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| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2026 | 39 We have had a busy summer. The July lessons once again filled, and we have gained new members and new players of this fun and somewhat challenging game! There were 20 residents who learned how to play, and 14 club members volunteered as table coaches under the leadership of Dawn Edwards. The next session of lessons starts in October if interested please sign up at the front desk of the Clubhouse. The annual tournament took place on Aug. 8. We had 60 players participate in these four rounds for a total of 16 game event (the eight brave novice players played eight games). A big thank you to Patti Lightholder and Mary Blackman who stepped up and chaired the tournament. A big thank you to Stephen Smolen who donated a Mah Jongg set from his friend, Kenneth Goebel. If you have a set, you don't want anymore please reach out to (302) 540-2027. The club would love to add sets. We had a guest at our tournament who runs tournaments throughout the year in North County San Diego. Members can get added to their notification list if interested. Email the club at ohccmahjongg@gmail.com and I'll forward to Heidi. Our next big event is our members' appreciation play in the afternoon on Mon., Oct. 5 starting at 1 pm. Registration started on Sept. 1 for the fun-filled event for members of the club. It's a "bring your own everything," except beverages and food. We will provide drinks and snacks. Please bring your set, your table cover and your table mates. If you need people to play with you can sign up as a solo pair or threesome and we will match you up. We will also hold elections that day. Theresa Randolph chaired the nomination committee and has a full slate of officers. If you want to run, please reach out to her. Save the date for Holiday lunch and play on Tues., Dec. 1, it's a hybrid event. Remember the club hosts four weekly drop-in games- go to our website for details! Lastly, the answer to last month's question will be in next month's edition. Tips on when to stop the Charleston. For this month, please email the club and let us know if you play for money, and if you do, do you have a PIE (Purse is Empty) amount? Mahj on! Written by Jacqueline Ettinger, President of the OHCC Mah Jongg Club Mahjongg Club Bingo Every month our bingo team(s) are finding and working out the glitches with our new equipment. It's not the new equipment that is the issue; it's our learning curve. For example, all the bingo patterns are loaded into the computer in advance. Each month, each of the 10 games for that month loaded in the computer and then clearly labeled. Each game pattern is reviewed for accuracy. The monthly game pattern sheet is then generated and available on game day for you to mark your cards. However, what happens when human error is involved? For example, last month the pattern in the computer for a specific game was not the same pattern on the game pattern handouts. There was one dot missing on the handout and the game and verification on the equipment don't match. Prior to the game we noticed the problem and announced the easy "fix." We found out later that some players did not understand what the "fix" was. Apparently, we were not as clear as we could have been with the instructions. After discussion our teams decided on a "Fix for any fixes." Take the additional few minutes to be as clear as possible if we ask you to make a change. Have our runners walking around to be sure you understand and any questions are answered. Most importantly, prior to even starting bingo all games patterns in the computer will be reviewed and coordinated with the bingo game sheet to be sure of accuracy. On the brighter side, Maria had an amazing evening at Bingo. Maria yelled bingo and was so excited. She was gripping her bingo placard while our runner went to verify her winning game. Sadly, it was not a bingo. Maria was missing one number. Maria gave back the placard and hunkered down and waited for the next number to be called. The caller announced the next number and again Maria screamed out bingo. Again, Maria was given the bingo placard which she was waving while the runner went to verify her card. This time Maria was a winner! It was meant to be. I was sitting one table away, and it was very joyful to see her win. Congratulations, you are all winners. For more information visit: https://ohccbingo.wixsite.com/ ohcc-bingo "We didn't realize we were making beautiful memories, we just knew we were having fun." ~ Adele Siesel – Bingo President, Along with the Bingo team

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