…with Gary Moss

Archive for October, 2010

Let me know if you like this: jftsoi.moss@gmail.com

Gotham City has its Batman. A number of frontier towns had Wyatt Earp. Tennessee had their Davy Crockett. The animal world had Noah and Dr. Dolittle. Metropolis has its Superman.

Now comes real a super-hero for budding scrabble mavins. This hero is an eerie look-alike of the hero of Metropolis, but this hero bares a bold ‘L’ on his chest and belt.

Is it a phantom?
Is it an impossible dream?

No. It’s LETTER-MAN.

Born in the imagination of Club #350 Director, Gary Moss, LETTER-MAN is scrabble’s answer to Johnny Appleseed and Rosetta Stone.

Moss, a mild mannered educator and director of SCRABBLE CLUB #350, plants seeds in the minds of the multitudes that sometimes germinate, growing into full blown scrabble addicts. Words can be just as addictive as the poppy, without harmful physical consequences.

Moss, in LETTER MAN mode, pushes the love of words onto small children and adults alike. He has no shame and never holds back from preaching scrabble sermons to total strangers.

Letter Man makes himself available to meet with groups or individuals. He’ll even coach and teach you online via his scrabble class, SCRABBLE 101.

LETTER MAN uses scrabble events to benefit the community at large. On November 7th he will host The 1st Sunday Scrabble Tournament to benefit The Braille Institute. He depends on the pledges and donations from ‘mortal men and women’, like you, giving you an opportunity to be a SUPER HERO for a human cause.

Be a Super Hero. Help Now. CLICK HERE

Halloween is a great time to promote scrabble among the community and build interest in the game and our clubs.

I’m really into the spirit of it all this year.

Tonight I am invited to a Halloween party and gave a whole lot of thought to my costume. Ever since the early 1950s when he came flying into my living room, via the TV tube, Superman has been one of my heros. It is no surprise that I purchased a look-alike superman costume. I could not just leave it as is. I had to tweak it a bit.

I changed the ‘S’ to an ‘L’ and then I anointed myself as ‘LETTER MAN’. I was extremely careful not to call myself ‘LETTERMAN’ to avoid confusion between myself and a certain late night talk-show host.
However, I am open to having Letterman contact ‘Letter Man’ and having me appear on his show. I’d even throw in a FREE scrabble lesson for him and Harry.

I may even take to the streets tomorrow, set up my scrabble board and ask the public to try to beat the champ (that being me), for a donation to The Braille Institute (The benefactor at my 1st Sunday Tournament, November 7th.)

Above is the front of a card that I created and will hand out tonight at the party. It gives my contact information for people who wish to contact me later on.

Below is the back of one of my card, providing a couple of curious, legal, scrabble words to stir the interest of word lovers. (I have 10 different backs so that people can share the different words with one another.)

Enjoy a FUN and SAFE Halloween.

Some GAMES, some PEOPLE, and some BUSINESS make a contribution and a positive difference in our lives.

I have created yet another web site to focus a spotlight on some of the most outstanding and inspirational people and organizations among us.

Acknowledgements: CLICK HERE

The list of heros in your life may be different from mine. That is just fine. And I encourage you to make the time and create some energy to honor them. Let your heros know that you care. Write a note, send a card, make a phone call, bake a cake, send a telegram, buy a billboard, create a utube presentation, write it in the sand on the beach, paint it on the roof-top of a warehouse, paint it on the side of a barn, compose it as a Burma Shave on signs along the highway, fly a banner behind an airplane, write a letter to your congressman, tell about it on The View, print it on milk cartons, play it in tiles on your scrabble board, or sing it in a country song.

Just Do It.

When you have finished, help me make a difference for The Braille Institute. I am directing and playing in a scrabble tournament on November 7th, to benefit The Braille Institute. You can come and play or you can simply make a pledge or make a contribution.

100% of all pledges and donations will go to The Braille Institute (No administrative fees). Make you checks to The Braille Institute and take any tax deduction for yourself. Send it c/o Gary Moss, 3367 Punta Alta #3B, Laguna Woods, CA. 92637

COOPER KOMATSU proves the point that when it comes to scrabble (and other things) age does not necessarily dictate who can be the best.

Acknowledging Cooper, CLICK HERE.

Some of the most deserving people are rarely acknowledged. Many of those people do things in quiet ways, keeping on keeping on. They are the core of most organizations and scrabble clubs. They show up, regularly, each week and create the ‘group-fun’ that is impossible to reproduce in a solo setting.

Most of the glory goes to the players with the highest plays or highest game scores or highest win percentages. Those players have certainly earned and do deserve the acknowledgement which they receive.

However, the support staff and membership at large are each an integral part in making those achievements possible. Each of the group members has their own story and make their own significant contributions, although they be less flashy.

I salute and acknowledge each of you who makes your personal contribution. You are my heros.

My newest website shines a spotlight on some of the quieter heros among us. Take a peek. CLICK HERE. (If you’d care to nominate a person or an organization for recognition, send me an email: jftsoi.moss@gmail.com)

If you like our work, Click Here.

Whether we are considering learning to play scrabble or running a foot race, the greatest amount of energy is expended at the beginning as we are building our velocity which in part determines our momentum.

