Announcer: “The word is: Welcome.”
Child from Holland, MI: “W-E-L-K-O-M, Welkom.”
Ding.

Last night, Anamika Veeramani won the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee. Ever since Spellbound moved into my top five favorite movies, the Bee and its participants have been one of the highlights of my yearly entertainment. This year the event was taken to the level of sport, with ESPN’s Erin Andrews calling the shots, including a frequent mis-pronounciation of the name of the winner. You’d think, for the Spelling Bee, you’d study up on correct pronunciation.

Nobody from Holland will ever win the National Spelling Bee. Children here have milk and koekjes when they read boeks. The K is everywhere. Need a K? Take a K. Have a K? Give a K. Want more? Make that an ‘aa.’ Want to add some oomph? Start your word with a ‘van’ or a ‘de.’

Want to study the dictionary for year and win 40K? Spell: stromuhr.