KONG! \'kong\ n fr : the deep resonant sound esp. of a bell

We had a wonderful whirl-wind weekend in Southern Ontario this past weekend. Our first stop was in "The Hamptons". Okay, not the Hamptons that Sinatra hung out in… But "South Hampton". A lovely little beach community on the shores of Lake Huron.

The Sis-in-Law and family was there with their good friends, the Teals. We shamefully finagled an invitation from them to join them for a day or so every time they rent the cottage. It was a lot of fun. Look for a new game to hit the shelves soon called "Gocce". Like Bocce Ball but with a twist. Jeff Teal and I won a gocce championship, coming from behind to beat Steve Lloyd and a handful of random children. (Although Mitchell Teal, eight-ish years old, won the MVP.)

We spent time swimming out to the big rocks in Lake Huron, rocks that have been given names such as "Potato" or "Anvil". I had the pleasure of naming one myself, just past Anvil rock. I named it "Ankle" rock, not because it looked like an ankle, but because I bashed my ankle into it. You could hear "kongggg!" echoing through the water.

The evening's entertainment turned to a vicious Scrabble game that lasted into the wee hours. It was "full-contact" Scrabble. My rock-bitten ankle was no match for what was to occur. The Bride had several children on her team and was about to take the lead on a triple-word score when the word "Kong" was vetoed by Steve and Mary Teal. There were many protests, including "Listen to the sound made when I smack your head!" But in the end it was stricken from the board. (And actually isn't in my dictionary.)

I was later appalled when my word "IYII", also on a triple word score, was disallowed. Iyii, of course, is a popular expression, like oy-vay. (Well, there were some drinks flowing, and at the end of the game you're always left with a boat-load of extra vowels.) There's more to tell, but that'll be in a different posting!

Stay tuned for Part Two of the weekend story…