The National Spelling Bee

ABC televised the final round last night as a 13 year old girl from New Jersey took home the top prize. I didn’t watch it. I couldn’t care less and besides, I’m a lousy speller. If it weren’t for Spell Check features I’d appear even more illiterate than I do from my rotten grammar and inability to write a coherent sentence.

This is the whole point behind this blog. Aside from the fact that it’s kind of fun, it’s practice. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? You practice, my friend, you practice.

So, should I be impressed? Yeah, I should be impressed. While I don’t consider spelling much of a of intellectual indicator, putting in what I’m sure was hundreds of hours practicing and learning how to spell obscure words and then managing the pressure of the finals took a lot of dedication and guts. That kind of perseverance and courage deserves recognition and praise especially in a world where simple competence seems to be in short supply. So hats off to Katharine Close, the Jersey Girl and top speller for 2006.