…with Gary Moss

Archive for January, 2011

Scrabble may be New York City or Austin or Las Vegas to you. It is most likely the home town where you first began to play the game.

For me it is MoTown, Detroit, Michigan, the place that my family called home when they were growing me up. I now live in sunny southern California, but a big part of my heart lives in Detroit city.

I have been here in Detroit the better part of the last 2 weeks helping my 90+ year old mom transition from living alone in her own her apartment to a senior independent living community. I have been running errands up and down the Lodge Freeway, out along Woodward Avenue in Huntington Woods, and north on Telegraph Road to Birmingham. We’ve been to the 12 Oaks Mall in Novi and I’ve visited one of my daughters in Ypsilanti. East side, West side from Southfield to West Bloomfield.

A friend shared the link below with me today and I wanted to share it with you. It has special meaning for anyone who knows Detroit and will let you know me better by seeing many of the pieces of experiences that influenced me in my formative years.

Enjoy this youtube presentation and have a taste of Detroit on me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvPUANJZrQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

You know what THEY say.

You can’t make a horse drink.

There are many people who will suggest that they just love the game of scrabble. Simultaneously they’ll imply that they play the game much better than the average scrabble bear. Most people who I know, who say that they know how to play scrabble, will rarely admit that there is room for improvement.

I have attempted to force-feed water/stems and water/word-lists to some of my horsey scrabble friends without success.

All this kind of behavior only confirms in my mind that

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

All this kind of behavior only confirms in my mind that

People who think that they are good at playing scrabble generally do not want further help or coaching. These people over estimate their expertise.

A small percentage of people bring themselves to the trough of knowledge with an unquenchable thirst. These people, regardless of their previous scrabble experience generally benefit and grow their word knowledge and scrabble skills.

Go through life with an open mind and don’t stop yourself due to pride and/or stubbornness. Like THEY always tell Mikey, “Try It, You’ll Like It.”

Newton’s Law Of Motion:

Every Action Has An Equal And Opposite Reaction

Here I sit in my mom’s home in Southfield, Michigan.

My mom pressed her Life Alert button last week and put a whole lot of people, myself included, into action. I’m glad she did. She was experiencing the results of a stroke. During the two days prior to the moment when mom pushed the button, several friends sensed that something bad was happening, but not one of them took the action of pressing the button for her. Luckily, she pressed the button herself, before she suffered a massive stroke. Fortunately, she was not driving her car when the stroke occurred. Others were not injured or placed in jeopardy.
The changes that my mom faces are monumental. Those of us who may be fortunate enough to reach 90+ years of age may well face the same life altering changes. Her doctor strongly advised that she no longer drive a car. Her doctor prescribed that she no longer live alone.
One moment we can be independent and then with the stroke of a stroke we must have a caregiver or at a minimum, move to an independent living community where others can look in on us, to assure our well being.

We (my brother, sister and I) were expecting World War III when we broke the news to mom. And thank goodness, we never experienced even a single shot. Tears were shed when the doctor amputated her car keys from her possession. A sense of relief filled the room when mom learned that there was a very reasonable and pleasant alternative life style was just down the road, waiting for her in life.
.
An Aside:
At times I am still haunted by visions of the ‘Old Folks Home’ where my grandfather was housed after he could no longer live with family. The stench of urine that hit one in the face when they entered the institution remains in my memory. I recall the ‘old folks’ just sitting idle on benches, along the endless hallways, waiting for their number to be called to pass on to the next life.
.
I am certain that there are many other people out there who will not have the same kinds of favorable choices that my mom is able to pick from. My mom qualified to live in a senior independent living community where she will enjoy her own apartment with every modern day convenience. The staff will check on her daily and immediate care will be available just outside her apartment door. Countless activities, friends, and even daily dining will be only steps away from her own private living room. I can honestly say that I could feel comfortable living there too. There is a spot available for almost immediate occupancy. What a relief.
.
The other alternative could have been to place mom on an ice floe at the shore and send her, alone, out to sea.

Life will frequently throw us a ‘curve ball’. In my opinion and experience, that is not the time to ‘freeze’ and become immobilized. I am proud to be a part of a family that took action this week. We came, we assessed the realities of the situation, we did whatever needed to be done, and we pushed the process forward. Mom will be in her new safer home and community by next week. Another family might allow themselves to be overcome by the challenges that accompany change. Instead, we pulled together, found agreement, made a plan, and put it into action at warp speed.

This blog has been reflecting my experiences from this week related to my mother’s stroke. But it is so much more than that. It applies to scrabble and every other part of our lives. Live life to its fullest every day. That actions NOW, rather than putting things off until later.

