jml297

Ernie was earnest by nature. He had always been this way, and suspected that it would have been the same if he’d been given a different name. It was more apparent to some people than others. Some of his family called him ‘Earnestly Ernest’ when he became a bit intense about things.

As a statistician, Ernie felt most at home with numbers. He loved their logic and precision, and the way that trends and truths could be discerned from detailed analysis. Ernie’s area of expertise was agricultural statistics, which was another source of mirth for his family. No-one had seen Ernie in anything less than meticulous urbane attire, and he wasn’t known for venturing beyond the concrete and bitumen limits of the city. He didn’t garden, let alone farm, but he maintained that you didn’t need to get your hands dirty to be able to understand, predict and plan better agricultural outcomes.

Despite the teasing that he seemed to attract at family gatherings, Ernie enjoyed the opportunity to play Scrabble with his Uncle Bob. Bob would catch his eye and ask if he was up for a game, and Ernie always obliged. There was something about the set-up of the game that created a pleasant sense of anticipation. The rattle of the tiles in the bag, the laying out of the board and the tile racks, and the way Bob pushed the scorepad and pencil across to him. ‘You’re the numbers man,’ he always said with a smile.

Over the years, Ernie learned a lot from Bob. The range of two-letter words that Bob used, from ai to za, helped him to understand how to maximise points. Then there were the q without u words, including qabala, tranq and qindarka. There’d been some heated discussions about some of the more unusual words, but Bob was usually right. There were times, though, when Bob was bluffing. He’d come up with words which sounded like they might exist, but were really just Bob being creative.

Some of Ernie’s happiest times were spent in this verbal tussle with Bob. He even began to be a bit imaginative himself with some words, and loved it when Bob roared with laughter at some of the definitions that he came up with. These were the times when Ernie’s typically serious spirit felt light at heart.

I’m participating in this blogging challenge for the month of January, which supports starting the year on the “write” track. You can find other posts with #bloganuary and join in the challenge.

Photo: Scrabble board

Daily writing prompt

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

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