…with Gary Moss

Archive for June, 2009

Remember going on a road trip with some kids. It doesn’t take long before you begin to get a frequent and repetitive inquiry, “Are we there yet?” Many, if not most, people are very short on patience. The pace of life on this planet seems to be increasing exponentially. Remember seeing those scenes of people sitting in rockers on some long porch, whittling and/or sewing. That has been replaced by folks hopping into the car and going out to buy some fast food for lunch.

Everyone today seems to be in a big hurry. Everyone seems to want what they want NOW, not later, not in a minute, but RIGHT NOW! Have you noticed how the pace of action has increased year by year in movies an on TV? Have you noticed how the volume goes up to extreme levels during some productions, especially during commercials? Some producers must believe that faster and louder gets our attention.

Obtaining higher education, after HS graduation, used to require two to four years, as a minimum. Some people can’t afford that much time now-a-days. I see some learning institutions advertising programs that require as little as 6 months. Are people today that much smarter? Or are some schools requiring less of their students as long as they can pay the tuition? We are obviously getting short changed when you meet some of the people in the work force.

Education and learning is a process. Some can get ‘There’ faster than others. But you are not ‘There’ just because you took a class.

A steady stream of folks who like the game of scrabble come through the doors to play at my clubs and tournament. All are welcome. People are motivated to come for a whole lot of different reasons. Some ask me how long it will take to get up to speed to compete against the seasoned players. All I can tell them is, “When you arrive you’ll know you are there.”

Once each year, Club #350 players have an opportunity to face off for all the marbles. The club hosts an annual competition consisting of 8 games over 2 weeks, at BORDERS, it Thursday evening venue. Our current Club Champion is David Pearl. (For Pics Click Here) And guess who is currently leading after 4 games? If you guessed ‘the pearljam’, you are right on. I played him in one of his four wins; I thought that I had him on the ropes. And then on his second from last play he pulled it out with a wonderful play. He played a word that I didn’t know. (‘op’ was sitting vertically. David played ‘m’ ‘a’ ‘i’ ‘n’ ‘t’ down to it creating ‘maintop’. I needed 28 points on my next play to beat him. I could only find a 21 point play. Since I would have lost, scoring 21 points, I challenged his play. It turned out to be good and he subsequently went out to beat me.
It is always tough to lose. But when my opponent makes a great play to win the game I have admiration for their skill and word knowledge.
Here’s where the players stand after 4 games. The last 4 games will be played on June 11.

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”

At a scrabble club one summer’s day a long-time player was mulling about, admiring a new board and brand new tiles to her heart’s content. A Newbie passed by, bearing along with great toil an OWL2 and SET #1 ‘Satine’ WHIZ CARDS she was taking to study.
“Why not come and chat with me,” said the seasoned player, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way with your study tools?”
“I am helping to review and lay up new words in my arsenal so I can beat you,” said the Newbie, “and recommend you to do the same.”
“Why bother?” said the Old Timer; “we know plenty of words at present.” But the Newbie went on her way and continued to study. When the club session began, the Old Timer was rusty on her 3′s and 4′s, and found herself being challenged, while she saw the Newbie playing bingos and reaching all the TWS hotspots. Then the Old Timer knew:
“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”

Everything is different; everything is the same.

Do not cry so hard about your ‘hard luck’ that you cannot hear opportunity knocking. I see that as a common mistake that so many of us make. It is a life lesson and a scrabble lesson worth learning again.

Life on this planet travels in cycles. Nothing lasts forever. It might seem at times that the grass is always greener across the road. It may seem at times that those other guys always get the brass ring. But it is not so.

It is true that some people seem to live their lives smarter than others. I think that those who do are the optimists. Are you one of them? (Fill a glass exactly half way with water. Describe it in one sentence. Did you describe it as half-full -or- half-empty.) If you said it was half-full you are most likely an optimist.

The pessimists are so busy worrying and complaining to others that they cannot see or hear the opportunities that are all around them.

A pessimist scrabble player has a rack of 7 vowels: a-a-e-i-i-i-o, plays off ‘oi’ for 6 points and continues to complain about the rack. An optimistic scrabble player has the same exact rack, finds an open ‘L’ and plays ‘aalii’ or ‘aioli’ or keeps the ‘a’ and ‘e’ while exchanging 5 tiles. It’s all about your perception of things.

A friend of mine lost a job that he had been working at for many years. He was comfortable in his job. He had thought that he would be in that position right up until retirement. Due to this economy, the company was forced to cut deep and my friend was let go. Unfair? Yes. Upsetting? Sure. He’s been angry and moping for months, collecting unemployment benefits which will eventually run out. He thinks about getting a new job, but his anger and upset is raging so loudly that he can’t see beyond the red.

