Here’s what I’ve heard about writing a story. Write about something with which you’re familiar. This story is about me with a different name.

Games were part of Josie’s life since childhood. Living in a foster home with several foster siblings, there were many opportunities to play Monopoly, Chinese checkers, card games like Slap Jack, War and Go Fish. Sometimes we even played school, made up as we went along.

Eventually Josie grew up and had a daughter of her own, and when Amanda was old enough to play, Josie had a great game playing companion. The only thing was, Amanda hadn’t inherited Mom’s love of games and started turning down opportunities to play. Oh well, there was the old standby, Solitaire.

Josie was a single mom most of Amanda’s life, having gotten divorced when Amanda was four years old. The divorce wasn’t because Hank wouldn’t play games, either.

Many years later Josie had a boyfriend who loved playing games, too. After their first coffee date, she invited Rob over to her apartment to teach him how to play backgammon. That first date led to a relationship that lasted six years, and they did many other things besides play games, although playing was an enjoyable part of their lives. They moved on to Yahtzee after tiring of the backgammon.

After a few months of dating, Josie suggested they take a trip to Las Vegas. Rob was all for it, so they went, enjoyed the gaming and each other’s company ? and they started going quite frequently, about twice a month.

Their relationship ended when Rob died of a massive heart attack. It took quite awhile for Josie to get over the loss of her love, however, it didn’t interfere with her continuing to go to Vegas or Laughlin. She was hooked! Funny how she only counted the wins, dismissing the losses ? except when there were no wins.

Gambling became such an obsession, Josie would arrive back in town on Monday morning just in time to stop at a coffee shop to change her clothes and go to work. Having not slept the night before, she’d go through the day in a fog and probably didn’t do her job very well.

Eventually, she wasn’t showing up for work on Monday and dreamed up the most ludicrous stories about why she wasn’t there. Eventually she was fired from that job, and what did she do? She went to Vegas the same day!

Josie was able to get a job within a short time, from which she was also fired, but not because of spending time in Vegas ? one of the bosses was angry because she couldn’t understand his voice while transcribing his dictation.

Josie was an addicted gambler, yet hadn’t reached bottom. She did have a certain ethic, which was to never spend the rent or bill-paying money. She also never saved any money ? it all went to pay homage to her master. The lure of the casino was too much to resist.

During the past couple years, Josie discovered gambling for money on the Internet. Using credit cards, she didn’t feel the pinch in her pockets, just high credit card balances. She had to stop that nonsense when her credit limits were maxed out and her personal resources are limited.

So how does she handle her gambling addiction now? She’s been spending her time playing online Internet games for tokens. Playing the games is still a great escape from dealing with reality, being that living a balanced life includes socializing with friends, physical activity, taking care of the house, writing a story, reading a book ? I could add to this list, but you get the gist of what I’m saying, dear reader.

At present I’m working on cutting down on my game playing and will not be staying up all night to play. It’s just another addiction ? fun that needs a limit so I can enjoy the rest of my life, even cleaning up the house.