Feel It

dated 2010-06-29 | posted in columns | topic People | permanent link

Feel It!

Last fall, on a Guincho beach cleanup a man I barely knew said, “ Hey Pat I heard you are looking for a bridge partner. I know someone who wants to play too.” After a little more probing I learned that this person, we’ll call him Rocky, was a good player and wanted someone to accompany him to the Bridge Federation in Lisbon. I answered that I was just a beginner then contacted three good bridge players I knew. All women. (I also didn’t know at the time if Rocky was married or single.) One month later one of the women said, “ Pat, remember that man who wanted a bridge partner? Well he contacted me and he’s really nice.” I got curious and arranged a game for four of us.

From the moment Rocky walked into my home, I knew we were a match. Not the romantic kind, but the type of friend who shares your ideas, makes the same jokes, has the wild side you long to unleash. “ He’s a rebel,” someone said. Secretly, so am I! The single ladies liked him too and wanted to mother him. He’d ask us what clothes to wear for a job interview, how early to leave for the airport, and whether to check his bag or carry it onboard. The good news for me, (already married) was that I’d found a friend. The bad news for the other lady bridge players was that Rocky was married, and happily. His wife, let’s call her Janet, hates bridge, loves her independence as much as Rocky does, and has the kind of cool confidence to know that when the lights go out at night, Rocky will be home.

During the winter Rocky and I played bridge at the same table, but never as partners. All the other women wanted his company. I just wanted his friendship. And then came February when Rocky announced that he was going to leave Portugal and seek work elsewhere. That was one area where our opinions differed. As much as I like it here, he didn’t. I won’t belabor his complaints but they ran deep and wide. We talked for days about what suit he should wear to his upcoming interviews in the USA and what he’d do if he missed his connection in New York for Boston. Rocky was in the USA for a week. I emailed him regularly, but none came back. I could hardly wait until his return for our laughs to resume and also to learn where he’d live after he left Portugal. Then one Sunday, Rocky came back to Portugal.

“ Hey, Pat, “ he said on a late evening call. “ Guess where I’m going?”

“ China? “ I said hoping we could meet there late this summer.

“ Ghana! “ he said. “ I’m going to Ghana.”

Why would I be shocked? This choice was totally in keeping with Rocky’s personality: rebellious, free spirit, adventurer. By the way, Janet likes it here and has decided to stay one more year while Rocky ventures into Africa.


Fast forward to the Ghana game two weeks ago at the World Cup. Rocky and his wife came over to watch and to check out his future countrymen.

The Ghanaian people were animated, eager and vibrant, just like Rocky. Then I spotted a sign in their crowd: “ Feel it. Ghana is here!” Rocky, I yelled, there’s your people.

Rocky deserves to live in a emerging country, full of life, energy and spirit.
Good luck, Rocky. We’ll all miss you. We feel it, already.

patwestheimer@gmail.com
Pat will spend the summer teaching in China. Her column will resume in September.