It is tough to find a seat in the front section of McDonald's on Monday evenings. The seats are packed with bingo enthusiasts, vying for prizes of McDonald's gift certificates. The Monday bingo sessions have become so popular that we decided it was worthy of an article.

We arrived at about 5pm and found the front section almost filled to capacity and a game underway. The bingo card is free with the purchase of a value meal, so we ordered a number 1 and a number 3 and took our dinners to where the action was. After selecting our bingo card, we ate while waiting for the current game to finish.

The round ended when the cover-all winners received their prizes. Phil Greenwood, who is the official bingo caller at the Broad Ripple McDonald's, recognized that we were new to the game. He came over to our table and briefly explained how the next round would be played. "We're going to play four games in one," announced Phil. "Don't clear your cards until I tell you to. The first game you're going to be looking for a straight bingo on your card. The second game will be two straight bingos, or one straight bingo and four corners. A special game will be the lettter L - all the B's and the bottom of your card. And then a coverall."

Phil, who is a 1951 graduate of BRHS, has called bingo for years at various places around town. Phrases for certain numbers got picked up along the way, such as Route 66 for 66, Larry Bird for 32, Toot Toot for 11 (11 looks like train tracks), and Dolly Parton for 40 (I'll leave that to your imagination). Each week, Phil awards about $150 in food prizes.

Your editor won one of the double bingo prizes! It was a coupon good for any desert. I turned it in for an Oreo Flurry. Yummy!