War Games

March 8 -- When I got to the hospital today to visit my father, I could see him in his room while I was walking down the hall.  My mother had already called to tell me he had a quieter night although  we strongly suspected he had been given drugs to knock him out.  So when I saw him sitting up in a chair, I was relieved.  Awesome, I thought.  He's up and at 'em.

But then I came into the room.  He was sitting alright but he was sleeping, his head drooping down and his glasses still on.  When I came into the room, he lifted his head and  looked at me.  And then he started whispering.  In Polish.  "Dad," I said.  "I don't understand a word you are saying."  He just stared at me blankly and then fell asleep again only to wake up a few minutes later and resume his Polish whispering.

This went on for maybe half an hour until finally, I had had enough.  Annoyed, I reached into my bag and grabbed a pack of cards I had quickly taken from the junk drawer when I had left my house.  Somehow, I had gotten the idea that maybe while I was hanging out at the hospital, we could play a simple card game.  Where this idea came from I have no idea because my father and I never, ever played cards together while I was growing up.  I guess he used to play with his friends and my mom before we kids came along but during my childhood it was a rare occasion to see my father shuffle the ol' deck.

I slapped the cards onto the food table.  His eyes grew wide.  "Dad," I said firmly, "Let's play a game."  He watched quietly while I counted out the cards and explained the game of War.   I flipped the first card over.  It was an eight.  Then I flipped one from my pile.  A two.  "Which card is higher?" I asked him.  I really expected that he wouldn't know.  But there was this glimmer of light in his eyes, excitement maybe?  He gave me a look that was part humor, part annoyance.  And he slowly, slowly pointed to the eight.  "The eight, " he said, in perfect English.  From there the game took off.  He still fell asleep from time to time but he kept coming back to the game.  It was awesome.  Best game of War I ever played, and lost, in my life.

It's amazing how losing can seem like winning if you have the right perspective.