Playing with Words

I used to do a lot of word puzzles. I would buy one of those books that had all different kinds of brain teasers, choose the ones I liked to do, and skip the rest.

My mom was a big fan of the Jumble in the newspaper. We'd compete to see who could get the answers first. 

My grandmother liked doing the ones where you find and circle the words. I was never a big fan, although I am willing to revisit.

Mr. Ginley is a big fan of crosswords, a passion ignited by his older brother, Michael. But these days, Mr. Ginley will only do the Los Angles Times' puzzles that appear in the newspaper later in the week. Monday through Wednesday, he says, are too easy. Also, he's been going back and printing out Plain Dealer puzzles from earlier eras (thank you, Cleveland Public Library and their reference database). He began with the 1940s and is now working on the 1970s, choosing randomly. Sometimes the frame of reference is tricky, as one might imagine. He sometimes calls on me when he's done all he can do, to see if I know any of the answers. Occasionally, I do. 

I'm thinking maybe I should start doing crosswords again, particularly since I've not had much writing work, and I need to keep my brain in shape. My one gripe with them is they often contain clues that are foreign words or obscure references for things of which I have no knowledge. For me, I like the challenge to be a memory jog, not me having to resort to checking random words in a crossword dictionary to find the one that fits.

Also on my list of revisits are logic puzzles. I got pretty good at those, and they, too, are good exercise for the mind.

Some will say I should pursue my puzzles online, and there's something to be said, I suppose, for the instant gratification of knowing the answer is correct. On the other hand, it seems like cheating, somehow.

I'll probably do the "boomer" thing and pull out the old paper and pencil.

And yes, I'll be keeping the eraser handy, too.