Sardoodledom

Just recently I've heard two items on the radio that made me think about a whole lot of stuff. The first was a really cute piece on NPR about the National Spelling Bee, where a kid got so tickled that he couldn't quit laughing. I definitely would have laughed too....the word he got was "Sardoodledom"....hahaha!....see, it IS a great word, kind of like a couple of my other favorites...bamboozle and flimflam. Who comes up with these wacky words anyway? But it got me to thinking. I know most parents love the sports that their children like and are good at. Sometimes you wonder how parents can make it through some of the sorts of sporting events that their kids participate in, but in the end, if your kid likes it and is good at it, it's fun to watch that joy develope. I remember when my girls played soccer and I wondered what in the heck was up with that whole Field Hockey stuff....weird sport, that. But then, as their love of that game developed and they got better at it, well, OK, yeah, it's a great game....never mind that I still don't get half the calls. But still and all, I'm really glad that Spelling Bees aren't where my girls found their niche. But again, if they had gone in that direction, I would've been there....of course.

So the other night after we came home from Beer Friday at the Sutter, PBS had on the finals of the Spelling Bee. How in the world can those kids know how to spell those words? Good grief! I don't even know what ANY of the last four words mean. The last four words were....introuvable, esclandre, prosopopoeia and guerdon!! Of course, I don't remember that, I had to look it up. But does anyone know what these words are all about?? Let me know, cause if you DO know these words off the top of your head, I swear, from now on I'll look at you funny. But the thing that was so striking was how excited the winner's parents were. Of course! Such elation, so proud they were about to pop. It could've been the championship game of any sporting event.

I imagine Spelling Bees to be pretty intense affairs. Serious, breath-holding events. So that's why hearing a contestant break down in a tickle was so great. Tra la, funnies at the Spelling Bee. By the way, I had to look up what Sardoodledom means.....in a play, contrived plot structure...so melodrama. Ok, let's see how long I can remember that. I may want to use it in casual conversation sometime.