Ginny Azotea, left, and Nancy Sirard, right, both of Franklin, take a look at their hand during their daily card game with friends at the Franklin McDonald’s. 
Ginny Azotea, left, and Nancy Sirard, right, both of Franklin, take a look at their hand during their daily card game with friends at the Franklin McDonald’s.  Credit: ELODIE REED/Monitor staff

E very afternoon, a group of longtime friends meet at the Franklin McDonald’s for an hour and a half of cards.

“The magic hour is 2 o’clock,” said Wanda Hebert, one of the players there Thursday.

The friends – all women from Franklin and Tilton – explained that they’ve been meeting up since 1991. They began the card games about 10 years ago.

“This has been going for a long, long time,” said Joan LaCourse as she sorted through her hand for the game 13.

“It’s the best therapy in the world,” she added. “People have to pay a lot of money for the laughs and the advice we give each other.”