It is an exciting time of the year if you are a child. I attended a Halloween family Bingo party at our club. Amazing costumes on the kids and many of the parents. It may be a symptom of the Covid seclusion, everyone was engaged and energized. The kids ran amok at times around the pool and the grounds, no rescues were required from the icy waters. I did not see a single tear or hear a negative comment, people were there to enjoy the moment. It was a great party.
After dinner was served each person got a bingo card, my three grandkids were very much ready to play and determined to win. I enjoyed watching Margie as each number was called and she got close a run of numbers that would allow her to scream the magic word. It never happened but she did find a job at the bingo cage, turning it and helping pull out the numbers. I had forgotten how competitive this game could become and that winning is important at all ages.
So how did Bingo begin? Legend has it that bingo first began in Italy, originating from their first lottery game in the l500’s and was moved to France in the 1700s where the named evolved to “Le Lotto.” The original American game was called keno, kino or po-keno from the early 19th century. Edwin Lowe gets credit for popularizing the game in the United States in 1929. Lowe saw a game at Georgia carnival that featured hand stamped boards and used beans for the tokens. There are claims that a winner would call “beano” but one of Lowe’s friends was so excited to win that she yelled “Bingo” and the name rang a bell. Although the estimates I found are a bit dated, over 50 million Americans play bingo and wager multiple billions of dollars each year.
When I mentioned BINGO to my friends at dinner, I received a chorus of the kids spelling song. It was originally called the “Farmers Dog Leapt o’er the Stile” dating back to 1785. In the USA the song dates to l842 with updated verses resulting in todays well known song. It is not clear why we are only learning 5 letters in the alphabet but remember you are to clap after each letter as you sing along.
The organization that hosted the event has a mask protocol, wear them indoors or when you cannot socially distance. It was mostly observed by all on this busy occasion. The Halloween costumes made this protocol a bit tricky. It seems interesting that most of us have no problem wearing masks to celebrate the holiday, I guess mandating the mask violates some principle. Thanks for wearing your mask, getting vaccinated, and protecting each other and our health workers.
Bingo is part of our daily slang, it means you got it exactly right. Enjoy the ghosts, goblins, witches, and others that ring your bell. Mike
Bingo
