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You know what happens when you don't practice for a while? You get rusty. Your fingers don't do what your brain tells them to do. Stumble, start, stumble, fumble. Your brain doesn't remember its old tricks quite as well as you'd like.

Then your rating drops about 200 points and people in the rooms with you comment about how much better you used to be. Then you get grumpy and obsessed and play for hours until you remember how to play the stupid game. Then maybe you gain back about 40 of the points.

The thing is… I really am good at this game. Boggle, that is. (I could have been talking about the clarinet, but thank god there's no rating there.) I love playing it, not only because it's fun, but because I am good at it. So I won't stay away quite so long next time. I'd hate to risk mediocrity.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Some of us could never type. We thought the game was the play, the finding of the words, the unique discoveries. Those whose only skill was typing OTTER, COTTER, ROTTER, ROTTE in .37 seconds always kind of amused us with their inflated senses of self worth. We always wondered what would happen once that was gone and those folks were forced to fend with actual brain skills. On equal footing? Your butt is mine.

-- Mr. Shlicker
listeme said…
Equal footing? We find this concept amusing, ourselves.
Anonymous said…
heh, sitting on my couch many hours later, I just "saw" the primal humor. Some folks are naturals, ourselves.

--Mr. Shlicker

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Life is a little tough these days. Taking a break. I will be back with more tales of grasshoppers and compost heaps and scrabble games soon.