Spelling Bee for Grown-ups

West University Senior Spelling Bee, November 23, 2022

As soon as my daughter saw this event on the West U schedule, she called and offered to sign me up.  I said okay. I figured I was a shoo-in.  After all, I've been writing for years and I can spell any word included in Harlequin romance novels.

 The contest was scheduled at 12:30 on the day before Thanksgiving.  I imagine this was because seniors leave the cooking to their children, so they aren't very busy and this gives us something to do while everyone else is preparing the next day's meal.

Alas, I bombed out on my first word:  "bouillon."  Who knows how to spell that?

Luckily, there were two more rounds and I won the second with such words as 
?hiatus," "pneumonia," "cliche" (Any romance writer would know that one.) and "municipality." Not to brag, but I could spell everyone else's words, too.\

If I knew how to transfer a picture from my phone to my computer, I would include the one of the sash and crown I received as well as a prize--a book of stamps.  

The bee was great fun and after it was over, I took my daughter to lunch.  I plan to compete again next year.

I think a spelling bee at Brazos Towers would be a good idea for 2023.

Kindness (Coninued)

Two more examples of kindness:

I recently received a message from a parent whose son I worked with some years ago, letting me know how well he was doing in school.  She said she wasn't sure I'd remember him, but I did.  (I remember almost all of the children I saw for speech therapy...and that's a lot of kids.)O
 

I am often asked to visit with speech pathology majors or recent graduates.  I'm always happy to meet with them.  Occasionally I'm also asked to talk to aspiring writers, and I enjoy doing that as well.

Books of October

 The Marriage Portrait.  My favorite book so far this year.  Inspired by Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" and bolstered by extensive research, Maggie O'Farrell, author of Hamnet, has created a story about the young duchess married to a ruthless duke, who only wants a wife to give birth to an heir.

Hidden Pictures.  A recovering addict is given a chance a redemption when she gets a job a nanny to five-year-old Teddy who loves to draw.  When his pictures become frightening, she wonders if his drawings are inspired by the ghost of a woman who died in the guest house where the nanny is living.  You would really have to suspend your disbelief to "get" this story.  C+