Scrabble

The last few weeks we've pulled out the Scrabble board several times. This is a game that I'm pretty good at, although I have no idea how I'd do if I was to enter one of the tournaments. I don't really use the crazy words you only ever see in Scrabble very often. In our last game, I did use "ibex" though. The "x" was on a triple letter score next to a free letter "o", so I got 48 points off that one letter.

It turns out that at eight years old, Katerina's pretty good at it. I showed her how she can make a word that also adds a letter to another word, thereby getting points for both words. She got it after it being explained only once and dropped "re" onto the beginning of "fixed" (same "x" as in "ibex") with the "e" also making "me" on the vertical for 26 points.

For a while, I used to write the word and points gained for spectacular scores on the backs of the letter holders. I had several in the 90+ points range, although never one with more than 100 on one word.

I actually don't remember the last time I lost a game of Scrabble. Ever time I play, though, I have a particular Scrabble game come to mind. I don't remember how old I was, but I was definitely in my late teens, as it took place at my parents' house. I sat down to play a game with my dad and my brother, Adam. We set up the board, drew tiles, and I got to take the first turn. I had a pretty decent seven-letter word, which gets you the double word score for the center spot, a double letter score for one of the letters, and a fifty point bonus for using all your tiles. My score on that one word was 98 points, better than any written on the letter holders.

Very pleased with myself, I started drawing seven new tiles, but my dad and my brother just looked at the score I'd just pulled and left the table. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember precisely, but my memory is of one of them saying, "Well, this is pointless." Neither one of them has ever played a game of Scrabble with me since.

Of course, Adam has played an uncountable number of other games with me and is a very challenging opponent at most of them, beating me many, many times. I've also played Scrabble with other people many times since. Olympia and I used to play it reasonably often after we got married but before we had children. It's interesting, though, how something like that can stick with you so persistently for so very long.

Two Memorable Conversations

First, I spoke with my friend Barry. In November and December, he was dealing with his father being sick, heart trouble in particular. The prognosis seemed worse each time I spoke to him. I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks, so when I did:

Aaron: So, how's your dad?
Barry: Not so good. He arrives tomorrow in the
mail.

A couple days later, a conversation with Elizabeth about what she was doing:

Aaron: What are you up to?
Elizabeth: Studying for exams.
Aaron: When are your exams?
Elizabeth: Next week.
Aaron: You know what I don't have next week that makes me happy?
Elizabeth: Exams? And Ebola?

Morbid, but somehow funny.