The assimilation is complete.

In My Humble Opinion
1

If you live in Michigan, two things are constant at nearly every party: beer drinking and euchre. It isn’t so much a part of our Northern Culture as it seems to be a part of our collective DNA’s. You are either a Euchre player or not.

I grew up on the taste of Nyquil as a youngster and went over to mixed drinks with practiced eased. Beer drinking wasn’t the thing in my Irish family, we were a more sophisticated gaggle of Catholics. Eventually, because of being involved in a German Folk Dance Group ( in which we were paid in beer/wine and food for our performances) I switched to wine, as the German beer we received for free that would give most beer snobs stiff ones, left me with an unpleasant taste in my mouth. If I wanted to dance publically while under the influence, one learns to adjust and adapt.

As card games go, it was usually Michigan Rummy. fast paced, chaotic and filled with loads of laughter and cheating. Euchre was something that everyone did when they played cards with friends, not family. So I never learned the game.
A couple weeks ago I was dragged out of the comforts of my warm, cozy environs to go To The Bar. I have always eschewed The Bar scene. Too noisy. Too smokey, filled with assholes and too pricey. I realized, however, that the inner curmudgeon in me could be greatly entertained by People Watching, He’s In The Closet and Spot The Whore
I had three Slippery Nipples butterscotch schnapps & Bailey’s and spent $15 just in three puny drinks. The tightwad in me was greatly annoyed and affronted and the next time I was dragged out to the bar (a couple of days later in celebration of my birthday) and made the switch to beer. The drink of the common man. Two things I am not:common or a man.

I asked for a recommendation by our guy friend, who is either my next husband or my husbands man-bride (as he has become the official date for either of us for any situation) and went with Coors Light. ( Hey, we gotta start somewhere.) The fact that I wasn’t instantly repelled by its taste was slightly amazing to me. The fact that I had three and wasn’t even drunk ( I was entering into the Very Chatty Phase) was a greater testimony of the watered down effects of this beverage.

What had I been missing for twenty plus years?! All the mocking and beer fueled therapy sessions. Friendships made and lost. World problems solved while fondling a long neck. Oh the regrets I have!

Last night, my husband, the euchre player, was called in to be the Emergency Substitute Player-Story Teller-Drinker with our neighbors annual Xmas Euchre Tourney. This is a position he has filled in at least 10 times in 10 years. Really, I told my neighbor, why not just invite him along straightaway? Mr. Ujest decided to allow me to fill his position, assuring our neighbor that my euchre skills were at the same level as his. (Not far off the mark.) and I was flung into a Whole New World starting at 7pm last night.
The first hand was played open and I instructed everyone to talk to me as if I were retarded. Our table was referred to as The Short Bus, but eventually, the moniker stuck to my Neighbor as whatever table she was playing at finished their round last. Though the rules they had forgotten to explain to me in the beginning consistantly were added in lightening fast fashion, making my head spin, everyone was wonderful too me. I played conservatively ( never picking up the trump) and renig’d ( sp?) twice. ( The first it was realized no one explained it to me and the second, I knew I did it after I tossed out the other Jack of that suit. My facial features must have been my tell as I winced.

I drank only two beers during my crash course. ( Hey, I had two hundred yards to drive home during a sleet storm. Besides, I didn’t think it wise to get too lubricated while under the patient tutelage of 11 other people. )

I fully expected to come in last in the points and I didn’t. I ended up sharing last place with someone else and we split a pot of six dollars worth of quarters.
I cannot wait for the next chance to play euchre.
I cannot wait for the next chance to drink beer.

After 41 years, I have become a true Michiganderanian.

2

Oh, and if anyone knows a place online to play ( either against others or computer) I would appreciate it.

3

In loved your post, I’ve never played but that word in and of itself is awesome! :smiley:

4

Thanks!

Half the state calls themselves Michigander, the other half " Michiganian." I used the metric system and smooshed them together.
:slight_smile:

5

MichiGANDER checking in.

They had Euchre at playsite.com, but I think it is gone as of last week… not sure though.

6

Resistance is futile, after all.

I grew up in a euchre and pinochle family, every holiday meal ending with the cards being busted out. My parents sole entertainment being playing cards with family or friends, hence I decided it was the lamest thing possible and refused to learn either game.

When I was about 18 or so, guess what all my friends started doing. :rolleyes:

I learned, and play decently, but managed to hide my knowledge from the family for years. Now the neicephews are all learning, so again at the end of holiday meals the cards come out. Sigh.

Shirl play on yahoo, it’s free and easy to figure out, there are a metric assload of Michigan, Canadian, Ohioan and oddly, a generous smattering of Kiwi. My yahoo ID is in my profile, I’ll partner you through your learning curve if you like.

