I have 11 nephews and a good relationship with (almost) all of them. Being the mother of girls, I hold these boys dear. They make me both yearn for the opportunity to raise a son, and praise the Lord that I don’t.
When you think about the woman in California who recently gave birth to octuplets, and that she’s adding this lot to the six she already had, 11 kids not under my roof isn’t remarkable. So, forgive me when I admit that I don’t remember which nephew teased me about doing the daily crossword puzzle.
“Why do you do those things?” he asked.
I sipped my coffee, set down the cup and looked at him over my reading glasses. “The crossword jump starts my brain in the morning.”
“I thought crosswords were only for OLD ladies.”
Okay, I suppose that was a complement. This was a few years ago, but I was relieved to know I didn’t qualify as “OLD” in his eyes.
The same response still holds about jump-starting my brain with the puzzle, but since I wouldn’t dream of putting sugar in my coffee, I’ve come to realize it’s also a form of sweet entertainment. Almost daily, there’s something in the puzzle that holds a coincidental relevance to our life. Some clues are profound, yet most are a little silly.
Today’s puzzle had TWO!
Clue #1: Camille, our sixth grader, had a poem due today. She’s been working on it throughout the week. Being close to Valentine’s Day, I believe the assignment had something to do with love. She chose to express her love to an Oreo. It’s a funny little poem, just like Camille is a funny little kid.
Other than to correct a spelling error, I had no input. She dunked that cookie all on her own. Her dad, however, suggested a title: Ode to the Oreo, which she used. Ode is a short, two-vowel gem of a word with which all crossword scribblers are quite familiar. Today it was the answer to 83 DOWN.
The next in line is William Howard Taft and this led to my three-letter answer, “WHT.” We recalled Taft because his predecessor’s first name, Theodore, began with a “T” and his last name, Roosevelt, ended with a “T.” (Aren’t we clever?)
That’s big. I wonder if they should have waited to name Mt. McKinley after the 27th President instead of the 25th.
