I played bingo for the first time.

We used to play bingo when I worked in assisted living. Staff helped residents keep track on their bingo cards, called numbers and awarded prizes. I remember playing in elementary school, too.

But playing in a room of paying adults was a first.

What it’s like to play bingo

The room grew quiet as the numbers were called. The first round was traditional — five across, down or horizontal. The second game was a 2×3 area, anywhere  on the card. Then, we tried for blackout in 50 or so calls.

Players sang out, “Bingo!” Cards were checked, and prizes awarded. Bells tinkled occasionally — and always for O69. (You figure it out …)

About the fourth game in, the caller showed a Y shape and announced a $30 prize.

Feeling like a winner

I mentioned to my friend — also a first-time player — that I often win things, such as drawings, prizes or that sort of thing. Sometimes, I know I’m going to win even before they announce they will draw for for prizes. It’s not often I even want the prize, but I know I’m going to win.

My friend agreed. She said it’s the power of intention. If you intend to win, you will.

I said, however, I wasn’t feeling it with bingo. I knew it wasn’t my turn to win, and that was ok.

But when they announced the prize for the Y game, she turned to me and said, “I’m going to win that.”

The power of intention

I actually did better than I had on the other games. On a couple of my cards, I was close to bingo. I began to wonder if maybe I would be lucky, after all. The announcer called a number, and my friend got bingo.

She had intended to win, and she did. We grinned and high-fived each other. Her friends at the next table were not as amused.

So bingo wasn’t a total bust. I learned it’s an experience I don’t need to repeat. She won $30, which paid for her bingo cards, drinks and food, with some left over.

Ah, the power of intention.

Be a Better Writer Tip

I had to look up bingo.

No, it wasn’t that I didn’t know how to spell it, but Word wanted to capitalize it. Webster’s New World Dictionary, however, said it’s a lowercase noun.

I also wanted to make it a verb — as in bingoed — but to meet the dictionary definition, that’s a no-no. Interestingly, high-fived is an acceptable verb.

I rewrote my copy to make it a lowercase noun. Sometimes it’s easier to write around something. While I could have used a word I’ve heard others use, I’d rather be right, in this case. So bingo it is.