Giving Day words bonanza

On this Giving Day words bonanza heads your way but only fighting words come to mind. Let me list the words, their meaning, and a story to weave in the words. No pictures, no emoticons, let the story paint the picture. A pleasant picture it may not be, but it is what it is.

Pugilist: a boxer, especially a professional one
Cocky: boldly or brashly self-confident
Plucky: having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties
Haymaker: a forceful blow
Crocky: impaired in one’s powers, physically frail
Sucky: very bad or unpleasant
Geriatric: relating to old people, especially with regard to their healthcare
Gibberish: unintelligible or meaningless speech or writing; nonsense
Constitution: the composition of something

Here’s the story

The two pugilists, fighting for the biggest prize in the sport, stumbled their way through the fight. Billed as the “Heavyweight Fight Of The Century” it was promoted as a battle between Cocky and Plucky. Cocky was supposed to be the ultimate counter puncher and Plucky the consummate technician, biding his time and waiting for an opening to get his punches in. Trash talk was in plenty and attempts to throw haymakers were many but all of them ended connecting thin air. By the time Round 1 was over, all those who had paid big bucks for a seat to see the fight in person, were wishing that the fight would be brought to an end immediately. The spectators were unanimous in thinking the fight should have been promoted as one between Crocky and Sucky. Hoping to watch left hook and right jab the spectators were instead left shook and paying for a tab that didn’t seem right. By the time Round 2 started, even the ringside judges, tired of all the trash talk and low blows, were thinking of DQing both the fighters, who were well past their prime and should have hung up gloves for good many monsoons ago. Those who were covering the fight realtime had scathing words to describe what was on display. So sluggish were the fighters the writers thought a geriatric ward was a better place than a boxing ring for the fighters. The inane chatter and gibberish that was supposed to be trash talk was compared to the level of 5-year old. Not surprisingly, elder folks and young children took offense to this description. Couple of 90-year-olds completed 100 push-ups without breaking a sweat and a few 5-year-olds recited the Iliad end to end perfectly even while playing video games on their preferred gaming system. Since we are talking about a blood sport it’s a good time to talk about the fighters’ own blood. Well, they were not at all interested in the sport and were more focused cashing in on their father’s name and (in)fame. The quality of the fight was so bad, it left the long departed original creators of the sport, revered as Founding Fathers of the sport, turning in their grave, sensing the grave danger to the sport. When they originally framed the rules of the sport they had emphasized the importance of sound constitution and mind for those taking part in the fight. The Founding Fathers were dead, right, but is it fair to expect them to be dead right forever?

Paradise Lost!

Playing Scrabble against a Grand Master rated computer opponent, after couple of consecutive wins I tried to make it a hat trick. At one point trailing 264-309 I found the perfect opportunity to take the lead when I hit the jackpot! Or, should I say I found paradise? 😊 With the word “paradise” I hit both the TWs (Triple Word score) at the right top. The result: I got 158 points (12 * 3 * 3 + 50) to zoom to 422 and take a handy 110+ point lead! Generally the computer blocks opportunities to score big by somehow finding words to place in squares with point multipliers. The reason I got an opportunity this time was because the computer struck the dagger first by playing “soulmate” and scoring a 50+ point word in its previous turn! We were both trading haymakers rest of the game. Things appeared to be going swimmingly for me as my score reached 487 with 5 pieces remaining for me to play and I had a 80+ lead till right before computer’s last turn (as it turned out). Astonishingly the computer not only managed to strike a dagger it managed to twist it for good. Using all the 7 pieces it had left it scored 83+ points to take the game 491-487. The win was also aided by the fact computer got credit for all the points in the 5 pieces I still had left to play. Another high scoring thriller turned into a heartbreaker. Such is a game and such is life! 😭 How did I feel afterwards? What I felt must have been akin to what Smokin’ Joe Frazier might have felt after his “Thrilla in Manila” battle with Muhammad Ali! Battered and bruised, fighting a bigger and more fancied opponent, an opponent with a bigger reach (in Scrabble terms more expansive dictionary) as Smokin’ Joe was getting ready to fight the last round his corner threw in the towel as both his eyes were shut with the blows taken earlier in the fight and he had been fighting practically blind the earlier rounds (He did not have vision in one eye in his fighting career, in this fight the other eye was swollen and shut with the blows taken). A practical move that ultimately might not have been needed! If Joe had been allowed to fight the last round he would have won the fight as Ali collapsed with exhaustion as he as he got up from his stool ready to fight the last round. Did not matter. Joe’s corner had already thrown in the towel. 😒
Yes, like Joe, I felt a bit robbed πŸ‘Žand it felt like “Paradise Lost!”. Would be poetic justice if I could the word “paradise” again in another game and win. That would make it my own version of “Paradise Regained!”. πŸ˜ƒ
Sorry, John Milton ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton ) , did not mean to appropriate your work in any way and you can rest assured the chance my version of “Paradise Regained!” working out is slim to none! 😊
Life lesson: Results may not always match effort, expectation or seem fair. Doesn’t matter if one is able to get up with determination to fight after being down. πŸ‘πŸ™