It happens around me all the time. A person calls me or finds us playing at on of the Club #350 locations and tells me about how much they love the game of scrabble. They then proceed to tell me about their superiority at playing the game, with regard to their family and friends. I usually try to assess something about how much they actually know by asking some key, investigative, questions. Do you know the 101 legal 2-Letter-Words? How often are you able to play a Bingo (using all 7 tiles from your rack on a single play)? What are the front hooks for the word ‘ae’?

More often than not I get repeated ‘blank stares’.

Then I’ll share a little story about some of the difference between playing ‘kitchen table scrabble’ at home vs playing competitive scrabble at a club.

I always begin by telling them that they ate definitely invited to join us and we will be very welcoming and even share the little tricks that will help them build their scrabble skills. Then I focus on the major differences in the two distinctly different approaches to the game.

Scrabble At Home: Frequently 3 or 4 people play in the same game; House rules and the dictionary used will often vary from one home to another. Usually has no time restrictions and may go on all day long; Home players will usually play common words that most other will know; Most home players are playing to fill time and share a common experience with friends and family members.

Scrabble At Club: Only 2 players play in any game; Standardized rules and the OWL2 are used throughout North America (Playing at a club in California will basically be the same as a club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada); We use ‘chess clocks’ and each player receives a total of 25 minutes for their potion of the game, and after that they lose points for overtime; Club players will learn obscure words to play, trying to fool their opponents and draw a challenge; Most club players fairly are competitive and trying to win.

If this person asks questions, I always provide answers in a way that encourages them to give us a try. I always tell people to bring their thickest skin and I relate my personal story about NOT WINNING a club game for several weeks when I first began to play.

What I have realized over the years is that even though most people are standing in front of me and hear the sounds coming out of my mouth, very few hear a word that I say. They are in their own heads, imagining that I am full of hot air. They see a vision of themselves sitting down and beating the pants off of me. They know that they have skunked every player in their family and will now teach us a thing or two about how to really play the game of scrabble.

Most will not accept the challenge to join me for a game, on the spot. Most will tell me that they’ll come back next time. Next time never happens.

A few will begin to understand the dynamics of competitive scrabble vs kitchen table scrabble and try to change the subject, telling me about one of their other favorite word games, like UP WORDS.

Bottom Line:
Whatever your game, be it Scrabble or Up Words or Monopoly, you can play just for fun or you can play competitively. The competitive player who studies the game and develops a deeper understanding of the game will most likely develop skills to set themselves apart from the casual game player.

Isn’t that true about everything?

The more that you put into something, the more you get out of it.
~ Some wise guy

If and When you are ready for a serious encounter with Scrabble, take my online class: SCRABBLE 101

Many scrabble games are known to have started with the same specific word on the board as the first play, at times in the very same location. But, that’s where divergence begins, if not before.

Okay, I can hear all the clamour and challenges to my assertion, from you mathematicians. Of course, with a given number of tiles (100), with a static tile distribution, there is a point at which it would be possible to expect an exact duplicate of a game. But you’ll have to admit that you would not want to bet on anything with those odds.

.
.
One of the wisest people throughout all of history was Yogi Berra. Yogi said many brilliant famous things that have etched their way into our minds and hearts. One such wise saying was . . .

It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over! ~ Yogi Berra

That’s a big part of the joy and excitement that attracts me to the game of scrabble. Most of the time you are never out of the game until the very end, after the last tile is played.

How many time have you thought that you had sewed up the game, only to have you opponent find some incredible bingo and snatch victory from under your nose? That has happened way too often to me too.

And how many times have you done the same thing to your opponents? Didn’t that feel good and make you feel like an insufferable smartie-pants?

Back when I was a newbie I had a number of bad habits that were self-defeating at the scrabble board. One of the worst of my bad habit was that when I fell behind in the score I often gave up, and permitted my emotions to play that old, useless game called ‘Poor Me’.

Over time I realized that ‘Poor Me’ can ruin the rest of the day, the rest of the week, and can even contaminate other parts of one’s life. The alternative to ‘Poor Me’ is ‘Lucky Me’. ‘Lucky Me’ is an attitude that reminds me that there are lessons to learn here. ‘Lucky Me’ is always a new beginning that include a positive action, a step toward learning something new.

With no, to very few, games being alike, scrabble offers us all opportunities with endless benefits.

Get into the game. Watch Letter Man on You Tube for tips that will help you improve your play. CLICK!

WAR OF WORDS, the movie, is about to begin production.

I’m excited. Tomorrow, 1/21/11, I will shoot the footage for a movie which I have only imagined creating, for the last 10 or more years. I am a bit nervous because I really hope it turns out to be everything that I have imagined. The ambivalent part of me is sitting on my shoulder, whispering into my ear, cautioning me about the certain glitches that are about to surface.

But, all and all, I am really up for it. I usually shine when I am a bit stressed and have to multi-task.

