Sepia Saturday 201: Grannie was a Gambler

The splendid Robert Goelet House in Newport, Rhode Island is the prompt this week.

_________________________________________________________________________________

St. Edward's Church - raffle site

My grandmother Lucy won her home in a St. Edward's church raffle. Unfortunately I couldn't find the only photo I have of it. I loved visiting that house where she, her husband Bertie, my three maiden aunts and my bachelor uncle all lived under the same roof. After mass on Sunday, the place was full of relatives drinking tea and dunking cookies. The air was thick with chatter and every once in a while a mickey full of whiskey would be passed around to fortify the tea and fuel the conversation. Fresh from communion, we were ready to roll up our sleeves and dig into the bad behavior again as soon as possible. 

Other than Sundays when we invaded the place, the house was quiet, except for the clickety clackety sound of Grandma's rosary going round and round. It never stopped because she prayed for everybody and everything - including the horses she'd wagered money on in races all across the U.S. and Canada. She'd set the rosary aside only to commit mortal sins against the First Commandment, to wit - reading tea leaves which was considered a kind of fortune telling. She knew it was a sin and even though extremely devout, she was able to reconcile her behavior with the church law. If the priest was coming over however, tea leaf reading time was over.

mundabor.wordpress.com

When it was time to place her bets she did her phone work with one hand. The other one kept the rosary in action. The racing form, shop worn and tea stained, lay open across her lap covered with pencil marks, signs, circles, arrows and arithmetic equations of various kinds. I liked to look at the discarded forms and at a very early age had a rudimentary grasp of odds. She largely won and she won largely. There's an even longer story here, but not for now.

Not one of Grandma's forms - merely illustrative

Even though I got an early introduction to gambling and handicapping, knowledge wasn't enough for me to succeed in this branch of the family business. I didn't inherit Grandma's luck! At 17, after an initial lucky streak at the track, I lost almost all my summer earnings (around $300.00) and that was enough serious gambling for me.

I still love horse racing though and I defy you to tell me where else you can have so many thrills for a mere $2.00.

ebay.com

Fortunately I was able to find another favorite house photo.  My French Canadian farming relatives (not gamblers) moved their home from one farm to another on sled runners. The moving was done in winter when the ground was frozen and icy.

You can't see the runners on the big house but you can see them on the smaller outbuilding. 

Notice there are icicles under the eaves on the big house. I'm guessing the move was just getting underway in the photo. If the house moved one inch, I'm sure the icicles would have fallen. I also like the curtain at the window...just as if it was another ordinary day.

For something completely different, here's the trailer for the documentary film Queen of Versailles about the couple who are building the largest home, at 90,000 square feet, in Lake Butler Sound, Orlando Florida. 

Queen of Versailles