(Scene: Mamie and Solly are out to breakfast. They’re now chatting, drinking coffee, perusing the newspaper, and an idea crystalizes in Mamie’s brain.)
Mamie: …I’ve been thinking…
Solly (neck swiveling away from his newspaper): …Am I ready?
M (putting her section down): For good conversation?
S: Lay it on me.
M: I had a brain wave.
S: …Maybe I’m not ready.
M: You know the Games Girls.
S (sighing): …The Games Girls?
M (happily): Nella, Della, and Bella.
S: …Under your friendship umbr-ella?
M: Decades, with two of them.
S (smiling): Nella and Della.
M: And I’ve gotten to know Bella. She’s just stell-la’.
S (groaning): …MAY’-mie…
M (moving along): Solly, they play those games.
S: …Conversational games-ellas?
M (sipping coffee): No. Newspaper games.
S (cradling his cup): …You mean from the New York Times Gameteria?
M: Gameteria? …Oh. Like a cafeteria word buffet. Yes. Wordle. Five- and six-letter versions.
S: Are there more?
M: Spelling Bee. Waffle. Strands. Connections.
S: Mamie, they’re connected?
M: Yes. All games, Solly. Nella, Della, and Bella play every day.
S: All of them?
M: Yes. And they added Nerdle.
S (frowning): Isn’t Nerdle a math game?
M: Yes. After Nerdle, they added Quordle. And Octordle: Four Quordles at once.
S: How do they have time?
M: Solly, they’re retired.
S: Mamie, we’re retired. We don’t play all those games.
M (palms raised): I don’t have time. I read books and science magazines.
S (taking her hand): …We talk.
M: I exercise like crazy.
S (letting go): Hours later, you come home exhausted.
M: Exercise takes up significant time.
S: It’s like you’re compel-la’d.
M: And I can barely get dinner made, Solly. I’d like to try writing a novella, but I can’t find the time.
S: We need to clean up this house, Mamie. It’s a mess.
M (eyebrows flat): I know the Games Ga-zellas are brilliant at organizing, but it’s super-irritating that they have clean houses.
S (doubtfully): They sound brilliant if they’re beating down all those brain games daily.
M: …So, I had an epiphany.
S: Here we go. Now we’re getting to the crux of the matter-ella.
M: They’re smart women. And they have the time.
S: To do what?
M (triumphantly): Take on the national debt, Solly.
S (almost dropping his cup): …What?
M: The debt’s too high. Our country’s going bankrupt. Nobody reduces spending.
S: Mamie, how does this relate to Nerdlers and Wordlers?
M: Nella, Della, and Bella have the time to figure out the budget cuts. They’re the unused brain trust.
S: And there are other…“Game-uh-teer-ee-aks”…out there? To help?
M (putting her cup down): “Gameteriacs” all live under the radar. Like truffles. Underground. In plain sight. They can be found. For the team.
S (resignedly): …You are something, Mamie-ella.
M (brightly): Solly, I know talent, drive, and persistence when I see it. Nella, Della, and Bella may not have degrees from Ivy League schools, but they have persistence, capacity, and brains.
S (shaking head sideways): The national debt is hugely complex…
M: They’re puzzlers. The debt’s a puzzle.
S: Just a bigger puzzle?
M (smiling): …Savvy fel-la. And they can figure out how to solve the problem.
S (unbelievingly): …But, the national debt…???
M (reasonably): Nella, Della, and Bella solve puzzles. The debt burden must be reduced.
S: Why not you, Mamie?
M (spine straightening): …I…identify underutilized resources. That’s my gift to humanity, Solly.
S: Wouldn’t be popular with politicians.
M (nodding): …No…Looming austerity…
S: How would you sell-la the idea to the Games Ga-zellas?
M (reasonably): I would tell Nella, Della, and Bella that it’s a puzzle, turn them loose, and they’d be on the problem like wolverines on dinner.
S (plaintively): None of them are economists, Mamie. You’re like Icarus flying too close to the Sun.
M: Solly, are you dead to opportunity? Daed-alus at least gave Icarus a chance. You should, too. Nella, Della, and Bella are serious creatives.
S: And they play to win.… Look out, World-ella!
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