Leading this project is a lot like conducting a orchestra with many different instruments. There will be the players at their boards, each player will have an official recorder (to provide me with accurate information so that I can provide commentary in post production), there will be crew to manage the crowds of onlookers, and there will be the camera crew as well (both movie and still photographers).

BORDERS BOOKSTORE in Costa Mesa, near South Coast Plaza, where Club #350 plays each Thursday evening, has agreed to be our location. Special thanks to store manager, Trevor Buttars.

For a bit more information you can go to this link: http://web.mac.com/jftsoi/GARYS_STORIES/WAR_of_WORDS,_the_movie.html

Remember, I am originally from Michigan (in and around Detroit), where winter = cold, snow, and icy roads.

I now live in Laguna Woods, California (about midway from LA to San DIego), where 40 degrees is a cold night, the only snow is at the top of the mountains (as seen from my lanai in my shorts and T-Shirt) and slippery roads only occur after the winter rains cause oil on the roads to rise to the surface.

When living in Michigan I directed local weekly scrabble clubs and a monthly scrabble tournament, the same way I do here in Orange County. While living in Michigan there were countless tournaments available to play if one was willing and able to travel 100 – 300 miles on almost any weekend. Hardy young players, older white-haired ladies, and even people with physical challenges didn’t hesitate getting there in spite of the hail, sleet, and snow. I specifically recall one tournament that I produced at The White Horse Inn (a stage coach stop in the 1800s) in Lapeer, Michigan, in the early 1990s. It was mid-winter. On the last day of the event, a Sunday morning, the skies opened up and mounds of snow fell within a few hours. When the awards ceremony concluded, about 5PM, I quickly packed up my gear and drove more than an hour to my home in Union Lake, Michigan. (It was a time before everyone toted a cell phone.) When I walked in the door to my home I was confronted by a blinking, ringing, phone answering machine. It seems that one group of players had their car break down right near the tournament site. Their car was not drivable. The players were from Hamilton, Ontario and they all need to be home so they could get to work on the following day.

There was never a hesitation. There was never a consideration. The right thing to do was to take action and help the stranded scrabble friends. I drove the hour back to the tournament site, located the stranded car, ferreted out the players at a nearby service station, and drove them 5 hours to their homes in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. That was just what we did back then.

California is a ‘Garden of Eden’ paradise. I have met many wonderful people. (And it is now 2011 and not 1991.) In my opinion, many people of today are very different in terms of what they will and will not do for others. Many nice folks in LA have a whole list of excuses for why they won’t travel 50 miles south on the 405 or 5 to support my monthly tournaments in Laguna Woods. But, it is there loss. I do have other supporters who come regularly from places that are 60 or 80 or more miles away. So, it cannot be just the distance.

I am often asked by people who are sensitive to the trials and pressures encountered by scrabble directors, “Why do you do the scrabble thing?” There is no single answer. I obviously get some kind of satisfaction from the things that I choose to do. It sometimes feels as though I am on a mission, like a missionary, to ‘spread the words’. It would be a bit more gratifying and special if I could fill the rooms that house Club #350 and The 1st Sunday Tournament. And yet, when I even unleash just one aha from a single newbie I know exactly why I do what I do.

I plan to continue to make myself available to individuals, like yourself, and the groups that you may belong to. This link (LINK) will take you to information about the benefits of scrabble and some of the ways I can assist you and the schools and organizations in your community. Use me.

When I sat down this morning to compose this blog I looked to see what I had last written about. Then I noticed the date of the last blog. That was 3 days ago. Somehow time has eluded me.

How does that happen? I wasn’t on some captivating vacation in a remote setting where the internet was inaccessible. I wasn’t on a special assignment that was requiring my attention 24/7. I wasn’t injured recuperating from an accident or illness.

I was just daydreaming and busy doing the little nothings that steal away so much of our daily time.

I play a lot of scrabble online, on ISC. It is a bit of an addiction for me. I can play for hours, only getting up from my chair long enough to go to the bathroom or to grab a snack from the kitchen.

I am usually very attentive to my scrabble tasks: writing my daily blogs; planning local scrabble events; maintaining up-to-date stats for Club #350; producing a weekly episode of Letter Man for YouTube; and doing several sudoku puzzles each day as my mental gymnastics.

I live a very sedentary lifestyle, by choice. My idea of a walk is going from my front door to my car. You do not want to encourage me to go for a walk with you. I can become a real party-pooper after a block or so. I’d rather sit on a bench doing puzzles or reading a snippet in a book while you do your walking.

In a typical day I usually come up with several ideas for projects. Most of them never become a reality. Some project ideas are placed on a back burner in a file on my MacBook laptop. I do look at these from time to time and sometimes initiate them.

