A word that describes anything shaped like a bunch of grapes was key to winning this year's national senior spelling bee Saturday.That word was "botryoidal," and Larry Grossman, 56, of Northwood, N.D., got it right.
Grossman is a teacher and six-time winner of the North Dakota state spelling bee. For winning the 13th annual AARP The Magazine's National Spelling Bee, he gets to take home $500 plus bragging rights.
"This is a great feeling. `Great' doesn't seem like a very adequate word but that's all I can think of on short notice," he said.
In winning the contest for people 50 and over, Grossman didn't get the big bucks or the national television coverage that children get for winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee. On the other hand, the kids don't get to misspell two words.
