Thursday, February 26, 2009

Super Spelling and Slumdog

I watched the Oscars on Sunday night, and was very pleased to see Slumdog Millionaire formally recognized for the brilliantly conceived and executed work that it is. There were many really good films this past year, but this one accomplished many things. It told a great love story, combined it with a rags-to-riches tale that would have made Horatio Alger and Charles Dickens proud, and displayed for the world both sides of the paradoxical culture and society that is India today.

One other thing I saw over this past weekend was also pretty exciting and maybe personally gratifying in a small way. Lindsay Gnesios of East Middle School won the Mesa County Spelling Bee, and will represent our area in the state bee in Denver next month.

I remembered Lindsay as a somewhat precocious and articulate fifth grader when her class participated in the Words program two years ago. She picked a good word, MONOCHROMATIC, and wrote a great sentence to back it up. I put Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" behind it, and it turned out rather well.

I'm happy that Lindsay has found joy and a gift in the printed and spoken word. Best wishes to her, and to all of the spellers headed to Denver.

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