Going out on “choucroute” was awful. We knew we had the base word down, but was it one “t” or two? We agonized, guessed wrong, and left the stage shaking our heads.
At least we hadn’t gone out in the first round, but really, why do the French need a whole separate word for the German word sauerkraut? Even so, after the first-ever Spell It! spelling bee — started by the Vashon Community Scholarship Foundation in 2007 — my team and I were hooked. Ever ready for a rematch, the next year we donned cabbage-leaf hats in an effort to exorcise the demon from the previous year.
The second year, everything was going swimmingly right up until “abscissa.” At the time, we felt there should be a “y” in it since its etymology is Arabic. Now, I just think about scissors.
I can’t actually remember the word from year three. It was really long and had to do with fungus. Again, we only missed it by one little letter. More red wine therapy was administered.
That’s us, always in the ballpark, never the home run. Always so close, making it deep in the competition only to be sent home year after year. We’re B’s Bees — proudly representing Bettie Edwards and The Little House. Master speller Sharon Boyer, professional wordsmith Heidi Skrzypek and me, a humble pet food purveyor.
For the first few years we would agonize, fret and study. Lengthy planning meetings to discuss word etymology and costuming strategies over bottles of red wine all came to naught year after year. What we did learn after all the near misses was that during the negotiating process for whose spelling we would go with, Sharon always had the right one. Note to selves: Sharon knows best.
Finally, after four years of disappointment, in a fit of desperation, having tried everything else, we decided to dress up as the winners of the previous two bees — the back-to-back champions from Doc Weispfenning’s office. Let the trash spelling begin. No studying, no agonizing — but we kept the red wine.
Last year, it felt different. Heidi couldn’t be with us, what with the beaches of Hawaii calling her name, so we were joined by student transportation magnate Ann Murray. We were relaxed; we knew all the words everyone else was getting. Our confidence grew.
Then there we were — it was a difficult round and five teams had dropped out. We were the last to go. If we got the word right, we would be the only team to have correctly spelled our word in that round. When we drew “onomatopoeia,” I was ecstatic. Thank you, Mrs. Cahill, my eighth-grade English teacher.
Then, the challenge word. It’s not enough to be the only team in a round to get one word right — you then have to spell a challenge word from a special list. Hearts pound, palms sweat, pencil leads snap. If we miss, all the other teams are back in and we start again.
When the word came out of the announcer’s mouth, I said, “What?” But Sharon said, “Oh, I know that one. Ichneumon.”
Ann and I gracefully and gratefully backed away and turned it over to the master. Turns out an ichneumon is a species of wasp, and it’s been part of an alphabet poem Sharon, a retired third-grade teacher, used for more than 20 years in her classroom. Go figure. Like I said, when in doubt, go with Sharon.
When declared the winners, I promptly launched myself onto poor Sharon and was rewarded by having a photo of my sadly recognizable broad backside printed in The Beachcomber. You win some and you lose some. We clutched our jars of honey and Irene Otis commemorative tiles, shook hands with fellow competitors and ran to our favorite watering hole.
You can do it. You should do it. You can enter as a team of one, two or three. It’s a cause worthy of a little public embarrassment and personal humiliation. Besides, you’ll live on in perpetuity on Channel 21.
The Community Scholarship Foundation does a lot of good for a lot of students. Last year the first of my children graduated and received $750 in scholarship assistance. If you’re not brave enough to face the public spell-down, attend the event as a spectator.
— Cheryl Pruett is the owner of Pandora’s Box.
Spell It! will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Vashon High School theater. Teams are encouraged to register in advance by this Friday. For more information or to register, contact Barbara Gustafson at rggbdg@yahoo.com or 463-1638.
