Angelica’s Corner: Canadian As*hole

We were on an overnight junk boat cruise in Vietnam. It was nighttime and the Canadians-slash-Michigander were done playing their many rounds of Yuker. Someone suggested playing asshole. Kevin was in the bathroom at this moment. Me, having fond memories of this card game both in Ann Arbor and Pittsburgh, jumped at the chance to play. But then my fun quickly turned sour and my smile turned into a frown on the inside. They had their own rules, these Canadians. They didn’t do “4s are socials” or having call “last card.” They didn’t move positions so that asshole had the bad, most uncomfortable chair. They didn’t even deal according to hierarchy! And they weren’t interested in my suggestions. I was outnumbered- one American, our token Italian (she hated the game too, who could blame her with the lack of rules!) to six Canadians. They weren’t interested in cracking open more beers so that we could really start torturing the unfortunate Asshole! When Kevin finally returned from his bathroom visit, I practically threw my hand at him and excused myself to find freedom on our small boat. It was all I could do to escape this Maple Leaf torture. You know what they have in Canada? –really nice people, great health insurance but a game of Asshole without any of the fun.