Home

Card Night/ 07-13-07

Table of Contents

(Thanks to Frank Mario Trotta, the patriarch of the family, host of these games, and supplier of the good food and drink)

Ed Capuano returned from a trip to Italy a couple of weeks ago, and while he was there, purchased a deck of those "dreaded" Italian playing cards. At FMTs on Friday, July 27^th, he encouraged us boys to use them in our Tresette game. Man, it was pitiful. Indeed, it was so tragic that I was driven to verse, and the following poem is the outcome:

The Italian Deck of Cards

Angelo D’Elia/ 07-27-07

They focused on the brand new cards in utter disbelief.

Is this a jack or king, he asked, a crown or just a leaf?

The game was moving slowly,

for the cards they did not know.

Jerry stared at FMT,

and Vince, he stared a Joe.

ESPN Breaking News: While the main conversation centered around bongiochi, and how to count them when calling yourself out before the last hand is fully played out, Angelo and Ed stunned their opponents, Joe and FMT. Angelo and Ed scored a capotto . . . by getting all ELEVEN points in one hand and they did it without stereoids.

The poem below, by Angelo D'Elia, is written in both our dialect and English for our Friday night card game of Tresette

Sugnu Fora	I Call Myself Out
Our Dialect	it loses a bit in the English translation

i carti nostri suno deci rus’ e niguari di coluru n’asso senz’ u du or tria e la malasciorta mia. fa la facia de lo furbo ma lu fratte li disturba >no se po chiamare fora no stasera, non e lo’ora<. ma Gerado ietta carti cusa com’e fossa sarti primo l’asso e dop’u dua Giuseppe chiangia avanta a nua. >sugno fora<, ma che grida su la facia c’e na risa >un bongioco no lo cuntu mi piace questu mundu<. ma nu sbagliu ci sara trent ed uno non c’e sta Gerardo resta boc’aperta Giuseppe rida e si diverta.	Our cards add up to ten of colors red and black an ace without a two or three is my usual bad luck. he looks as if he knows it all but his brother taunts him >you can’t call yourself out not tonight, it’s not time<. Gerry throws cards left and right like a tailor stitching clothes first the ace and then the two Joe’s upset and let’s us know. Gerry calls his side is out on his face a smile takes place >I’m not counting my bongioco it’s so good to be alive<. but he did not count the points right and did not get to thirty-one Gerry stares at us in shock Joe is laughing in his face.

Webmaster: Angelo D'Elia/ postadelia@charter.net