Friday, January 26, 2007

This has nothing to do with The Price Is Right...

...but since I don't maintain a general write-anything-I-want blog anymore, I'll just put it here, because I think it's kind of cool. Elissa won her middle school spelling bee this morning. She beat out 11 other contestants in front of an audience that included essentially the entire school plus parents/relatives of the spellers. Those who read the old "They Call Me Daddy" blog might remember that she finished third last year as a 6th-grader, which I thought was pretty good considering that half of the other contestants were older than she was (7th- and 8th-graders).

Anyway, this year the final two spellers were Elissa and this 5th-grade girl who was really good. I mean, she was scary good, to the point that it was almost shocking that she missed a word. The bookies in Vegas have already made her the favorite to unseat Elissa in next year's spelling bee...

The victory qualifies Elissa to compete in the tri-county spelling bee on Feb. 22. I have no idea where it's being held, but I do know that the winner of that competition will go on to the granddaddy of spelling bees -- the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C., which I think is held in March. Quite honestly, Elissa probably isn't of the caliber that you need to be to get past the tri-county level, but I told her that a good goal might be to survive two rounds there.

OK, that's enough parental bragging. Regarding the Price Is Right, the only thing left to note that might be of any interest is the fact that I'll be writing an article about my experience for The News-Herald. I imagine it will run in the paper the same day the episode airs (Friday, Feb. 16). They'll probably run a little brief the day before just letting people know that I'll be on.

As always, thanks for reading. And thanks especially for putting up with me trumpeting my daughter's achievement to the world...

3 comments:

  1. You have every right to talk about Elissa's accomplishment of winning the school spelling bee. You have to be proud. I know I was!! Yes, I got to see her win. Wahoo, you go girl! Win or lose, we love you.
    Mom R

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  2. Glad I checked out the blog this morning. I had a feeling there might be a mention of Elissa's accomplishment. And if there wasn't, you would have heard from me. I was there at the spelling bee yesterday but probably won't be at the regionals. My stomach couldn't take it. I haven't had that much acid spilling into my poor tummy since Jessica spoke at her graduation. When Elissa spelled "paradox" correctly, it was all I could do not to jump from my seat. I remember like it was yesterday that same feeling at Wickliffe High School when her father won the homecoming honor of being "king." One of his multitude of awards, honors, etc. throughout his years in Wickliffe schools.(I love this blog. The only place I can go on, and on, and on about my relative's accomplishments without seeming borish.)My dad was there that day and was very proud. Wish he could have been there yesterday for Elissa's victory.

    Can't wait for the Price Is Right party. I know Terry and Scott are still deciding how exactly they will celebrate the day. There are lots of people who want to share the experience with them.

    And a happy birthday wish to Master Jack Tennant who is one year old today. He is walking, still looking like Frankenstein with the arms out and the stiff legs, but walking nonetheless. Auntie will be at the party later where family and friends will gather to give thanks for a healthy and adorable baby. See you then!

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  3. Correction - It looks like Elissa has qualified for the Lake County spelling bee, the winner of which moves on to the tri-county competition in March. So I guess she's actually two steps from Washington, not one.

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