Words at rest and at play

I have been playing Scrabble® on the web with another illustrator, Mark Monlux, and having a grand time. He lives on the west coast, I on the east, but we got to know each other through serving on the Board of the Graphic Artists Guild for many, many, many years. We used to play Scrabble® during down times at the annual Board conventions. He is as positive and energetic as I tend to be a bit sour and withdrawn (hmmmm, maybe I still am a sullen teen in a middle-aged body...)so he is always like a breath of fresh Northwestern Ocean air. He is also the author of the Comic Critic, a very funny illustrated movie guide, and a fan of those torrid paperback covers from the 40's & 50's.
Our games are slow- no timers here. Usually a week or two for a game but who's counting? Ever since I came out The Word Project, no one here wants to play with me. I am at pains to remind them that words like many in the WP probably aren't in the Scrabble dictionary in the first place and much of the success in any game depends upon the luck of the draw of tiles. But that does not convince them, more's the pity.
So, hail to thee, blithe spirit, for flinging those virtual tiles back and forth across the ether with me.