Jay Nordlinger, "Impromptus" @ National Review* Longtime and regular readers of this column may remember that I was absolutely besotted with Spellbound, the 2002 documentary about the spelling bee. In addition to being a near-perfect film, this was a hymn to America.
Just when you're down about this country -- its ability to absorb immigrants, its ability to assimilate, and even its ability to inspire joy -- you read about the spelling bee. I read this the other day (in this article):
One other returning finalist remained in the competition. Kavya Shivashankar, 12, of Olathe, Kan., stayed alive by spelling the agricultural term "Krummholz."
For comic relief, there was Easun Arunachalam, who has a habit of treating every word as if it were the strangest thing he's ever heard. The 11-year-old from La Crescenta, Calif., blurted "What?" when presented with the chemical compound "benzophenone." After asking the usual spate of questions -- definition, word origin, alternate pronunciations -- Easun spelled the word flawlessly.
Then there was Jahnavi Iyer, who pondered the medical term "solidungulate" until she finally asked, "Could I have an easier word, please?" . . . The 14-year-old from Enola, Pa., took a guess, nailed every letter, and trotted back to her seat with arms raised in celebration.
I love it, I love it.
* America is a country that has a girl named Kavya Shivashankar spelling "Krummholz." To say a third time: I love it.
* . . . A reader sent me the text of an ad for Harley-Davidson. It contains many a point that people like us -- Reagan conservatives -- would wish to make. I swear, Paul Johnson could have written it! Here goes:
We don't do fear. Over the last 105 years in the saddle, we've seen wars, conflicts, depression, recession, resistance, and revolutions. But every time, this country has come out stronger than before. We've watched a thousand hand-wringing pundits disappear in our rearview mirror. Chrome and asphalt put distance between you and whatever the world can throw at you. Freedom and wind outlast hard times. And the rumble of an engine drowns out all the spin on the evening news. If 105 years have proved one thing, it's that fear sucks, and it doesn't last long. So screw it. Let's ride.