Since this in on the internet, persons reading this could be from all over the globe. Well, in the midwest United States, we have a little thing called Longenberger basket bingo. For the uninitiated, Longenberger baskets are a high quality basket created by the Longenberger company. Local organizations have bingos, where the prizes are these highly sought after baskets. These are usually fundraisers for schools, or not-for-profits in all shapes and sizes. Last night, my friend, her grandson and I entered the world of competitive basket bingo.Don’t snicker. These ladies take this stuff seriously! We sat behind a table of ladies who, when they heard an announcement of the next bingo coming up, sponsored by another organization, reached into their handbags (properly emblazoned by bingo labels or Longenberger symbols) and eagerly wrote down the next date and time. Some even brought out the blackberry. Longenberger ladies are high tech too, don’t you know.
Around us sat several people in differing degrees of indoctrination. Let me preface by saying that the organization sponsoring this was our local universities student association. To our right was a table of college age young men, who, either there at their girlfriends urging, or by a professors, groaned and yelled out with the best of us when their letter and number was called-or was not. This made my friends grandson happy, as he was afraid he would be the only boy. Not so, young man! Then there were the other table of ladies that had a bingo marker for each color the rainbow and probably had that lucky troll doll in their purse to ask for the right number. Those of you that watched Rosanne in the 80s will understand that reference.
Floating around, selling raffle tickets and selling snacks were college girls and boys that I knew were thinking to themselves. “Man, I hope I don’t get this old and boring!” They’ll learn. For the lure of the Longenberger will get them someday too.
My friend and I go to one of these at least once a year. One, there isn’t much to do in our town on a work night, and two, its just fun. Well this time, to my friend’s delight, she actually won something. As did I!
It was raining cats and dogs outside, it was close to freezing in temperature, but it was warm and happy inside next to the warmth of a hand made basket.
Doesn’t get any better than that, does it?