Sunday, November 22, 2009

Let's Scrabble

I asked Dad whether I should bring his Scrabble board with me when I returned to the hospital to see him tomorrow.

He gave me an incredulous look.

"I fully expect to be trounced," I said.

"As you should," he replied.


Dad's Arena

The Scrabble board is an arena where Dad consistently excels. Colleagues routinely reach for a dictionary when he speaks; his gift for writing is likewise extraordinary.

"Did you know that 'Aa' is a word?" he asked.

"Do you mean as an acronym for Alcholics Anonymous?"

"No, it's a Hawaiin word for a type of volcanic rock."

"Has it made its way into the the standard American lexicon?"

"I don't know, but it is in the Scrabble official dictionary."

"Great," I said.

"The letters 'Ae' and 'Ai' are also words in the dictionary," he concluded.

Upon returning home I confirmed that "Ae" is a Scottish word meaning one and "Ai" is a word for a three-toed sloth. All are considered standard English.

I'm gonna get creamed.

2 comments:

Dolorosa said...

Good seeing you at our church, St. Thomas More today. My Mom is a Scrabble Queen and knows those two letter words so he has some competition as she is very good and plays online.

Mary said...

Happy Thanksgiving Sean, enjoy playing Scrabble! My parents have already forgotten more than I can ever hope to learn and still whip me at Scrabble. I used to enjoy watching them make mincemeat of my unsuspecting college friends who thought they would pass a quiet hour playing Scrabble with some old folks. Ha Ha~ Mary