One of my favorite summer escapes is the daily word games delivered online by The New York Times.
Wordle is the easiest. I usually get the right word in two or three tries. After years of reading, writing, and teaching English, I'm fascinated by the structure of words.
NYT also throws a bone to those of us who can't get past Wednesday in the big crossword puzzle: the five by five square mini crossword. It's easy enough to deserve a tiny pat on the back, but no big accolades.
The Spelling Bee is my favorite. To play it you get seven letters a day, arranged like a bee hive with one letter in the middle. That center letter must be used in every word you can make using any or all of the seven letters.
As you find new words, you advance from "nice" to "great" to "amazing"--and then, finally, to "genius." I refuse to stop until I reach the pinnacle.
I am not a genius; that's a solid fact. But once a day I play one on this screen. This nomenclature is not granted to me in many endeavors:
Like math. Nothing makes me readier for a nap than numbers.
Like speaking a second language. I regret not learning more languages back when my. brain was young and spongy.
Like building a house or fixing mechanical things.
I'm watching The Bear, a series on Hulu. An acclaimed young chef is trying to turn around the restaurant of his dead brother. What fascinates me is watching young cooks rise to the occasion when taught new culinary skills.
Most of us attended good enough schools to achieve mastery in our native language. We know how to compose sentences, write letters, and read with understanding. But English majoring is almost a thing of the past, thanks to artificial intelligence that can spit out essays in a flash.
Not to mention, but I will: Penmanship--once a fundamental value--is relatively nonexistent in the 21st century.
We've all met smart people who shine in ways we don't. A man who can't spell automotive but can take a car down to the frame and put it back together. A person who can barely read but can build a house from foundation to roof. A kid who can navigate a smart phone or computer faster than most of us can.
I'm a diehard word lover. An admirer of beautiful original sentences. I'm attracted to other word people, the nuanced ways they think. Friendships are usually sparked when we find others who play in the same lanes we do.
I run into reminders every day of how much (SO much!) I don't know, but I'll happily borrow the "genius" label for a few minutes every morning. Not a bad way to start a day.
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