[News] Just Mojo news this week ...

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from North Fair Oaks Mojo ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Jane and I had a wonderful trip to Philadelphia. The ABTA convention went well, and it's always fun to play in the Summer NABC. The second week of the Summer nationals includes the Youth NABC, and many of the junior players come early to spend the week playing in the open games. Unfortunately I had to return Tuesday evening to spend my Wednesday at Kaiser getting my first treatment for lung cancer. I'll never know what caused it, and I was never a smoker. Since my pneumonia last year, we've been watching for it to clear up and it never did. A biopsy confirmed it, and we started on a plan. It's a non-small cell adenocarcinoma, and they got all the genetic markers they could for tailoring the chemo and immunotherapy. It's a common variety, and the PET scan gave no signs that it's spread to any lymph nodes so far. I have three days of combined chemo/immuno therapy, each separated by three weeks of down time. The only side effect I've experienced so far is a bit of fatigue, and all the literature encourages me to get exercise and stay active during this period. (There is the fact that my white cell and platelets counts will be depressed during this period. I'd very much like to urge you to stay home from the bridge club if you are not feeling well! I will be wearing a mask when I'm working, and I appreciate your understanding!) After that, I get a lobotomy! By that I mean they'll take out the lowest lobe of my right lung. 🙂 That will require a few weeks of recovery. It's going to be an interesting adventure. The tech they have now is amazing. The expectation is that the treatment and surgery will be "curative." In the meantime, I'm very lucky to have Zachary, Lisa, and Susan to help cover games and classes. Lisa and I will be covering for Zachary over the next couple of weeks while he visits his dad who's going through something very similar. Classes Next Week For all of our courses, you're welcome to join a single class for $25. It's a great way to get a good bite of a subject without a six-week commitment. We have two courses in progress: /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ on Thursday evening. Here are the sessions for next week, August 6-7: This week's classes: * Wedesday 7:00 PM, "Practice Hands" /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ * Thursday 7:00 PM, "Slam Bidding and Blackwood" /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ Join us *every Saturday morning* for a free workshop at 9:30, whether you stay for the game or not! We'll study a hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. Each hand has interesting bidding, play, and defense to learn from. Coming up ... Last chance to qualify for the North American Pairs District Final will be all of our Open Pairs games Monday-Saturday, August 25-30. PCC Extension has published their fall catalog, including "Bridge Introduction" on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM starting October 8. This is our first time to offer Bridge Introduction during daylight hours! Get out the word for a big turnout. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa