Writing openings has always come somewhat hard for me. I'm not really
sure why. I know the various tricks. I know I am supposed to grab your
attention, ideally with a personal anecdote or some such thing, but
nothing comes to mind.
This reminds me of eigth grade. The teacher created a game loosely
modeled after football called "football spelling." Just like real
football, I was unable to get a firm grasp on the rules, but the gist of
it was if you spelled a word correctly your team advanced until there were
only two teams left. Sort of like a spelling bee, but with a dash of
sports to make it appealing to the jocks in the class.
I may not have understood football, but I understood spelling. I was
even reasonably good at it, seeing as how back in the dark days of 1984,
the ability to spell had not yet been superceded by wordprocessors and
other high-tech doodads.
My friend and I (I believe it was James) never made it to the
playoffs. Reflecting back on this I feel somewhat bad because he was one
of those rare well rounded people--an exceptional student, yet popular
with a good set of social skills. He probably should have teamed up with
someone slightly more inclined towards achievement than I was, but we were
friends and even if it means having your friend drag you down to the
depths of mediocrity, friends stick together.
Our turn came and James went first. The first few words came and went
without a hitch. James had just completed a word and it was my turn
again. I don't recall what the word was, but it was a doozy. I tried my
darndest. A few letters came out and then where the next letter should
have been, a conglomeration of sounds that comprised the latter part of
the word emerged. Yes, this means that if I were given the word,
"radish" (a word that I have to assure you I've never had trouble with),
my spelling for it would have sounded something like this:
r-a-d-ish
It's not that I was trying to be a smart-aleck, but rather that my
brain just ceased to function in the heat of the moment. The pressure of
the eight grade spelling football contest was too much for me to
withstand.
Perhaps this is what I am experiencing right now. I am trying to
activate the proper introduction areas of my brain and nothing is
happening. Oh well. Who needs an intro anyhow?
