Grab the Spoon!

We were down to the final two in the Spoons tournament of the season. Two players, one spoon. One destiny to conquer. My older brother Josh and I sat face-to-face like two old west cowboys ready for a showdown. And the time had come.

In case you aren't familiar with Spoons: Each player always has four cards in his hand, and as the cards get passed around the table, players are allowed to pick up the card of their choice in exchange for one that they discard. The object is to get four cards of a kind (ex. four 6's) and to pick up a spoon, of which there is always one less on the table than the number of players. Once a person picks up a spoon, the other players must grab one also. Whoever ends up without a spoon loses the round, and once he loses six rounds, he is eliminated.

I normally employ a unique strategy when playing this simple but competitive game: Look sparingly at my own cards and instead keep an intense focus on the spoons present on the table. However, this becomes a problem when there are only two people. With only one spoon available to grab, the person who wins would obviously be the same one who got four of a kind.

Obviously not.

I had one round left available to lose. It was the nitty-gritty. I peered at my three 9's, awaiting the last of the set as Josh furiously passed cards to me. Finally, the 9 of hearts made its appearance. Excitedly, I reached for the spoon, thinking I had victory in the clutch of my hand.

 Until Josh suddenly leaped out of his chair and grabbed the victory before I had even felt its metallic surface.

I was absolutely bewildered. It wasn't fair that he could win! I had four of a kind! But, the rules of the game did declare the player without the spoon the loser, and four a kind or not, that happened to be me.

There, of course, is a greater lesson to all of this. Even when you've worked so hard for something, when you're seconds away from achieving your lifelong dream, it's not yours until you grab the spoon.

In a more legitimate example, golfer Thomas Levet just won the French Open. Pretty sweet, but there is a lot more left to win in the season. Except Levet decided to celebrate by jumping into a small lake... and broke his shin in the process. Oh shin, looks like someone might not be able to compete in the British Open after all. He had his four-of-a-kind, but he celebrated before he grabbed the spoon.

We have to persist beyond the realm of "I think I've won." Beyond "Of course I'll get scholarships; I'm a straight A student!" (Speaking to myself there.) Beyond "I've been an extremely productive employee for the past two years. That promotion is mine." We have to absolutely leap over the set standard and grab that shiny piece of silverware before someone else does.

And folks, I'm not just spooning.