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| Rolling dice
is pretty pointless and boring until you start doing it for money--then it's about the most interesting thing going. Dostoevsky knew this. I didn't until tonight, when after watching fireworks from the end of our alley we went to a neighbor's, drank some wine, smoked cigarettes, and then rolled dice at the kitchen table from midnight till about 2 a.m. After a poor start--"What ever happened to beginner's luck?"--I walked away the big winner after urging my last throw: "C'mon, easy three!" I got the three and raked in the 18 singles. It felt good, damn good. No wonder Sarah's father's father devoted himself to games of chance. When you win, it's as if the gods are smiling on you. It was the nicest way to earn a buck I've found, and it came at a time when I was walking around with an empty wallet. As the game broke up and the veterans were leaving the table I got a word of advice about my new enthusiasm: "The first taste is sweetest." It registered, I think, but there was a bounce in my step as I walked the short distance home, feeling the wad in my pocket. |
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