Chess

I've always thought of chess as an intellectual pursuit and a sign of intelligence. So when my husband and I were dating, I thought I'd impress him with my interest in chess. I asked him to teach me, which he did. When my boys were young, we taught them.

As a result, I've never played chess with anyone else. When our activities director in the community looked for interest in new clubs and someone came forth to start a chess club, I immediately joined. Our meetings are going to be divided between chess and magic. That should be interesting.

What surprised me is that when I told a few friends that I was joining, they all answered that their husbands played and then taught their sons. None of them mentioned playing, nor did their daughters play.

I was sort of surprised when I walked into the room tonight and I was the only woman among six men. I never knew chess was a man's game.

Even though I'm the only woman, I will stay in the club. After all, if I'm going to criticize the single men who get intimated when they find they are the only men at a meeting of our singles club, I've got to stay in the club with all the men. That might not be a bad thing after all.