Tom Hanks on the Pandemic Year: Never play solitaire again

In a time of lockdowns, quarantines and social distance, solitaire seemed like a harmless endeavor, an ointment to the mind and hands, a safety valve that meant something To do. The deck of cards lay there on the table, and without thinking, my hands picked up that 52 folder to riff and shuffle and cut. A deck would be dealt – to myself, by myself – in a row of seven cards with a growing pile face down. The cards in my hand were revealed in threes and the blacks were played on the red cards and so on, and about an hour passed. I would play more solitaire later in the day or the next morning.

I never cheated to win; winning was not the point. Getting close was good enough, and there was always a different game, so why not hand it out? I might win this time. And what else was there to do?

Actually, there was plenty to do! Damn! There was a sink for cleaning and a dishwasher for emptying. Laundry for sorting. Rice to put in the stove with the breakfast timer. Letters I could have written and the typewriter and stationery to do it. Books I packed in a suitcase were on a reading pile, unread, even though I actually always read one. There were floor exercises and yoga stretches to do. I have kids to talk to when they are available. I have business partners to contact. I have friends who are hilarious and interesting. I have to study and work scenes to prepare. I have stories in my head – and I tell stories for a living – that could have been sketched, noted, sketched. I could have watched “Chernobyl” on HBO again!

I’ve done many of those things. I took over most of my responsibilities and explored a few creative recesses in my fat head. But those hands of solitaire were minutes wasted hoping there would be a red six or a king flipped over so I could fill an empty column. What not Do I instead?

Covid-19 has taught us that life and health are precarious – that the smallest piece of our physical world, like a virus, can rob us of vitality, community, family, and purpose, whether we get sick or not. This pandemic has affected us all and has cost so much, too much. Our time is limited and finite. Solitaire wastes what’s precious. Never play solitaire again.

But cribbage? With my son, who I can rarely beat? Always!

-Mr. Hanks is an actor, screenwriter, producer and director. He is the author of ‘Uncommon Type: Some Stories’.