We appreciate that Minnesota Bridge has already had a wealth of remembrances and stories about Larry Oakey. Yet, TGLO was an extraordinary individual in our bridge world. And - as stories continue to be submitted to us, we believe they must be shared.
This story arrives via Ron DeHarpporte. It's from a player whose name was unfamiliar to me: Brian Pauls of Canada.
Ron notes that Brian was one of the best bridge players with whom Larry ever played. Indeed, Ron thinks that Larry was of the opinion that Brian was the most talented partner he'd ever had. The famed Eric Murray told Ron that Brian was "the best player in Western Canada." And, Eric Kokish, another elite Canadian player and "Koach" to the stars shared similar sentiments.
Brian saw Ron's name in Larry's obituary; the two then renewed a friendship that had been on hold for 50 years.
Brian and Ron played on many teams together, often with Larry as a teammate and usually in Winnipeg - but on occasion, the team would travel Down South to the Gopher during the 60's.
Brian virtually gave up bridge in the early 70's to become one of Canada's most successful attorneys. Another top Canadian player, Hersh Wolch, became an important Canadian official. Recently, however, Brian has begun to play a bit again, yet he states "not seriously." He still works as a full time, successful attorney.
Brian's TGLO story is below. We thank Brian for sending to us and Harpo for sharing it.
If you knew Oakey at all - it will put a smile on your face!
In 1967 Canada celebrated its 100th birthday. The ACBL awarded what were then still called the Summer Nationals to the city of Montreal, which at the same time was hosting Expo 67 (whence came the name of its short-lived major league baseball team) and had built a giant theme park called La Ronde.
Hersh Wolch and I drove (just the two of us) to Montreal. We were both red-blooded 27 year olds for whom bridge was only our second favorite activity. Just leaving Ottawa, we spotted two attractive girls (late teens, early twenties, as i recollect) who were hitching rides. Naturally enough, we stopped.
They told us that they were headed to Quebec City. We told them we could only offer to drive them as far as downtown Montreal. We gave them our names and told them where we were staying ( the two of us sharing a room, of course, since we were still impoverished young lawyers)--the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and that we were playing bridge, but only in the daytime, and would love to take them out to La Ronde. Their response was that they planned to take a bus on to Quebec City, stay there a couple of days and then, maybe, call us when they returned to Montreal.
Ho hum, right.
Flash forward. Larry the Great arrives a day or two later, pleads poverty, and asks us if he can sleep on the floor in our room. Pals are pals, so we said OK. He promised not to snore.
About 5 days later, we came in to the room about 6:30 p.m. Bridge was finished for the day. Larry, it turned out, had been happily napping there until his dreams were interrupted by the annoyance of a phone call. Well, he told the female caller to forget for whatever reason she was calling. Hersh and I were not there, he told her, and he reported further to us that he got rid of her ( a true kindness, in his view) by explaining carefully that Hersh and I were much too busy playing bridge to have any free evenings.
Good old Larry! We never heard from the girls again, but are certain that they have gone on to make productive contributions to Canada's economy.
As for us, it is now the year of Canada's 150th anniversary. The Nationals ( correction, the NABCs) are back in my country but even if we decide to embark on another road trip to seek bridge stardom, I greatly doubt that the granddaughters of those girls will be out on the Trans Canada Highway hitch hiking and waiting for us to show up).
As for Hersh and myself, well the past is prologue, it is said. 50 uneventful years have passed, with nothing except wives, children, grandchildren, a few professional successes, a few grey hairs and extra pounds. How unexciting, compared to what might have been! Ah well. Pals are forever and Larry will always remain on my list of Aces and Kings in a deck full of lesser cards.
On behalf of all the Winnipeggers who knew Larry, we would like our friends, old and new, in the Twin Cities, to be aware that we miss him too. Very much.
Brian Pauls
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