Yes, I realize that we already covered our late January sectional. This is another Winter Carnival and bridge story - one about love between a king and queen. A love story worthy of Valentine's Day! Enjoy!
AN ice king married a snow queen on Feb. 5 in Minnesota, making for one of the warmest celebrations ever to grace the 125-year-old St. Paul Winter Carnival.
Mr. Hall and Mrs. Furlong didn’t meet until about nine years ago when his first wife, Ceil M. Hall, invited Mrs. Furlong to the King’s Brunch, a private event at which former kings entertain. The two women had known each other through years of rigorous volunteering for the festival.
After that first invitation, Mrs. Furlong always stayed on Mr. Hall’s brunch guest list. When his wife died of lung cancer last year, he contacted all of his regular guests with regrets for missing the annual event. He eventually called Mrs. Furlong, who had been widowed in 2004 when her husband of 47 years, Lawrence J. Furlong, died.
They also discovered in that early March conversation that they both were bridge players, and they decided to be partners, playing a circuit of senior centers and community halls.
Bridge requires such concentration, Mr. Hall said, that they didn’t really socialize much during their games. But playing together called for strategy sessions. For their very first one, Mr. Hall invited a longtime friend so they would not feel the pressure of being alone together.
“I was kind of nervous,” Mrs. Furlong said. She was relieved when she saw the friend. “I really didn’t know what I was going to say to him.”
Their strategy sessions quickly became just the two of them, leading to wine, cheese and crackers. And then, Mrs. Furlong said, “We found out that we just enjoyed each other’s company.”
The romance quickly unfolded.
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