Hi Canasta Lovers,
      I had hoped to get a dialogue started, but haven't received enough feedback or questions yet, so I will have to talk a little about ME.

      A long,long time ago, when the earth was new, a group of young mothers got together on a Tuesday night to play Backgammon (it was all the rage at the time). The same core group, give or take a couple of moves and divorces, are still playing together. We went from playing Backgammon to playing Rummy Kub (also very popular in its time).  After a few years, Mrs.S (The mom and mom-in-law of two of our charter members) taught us how to play canasta. I had  strong recollections of my own mom playing canasta  with her friends, day and night, while I was growing up.

     Well our little group loved the game so much that we played all through our kids' elementary, middle, high school and college years. We played through births, bar and bat mitzvahs, sweet sixteens, graduations, weddings and the births of our grandchildren, We played through wars and gas lines. We played through hurricanes, blizzards and ice storms, We kept each other sane through successes and distresses, births and deaths. Tuesday nights were sacred! You just didn't make other plans! In fact, our group despite some more moves (including mine down here to Paradise) and another divorce or two, are still playing every summer at the only dude ranch in Ammagansett.

     We started out needing only 90 points to open (how easy that seems now). We didn't know about pairs, garbage or kongs and pongs, we just loved canasta and each other. In the close to forty years we have been playing our favorite game, we've left no subject left untouched. It was our very own consciousness raising group. I have lots of anecdotes to share as we go forward. Our canasta group, affectionately known as Rho Kappa, formed the basis for friendships and camaraderie that could never be outgrown or replaced.

     This blog is dedicated with much love to the girls of Rho Kappa!  XXOO Barbara