News and Notes from the Community Center

Tue, 03/28/2023 - 8:15am

People Helping People is a Senior Support Network on the Boothbay peninsula. Seniors need rides to medical appointments (and sometimes just to the grocery store). We rely on volunteers to drive our members to these appointments. Most appointments are in town, but occasionally members need to go to Damariscotta or Brunswick. Our membership is growing, so we could really use some additional volunteer drivers to assist us with our program. Your availability would be at your schedule. We invite you to call us at 633-9876. Thank you.

Now for a little information about Mexican Train Dominoes, which we play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week I told you a little bit about the history of Mexican Train Dominoes. Now for some game strategy. At first glance, playing Mexican Train Dominoes looks easy. While there is some luck involved, there is a lot of skill involved in playing Mexican Train Dominoes. Here is one important tip to get your Mexican Train started: Organize your hand! When you first pick your dominoes, make sure you organize them. For example, if the starting tile is a double 12, place a tile with a 12 on it as your starting tile. Then, pick a tile with the number that is next to the 12 on your starting tile on the next one, and so on. If your first tile is a 12:8, your next tile must have an 8. You usually will be able to put four or five tiles in order as you get started playing. The rest of the tiles, which may not match, are your extra tiles. You can play on other people's trains if they can't move or the Mexican Train once someone starts it. Put the tiles you can play on your train in order on your left, and the rest of the tiles on the right. That way, you can quickly see which tiles you can play on your hand, and which you want to play on your opponent’s train. Of course, your best laid plans can go up in smoke. If you organize your hand, you will be able to quickly play it and better able to react to what's going on around you. This will instantly make you a better, more competitive player. (mexicantrainfun.com) Next time: Mexican Train Glossary.

Here is our program schedule for the week of April 3 – April 7.

Monday, April. 3: Knitting 10 a.m.-noon

Tuesday, April 4: Mah-Jongg 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Mexican Train Dominoes 10 a.m.-noon

Wednesday, April 5: Love to Dance 10:30 a.m.; Cribbage 12:30-2 p.m.; Dr. Teel’s Group 3-5 p.m.

Thursday, April 6: Mexican Train Dominoes 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Mah-Jongg2 noon-2 p.m.; Inner Peace 1-2 p.m.

Friday, April 7: Scrabble noon-2 p.m.

Puzzles and good camaraderie are always available all week long.