Carpenters (standard:humor, 1467 words)
Author: Walt	Added: Nov 04 2006	Views/Reads: 3260/2097	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A 5:15 Gang story - The wives plan a trip to Las Vegas . . .

Carpenters 

I am not sure if it was their persuasive feminine powers or just simple
blackmail that the women used to get us to agree to their trip to Las 
Vegas. I know my wife made some pretty strong points about the cost of 
my fishing gear, the trips we made to those ideal remote spots that 
took us away from home for whole weekends and finally, the amount we 
spend on our annual trip into Quebec. The other members of The 5:15 
Gang reported similar approaches by their spouses so I can only assume 
that it was a well-coordinated effort that broke down our defenses. Not 
that any of the Gang thought the women did not deserve a trip  it was 
just that we wanted to go too. 

The women had looked after all the flight arrangements, the hotel
reservations, traveler's cheques and all the other details for a 
successful trip to Las Vegas. Today they were having their final 
meeting at Irene and Pete's home.  Pete was at a church board meeting 
so I had wandered over to Al's and watched him working on his latest 
project, making a fiberglass fishing rod. 

We got into a discussion about the high cost of buying fishing tackle in
Canada. After a careful analysis of the question, by tracking the 
product from design to manufacture, from American wholesaler to 
Canadian wholesaler or jobber and finally to a retailer, we believed 
there were just too many hands out there grabbing a piece of the 
action.  Al's answer to the overmarketing was to make as much of his 
gear as possible, using the parts and pieces he could purchase in bulk, 
but few of the Gang had Al's skill or even a workshop that could 
compare with the one I was now in.  I suggested to Al that he could 
make me a rod or two but when he confided that the cost would be darn 
near as much as the store price, I said I would stick with my old rod a 
little longer. 

My wife had asked me to pick her up at eightthirty so I left Al's home
to arrive right on time. They were not quite finished with their 
meeting when I rang the doorbell. 

Irene greeted me at the door and invited me in. I could join them in the
den and watch the rest of the video or make myself at home in the 
kitchen and talk to their cat. Their cat is not much of a 
conversationalist so I said I would watch the rest of their video. The 
women were studying a tape on 'How to Win at Blackjack'. I wisely kept 
my mouth shut and tried to pick up a few pointers for the next camp 
game of friendly poker that we occasionally play after a hard day of 
fishing. 

When the video ended, the women compared notes and asked me for my
opinion on doubling. "Well, when we play we don't have to follow the 
table rules that they use in Vegas," I said. "Because the dealer has to 
draw if he or she has 16, it depends on what cards you hold. I'd say an 
8 or more is a good choice, unless your luck has been running good  
then try anything." 

"Are you saying that luck is the deciding factor?" Thelma, Freddie's
wife, asked. 

"Well, unless you can remember all the cards that have been played in a
four-deck game, yes." 

"What about letting your winnings ride?" Cindy asked. 

"The way I would do it is to pocket the amount you started out with and
then shoot the winnings!" My wife gave me a look that summed up my 
cardplaying ability. Irene came into the room with the coffee and 
homemade desserts that Pete had made up for the meeting and all the 
women complimented his cooking ability. The conversation then somehow 
turned to how well the other husbands cooked. 

I never knew that Jerry was a complete disaster in the kitchen but Cindy
said he could only cook when he was camping. Somehow, I thought that 
Jerry had managed to fool Cindy because I know he can cook pancakes. 
Although, come to think of it, last spring he almost set the camp afire 
by putting the bacon on some paper towels in the oven, forgetting that 
the ignition point of paper is somewhat lower than the 300 degrees he 
had selected. Fortunately, we have a firefighter in the Gang and the 


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