Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Vermont Bar Journal, Fall 2018, Vol. 44, No. 3 | Page 12

Happiness
no secrets, and everything has to be dis-
closed.
JEB: So, if I slap a mosquito on my leg
during bidding and shout, will I get thrown
out?
MO: Yes, if it’s signaling. No signaling
is allowed.
JEB: But what if a mosquito actually bit
me?
MO: Extraneous discussion is discour-
aged, especially since bridge is a timed
event. It’s intense.
JEB: Ok, no extraneous chatter, so I’m
out (laughs)! But in less competitive Bur-
lington, are they silent, or do they sit and
talk about other things? Is the bid process
always super sacred?
MO: It’s pretty much sacred. Getting
through 27 hands in 3.5 hours is a chal-
lenge, so the timed event aspect is re-
spected. If you are waiting for a round to
finish, you socialize or get a snack or when
you rotate, but during the hand, it’s pret-
ty down to business. You cannot signal
12
through inflection or foot tapping or any-
thing like that. At the world champion-
ships, there are even screens between the
partners.
JEB: But when you rotate tables, you
don’t have time to talk either? So, no time
to socialize.
MO: There’s definitely time for socializ-
ing. True, in duplicate bridge, the endor-
phin rush and mental challenge probably
outweigh the social aspect, but you do
have time, when easier hands allow you to
finish a round earlier, to get up and social-
ize with others who are also finished. It’s
very satisfying to go to a tournament and
come back with good results. When peo-
ple asked me, “How was your trip?” I can’t
stop thinking about how remarkably good
the world class players are, and how in-
credibly nice people they are. I don’t see
it as so serious and cut throat, because I’ve
met so many nice people among the top-
flight people I played with. And they all
enjoy it. That’s what I really have enjoyed
about returning to competitive bridge…
spending time with very friendly and intel-
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • FALL 2018
ligent people who are different than I am in
so many ways.
JEB: And you play often online without
your live partner?
MO: I’ve been playing for 50 years, and
there is an endless learning curve.
JEB: You find you still learn things?
MO: Yes. Playing at the level I got to play
at this past weekend in Florida, I learned
a tremendous amount. There is so much
more to learn about statistics, probability,
algorithms, defensive signaling, etc.
JEB: So, you’ve learned which tech-
niques have more success over the years
but find there is always room for improve-
ment. So that must be part of the enter-
tainment value then? You know a lot of
people that I interview choose something
where they can absolutely let their mind go
for their pursuit of happiness. Something
they can do with their hands or something
that is the exact opposite of practicing law.
And yet you’ve chosen something where
you have to use your mind even more as a
www.vtbar.org