SOLITAIRE DOESN'T MEAN LONELINESS TO JACOB TAYLOR

Taylor's wife, Ethel, says she doesn't mind his seemingly-lonely hobby. She says it gives him something to do while she's busy.

Jacob Taylor of Burfordville has played so many games of solitaire that he's worn some formica off his kitchen table.

He says he's played over half a million games of solitaire since he started keeping track in 1974.

"It's relaxing and it gets worries off your mind," Taylor said. "When I'm playing, I don't think about this, that and the other."

Taylor says he plays most every day, usually at night. He said it takes him about five minutes to play a game and he averages 30 games a night.

"I know sometimes I can play as many as 10 games in an hour."

It doesn't bother his wife, Ethel, though. "It gives him something to do while I'm busy," she said, laughing.

He's always had a love for the game, but he started keeping track when he retired from a dairy farm where he worked for 31 years.

"I've always liked to play solitaire," Taylor said. "And it just helps pass the time."

Sometimes the games last until the very last card and then you get beat, he said. "But that's when it gets fun."

Taylor isn't quite sure how many decks he's worn out over the years. The cards he uses now are under a year old but they look like they belong on an antique shelf. But he thinks he uses about two to three decks a year.

And he even knows how often he wins. "I think I win about one in five."

He knows this because after he played his first 200,000 games he had lost 160,000 and won 40,000.

One might think someone would get tired of playing the same game so much, and Taylor says it does get old after a while, but he's never given up.

"Well, I've never gotten so tired of it that I can't play any more," he says.

Taylor admits a life of solitaire would be a solitary life indeed. But he spends his time doing other things as well.

"In the summer I piddle around in the garden," Taylor said. "And I take walks."

He also spends time with his children.

"They get a kick out of it," Ethel Taylor said, of what his children think of his favorite passtime.

The Taylors also enjoy playing cards together. Of course it's not solitaire. They both play rummy quite a bit, and Ethel says Jacob usually wins.

Jacob Taylor says though he still plays a lot, he doesn't play as much as he used to.

"I didn't play as many games this summer as I did last summer, and I probably won't play as many next summer," he says, sighing.

His wife defends him and his hobby to those who may scoff.

"As hard as he worked," she said, "it's OK for him to take it easy now."