One woman's view
Contributing writer
For a columnist, every new experience, whether victory or defeat, provides food for thought and grist for the writer's mill. My most recent foray into the unknown was the senior citizen spelling bee Oct. 11.
I forget who it was who said everyone needs to have 15 minutes of fame in a lifetime. I guess this was mine. In the course of winning the bee and the ensuing publicity, I discovered or rediscovered a few things about myself.
For one thing, I realized I am much more competitive than I like to think I am. I usually dislike people who are determined to prevail over their opponents at all costs. I would say emphatically that I am not like that. I just entered the spelling bee for fun to see how well I could do. I didn't need to win. That attitude lasted through the written test and the first part of the oral contest. If I had been eliminated in the first few rounds, I believe I could have shrugged it off. However, as the field narrowed to about five and then four, three, and two, I began to taste victory, and (believe me!) I wanted it. Are we all like that? And is it a good thing or a bad thing?
On the whole, I think that competitive edge is a bad thing only in a situation which involves injuring others to come out on top. I hope I would not do that. I had a lot of respect for the second and third place finishers. I freely admit if I had needed to spell the word Lawrence Wetter, who placed third, missed, he and I would have changed places. Delphine Holston, second place, was a warm, cordial woman I would like to know better. Incidentally, she was related to the Beltons at Tampa.
That brings up another observation about new experiences. If we are open to other people, we can make new friends everywhere we go. I find that exhilarating. When I go to Cheyenne next summer for the national bee, I will get to know elderly spellers from all over the United States. That is worth the trip, even if I spell down on the first word.
One of the greatest things about this whole experience has been the congratulations and encouragement I have received from friends. To begin with, Dee Duggan got me the entry form and urged me to participate. Kim Frantz showed up at the bee with a big posterboard sign saying, "GO JANE." After I won, my heart was warmed by congratulations in person, phone calls, and letters. I may have expected some of this from my neighbors around Tampa, but it went far beyond that. The winner of the spelling bee at last year's senior fair wrote me. I had a letter from Margaret Niederhaus, a woman in Hutchinson who taught at Durham many years ago. I am not sure she has ever met me, but she said she reads the Tampa news. Several high school friends wrote to congratulate me and wish me luck at the national bee. Perhaps the biggest thrill was an envelope full of handmade cards from all the Centre sixth grade students.
Although I knew I had been a good speller in my school days, I did not know how much of that ability I still had. When I first thought of competing in this event, I had qualms. What if I "made a fool of myself?" I guess that is always a big concern with me. Again the question rises. Are we all like that? Perhaps the most valuable lesson from the whole experience is this: when you want to do something new which is a little out of your comfort zone, go for it. It may pay dividends beyond all expectations. Remember that we are all like turtles. We are never going to get anywhere unless we stick our necks out.
