Item #9-"To enter the 'Senior Spelling Bee' at the Kansas State Fair this year and PERHAPS be at LEAST the fourth best speller."
Dear friends, I have to tell you this~As a kid growing up and attending grade school in my hometown of Haven, Kansas there were a whole bunch of things that little "Peggy Scott" wasn't so good at. Many of you already know of my status as one of the charter members (hey and if I remember correctly, I was the president in 5th grade) for the "I Hate Math Club" at Haven Grade School. I was horrible at math and to say the very least, after a couple of summer school sessions without my improving all that much, I think my wise teachers just accepted the fact that math wasn't going to be my "strong point", EVER. Thank goodness in the years that followed, I began to catch on to it, little by little. Even though I'd never be a medal-winning contestant in a "math olympiad" or anything, at least I can "hold my own" now when it comes to all of those facts and figures.
My ability, or better said "inability", with science was just as bad or perhaps even WORSE, if that could happen. As a little kid, science seemed so horribly boring to me. I could read with ease the science textbook but had little idea about how on earth it even related to me or why I should even care to know about it. When it came time to do that crazy experiment when the class all got in a circle and held hands together while someone else touched something that shocked the living daylights out of us all, I refused to do it. I might have been a "slow learner" as far as science was concerned but HEY, I wasn't crazy!
Oh yeah, and physical education. Not only was I one of the smallest kids in the class with absolutely NO muscle power, I was just about the least coordinated one person you could imagine. I have vivid memories of the one time in 4th grade PE class when I FINALLY managed to hit the softball that had been pitched to me. My classmates were so used to me striking out each time that you can imagine their surprise the one day that I actually did hit that stupid thing! It would have looked good for me with the exception of thing. In my excitement, I took off for third base rather than first base and after everyone got done laughing about it, I was tagged out as I turned around and started to the right spot. I would prefer to tell you that I was brave and "took it" in good sportsmanship, but I bawled like a 9-year old baby would all the way back to my side's dugout. I never wanted to try THAT again! I'm laughing to myself now as I type these words, but at the time it was not funny, believe you me.
For as awful as I felt I was in the subjects that so many others were dang good at, there WAS one thing that Peggy Scott could do that was better than most of the rest of my classmates~I could spell and the truth is, I could spell really well! Every year in the early spring, the best spellers from Haven Grade School would travel to one of the other schools in our league (the Central Kansas Sunflower League) for the annual spelling contest. It was a ritual of orthography and only the top three spellers from grades 3-8 were allowed to participate. From third grade on, save only my fifth grade year, until I was out of grade school in the eighth grade, I was always one of the top 3 spellers. Not getting to go that fifth grade year was a real "kick in the gut" for me. I can remember going home and not telling my parents about it but it didn't take them long to figure out that I wasn't in my room crying because I didn't like what we were having for supper. I was crying because I didn't get the chance to go and I gotta tell you, bad as it hurt, it was a good thing for me. That next year onward, I became more and more determined that I would be the one to go. The determination paid off and for the remaining years of my grade school experience, I went each year to the league contest and came back with blue ribbons.
My eighth grade year, I decided that I'd try something different. I'd heard from listening to a couple of teachers, that there was going to be a contest for all of the kids from Reno County. Whoever THAT winner was would advance to the state spelling bee in Topeka. THAT lucky winner would just keep right on going to the national level in Washington, DC. I was bound and determined to get to that Reno County Spelling bee and when the day came at Haven Grade School to take the qualifying test, I took it with all of the others. The end result was that my score was the highest and off I went on that Saturday morning. I'm sure I had "visions" of being the one that represented the Sunflower State in Washington D.C. in the spring. I'd be shaking President Nixon's hand and posing for pictures in front of the White House, or something. Hey, I was a kid~it COULD have happened you know? LOL
I will never forget that day. My art teacher, Betty Jo Houchen, volunteered to take me that morning. Mrs. Houchen was a sweet and dear lady who actually kind of took me "under her wing" that year. She helped me in the days prior to the contest by pronouncing all kinds of words to me. Sometimes I did great, sometimes, well not so much. But I was as ready as I could be and so off to the Reno County Courthouse we went.
I remember it as if it were yesterday or yeah, maybe the day before, when in all actuality it was more than 43 years ago now, 1969. There were 14 kids in the basement of the court house just waiting for the words to be pronounced to us. It was an oral test and in true spelling bee format, one after the other we received a word to spell. Each round, a kid or two misspelled a word and then "bit the dust". One by one that found themselves going out on a word and having to sit down in their chairs. It was unnerving, to say the least.
