Maudie at PokerWorks

Third place revisited

You might surmise by the title of this post that I’m about to launch into a routine of “Who’s On First.” If you were to surmise such a thing, you would be wrong. Although I can boast of a third place win with a partner in a talent contest year’s ago with our rendition of the famed Abbot & Costello duet, this post isn’t about that.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post centered on Ray Oldenburg’s notion of the third place (the Great Good Place, 1989) which is described thusly:

The first two places being home and work, the third place is where casual social interaction is fostered and takes place on a regular basis. Oldenburg maintained that this kind of public informal interaction has critical social, psychological and political implications. The third place brings balance where, otherwise, ‘peopleâ€™s expectations toward work and family life [would escalate] beyond the capacity of those institutions to meet them.’

Further into my post I mused:

…what we have here is a third place - where we come together through the words we write, the “blogger” tables and the tournaments, the chats. Is it any wonder, then, that we’ve created this community of sorts - reaching beyond the simple desire to write about a card game? That we are compelled to meet up - face to face? Friendships have developed, new opportunities have arisen, lives have been changed - all from this one in a series of little conspiracies across the internet.

Last weekend during the second installment of Okie-Vegas, I looked around me at the people who’d traveled from different spots around the country - and even from out of the country - I looked around me at the surroundings of a remote Oklahoma spot and our host, and I thought “if not for our common bond of the internet and a little card game”, I would not know these people. Coming from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and circumstances, it’s doubtful that our paths ever would have crossed.

Oh, how thankful I am that the miracle of modern technology intervened to bring us all together. What began as a meetup one December two and a half years ago has given me memories and experiences and grown far beyond any expectations I might have had at the time. Above all, the friendships I’ve made are the brass ring I reached for that first December and which I hold on to for dear life.

I’ve enjoyed reading all the posts from those who ventured to Okie-land. It may just be that our little spot in the universe made a good impression. I’m looking forward to seeing these folks again - I hope in Vegas in December - if not back here next year. Plans are already under way!

In the meantime, I’ve created a little something that might whet the appetite of a few folks who couldn’t make the trek, and maybe sustain those who did until we meet again. Click the link below:

Okie Vegas Ought 7

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The photo is from G-Cox’s site - one of several of this shot that were taken. Check out the following blogs for more pics and posts: