Spite and Malice
#10DaysofChronicles
When I was small, I was part of a large extended family that loved playing cards, and in particular, a game called Spite and Malice. Essentially, you are trying to rid yourself of a pile of 20 unknown cards while keeping your opponents from doing the same. It is a lively game that can be played with any number.
Card playing was big, and at all family gatherings of any side, invariably a table of the game was set up. I can remember peering over the edge of the card table watching my mother play with my grandmother and aunts and uncles. I begged my brother to teach me to shuffle cards and was accomplished with the “double” shuffle by the time I was seven. In our family, that elevated me to being able to join the game. I can’t remember being prouder of anything.