…with Gary Moss

We are all used to seeing the same usual pictures of Honest Abe, but like you and I, he was a many faceted and complicated individual. He was ‘honest’, just like they say. He never palmed a ‘Q,’ he could never be accused of ‘fast bagging,’ and he was never known to have played a phoney.
Like scrabble players, Lincoln was known for always choosing his words carefully and wisely. In his Gettysburg Address he use 15 words that were bingo words: fathers, brought, liberty, created, engaged, testing, whether, dedicate, portion, resting, fitting, honored, devotion, measure, and freedom.

It is well known that Abe was influenced by many of the wise sayings of the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Yogi Berra, and George Carlin. On one occasion when he and Mary Todd Lincoln were having a major disagreement, about her role as a ‘stay-at-home-mom,’ the whole mishpacha chimed in. It was related to this circumstance that Abe uttered one of his most profound sayings. He took a deep breath, took a step back, outside of himself, and said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Abe in turn inspired multitudes, including me, Dr. Laura and Michael Smirconish.

It was misreported by a cub reporter on the campaign trail that Lincoln had said, “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” What really happened was . . . . on a whistle-stop campaign journey, Abe was playing a tile word game with Stephen Douglas. Since the train was jarring and swaying, Abe firming suggested, “Be sure you put your tiles in the right place, then press them down firmly.” Due to the errant report, disagreements developed which in turn lead to what we know as The Lincoln Douglas Debates.

Other Lincoln / Scrabble Coincidences:
Lincoln died on April 15th. : There are 15 rows and columns on the standard scrabble board.
Lincoln was self educated : Mark Landsberg, Mr. 770, educated many of us on how to play scrabble.
Lincoln was the 1st Republican President : The face value of the tiles in ‘republican’ = 15
Lincoln preserved the UNION : Preserves are generally served on buffets at tournament breakfasts.
Lincoln was an Abolitionist : The ‘word committee’ often abolishes words from the OWL
Lincoln debated Douglas in Galesburg : I won Division 4 in Gatlinburg (a long time ago)

Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
and such is the case when newbies are typically beaten down by unscrupulous experts.

Lincoln said, “Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.”
and mavins beware: defeated scrabble players do come back to beat their ‘scrabble daddy’ on some other day.

Lincoln said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
and most scrabble players are extremely happy, given the opportunity to play their favorite game.