The bridge of life

Helen Hays likes to tell people her birthday is “Christmas in July,” better known as July 25. This year, Hays turns 99; she’ll celebrate with a family gathering, but she knows she’ll have a little celebration with her friends from her Bridge Club, too.

“We always do something at bridge on Fridays,” she said. “The birthday person always brings a birthday cake. Several people have said we’ll do something. But I just want to forget it!”

Years ago, Hays’ birthday became unforgettable when her birthday coincided with a niece’s wedding at Disney World. At the bachelor/bachelorette party, held at Jellyrolls, a nightclub at Disney World, someone found out Hays was celebrating her 83rd birthday.

“The entertainment was dueling pianos,” remembers her daughter, Linda. “So they called mother up on the stage and they played happy birthday and the whole bar sang to her. Then they gave her a feather boa and started playing ‘The Stripper.’ Mother walks across the stage, flips her boa, and it just brought down the house!”

Both mother and daughter laugh at the memory.

“Well,” said Hays, with a hint of mischief in her voice, “what would you have done?”

Eleven years ago, Hays and her daughter Linda moved to Sun City from Denver, to be closer to Hays’ other daughter, who lives nearby. Almost immediately, Hays found the Sun City Bridge Club.

“They are a fine group of people,” said Hays. “They stick together and there’s a lot of camaraderie.”

The camaraderie happens four times a week for Hays, who says she loves the competition of the game. Still, Hays is humble about her skill as a player.

“I win sometimes, but only because I’ve got master for partners,” she said. “That bridge club is full of master bridge players. I am not and have no aspiration to be one.”

When asked about her secret to longevity, Hays says she has no secrets.

“I say the reason I lived to be 99 is that my girls need me,” she laughs. “They would be the first to deny it, but I’m adamant they need me! When people ask I have no answer. I just tell them good, clean living,” she said.

Hays said her friends from Bridge Club never hesitate to pop up and help her.

“I don’t need that much help, though,” she says. “I walk with a cane, and when they see me, they are very attentive, very lovely. Sometimes they tell me that when they grow up, they want to be like me!”

Indeed, Hays is keeping up a strong pace despite her 99 years. If you try to reach her by phone, like this reporter did, you may have to call back later when she gets home from a book club meeting or a rousing card game.

“There are a lot of ins and outs, but I just go for the companionship,” she says.

The way Hays feels about bridge may very well be a metaphor for her life:

“I do my best, I follow the rules as I know them, and I try to learn every day,” she says. “It keeps my mind going, and keeps me out of the rocking chair.”

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