I’d love to host a Michigan Dopers euchre tourney someday! :smiley:

7

I just think it’s wonderful that there are still people somewhere who go to somebody else’s house and play cards (or whatever - board games are my thing.) Because it’s HARD to make friends after college, and sometimes the BF and I feel really isolated here at home with our Netflix. So hey, good on you.

I started drinking beer when a friend and I were planning on going to Spring Break at Daytona - when we were in library school and way too old for it. We realized if we wanted to be able to afford it we’d need to learn to drink beer, because liquor drinks were expensive but beer was 50 cents a cup if you drank it by the pool at noon. (Went up a quarter every hour after that, but not above a buck fifty, I think.) The beer didn’t even have a name.

8

I don’t know how to play Euchre or Pinochle. I tried to learn Pinochle before, but it’s way too much for my feeble mind. Nobody in the family plays in family get togethers either.

I dare not give any further hints as to my location, for I fear the Card-Borg will kick down my door, drag me off by my armpits and force me to undergo rigorous learnings of various card games.

Zsofia, the beer had a name: “shitty”.

9

I would want a bit of beer and wine before I could even think of pronouncing that last “Michiganderanian” word out loud. :eek: Maybe it’s like speaking German - easier after couple of good German beers. (And what a silly nuisance it is, in that case, that one may not legally drink beer until aged 18, having suffered, or indeed tortured, the poor German language for a few school years before that. Ha - perhaps that’s why the school trips to Germany or Austria were so good for our language skills. :slight_smile: They really should have given us beer in school in German classes at age 14 or so, purely for educational reasons, you understand. However, I digress.)

I’d skip the weird drink thing with the butterscotch and schnapps and Bailey’s though. :eek:

Ah, but soft! Perhaps the oddly named (and rather sweet and terrible sounding, but I ought not to judge) drink holds the secret of how to play card games? I have NEVER understood any card game more complex than “Snap”. BUT you have made it actually sound fun!

Thank you: I really enjoyed reading your happy story post. It almost makes card games sound possible, although I do still tend to think a special brain is needed.

Hell, I don’t even know how to pronounce “euchre”. Oh, well, ignorance, fighting thereof, a’Googling I shall go …

So, I hope you get a chance to do both things again soon. And, this December-y season of conviviality, I am sure you will.

So, is it that you moved to Michigan 41 years ago, or that you have always been in Michigan and only now qualify as a proper genuine that-big-word?

In either case, I hope you have good fun with the new-found hobbies. :slight_smile:

10

And the third half calls themselves Yoopers. :smiley:

Once you master the beer & euchre, you can learn to play cribbage with the big kids. No euchre up here, at least not in the cool crowd. It’s cribbage all the way.

It’s actually delicious. I am decidedly NOT a sweet drink person - I’m much more of a wine and beer girl - but was forced to try Bailey’s and Butterscotch once because the person who offered it to me was the type who would have been offended if I didn’t at least try it, and to my great surprise it was really good. Sort of salty and sweet and not at all syrupy.

11

Mish-uh-gan-der-ANE-nee-en

Yoo-ker

12

For years I have been trying to convince the world that a Michigander is a dude from Michigan, so a chick from Michigan is a Michigoose. So far I don’t have many followers, but I havn’t given up.

13

So what about the ass immolation? Does it have anything to do with eating jalapeños?

14

Secretly, I’ve always wanted to be a Yooper. donchaknow What a kickass name.

I’ve was born and raised here.

Michigander. Michigoose. …I’m not sure whether you should be pelted with Stroh’s beer cans yeah, I know. or stuffed into a pastie as punishment for this pun.

15

I vote for “sealed in a cask of Vernors”.

16

I’ll ask my sisters tomorrow if there’s an on-line euchre game. They’d know. I’ve played the Euch, Cribbage and Pinocle (my mother recently bought a 1/2 gross of pinochle decks on e-bay, They’re getting hard to find). I’ll toast you with my Vernors while we play down here inTennessee.

As it happens, I see that pogo.com has on-line euchre: Pogo Try there.

StG

17

Hey, now! It’s not a pun, I’m not British or something creepy like that , it’s a simple matter of taxonomy.

18

Thanks for the link. If/when I get a chance to waste time, I will definately check it out.

I’m already contemplating hosting a euchre tourney, but instead of money, have it be a White Elephant Euchre Tournement. ( Winner gets to pick first from a pile of wrapped white elephant gifts. Devious, I know.)

19

There has been a shareware Euchre game available for a long time. It think this one is the latest version of the original: http://www.euchreusa.com/

I didn’t know that Euchre was played by adults. My only experience with it was while putting off homework while at the university. The beer part sounds familiar.

20

I’ve been playing Euchre on Yahoo! Games for a long time. http://games.yahoo.com