Once we have initiated some velocity, the momentum that makes us feel as though we are gliding, relies on the continuing stream of energy and mass in the equation.

For me, maintaining momentum is much easier that stopping and having to start all over again. How about you?

When the traffic lights on a straightaway road are timed to stop vehicles at every lighted intersection I can feel the strain on my car’s engine when it meets the chore of starting from 0mph time and again. On the highway, without stops, my car feels like it is sailing along without much effort. (The amount of energy consumed during highway driving is less too.)

People who use momentum judiciously, playing scrabble, will usually have a regimen that involves some self determined formula and routine that promotes review and growth. These player are usually the ones in the winner’s circle at the end of the competition.

I have known several players over the years who, for one reason or another, took a hiatus from the competitive scrabble scene. (While they were idle, all the other players in the circle continued to review and grow.) The returning player was no different from a ‘rusty hinge’ or an old engine that needed to have its oil changed.

So what is a person to do when one of life’s bumps alters our preferred routine?

Well, as difficult as it may seem at the time, if we intend to go back to our passion, it behooves us to create a plan to maintain our momentum to some degree. If we don’t maintain momentum our job of reestablishing it in the future will be much more difficult.

Some of the smallest words, with several vowels, may be some of the most difficult to hold in our memory. I call this set: ‘Heavy With Vowels’. It is always good scrabble practice to have these words in you memory bank for the times you draw those awful racks. Purchase the list today; review it frequently. CLICK HERE

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Have you acknowledged someone today? Do it, it feels good. See who I acknowledged, CLICK HERE

Sure . . . we all have the options to play scrabble solitaire or play against a computer program like Mavin or Quackle. But for me, the real fun comes from playing scrabble against real people and matching wits and memories.

If you are not close to a scrabble community you may have to resort to finding other options to satisfy and feed your scrabble obsession. My friend Ken Smith lives on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Ken plays most of his scrabble online; ISC and other online venues provide a valuable lifeline for scrabble aficionados. The online services are available 24/7. There have been many a night when I couldn’t sleep; I’ve gone to my computer and found you or someone else just waiting for another game. I thank you for that.

But I have to tell you . . . I feel very lucky. I live in a community that is a ‘hotbed’ of scrabble. I live in Orange County, California. Anyone so inclined can play head-to-head with other scrabble players in club settings most every day of the week. There are midday and there are evening clubs; there is a monthly-all-day sanctioned tournament. From LA on the north to San Diego on the south lie a string of scrabble clubs that will more than test the word knowledge of any scrabble bear.

Bottom line, we create scrabble fun for one another by showing up and playing the game. The competitive factor in the game pushes each of us to continually learn more words and the strategies of the game. Competitive club scrabble is a prime example of an arena where 1 + 1 is much more than 2. We push each other to grow and expand our personal abilities.

For this reason and recognition of the fact that we each contribute so very much two one another, I am expanding my practice of ‘daily acknowledgement’ and I invite you to get on board with me. Every day I acknowledge someone who touches my life with an email or a note or a phone call. It is very simple to identify someone every day. Too many of us allow our thanks to other go unexpressed. The expression of our thanks empowers others and in turn, comes back to ourselves in countless ways. I am calling this informal club ‘The Mitzvah Club’ (Mitzvah = A good deed done.) Play along if you will . . . . you’ll like it. CLICK HERE

I feed the hummingbirds. I’ve been feeding them from the time I first moved into my place in Laguna Woods, back in 2000. I first noticed them when I put some colorful flowers out on the lanai and within minutes the hummingbirds began to arrive. They flit to and fro. First they sip the nectar and then they fly off to a nearby tree where they perch and digest the morsel. Because they must consume 5 times their weight in food every day, they are frequent visitors, hourly, and if one is not prepared to foot the bill for their delicacy, one should not tease them by placing out just a single serving.

I have been quite amazed by the number of different hummingbirds that visit my feeder. The length of the beaks differ as does their coloring. Looking further into bird books, I’ve learned that there are many, many other hummingbird relatives that live around the world and have their own unique characteristics.

Just like scrabble players.
There are tall scrabble players. There are short scrabble players. There are skinny scrabble players. There are full sized scrabble players. There are novice scrabble players. There are expert scrabble players. Some players are known to play ‘just for the FUN of it’. Some players are known to play ‘just for the SPELL of it’. Some players are known to play because it has become their obsession.

As I sat and watched the hummingbirds at my feeder, they transformed in front of my eyes into some of the hundreds of scrabble players whom I have known over the years. As the birds transformed into the likes of Rita and Robert and Hellen and Al, the feeder transformed into the OWL2 and the nectar became words. I sat watching my old friends scurry to and from the OWL2 looking up words, learning words, adjudicating words, confirming words.

Just as the hummingbirds require a massive amount of nectar to sustain themselves, ‘real’ scrabble players never seem to be content with a single word or even just a few. Scrabble players journey to and from the OWL2 as if it were the nectar that sustains their lives, and in most cases it does as a scrabble maven.

The OWL2 is not available in bookstores. I can send you a brand-spanking-new OWL2 of your very own for only $20 + shipping. ORDER NOW – CLICK HERE.