Do You want a hand of Crib ??

Ever since I could remember, my mother would be excited when she got letters from her birth sisters and sisters-in-law married to her brothers. These letters would be read and reread on the remote farmstead where we lived. Of course, each one would be answered in her grade four English and Spelling. Faithfully, Mom communicated with her family on a steady basis.

I recall that even in preschool years, I could not wait until I to learn enough English that would permit my reading of these important letters. I would look at them all even though I could not read them but soon it was possible to do so myself. You might say that I kept in touch with all these Aunties on a second-hand basis at that time.

Although all the families involved were very important, it was the families in Calgary, Alberta that intrigued me most as I always wondered … Who were they? The local ones I would see at least two or more times a year, whereas, the others were a rare visit because of the distance.

Probably because the family name Markin was a rarity in the Veregin / Pelly area of Saskatchewan, that name seemed to be especially interesting to me. Sister Florence and Andy Markin used to be on my Mom’s lips and then there would be the occasional pictures of them and their children Allan and Diana and then later Kathy and Jerry.

There was excitement galore when one late Fall day in 1948, it was noted that the Markins and Morozoffs were coming from Calgary. Cooking and preparations were rampant until finally they arrived. I recall that Aunty Flo was beautiful with a very handsome husband Andy.  They, along with their two children Allan and Diane, came to our house on a Coupe (a two seated  car with a limited rear storage area and a trunk). I am not sure how everyone fitted in, baggage and all, but they did.

There was some mischief that Allan and Diana got themselves into and I recall Aunt Flo taking them into the far bedroom of our house in Pelly and scolding them. They must have been about four and two respectively, at that time, and I remember vividly their bowed heads from the warning they received. I cannot remember their misdeed nor do I recall if I was part of the conspiracy that got them into trouble in the first instance.

Years passed during which references were made to the Markin Family many times.    In 1957, (I believe) I was returning to Saskatchewan from work with my brothers in Trail, British Columbia by the good graces of Uncle Nick Morozoff. We drove as far as Calgary where he lived. I was then to catch a bus back to Pelly.

During the short time in Calgary, Uncle Nick took me down to Bowness to see the Markin family.  It was not long before Uncle Andy Markin asked me if I played Crib. Saying ‘yes’ was a mistake as my two uncles ‘cleaned my clock”, royally. I realized then, that this may not have been a fluke.

Later, Uncle Andy said “Allan is pitching today in Little League. He is a really good Pitcher. We should go and see him play”.  My recollection is that we had time to watch a few innings and I am not sure if we got a chance to say anything to Allan but we had to leave as I had to catch the bus… but only after Uncle Andy was able to proudly say “Allan is the top Pitcher in this league” and he looked darn good from my vantage point.

Later in my work years, many occasions took me to Calgary and almost always, I dropped in on the Markin family and occasionally, the Nick Morozoff Family. When at Markins, it was always “Do you want to play a hand of crib?” Always it was the same result and after constant defeat, I started to believe that Uncle Andy had to have had a marked deck.

In later years, Marilyn and I would call in to their new house at Christie Park and the room was all set up for cards. The board was there, the deck was there with the beautiful view of downtown Calgary as a background. The results were the same. Total annihilation no matter how many years I played that game, Uncle Andy always had the upper hand.

Unfortunately age and sickness started to show wear and tear on Uncle Andy and it was suspected that he was suffering from Dementia or perhaps a related illness associated with aging that made him despondent at times. I can honestly say that during the short times when we visited, I did not notice this although his usual restlessness became was displayed more.

At these occasions, Aunty Flo would take Marilyn shopping leaving Uncle Andy and me to follow this usual agenda:

• Play Cribbage
• Go to the Recreation Center and have a Steam bath
• Go for lunch
• Have a wine with lunch (a privilege and a secret between us that could not be admitted to Aunty as alcohol was not permitted to Uncle Andy) which we enjoyed and oft-time we became philosophical.
• A tour which would take us to Bowness, Cousin Kathy’s house and Nephew Jess’s house which were under construction and later completed
• Home again and more Cribbage

The end result was always the same….Uncle Andy would let me win one game in twenty just to keep my interest up.

Uncle Andy moved into a senior’s home as his illness continued and his care needed more attention than Aunty could provide. But even there, the question was always the same “Do you want a hand of Crib?” The result continued, no matter how many games were played until he tired.

The last time we visited, Uncle Andy was sitting in the “Common Room” and as Marilyn and I came in through the secured entry, he noticed us across the entire room. We came to him and he was visibly weak and fragile but the first thing he said was “let’s go to my room”. We were told by the staff that lunch was being served in a short time as the tables were all set. So we visited there but I am sure Uncle Andy would have preferred another game of Crib

His parting words were “Be happy!”

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