MMMSSC

Wow….Arsud’s best written email about late beloved saint-on-earth Maliha’s holily awesome legacy of a “friendly scrabble game” drove to the point Maliha’s being My Fair Lady indeed, in thought, word and deed.

Eternally grateful for her ‘adopting me as a sister’ during the five ‘learning’ years that i stayed in a guestroom of her immaculately elegant home, I find solace in my late beloved saint-on-earth-too spouse John meeting her again up there and remembering that the labor-of-love [now relic] Scrabble board that she made and gave me when we first played scrabble in Tustin was the ‘lucky-charm-of-a-board’ that lbJohn and I played Scrabble on whence lbJ and i first met one memorably blessed day, months before lbJ and i tied the knot on Saint Catherine of Sienna’s feastday! Deo gratias.
On Maliha’s sharing and caring love, she told me about Createspace that was the channel that made me finish what lbJohn didn’t…publication of his writings in LAST STRAWS book that even has a kindle version this year on Amazon/KDP. Thank you Maliha.

First MMMSSC players

Special thanks to Yuki and Evelyn for taking the initiative, and doing the hard work of organizing. And thanks to all the friends who sent positive comments.

Regards,

Arshud Mahmood

On Nov 22, 2019, at 10:11 PM, Yukiko Loritz wrote:

Arshud,
Thank you for sharing this email with all of us. That was so touching. You are going to make me cry. 🙂

I think her spirit was with us yesterday, and I hope we made her happy. I agreed to do this with Evelyn so that Maliha can keep on smiling, knowing that she started this wonderful club of family.

I am so glad you were able to stop by and take some of the buttons. You and your family are always welcome. Yuki



First MMMSSC players

Dear Friends:

It was such a touching and heartwarming moment for me to see so many of Maliha’s super scrabble friends yesterday – of course she would take issue with that, “family”, not mere friends, she would correct me. Thanks for keeping her memory alive, and thanks for the picture buttons – I have told my kids that we have all been made honorary members of her memorial club.

I remember the time two decades ago when she discovered club scrabble – Gary Moss knows her history well. She used to cry because she could not win, but also complain that the club meetings were so impersonal.

“I will have a club where we will all be friends,” she declared one day.
“Impossible”, I told her. Playing scrabble is a competition, and you cannot be friends with your opponents. Also, most of the players are of a mature age, and people don’t make new friends at that stage of their lives. I can imagine her saying, like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, “You just wait, Henry Higgins, you just wait.” And boy, did she prove me wrong.

I remember the early meetings of the super scrabble club, and the skeptical faces, wondering, “What is her angle? What is she after? When is she going to present us with a bill?” I could have told you the first day – I have been waiting for 50 years. She has no angle, she has no ulterior motive.

Forgive me for boasting about her. Like Eliza, she came from very humble circumstances, but she behaved like a lady, in fact, better than many so-called “Ladies”. Good manners does not merely mean knowing which fork to use, but being sensitive to other people’s feelings. If she ever behaved rudely to anyone, I have yet to meet that person.

Regards

Arshud Mahmood

First MMMSSC players

Hello super scrabble enthusiasts, The following 17 players are good to go for the inaugural MMMSSC games: (Don’t worry if we’re uneven, Yuki and I will take care of it.) Bob A, Gretchen C, Evelyn D, Joel E, Janet G, Lynn G, May J, Renee K, Yuki L, Gary M, Don P, David P, Najat R, Joanie S, Alan S, Tom T, Fern T Score sheets as well as a tally sheet will be provided. In order to give more players a chance to win a prize, we are imposing the OPPPPD rule (One Prize Per Person Per Day). A player can receive a prize only once for the category words in each club meeting. Exception to this rule however applies to the long words with 12-13 letters and 14+ letters. Everyone is given the opportunity to win a prize for these words. Good games to all in honor of Maliha’s memory!

Yours Superscrabbly, Evelyn

Super Scrabble Club

Hello super scrabble enthusiasts, Yuki and I are pleased to announce the resumption of the Super Scrabble Club promoted by our dear friend Maliha Mahmood. The club will be known as Maliha Mendoza Mahmood Super Scrabble Club, or MMMSSC for short. Where: Original Mike’s Restaurant 100 S. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92701 When: Every third Thursday of the month 1pm to 8pm (dinner from 5pm to 6pm) We all know that running the club will not be the same as when Maliha did it. Her generosity and dedication are unparalleled! Hence, we would like to point out the following: First – Each player must buy dinner at the MMMSSC venue. You may check out the menu at Original Mike’s menu – Santa Ana CA 92701 – (714) 550-7764 Original Mike’s menu – Santa Ana CA 92701 – (714) 550-7764 Restaurant menu, map for Original Mike’s located in 92701, Santa Ana CA, 100 South Main Street. Second – There will be a $2 contribution to be collected from every player at club meetings. The collection will start in January 2020, which means that playing this month and next month will be free. Third – A prize will be awarded for each category word played every month and for the year-to-date average number of bingo words at the end of the year. These words must be officially acceptable to be counted towards a prize. Categories will be made known beforehand, but no examples will be given. The categories for this month will be a surprise, though. And please take note that the prizes will be nowhere near to what our benevolent Maliha had been giving out. Fourth – We have 10 super scrabble sets at our disposal. No one will be a permanent owner of a set as the sets will be rotated among all players accordingly. Two sets, however, will stay with and be taken care of by Yuki and me. The other 8 sets will be assigned to the first “caretakers”, namely, Gretchen Cowan, Lynn Gunn, Bill Lapinski, Amnon Meyers, Gary Moss, Najat Reikes, Renee Kahn and Don Platt. Fifth – Announcements for the next club meeting will be emailed every second Thursday of the month. Your intention to attend such meeting must be received by us no later than the following Sunday to allow us time to notify you if you are among the first 20 players to sign up. If for some reason you change your mind about attending, please let us know within 3 days so we can accommodate other players to take your spot. Sixth – A randomization formula will be used to determine each player’s opponent for the first game. For the second and third games, pairings will be determined by the King-of-the-Hill procedure. Seventh – In every game, players will draw who goes first. Last but not least – Would you like to have a slice or two of chocolate cake to go with your dinner every month, whenever possible? Then do tell us your birth month/day so we can celebrate your birthday with some singing … and with some rich calories! We will even waive your contribution for the month!

Yuki and I look forward to seeing you at our inaugural MMMSSC meeting next Thursday, 11/21/19. Yours superscrabbly, Evelyn

P.S.
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