Cooking in the West

This year for the first time in 41 years, I will not be a participant in inducing trauma in children. Since I have retired as an educator, I will not be involved in the spelling bee. All across the country, kids are being traumatized not by cyber bullying or the Pythagorean theorem, but for another reason--they are good spellers. Yes, in preparation for the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in June, almost every county in every state is hosting a chamber of horrors for their best and brightest.

Most adults have a tale of woe to tell about their own spelling bee experiences. My most viv...