Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee

I'm a geek. I've embraced that. I've always known that my preferences and tastes leaned more towards the cerebral, and less towards athletics and physical outlets. That said, something you probably never knew about me:

I was in an inter-Grade School local spelling bee in the seventh grade. Funnily enough, the spelling bee was hosted by my father's High School alma mater, St. Edward. (While St. Ed's was known for their athletics program, they were not nearly as well-represented in their academic pursuits.) For academic excellence, I had my heart set on going to St. Ignatius--St. Edward's mortal enemy!

While both High Schools were all-boys and Roman-Catholic-affiliated, I was going to support the Jesuits who ran St. Ignatius. But I digress!...

I entered the Grade School spelling bee and drum roll, please!

I WON!

And my winning words? First I had to spell the misspelled word: "amphibian". Then I had to complete my own word: "perforate".

Not difficult, you say? Remember that I was only 12 years old. Most of the other spellers were 8th grade, 13 years old, and just itching to get to HS. Suffice it to say, I beat them all! (And had only studied for about 4 or 5 months.)

Ah well, we all have things to be proud of. I trounced the competition at my father's alma mater. And I went to school at the opposition. :-)

Enjoy the mental titillation!

From tonight's Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee,
the finalists' words (Challenge Word List):
psitticism
maieutic
aubade
poiesis
kanone
tutoyer
izzat
koine
tmesis
weltschmerz
kundalini
** ursprache ** (winning word!)