When I was younger, playing Bingo altered my attitude to life.

As a teenager, I was depressed over my break up with Jenny. Clearing her mails from my inbox, I found a promo that said, “You will discover online Bingo means much more than a game at XYZonline.com.”

“Big deal,” I muttered, but went ahead and registered. I needed some distraction after all.

I entered a chat room where a Trivia Bingo game was on. The chat host popped a question: Which Hollywood romantic has topped the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Passions list?

I typed in the answer –Casablanca —and went on to imagine myself and Jenny in the roles of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman! The $2 bonus I earned, did not register on my mind. But there was some pesky little thing, cheering me, I noticed. I continued playing mechanically. Until the next question came up, “Which event or day celebrates love?” I answered this too –St Valentine’s Day on February 14. Another $ 2 dropped into my account and I began to sit up and take notice. So did pesky Sarah –she was saying, “Way to Go Sweetheart”, but I ignored her.

Question number three was “Where do you ‘wear your heart’ if you are quick to show your feelings? “Sleeve” I said and earned another $ 2. But Sarah had other ideas: “Do you even have one?” she said. I apologized and thanked her for cheering me on, even as I joined the cheering band. My quota of three correct answers was up.

Know what? I returned to the chat rooms often after that. I don’t know if it was a coincidence. Sarah seemed to be following me …into the Alphabet Bingo game, the Block of Five. I tried Add ‘Em Up and there she was. Funny thing is she thought I was following her!

Well, perhaps it was not just the Bonus Bucks that I was looking out for. Jenny was a distant memory and I was alive again. Or maybe it was just that Valentine was round the corner!