In the spotlight..

By Mary Ann Braden

Lets take a trip down memory lane. The year is 1949 and at least one of us is a rambunctious 3-year old who keeps testing her mother’s patience; while far away on a remote island in the Pacific, a young 17 year old swabbie is watching his buddies play a fascinating game called bridge. When one of his buddies is called into the orderly room, our young hero, who never played the game before, is asked to fill in.

That, my friends, was the exact moment the bridge bug first bit our newest Gold Life Master, Jerome Schlig. Unfortunately, fun and games would have to wait because just one short year later, Jerome was shipped to Korea where he flew 59 missions as a gunner in a B29 bomber. Suffice it to say, he developed perseverance, trust-worthiness, and fine sense for accuracy to survive these missions. I mention these qualities because I believe he takes these same traits to the bridge table.

For those of us who struggle to get 50 points, 2500 seems astronomical, specially when these points were acquired predominantly at the club level. Jerry, (as most of us call him, although I found out that he prefers Jerome) attributes his bridge savvy to the later great Barry Crane. Jerry attended a seminar from Mr. Crane decades ago and took to heart his mentor’s no-nonsense, “less science and more seat of the pants” approach to bridge. Whatever Jerome gleaned from that seminar, it has blossomed into his own unique style, and we all congratulate him on achieving Gold Life Master.