Play your own hand, GB!

In the Army, you spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for something to happen. Today, at least based on what I have seen and read, this time can be spent on the Internet or playing video games. Back in the pre-YouTube, pre-xBox and pre-Iraq/Afghanistan days, we played cards.

I'll always be a mediocre card player, but after three months temporarily stationed in Crete, where there wasn't a lot to do and I spent half of the time on crutches, (long story, tangentially involving turkeys) I became a serviceable "spades" player.

Toward the end of my time in Germany I was put in charge of a small squad of radar and missile launcher repairman that followed a Patriot missile battalion through maneuvers in the German countryside. This was plum duty. Nothing was really going to happen — it was dog-and-pony show for Patriot, the Army's new toy, (this was back before Patriot was modified for the anti-missile duty it became famous for in the first Gulf War) and Hawk was only there to cover the (substantial) gaps in Patriot's coverage. This meant a final tour of the beautiful country, a few chances to sneak out for some good local food and beer, and a lot of card games.

"Chillimac" was the launcher/loader repairman assigned to my team. He had my number when it came to cards. Whether one-on-one or in teams, if I played against him I lost. It became pretty frustrating and I can still hear him like it was yesterday:

"Play your own hand, GB!"

Each and every time, when it came to the last few tricks, I would be huffing and puffing as I watched them go to him.

"Play your own hand, GB!"

I was trying to figure out where the high cards were, and then figure out the best play. And then I would lose. Mac was good enough to see this and was chiding me for not watching my own cards, rather than trying to figure out his.

Fast forward a few years. I'm in a bar near the World Trade Center, discussing the first of the many political battles I've been in and around on Wall Street. We're talking about someone who is trying to win by playing many angles and many people and would ultimately damage his standing and a few friendships. "He's not playing his own hand," I say. My boss, also a veteran, immediately understands my point.

Even if you don't lose a bunch of games to Chillimac, you learn this lesson in the military or you suffer. Don't worry about what the other guy has (or doesn't have) worry about what you have and what you are responsible for. It doesn't matter if you got weekend duty and he got the weekend off. It doesn't matter if he got promoted and your were passed over, even if you think you're better than him.

Play your own hand.

Playing your own hand does not mean just looking out for yourself. Not at all! In a sense, it's the opposite. Part of your hand is your team; your family, your fellow soldiers, or your colleagues. Team members don't obsess over who's being treated better or deserves to be first. They play their role. Their hand.

I thought about this Monday when I read Nicole's post about getting along.

According to Wolfram Alpha there are 72.11 million dogs in the United States. I can't train all of them. I just don't have the time.

There is a finite number of dogs that I can have a positive impact on. Even if I have an influence beyond the comparatively small number of dogs I'll actually directly interact with in my lifetime, the number of dogs will be very far to right of the decimal in that 72.11.

Of course I have some strong opinions about what is wrong and what is right. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. If there's a dog within my range of influence I am going to make damn sure that (s)he is handled in a way that I believe is humane and effective. But if I try to play someone else's hand, or worse yet overplay my own, I run the risk of pushing that dog away and into a far worse situation.

We need to play our own hands.

Set the example. If they don't get it, set it again. If they don't want to get it, find someone who will. There's another 72 million dogs out there with humans attached to them that might be willing to listen.

It's a little discouraging at times. It seems that some of the people that use the most clearly objectionable methods are also the best at self-promotion. Sometimes it feels that not directly confronting the problem head on is giving up too easy. But setting out for combat is playing their hand. It's how I lost against Chillimac. It's arguably how someone recently lost a big election too.