Whether I’m perusing any one of the magazines or newspapers that make their way regularly into our home, immersing myself into a novel or taking turns with my daughter reading chapters of a Nancy Drew adventure before retiring for the night, I’m usually caught up in the images, messages and nuances the writer is trying to convey.

And if all this isn’t enough to prove it, I also spend a good chunk of time poring over crossword puzzles, word finds and anagrams. My favourite joke emails are the ones that contain some ridiculous pun (I chuckled for days over “a super-calloused, fragile mystic hexed with halitosis.”)

In addition to words, I also like to play games: any type of cards, Taboo, Yahtzee -you name it. For six months after Trivial Pursuit came into our home, my mom and I could be found huddled over the Genus edition every night, frantically answering questions to earn those little, triangular pie pieces. Every night.

So, taking all this background into consideration, one would think that I’d be a super-crazy-fantastic Scrabble player. Or at least good at it. I’m not.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the game immensely. But for some reason, although I usually come up with unique words to use up my tiles, the other side of my brain just doesn’t seem to kick in. Thus, my scores are generally, um, low. Well, lower than the other guy’s.

Still, I was pretty pumped last week when I got an email from Lisbie Rae who, when she’s not masterminding a dramatic production for Village Theatre, can be found hanging out with a great group called Grandmothers of Steel. Anyway, Lisbie thought I, along with my fellow wordsmiths here at the Review, Catherine and Dianne, would be up for a special event to raise funds for children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

The Good Words for Africa Scrabble Benefit takes place at Memorial Hall in Waterdown on Saturday, October 4 from 2-5 p. m. The entry fee is $5 per person (and the loan of a Scrabble game, if you have one). Each player collects pledges to raise as much money as they can for the Stephen Lewis Foundation before they sit down to play. Organizers promise that, in addition to the four players at each table, there will be a “rover” to help out with the correct spelling, and there will be cheat sheets available. Sounds like my kind of Scrabble.

The Grandmothers of Steel want to get the word out to the community about this unique event. Those who want to register can call Lisbie at 905-659-7213 or Jenny at 905-524-5437 or email lisbie@xplornet.com to get their pledge sheets. And if you can’t attend, think about making a pledge to someone who can.

Because, to me, making words for a good cause spells F-U-N.