As we pass through autumn, I'm delighted to share with you another excellent tale from Connie Nelson in St. Cloud. So grateful to her for the fine stories and photos! Enjoy, enjoy everyone! How Connie captures our bridge players, their activities and fun is a sparkling gem!
Last month, I wrote about the special birthday party held for Chuck Head. There’s another bridge player who has a birthday in September – and don’t we all know it!
Our Club Director Kory Solarz was born on September 11th. We know this because Kory usually celebrates, or at least mentions, his birthday anywhere between three to twenty times every September. This year – not being together – I found myself missing all the reminders.
So, I want to do my part to celebrate this guy some call “Special K.”
Simply stated, Kory makes our Club fun! When I ask a club member to describe Kory, every person immediately gets a smile on their face or in their voice. Shari Pretzer recalls the first time she beat him at a hand. He sent a note after: “I used to like you!” I remember giving him a jar of homemade jam. A few weeks later, he maneuvered the traveling bridge boards in such a way that my West hand included a slip that read, “My jam jar is empty.” If anyone has a special birthday or accomplishes a bridge milestone, they may get a present from Kory - a signed photograph of himself! (I guess that started back in his childhood when Kory would give his siblings signed self-portraits for their birthdays!)
His siblings also tattled that Kory had an uncanny way of getting out of work. While growing up in Upsala, he had a hundred ways to avoid bailing hay, cleaning the barn, or mowing. But, he would miraculously reappear for meals! And, that shirking theme kept repeating -
Roger Melaas: “In the fishing world in which I live at times, Kory is what you would call A KEEPER. However, while he loves to eat the fish, he is never is around to help fillet them, or clean up afterward.”
David Hanson: “For all the cards he’s played, Kory rarely has shuffled a deck.” In fact, it was so unique to find Kory making a board one time, Dave took a picture! This was back in 2010, and Dave’s kept it all these years. (When Dave sent me the picture, he had titled it: “Kory making boards. A sight so rare it belongs in the Smithsonian.”)
Yet, overwhelmingly, our club members would agree with this observation from Roger Melaas: “Kory is quite the character, but he is also a man of character!” David Hanson recalls once when he and Kory were partners, they heard a nearby table discussing a hand. A player said, “We could make six easily.” That hand came next to Kory and David. No one else had heard the comment. Kory passed the hand at four, and told David later… “I might normally have considered bidding 6, but I couldn’t use unauthorized information.” He went on, “If we can’t play bridge honestly, we shouldn’t be playing.”
One thing I really appreciate about Kory is that everyone trusts his director calls; they are informed and fair. He has a soft, fun way of soothing ruffled feathers or quieting a raised voice. He works tirelessly for our club and its members, and is frequently seen going over a play to help an advancing player. David Hanson said that Kory’s insight and review of challenging hands has been invaluable to him over the years. Dave added: I do remember the first bridge lesson he taught me ten years ago: “If I have the 9 and the 4 of trump and my opponent only has the 5 left, I should probably play the 9!”
Kory is one of those people who appears to play almost magical bridge. After the bidding and your lead at trick one, Kory can usually place 98% of the cards across the other three hands. This ability has caused some to accuse him of having “a third eye,” but it’s simply great bridge.
So happy belated birthday, Kory. May we celebrate in person next year! P.S. Jim and I did drop off a jar of jam on his birthday.
Comments