Nerdlets: Crossword Puzzles

Though frustrating, crosswords are an outlet of calm for me. And a connection to my grandpa. Check out this week's episode to hear more of my short history with these puzzles!

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Transcript

Joy Bork: 0:02

Welcome to here we are. The podcast where we talk about all the beautiful flavors of nerd possible in a bite-sized way. I'm your curator for the day, Joy Bork. Season four is over. It's still crazy to me that I'm on season four. But yet, I decided to make a season eight episodes long and they come out once a week. So I guess it makes sense that we're here? Because also this month is Here We Are's one year birthday. Wow! So to celebrate the end of season four, this momentous occasion, and hitting 7,000 downloads. I'm going to grace you with another nerdlet flavor of my own: crossword puzzles. Ever since forever, I've known of crossword puzzles as something that my grandpa would daily find in the newspaper and wholly complete while answering nature's call in the bathroom, across from the laundry room near the garage door at their house. Side note, that's always been grandpa's bathroom in my head for some reason. Which this is probably the reason. Anyways. I didn't really think I was up to snuff enough in the smart to engage in this hallowed activity. But yet those lovely squares of black and white called to me. And once I actually slowed down in life enough to enjoy drinking coffee at the kitchen table in the morning like a real adult, picking up the crossword just felt right. Especially since that is such a huge memory that links me to my grandpa who has since passed away. A few years back, his memory started to slide. And as things go, it got worse and worse over time. Yet my last memory of him was him doing a crossword with me over my shoulder at the dining room table. He might not have remembered where I live, but he remembered the answers to those clues. That is magical. Crossword puzzles are one of the few things I've found that can help me calm down. I can do them while listening to a podcast, book, or to chatter around me. They awaken the creative part of my brain because the nerds who write crosswords are brilliant. Like BRILLIANT. FOR REALS! They have seriously dry humor and love poking us with puns much like their often referenced fencing epee. E-P-E-E for the record. So often a clue isn't what it seems on the outside. It's a creatively twisted facet of a concept that may or may not have been readily apparent. Until it's so apparent, I can't believe I didn't see it in the first place. Uh, example clue seven down a puzzle, 62 of the New York Times Tuesday crossword complication book that I got off of Amazon. The clue is"basic building block." Hm. Building block. I obviously want to say LEGO that fits since there are four spaces to be filled, but that's way too obvious. Seven down intersects with the second letter of six across, which is"enter unannounced with the word'in'" before it. Could L fit there? Huh. But the second letter of seven down, our basic building block, intersects with 15 across. And that clue is"Lucy's friend on I Love Lucy." Oh my goodness. Yes. I've got an in! That has to be Ethel, which means the second letter of our basic building block is a T. LEGO doesn't have a T, so that's out. Like this is what solving crossword puzzles is all about. Putting small bits of information together in disjointed ways until the final picture appears. Which in the case of our basic building block is an atom. I'm rolling my eyes. Are you? Crosswords became a chosen activity. When I lived with my friend, Katie. We would sit at the kitchen island, pull out the New York Times Monday puzzle book, which is the easiest one, get our different colored pens, because writing in colored pen is fun, and we would go to town. We made it through 50 puzzles this way and graduated ourselves to the Tuesday book. We also even accidentally bought each other the same crossword book and gave it to the other person as a gift. This is a whole new level. When I moved back in with family during COVID, Katie and I did puzzles via text and sending pictures back and forth. We are this dedicated. And it's a beautiful thing. And because of this, we've shared texts back and forth with things like,"Hey, crossword learning of the day: kenken is a style of logic puzzle made by a math teacher in Japan. To which Katie replied to me,"obviously!" Or the time I sent this to her:"I learned today from a crossword that they have found Opal on Mars." Like, how else would I have learned that, but for crosswords and friendship? Never. The answer is obviously never. So back up to my grandpa and adulting. As his memory faded more and more, and as I realized I really enjoy my coffee at the kitchen table in the mornings, it only made sense to pick up the Chicago Tribune crossword puzzle on the days we get the newspaper. It felt like not only a way to stretch my mind and creativity, but more importantly, a way to remember and honor my grandpa. He loved words. He even wrote his own memoirs and self-published it. He applauded our growing vocabularies and we were young. And as a fighter pilot would, he kept things to the point. No excess communication. Which is another reason I could see for why he loved crosswords. There's no excess. It is what it says it is, except when they're trying to be punny and/ or add complication on top of quizzing your knowledge on what an ancient fancy pot is. It's an ewer for your future reference. My grandpa is the 49 across from the Tuesday puzzle 61. With the clue being"High Muck-A-Muck" and the answer being"Grand Poobah." He is the Grand Poobah of cross wording in my head. He will always hold that spot of honor. And I love being able to carry on his legacy. Though I don't do them in the bathroom. On paper at least. So the moral of today's story: try crosswords. They're a rewarding kind of hard. It's a practice that takes time to build the vocabulary around. And since I can only speak for myself, crosswords are a source of calming my inner anxiety and stretching the limits of what I think could or should be the answer. Because there's always more than one way to look at a problem. Until next time, don't forget that curiosity wins and the world needs more nerds. Bye