By the time there were only 5 of us left standing, I was sure that I could go all the way to the final round, the last word to be pronounced. I had never felt so confident in my abilities and I wondered what it would be like to head to Topeka for the state contest the following month. My hopes and dreams of spelling success were soon to be shattered. When it came to my turn to spell, I sat up straight in my chair and focused my eyes and attention on the person doing the pronouncing of the words. And I listened.
"Haphazardly" the man pronounced to me. "Haphazardly".
WHAT?? What had he just said? I'd never heard of that word before and I found myself second guessing just what he had told me. I cannot imagine the look on my face as I scrambled to think if I had ever heard or seen that word before. It might as well have been from another language, and as I stop to think of it, it nearly was to me. I remember asking for the definition, for it to be used in a sentence. I'll never forget that part or what the pronouncer said.
"Haphazardly means to do something in a wreckless manner. The person in the red car drove in a haphazardly manner.", the pronouncer explained. ( By the way, right now I cannot remember where my cell phone charger is and I only had it an hour ago. How on earth can I remember what was said to me that day so very long ago?) After thinking long and hard, which really was probably only about 30 seconds, I knew that I probably would miss it but at least I had to try. So I began....
The letters came out of my mouth with about as much uncertainty and doubt as you could imagine. I had absolutely no clue whatsoever what I was doing and it definitely showed. "H-A-P-H-A-Z-Z-A-R-D-L-Y" I said as firmly and clearly as I could. There was such dead silence for a moment or two and the pronouncer said, "I'm sorry. That's incorrect." Man, I had missed it! And I took my seat, shaking my head at the fact that I got the "hap" correct but the "haz" incorrect. A word that I had never heard before and NOW have never forgotten, made me Reno County's 5th best speller of 1969 and with that, my days in the spelling bee were finished.
Fast forward now, 43 years into the future. This year, the 100th anniversary of the Kansas State Fair, promises to have some interesting and unique contests available for people to participate in. Oh yeah, the traditional "growing of the grains", sewing projects, fresh fruits and vegetables, photography and a host of "other" contests are still in place. But this year the fair has added something different, "The Senior Spelling Bee". As I pre-entered my Morgan Horse Trophy awarded to my great-uncles and grandfather in the very first fair of 1912, I noticed the flyer advertising the upcoming spelling contest. And my friends, it caught my interest.
Normally, when I see the letters "AARP" on correspondence that comes to my home or on commercials for television, I shudder and think, ok, I am not old enough for that stuff. But on the spelling bee flyer, one of the first things I noticed was that the contest was being sponsored by them. And you know what? I didn't cringe when I saw it so I guess I must be "growing up" a little bit more than I thought I was. While I was looking at the information about how to sign up for the spelling bee, my memories of being the 5th best speller of the county during my last ever spelling bee in 1969, came rushing to mind. I began to quickly think to myself...could I do it? Would I be brave enough to stand up, as a 56-year old teacher, in front of an audience of my peers and perhaps students in order to get a chance to finally beat my old record? The answer was "yes" and before leaving the fairgrounds I went ahead to sign up for the September 13th contest. Time will tell as to how I do.
For now, each evening I go to the website, "BigIQKids". They have a great spelling practice tutorial specially geared up for adults who either wish to go to the Kansas State Fair Spelling Bee for 2012 or they just want to be a better speller. Win-Win, either way as far as I am concerned. As a teacher, I've got to admit that I've already missed my share of the practice words. Dilemma not dilema, crick not crique, tariff not tarriff, and mackerel not mackeral. I wish I could say that they are the only ones I missed but then that would be wrong. But I am not giving up and when school starts in a couple of weeks, I'm going to find me a 6th grade buddy who would be willing to give me some extra practice after school. Proof positive that teachers don't know everything, kids just think we do.
My eyelids are getting a little sleepy so before I end up making a mistake in spelling (and boy would that ever be embarrassing to me), I'm going to say good night. Hoping and praying for rain for all of us who need it so badly and decent weather wherever the rest of you all are this evening. Take good care of yourselves and one another, please friends. And by the way, if you are in Hutch on September 13th for the Kansas State Fair, please stop over at the Encampment Building on the Fairgrounds about 9:00 or so in the morning. You'll recognize me right away...more than likely the shortest one there. Oh yeah just one last thing~IF you should find any spelling mistakes in this blog post for tonight, how about we just say they were typing mistakes, OK? Works for me!
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