Our house seemed to be the one where kids always congregated. There were about 8 kids ranging in age from about 6-11 that would come and play kickball in the back yard. One day it was pouring down rain and having all these kids in the house, under foot was not making my mom’s life easy. So she set up her mahj set and taught the whole crowd, boys and girls alike, to play.
My brother always had the best strategy: he looked at what the hand was worth, point wise, on the rules card. He would pick the hand that he wanted to build and go for it. It never mattered what he started out with.
My mother still plays. When she moved down south she put an announcement that she was looking to find a mahj game in the community newsletter. That was how she formed her Jewish community.
My sister and I still play whenever we can get a game going. It really isn’t about playing. It’s about the community it forms.
– Marcia Levine
