Edward A Spence

Hello everyone....
It´s Jeff Spence.
I apologize I have not posted sooner. I have some exciting things in poker happening for me, and my brother and I are dealing with my mother´s health issues.
For those of you who could not make it, I am reposting my story I shared at Eddies end of life celebration.
Jeff

The first time I played poker with Eddie I lost $2,500. Eddie was the big winner that night.
I was around 20 years old at the time. It was all the money i had. Eddie had taught me to play about six months earlier. I had begged him to teach me after watching him play in a home game. I read all the poker books. I studied. I put in the time. I did everything right. I lost.
The second time I played poker with Eddie, I lost $3,000. Eddie was the big winner again.

It took me another 6 months, another job, and Eddie lending me some of the money to play again.
I felt I had done everything right. I had studied. I had played well.  I put the money in when the odds were in my favor. And I still lost. It sucked.
Afterwards, Eddie talked to me about how poker is a great teacher for life.
He taught me that when things go bad in poker, you need to just keep going, focus on doing the right things, relax, breathe, and know that know matter what you are loved and things will be ok.
And that´s how it is with life, when things go bad, when loved ones pass, just keep going, focus on doing the right things, relax, breathe, and know that you are loved.

And the third time I played poker, Eddie and I were the only 2 winners.

FAST EDDY, UNCLE PAUL AND THE EASTER EGG HUNT

In the 1960s, Uncle Paul and his three kids (our cousins), Mike, Patricia, and Joanie, came to live with us in our small house. I remember two sets of bunk beds in what used to be my sister Alexis' bedroom. One Easter, we had an Easter egg hunt - but this was no normal Easter egg hunt. It was diabolical in its nature for one and only one egg remained raw, awaiting its victim. For whatever unknown reason, Uncle Paul and my brother Eddy were going to take turns breaking the found Easter eggs on each other's head. Our mom Lupe had revealed to both Eddy and Paul what color the raw egg was, except she lied to one of them about the color of the uncooked egg.

So after all the eggs were located by us kids, the picking began by Eddy and Uncle Paul. My sister Alexis remembers finding the mystery egg and says she was rewarded with fifty cents for doing so. Both Paul and Edward made sure to pick the appropriate colored eggs since neither wanted to have egg on their face - literally. Then, one by one, Eddy and Paul began to crack their chosen eggs on the noggin of their opponent. With only a few eggs left, Eddy cracked the raw egg on Paul's head. I distinctly remember the look on Paul's face. First, there was a look of total disbelief, for Paul was certain that he had the raw egg in his possession. Then realizing he had been duped by our mother, he joined Eddy and everyone else in uproariously laughter.

FUN TIMES WITH EDDY, CHRIS, AND JEFF

THE SKI RACE
I went snow skiing with my brother Eddy several times. One time we went to Keystone with his two sons Chris and Jeff. The boys had not been skiing long but that didn't keep them from doing a fair amount of trash talking about who was the better skier. As brothers usually are, Chris and Jeff are ultra-competitive. So on the last day of the trip, we decided to see who truly was the better skier by setting up a race. Since there were two of them (Chris and Jeff) and two of us, Eddy and I said we would each "coach" one of the boys.

Though I'm not sure which son I coached, I do know that my advice was fool-proof. I told my skier that instead of racing, just follow the brother until he fell, which he certainly would, then over-take him and win the race. Interestingly, Eddy told his skier to do exactly the same thing.

However, when the race began, all strategy went out the window and both raced down the hill like two bats out of hell. I don't even recall who won the race. I'm not sure they even know, though both will probably claim victory. All I know is it was a lot of fun and we were all winners.

SMILE!
Apparently, Eddy falls out of the raft often when he goes white-water rafting. I remember two trips with Eddy and his two sons, Chris and Jeff. The first was on the Arkansas River with Seidels's suckhole where everyone in our raft fell in the water except me and one other person. The second time was on the Royal Gorge, which wasn't quite as active.

Not surprisingly, Eddy fell in the water (though he didn't lose anything except maybe his pride), just as we were crossing under a foot bridge. After we got him safely back in the raft, I looked up to see a photographer on the bridge with two thumbs up. That could only mean one thing. After the trip was over, I ran to the photo gallery and sure enough there was a picture of Eddy just before he fell into the drink. His body is parallel to the water, his feet up in the air, and the rest of us are bouncing all over the place. It is one of my most favorite pictures and sits in a frame above my fireplace with two other pictures from that trip. (See below)


THE WINNER - OBVIOUSLY
The week before Christmas 2023 was a very special time. We knew Eddy didn't have much more time on this earth, and the four of us were together again. Chris, Jeff and I spent as much time as possible with Eddy in his room. The boys were fond of playing chess but hadn't played in a while due to extenuating circumstances. (One of the sons was on a hot streak and the other son was tired of getting beat). Early in the week, they decided to play a game in Eddy's room while Eddy was taking a snooze. Jeff took an early lead and eventually won the game. Chris was visibly agitated as he had not played well, though he had won an earlier game.

The next day, while Chris and Jeff were out taking care of some of Eddy's business, I spoke to Eddy. I told him that the boys had played a game of chess in his room the night before. Eddy opened his eyes and nodded approval. I asked him to guess which son had won. He answered softly, "Obviously, Jeff".

Though I left Vegas around noon on December 21st, both Chris and Jeff were present when Eddy breathed his last in the early hours of December 22nd. That week is a very sacred time to me. Spending time with Eddy and his two sons was always a special time, and this week was no different in that respect. We visited and talked, we shared meals, Chris and Jeff played chess, we listened to Dark Side of the Moon again and again and again because Eddy wanted to hear it one more time. We tried to sleep - sometimes we even succeeded. Occasionally Eddy would speak, a few times he would hallucinate about having to go to work at Tiger Paw, but mostly he just slept.

That week is one of the most important and significant weeks of my life, though I'm not really sure why. Maybe if I listen to Dark Side of the Moon just one more time, I will find out why. There has to be a reason why he loved that album so much. If only I would have asked him, maybe I would understand.

I often tell others to make sure they tell their loved ones how they feel while they still have the opportunity. If you don't, one day it will be too late. But you must also ask the important questions while you can as well. Because when they are gone, you can ask the questions, but you will not get any answers.

My favorite memory was sitting in the car, driving down Ave. B, & hearing Uncle Alex muttering about something outside the car. I look out and there was my hero, cousin Eddy, peddling down the street, reading a book, not even holding the handlebars!