Hardscrabble Spotlight

SCRABBLE is a Family Affaire

by Ember Nelson

Yes, that's right, affair also takes an E. My best friend, Cynthia Pughsley, taught me that over ten years ago. It is something that only a SCRABBLE player would care about, and something we all have in common is that we care. But what has that got to do with family?

Well, Cynthia is my family. She and many other players in this SCRABBLEhood have become family to me, and I know that for many others this game has brought more than just great camaraderie. Many of us have friends in SCRABBLEdom who are as near and dear to our hearts as our families. We share in their joys as we would if they were our flesh and blood.

But it is also literally, as well as figuratively, that I make this statement. My oldest daughter, Ember Bennett, once called me long distance to let me know that she’d played MERENGUE. I was as shocked as I was proud that she’d actually played SCRABBLE, and that she’d played a bingo.

But there are families in our subculture that have surpassed this point by far. Take the Saldanha family of British Columbia, Canada. Dielle Saldanha, not long out of the junior ranks, won the recent Oregon Tile Tournament and reached a new peak rating of 1852, making her presently 40th in the competitive world of SCRABBLE—and the 5th highest rated player in Canada. Her brother Dean, rated 1784, was close behind her at the tournament, finishing 6th. Their younger sister, Dion, is also playing winning SCRABBLE; she was last year’s Division 2 winner at Oregon Tile. The Saldanha parents, Miriam and Norbert (also rated players), evidently have been doing something very right!

Andy Marshall with his mother, Norma Marshall, at the Myrtle Beach SCRABBLE Tournament.

This edition of "Hardscrabble Spotlight" features a new SCRABBLE family in tournament play, the Marshalls, and a family that spans three generations of SCRABBLE players, the Peltiers.

As a long-time "online ambassador" for SCRABBLE, I have brought many players into the tournament world from several online SCRABBLE sites, one of which was "The Zone." I met Norma Marshall on The Zone under the handle "njdrood," and it was my pleasure to bring her to her first Scrabble tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2007. This past May, Norma brought her first progeny into our fold in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Her son, Andy Marshall, (Commander Andrew Scott Marshall, USN), with orders to report to Afghanistan, wanted to spend some quality time with his mother before he left. So they agreed to meet and play at the Myrtle Beach Tournament March 27-28. Although Andy had not studied any word lists before, he has resolved to start studying them now!

Norma won the Early Bird and went 8/6 in the main event. Andy finished third in the Early Bird and ended the main event with a 6/8 record. But the story at Myrtle Beach wasn’t about their records.

The tournament reminded Andy of how much he had loved to play SCRABBLE with his grandmother as a child. Although his grandmother passed away some years back, Andy felt as though SCRABBLE had created a bridge spanning from his grandmother to his mother to himself, bringing them together in a very special way. Andy says when he plays SCRABBLE with his mother it feels as though they are playing in tribute to the woman who introduced them to the game. As they play, they remember the love of their matriarch and can almost feel her presence.

The Peltiers: Adele, Nigel, and Mark.

Another great Scrabble matriarch is Adele Peltier of Williamsville, New York. A Buffalo Club (#456) member for many years, she always has her finger on the pulse of our club. She holds many sessions at her home and is invariably quick with a witty remark or the joke of the day. Adele has six children, all of whom play SCRABBLE. Her daughter, Aimee Talbot, plays tournament SCRABBLE, as does her son, Mark, who despite his strong 1431 rating is better known among SCRABBLE players as the proud father of Nigel Peltier (or as I like to call him, the "other" Nigel). Nigel’s exploits in the SCRABBLE world are quite impressive. He is one of the top players in the country, with his present rating of 1884 making him the 25th highest ranked tournament player. But his SCRABBLE prowess is second only to his grace and modesty. He is one of those unassuming individuals who never boast, and he is always smiling and kind. His grandmother, however, does not shy away from talking about her illustrious grandson, much to the delight of her friends and fellow players.

Adele is improving rapidly in her own game, and one has to wonder if maybe she is inheriting her skill from her grandson! Whatever the case, they are all a joy.

Whether related through blood or not, SCRABBLE players share a commonality. We are all bound together by the strength of our words and our deeds. The strong SCRABBLE community is truly like a second family.

Hardscrabble Spotlight Word: SAVINES = VINASSE

Ember Nelson has been playing tournament SCRABBLE for ten years and is the author of
The Race Towards the Light: Hardscrabble, available on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/.