Antoinette-Marie Williams

As far back as I can remember,

Rachel and Henry Williams played cards.

At 10, I listened to the laughter and teasing around the card table.

My dad invited me to play.

He needed a partner.

He taught me the rules of the game.

how to win, and he also taught me how to hold the cards in my small hands to play bid whiz, pinochle, and cutthroat pinochle.

They lit up the room with passion and confidence, and it rubbed off on me.

I learned to play backgammon from my friend Terry.

Almost 50 years ago, probably longer than most of you have been on the planet, Backgammon is a board game that's been around probably longer than and found in Tutankhamun's coffin.

The game is played with 15 checkers and dice for each player.

Each player rolls the dice and moves their checkers around the board according to the numbers on the dice.

You win the game by getting your checkers to your home board and getting your checkers off before your opponent.

I loved backgammon.

I was dying to play.

I was hungry to play this game.

I found Chess City a few blocks away from my apartment.

They played bridge, chess, and backgammon there.

Only a few women were in the game of bridge.

I found a group of men playing over in the corner, four Bulgarians and one Haitian.