For 27 years, the Morongo Basin Coalition for Adult Literacy has held a spelling bee for adults to raise funds for its programs, which include tutoring adults and scholarships. When the MBCAL announced last year that it needed help in putting on the event, the Kiwanis Club of Twentynine Palms stepped up to keep the tradition going. Managing editor Tami Roleff’s spelling team, the Word Muses, came in third place out of 12 teams in Saturday’s event, after an unfortunate slip-up in reciting the word oscilloscope…
The Word Muses, comprised of myself, Cathy Snodgrass, and Laura James, was among the last three teams in Saturday’s 28th annual spell-a-thon to benefit the Morongo Basin Coalition for Adult Literacy, held at the Helen Gray Center. And when a letter in the word oscilloscope was inadvertently skipped during the spelling, it was down to the final two: The Blue Tide, (Rebecca Unger, Francis Moss, and Deborah Dunaway) and the Letterhead Shrikes (Joe Zarki, Marilyn Lutz, and Tasha LaDoux). The final round went quickly, with Blue Tide spelling maleficence, Letterhead Shrikes missing pseudonymous, which Blue Tide spelled correctly, and who then spelled assiduity for the win. The Word Muses did get first place, though, in the amount of pledges brought in: $1320. Next year, look for a change in our team name; we’re considering the Potty Mouths or maybe Expletives Deleted.