Ideas always seem so exciting and titillating to me. Frequently, the passion for the idea subsides quickly, the same way that we forget many of the dreams that we have during the night. At times the complexities of moving an idea from a thought to reality appears to be overwhelming and thus quashes the idea. And then there a few ideas that are so compelling that they require DOING which in turn requires enormous amounts of TIME.

We each have a limited amount of time. I am well aware of that. We usually relearn that Lesson #1 every time we suffer the loss of a loved one. Most of us forget that lesson after grieving.

We would all accomplish much more if we remembered Lesson #1 every morning. We’d also tell our loved ones that we loved them, more often.

Love you A, Mom, Karen, Joel, Sue, Marty, Stacy, Lauren, Lindsey, Haley, Wylie, Amanda, Richard, T.L., Joe, Dan, and the rest of you

It has been my contention, ever since I tripped onto the competitive scrabble scene, that ‘scrabble’ and ‘scrabble skills’ make all of life more livable and complete.

You there, in Iowa, stop laughing. This is not a whim or some joke.

On the surface, to some, scrabble appears to be a game about spelling and memorizing lists of words. Well, It is both of those things. . . . but if that’s all you see, you are only seeing the broad side of the elephant, without noticing it’s tusks or floppy ears or rope like tail or muscular/snakelike trunk.

Scrabble is a thinking game, very much like Chess or Bridge. It is my observation that fewer and fewer people in general are into doing a whole lot of ‘thinking’ on their own these days. Young people have learned how to search on computers to supply themselves with instant answers and they rarely do any original research. (That’s scary.)

Thinking men and women figure out the formulas and procedures which provide us with better health and longer lives . . . and all the while the non-thinking ‘believers’, consumed by religious prejudice, create roadblocks to stem-cell research, equality for gays and promote turn-the-cheek tolerance for child molesting clergy. Duh!

Scrabble is a game of RULES. While playing the game, every player is expected to play by the same set of rules. It is the same we expect of the LAWS in society. Scrabble is much more honorable than society which rewards thieving Bankers and CEOs. Scrabble players keep each other honest to a much higher degree than the politicians and judges we elect.

Even in the most segregated pockets of society, that still exist in 2011, scrabble clubs and gatherings are oases that welcome all. Scrabble is about bringing together people with common interests; it is a place where only the words and the game matters. In my opinion, scrabble players are more tolerant and accepting and all inclusive than the general public. On the list of offensive terms, which are legal to play during the game, we include words that might offend every race and ethnicity. (We know that they are only words, not sticks and stones.)

I’d be willing to bet that if you could convince a group of scrabble players to stop playing scrabble at club long enough, and they were given the power to settle all the wars on the planet, they could meet the challenge in a tournament or two. We could settle the War in Afghanistan by playing a single game for the highest natural bingo, against Osama Bin Laden. We could defeat hunger by each pledging a penny a point for each point played at the 1st Sunday Tournaments in 2011. We could end the threat of nuclear war by playing a 3-way game with Kim Jong Un, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Joe Edley (I haven’t cleared this with Edley, as of this date).

With scrabble, we can accomplish almost anything. Begin playing today. Order your copy of the OWL2 NOW!

I believe that every scrabble player wants to WIN. Some want to learn more words, but even those players would be satisfied by winning with the words that they already know.

I believe that scrabble players want to find friendly tiles on every rack. They want to find blends and combinations that fit together to make up words that they know; words like ‘majorly’ and ‘existed’ or ‘royally’. A rack like H-L-L-O-O-S-U is not friendly enough, especially if the player doesn’t know that ‘HULLOOS’ is a word in the OWL2.

Most scrabble players, in my opinion, would like a ‘magic pill’ which, upon ingesting, would provide delivery of the complete knowledge of the OWL2 and the LWL to their memory banks. (But what fun would that be?)

Scrabble players love it when their opponents play a wide open boards and allow them to hook their words on ‘hot spots’, especially over the TWS.

Scrabble players just love it when their opponents say, “Nice play”, and mean it.

Scrabble players love it more when they can play an improbable bingo and make their opponent groan and drop their heads.

Scrabble players want it very quiet in the room, when it is their turn, so they can think clearly without chatter or music assaulting their ears. But when their turn is over, many of these same players want to chat to others with disregard for their opponents. Oooops!

Players want to sleep peacefully at night, dreaming about all the bingos and other great plays they have played at their local club.

An aside: My friend, Bruce D’Ambrosio shared that on night after a frustrating set of loses he experienced a very disturbing and vivid dream. In the dream, as he was drawing his seven tiles, he drew six standard letters, but then the seventh tile was a ‘parentheses’. It was so disturbing that it woke him out of a sound sleep.
Now go have a great day and just have fun when you go to your local scrabble club. You’re not going to draw a parentheses from the tile bag.

Consider this. CLICK