When you think of the number twenty-one a few things come to mind. As an adult you think of turning twenty-one and finally becoming an adult in the eyes of the laws, although many companies wait to trust you until you are 25. For me it was an interesting dilemma. I was retained (held back, the kids called it “flunking”) in third grade. The reason – as it was explained to me as an 8 year old, was I wasn’t ready to move on, I needed time to mature. It had nothing to do with knowledge or being able to do the work, it was that I couldn’t handle the social aspects of school. SO I spent two years in third grade… one year being called a baby and the next year being called stupid. As for the maturation thing- let’s see how that worked out- I’m almost 50, I read comics, play with LEGO, and carry around a stuffed monkey… yup, that extra year helped! I won’t go into the retention policies in today’s schools… I was talking about twenty-one.
SO I got my driver’s license before anyone else in my class, in college I was able to drink legally before anyone else… Did I take advantage of it? Not really. Most people didn’t know, and I really wasn’t the “go to guy” to run off to the liquor store, because most people had no idea I was twenty-one. By the time everyone in my class was twenty-one, I was twenty-two… so when an underclassman would ask if I was twenty-one, I could honestly reply “Nope.”
MINIon #0021 has nothing to do with that, it goes more with the other way we see twenty-one, in black jack. I don’t gamble, I’m just not good at it, being introverted I don’t like being in the spotlight. I have been to a few casinos and I do enjoy the math behind it. I recall being in Baden-Baden and visiting the casino (you needed to dress up to get in, so I had to buy a sport coat with my high school German skills- funny story). I just remember hanging out in the back watching the other Americans complain about the lack of slot machines and playing, I believe it was black jack, using a odds card from a video game to help them decide how to bet, being very loud and obnoxious… embarrassing, but fortunately Sue and I always try to blend in so most people wouldn’t have guessed our nationality.
