Internet Report, posted in listserver Cruciverb-L

By KELLY CLARK, 3/31/97

Thanks to Ken for a wonderfully concise wrap-up o' Stamford. It really helped me sort out the happy blurs the week-end offered and I certainly second his stand.

I felt right at home when Marilynn (Asobi) gave me my blue dot! Shortly after, Jon removed my red and blue dotted nametag (who IS this guy, I'd wondered) and saying, "this isn't quite official yet" he added, after my name, the funny-looking symbol <-------- ; ) And when Mel ended his opening talk with "It's a buyer's market" I burst out laughing.

Don't be fooled by the, uh, standings ... the competition was great fun and extremely eye-opening. The intensity was a marvel to see ... Derek's rank, btw, would have been far higher had I not kept accidentally knocking over the "Cheat-O-Stop" on his puzzles. I'm sorry, Derek! I enjoyed watching the various contestants ... some were very calm and purposeful ... others were more tense and concentrated ... still others sweated some. In the early few minutes I heard a loud cluster o' "hssssssssssssssttttttttssssssss" behind me. When I turned round I saw two or three people waving and pointing to the door. After, I learned that there was some sort o' noise that was distracting. During the next puzzle I strained to hear it ... it sounded like ice cubes tinkling in a glass or maybe a wind chime ... so very faint I couldn't quite make it out.

Speaking o' "making it out": why is it called "Scrabble-Up?" After I mastered the placing o' the two stickers on the top and the art o' rolling down the marble I got up to leave and ended up not returning so there must've been some reason for the name. Matt liked it, I guess, so it must be fun. Matt's reaching the finals was a blast! I found out that he'd attended his first few tournaments with his folks and was excited to be "on his own" .

Manny, Merl and Doug spent a lot of time with me after the Scrabble-Up experiment, helping me refine the 10th version o' my virgin puzzle. Actually the consensus was to redo it again but after drinking a screwdriver I thought it was a terrific idea and am about to ask for an opinion on Version #11.

Interesting points to note:

• the ages were all over the place
• I met a fast-solving lady who is also a ventriloquist
• my spelling sucks
• Asobi has a camera the size of a pack o' gum that takes digital pictures
• I got much better directions from a wonderful couple who live a few miles away from me
• Manny knows LOTS o' people and helped me meet many new friends
• I discovered how to cheer enthusiastically at the playoffs without making a sound
• and I feel called upon once again to apologize for the hapless fellow whose arm I unwittingly pinched harder and harder which was my way for cheering Ellen-the-bridesmaid on. (I hope he has recovered, since he was so very gracious about everything.)

Thanks, all, for your kindness and sharing.