Cheating

My love of words has been with me a long time. I am dorky enough that reading the dictionary would be very fun for me. I loved spelling tests in school. As you know, Big Daddy and I love the crossword. He's probably smarter but I'm a better speller so that keeps us even.

In 6th grade, I sat beside a girl who could not spell. Every Friday, we had a spelling test. I started sliding my paper closer to her so she could see the answers. (I was trying to help!) I got caught and my report card for that period showed an "F" in spelling plus the teacher wrote "Cheating!" across the card. I was totally humiliated. Here I am, about 11 or 12-years old, an excellent speller and I am being punished. I had never received an "F" and I was taught to help people. This bugs me still.

We all cheat. Some people cheat on their taxes. Some people cheat on their spouses. The oldies have regularly cheated death -- heart problems, cancer, falls, etc. I take great pleasure in their better health.

For the oldies, it's doctor's appointments and then it's eat, sleep, repeat. This is no way to live. I have given up suggesting museums, plays, parks ... there is no interest. The oldies are cheating themselves out of life.