A real champion

I write now to extend congratulations to Evan O'Dorney, the winner of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I watched some of the final rounds of the bee, and they were very intense. Evan and his competitors can spell words that I can't even pronounce.

I have great appreciation for their talents as a third-place winner in the 1990 Kanawha County Spelling Bee. I flubbed up the spelling of "wraith" and did even worse the following year when I misspelled "yachtsman." And, no, I've never gotten them wrong since. Not that those words come up in casual conversation. Still, I'm ready if they do.