Meanwhile, there are others who are earning a good living in this poor economy. And there are even many successful start up businesses, in spite of the current recession. How can that be? I’d bet it is those ‘half-full’ folks.

We each have the ability to chose to be a half-full or half-empty person. Even if you grew up in a half-empty family, you can now choose to live a half-full lifestyle.

And you can begin right now.

I teach an online scrabble class called SCRABBLE 101. In that class I encourage my students, even as they are learning, to find someone else to teach. When you are a teacher and putting your all into it, you search for ways to help others understand concepts and the ways ‘HOW TO’. During that process, teachers find clearer and deeper understandings for themselves. Will every student ‘GET IT’ the first time? Not necessarily. A good teacher then goes back to the drawing board and finds another way of saying things. When you hit upon the right combination of sets of words that convey the concept you’ll know. There will be true joy in Muddville.

Always start teaching from the beginning, even when your student says that they ‘know it all’. You may both be surprised when you discover some key element that he/she did not know. Often, not knowing one piece of basic information, creates a weak foundation causing more advanced concepts to crumble.

This technique works. It is not limited only to scrabble. In the process you may become a mentor to another and have a profound effect on their life too.

Your student does not have to be young person. It can be one of your contemporaries or someone your senior. Two years ago I solely used my computer to write and receive email. I was itching to learn how to create my website, movies, music, and more. . . without having to hire and pay some techie for my every need. I discovered the One-To-One program at the Apple Store, where mostly young geniuses teach others how to use their computers and programs. When there is a motivated student and a knowledgeable teacher . . . there are no limits. My website: http://www.just4thespellofit.com is one of the largest scrabble website around, with word lists and official rules and stats and more. I would have never achieved these things without teachers.

Be proactive in your learning process. Seek a teacher to coach you; seek a student to teach.

When scrabble players Maddy Golob and Roy Kamen were married last year it was very fitting for them to have their wedding cake made in the form of a scrabble board.

Once upon a time there was this guy, Satine, who lived on Northlawn who loved to play scrabble. His family knew that he loved the game so they made time to play with him whenever they congregated on holidays and on some lazy Sundays. But to Satine, that was only a tease; he wanted to play more often. Frequently, late at night, while other watched mindless reality shows, he could be found fondling tiles, searching racks for words, and looking up words in his scrabble dictionary.

Unbeknownst to Satine, a gal named Satire, who lived right across town on Main Street, shared the same passion and longed for the day when she could find her challenge. Both Satine and Satire had become the best scrabble players in their respective families, and no one wanted to lose to them any long. No one would play with them any more. (Sob, Sob, Sniff)

‘THEY’ say that “Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention.”

And it was in that spirit that Satine and Satire each searched the internet and googled ‘scrabble’. They were amazed and overwhelmed by the scrabble world that existed out there in the world beyond their neighborhood.

It was by chance that they both showed up, for the first time, at Club #350 on the same evening.
And even though they both lost all their games and were dumbfounded by many of the words, played by the seasoned players, they each felt as if they had discovered a secret treasure.

It wasn’t long before they each got their scrabble legs and were competing successfully with others who shared the same passion. Oh yeah, Satine and Satire did meet and play scrabble regularly, but nothing more than that, they had nothing else in common. But scrabble was enough.

And the all lived and bingoed happily forever after.

Have you found the people who share your passion? They are out there.

There was nothing ‘lost’ about the life of Frieda Davis. I first met Frieda more than 20 years ago while playing at scrabble tournaments. She was a good player and always interested in the unusual words on the board. She’d never hesitate to challenge a phoney. Her opponents couldn’t slip anything past her. In 1995 when I moved to California, from Michigan, I found Frieda again in the local scrabble community of the then, Leisure World, Laguna Woods, California, where she was retired and living with her late husband Harry. Frieda was a regular at most of the clubs in Orange County and still competed at local and national scrabble events.
When a group of local scrabble friends organized a monthly 10 game marathon via the club known as The Tallulah Blankheads, Frieda was included as a charter member.
Recently, already in her 90′s, Frieda trekked off on a trip to China. She was vital and plugged in to life for the entire ride.
Two weeks ago when Frieda did not show up at the Monday scrabble club, I inquired ‘why?’. I learned that a week earlier she had gone to see her doctor about a nagging cough. It turned out to be lung cancer at an advanced stage. And now she is gone.
People may say things like, “It is good that she did not suffer a prolonged illness”. That is surely true. But I would like to focus my thoughts on her LIFE WELL LIVED.
I miss her already.

People wishing to contact the family can contact her son Roy: roy@island-escape.com