Headed back to D.C.!

(Originally posted May 22, 2011.)

Fourteen years ago, I said an abrupt farewell to the National Spelling Bee. My time as a staffer was tragically cut short by the death of my aunt and uncle in a plane accident, and so I left early to fly across the country for a funeral. But I did take the time to watch the bee on TV, and I witnessed my then-favorite, Rebecca Sealfon, take the trophy with what has to be the most fervent spelling of a final word ever. Yes, she was, uh, more than a little neurotic, and she kept the bee staff on their/our game, but having met her in 1996, I got a good sense of her intellect, and I predicted that she'd be back in full force the next year and a great candidate to win.

Last year, I watched the semifinals live, just to see if anyone stood out. Although she didn't get a particularly hard first semifinal word (osteomyelitis), and breezed through on it, I singled out Anamika Veeramani as the one to watch. And indeed, she won it all and maintained an admirable sense of composure and calm in a bee that had a hell of a lot of drama - more than just about any other bee I've ever witnessed.

But those are the only claims to me successfully picking who would win. So far, at least.

So here's some good news: I'm headed to Washington to see the national bee in person for the first time in 15 years! There was no real reason, other than I had felt it was time to go back, just for the fun of it. It's bound to be a blast. It'll be great to reconnect with friends from all those years ago who happen to work on the staff. There'll be the requisite "all champions" photo op, which will be fun. I'll be spending time with family just outside of D.C. And a few friends from Baltimore will also be around. But otherwise, it's gonna be me more or less on my own.

Since I'll be watching live, I'll definitely have to keep my poker face - something I'm not particularly skilled at. Part of the fun of the bee is spelling along with the kids, turning to your significant other/friend/invisible friend in astonishment or disgust at how hard/easy this word is, and expressing the emotions that you KNOW everyone in the auditorium is feeling, but can't express.

Yep, fun! Can't wait to head to D.C. again.