BINGO was it's NAME-O

Snow covered mountains have to be in my top 5 most beautiful landscapes and everyday this week it has been a privilege to wake up to this kind of scenery.  Love it.

Well if it is Wednesday and we are anywhere close to Silverthorne,CO...it's BINGO night at the Elk's Lodge!  We think this may be our 4th visit to BINGO night over the last few years and each visit does not disappoint.  You never know who you will see there, but there are the regulars.  Until tonight the average number of BINGOers we've seen was probably about 10-15...on a good night.  Tonight there must have been around 40+.  

The regulars include the 3 amigos Elks that run the BINGO game itself and a handful of locals that carry in their totes filled with their BINGO supplies...you know, a family supply of Dab-O-Inks (in case the one that should last a lifetime runs out).  For the novice, a Dab-O-Ink is a marker of sorts to mark each box as it is called out (it takes the place of the plastic chips we used in elementary school).  And there are a couple of folks in the the kitchen serving up dinner and desert.

Bingo cards litter the tables as we sit on pins and needles to see who will
win the $20 per game...that's right...20 bucks.  It's a big deal.

Then there are the skiers/visitors that make up the majority of players.  Good for the Elks, but bad for the serious BINGO players.  Mix a chance to win a little money and a little alcohol (and some youth) and you get a few loud ski dudes that can't wait for the caller to deliver "B...1" or "O...69" over the P. A. system.  I figure Miki and I are in line for honorary local status, due to our commitment when in town.  Great place to people watch.

They call these "pickles."  Another way to take your money raise money for
scholarships.  Kinda like instant winner scratch off game cards.

We came home winless after scoring 66% of the time from our previous visits.  But we did donate to some lucky student that will benefit from having some extra pencils for their college classes.

We did ski today and it was most fabutastic.  Mostly sunny and I was finally "feeling it."  For some skiers its about the mechanics.  For me, its about feeling it (along with the mechanics). I try to take what I see good skiers doing, remembering the little I remember about my one and only ski lesson 30+ years ago, and feel it.  You know it when it's right.

Our condo is above my left ear (as you see me here).  The tubing hill is
seen in the grooves of snow between our heads.  And no, I have not had
a tracheotomy, that is my breathing hole, kinda like a whale.

I have no idea what I am trying to convey with my sign
language as Miki snaps this picture.  I am convinced it is
not hand puppets or being held up by a skiing robber.
If I recall my excited state of mind at the time, I will let
you know.

Until we meet again, think of what BINGO letter/number combinations makes you laugh.

My Zen from the Road:  Remember a feeling, that when it happened, you know it was right.  Could have been something related to a sport (a golf shot in the sweet spot), when you saw someone doing something (a little kid eating an ice cream cone on a hot day), or something in nature like seeing mountains covered in snow.  When it's right, it's right.  Feel it.