she went home smiling with my money.  Isn't that always the way?  But...but...I won...didn't I?  Are there any bagels left?

ENDNOTES:
While I haven't been keeping to my posting schedule, I have made a few updates to the blog.  I've added a teacher section.  If you know anyone that wants to be listed, please e-mail me.  I've also secured the domain name:  www.mahjblog.com  so if you type that into Google it will take you directly to the posts.  I've turned on mobile device formatting, so it can be easily read on a phone.  Please feel free to comment on these changes. 

I've been busy trying to find a Friday fill-in.  One player is gone, one has been added and one plays her last game for the summer next week.  So far we have two maybe's, one can do it one Friday a month, three who can play but not at my house due to perceived smoke sensitivities, and one who has four and is looking for me to be a fifth.  Stay tuned...

One more thing.  I'm thrilled to report I have found a copy of Robert F. Foster's 1924 definitive work:  Foster on Mah Jong.  Tom Sloper has graciously reproduced an excerpt: Click here to read excerpt
Although it was written about classical Chinese mah jong, I'm sure it has applicability to today's NMJL.  I can't wait to receive it, devour it and interpret it for my readers.