My talented wife Diane and I were recruited by a friend to join her team in the Northampton Education Foundation's annual spelling bee. We agreed, so last night the three of us turned up in yellow sweaters to battle the other teams. Funds were raised, somehow.
When we agreed to participate, both Diane and I thought of this as nothing more than an evening's entertainment -- like trivia night or Bingo. We forgot something: under our mild-mannered exteriors both Diane and I are highly competitive. Why else do the two of us like games so much? Because we can win. I've never "let my kids win" at board games -- when they beat me, it's for real. (When they were learning to play chess, I would give up my Queen, but that was it. How do you learn the game if the other person is trying to lose?)
So when the day arrived, we were both pretty keyed up. We competed, and made it through the first round without missing a single word. In the playoffs, we wound up head-to-head with the reigning champions, the Hampshire Gazette's crew. (You can read their account here.) It was an epic slog through lagniappe, chlorophyll, poetaster, and a dozen more I can't remember. We almost got knocked out by weltschmerz, but the other guys also screwed up and put a t before the z just as we did. Finally I left the first e out of arrondissement, and we went down.
Next time, Hampshire Gazette.
Next time.
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