intelligence. Mort Klein possess-
es all of these qualities in spades,
which is why he recently reached
the level of Bridge Silver Life
Master, something he'd been
striving for over the past few
years. He accomplished this feat
just a few weeks shy of his 94th
birthday, no less, but he vehe-
mently protests the magnitude
of the success.
because there are thousands
of them," says the Beachwood
resident in his typically serious
and self-eff acing manner.
tion, and he persevered because,
heck, why stop when he's been
playing the game two to three
times per week for the past
65 years? He began just after
World War II, when he served
in the Coast Guard's engine
department, stationed on ships
throughout the Pacifi c.
Leventhal when they both lived
on Milton Road in University
Heights. Mort became hooked
because it appealed to his intel-
lectual inclinations.
game keeps people constantly
thinking. At this point in his
life, he puts a high premium on
mental engagement, wanting
to keep his mind as active as
possible.
69 years. "He'd play every day of
the week, if he were asked to,"
she adds.
duplicate bridge (a version where
players compete against everyone
else in the room) at Anshe Chesed
- Fairmount Temple, the Beach-
wood Recreation Department and
the Solon Recreation Center.
with satisfaction, but he's also
chagrined by the notion that
"bridge is a dying sport."
decide to play, there'd be no
one their age with whom to get
a game going, he adds. Bridge
requires four players.
says, mildly baffl ed.
with it. He understands. "It's very
hard you need to remember
cards and combinations of cards."
either.
to do," she says, counting herself
within that category of player.
Mather College (now Case West-
ern Reserve University). "That
was the big thing then," she
says of the game in the 1950s.
She played "party bridge" which
could take under an hour and
be played between classes. Time
was a factor.
around a bridge game.
during many winters spent in
Naples. He reports that there
could be 20 to 30 tables set up in
a single location, with 80 to 100
players present. He would play
with the same partner all day.
Shirley, however, found it to be
too serious. She likes to change
partners and have snack breaks.
years, Mort has attended plenty
of events. One time he played
three sections in one day, with
each section lasting three and a
say," he says.
are identifi ed by the cardinal
directions north and south
playing against east and west.
Play consists of several deals,
each progressing through four
phases: dealing the cards, the
auction (also referred to as
bidding), playing the cards and
scoring the results. The game has
immense scope by virtue of the
incredible number of possible
unique deals.
evidence existing among the
people with whom Mort plays
in Beachwood; 90% of them
have attained the Life Master
designation.
am," he laments.
responds.
that they can't play together. "He
yells at me."
way to spend an evening. But it
took a little bit of time to fi gure
this out.
boring," he says. Shirley deter-
mined that the sequence of
events was all wrong. Instead,
they needed to start the evening
by playing bridge, and talking
about the kids afterward.
Mort and son Howard.