words as encounter•enchanter

I got off the 22 at Fillmore and Union, thinking to walk down to the SFPL branch library in the Marina and do some work on IM there. On the ride up from Japantown, I'd sat in the front, where the seats are reserved for the elderly, pregnant women or those with infants, or simply the weary. To my left was an elder citizen with his iPhone open to the NY Times word game "Spelling Bee," which Abigail and her daughters got me hooked on some years ago when they were vacationing on Maui. I got really good at it, but hadn't played it regularly for a year or two now. The gentleman was pretty good, too, I saw; then I leaned over and said, "...have you gotten CLOTHE?" He smiled, clicked on the finished list and saw it there. After a sec I then volunteered, "...oh: CHALLAH, as in the bread." That one he didn't have, and he smiled as he added it to his list. He tilted the phone's face towards me, sharing the puzzle-making. "CHELATE..." I said, "...it's a term in chemistry, I think." He tried it,…