It's Good to Be the Queen

I won't deny it. I'm a teeny, weeny bit competitive. I like winning. I especially like conquests involving the use of my brain or my tennis acumen. Since the latter happens as rarely as Rod Blagojevich's dinner invite from the Obamas, I'm settling lately for the heady feeling involved when my brain cells prove to me that there's something left in the tank. Case in point, I just beat my nephew at Scrabble. No, my nephew is not ten (don't be mean), he's thirty-two and one of the most well-read, erudite people I have ever met. He thinks so, too. And that's why this particular triumph was so much fun.

When we started our online contests a few weeks ago, he warned me that it was unlikely that I would ever beat him. In his infinite subtlety, he advised me that only three people have beaten him at Scrabble since he was twelve. If them's not fightin' words, I don't know what are.

In all honesty, he beat me pretty badly the first two games. I was able to stay with him for awhile but then he'd pull some crazy word out of nowhere and score fifty or sixty points. But I remained hopeful. I knew I was an educated, experienced human being capable of beating this cocky, smug wordsmith (who I dearly love, by the way). I also knew I needed help. Do you know there's a big, fat book called Everything Scrabble? Neither did I. But a few late nights studying the tricks that all good players should know was just the ticket to taking my eminent opponent down.

I can't say my moment of glory came easily. He was leading by one and I had five tiles left, including one blank. I knew if I was able to use all my tiles, I would be victorious but I could not for the life of me figure out where to put them. When I finally relaxed my brain and decided not to use the blank as an S, I realized I had the letters to spell ORDEAL right in a juicy spot that garnered me twenty-one points and the win. I can't tell you how excited I was. When you spend a good deal of your day not remembering the word for an object right in front of you, it seems like a big deal to score 369 points against an agile, confident, YOUNG mind. That's why I named our next rematch game It's On. I think I'm ready for another, another . . ., what's that word again? Oh, yeah, challenge.