O P I N I O N
LEMENADE
By June Lemen
I have recently become addicted to the Games section of the New York Times.
I have always enjoyed crossword puzzles. I inherited this from my mother, and, although not biologically, from my BFF Annie Kolak’s mother. I spent a lot of time at the Kolaks, and one of the things I learned from Annie’s mother is that a mind is a terrible thing to let lay fallow.
Mrs. Kolak was a mother of three and worked as a bookkeeper when Annie and I were in grade school. Mrs. Lemen was a mother of four and worked as a bookkeeper before she had children. Both mothers were readers — when they were not busy working or cooking or cleaning or doing things to take care of their families, they were reading. Or doing a puzzle. Pencils were never in short supply. Next to the chair that my mother relaxed in after dinner, there was always a folded newspaper with a partially-completed puzzle. There were puzzles at Annie’s too. I don’t know what newspaper the puzzles came from, but since both families subscribed to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette I assume that paper must have had a crossword puzzle.
Crossword puzzles were an approved-of activity by both sets of parents. They taught you words, exercised the mind, and, as an added benefit, kept the child quiet. Reading was approved of as well, for much the same reasons. We could do either, as long as we did not attempt to get out of chores with either one.
So I had these two examples before me. As readers, they were a bit different. My mother favored romance, but Ann’s mother loved mysteries and introduced me to Agatha Christie by loaning me “Ten Little Indians.” I remember putting that book down and thinking, “I didn’t see that coming.”
That book was my entrée into adult mysteries. Before that, like most adolescent girls of my era, I was into Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and Robin Kane books. Those books were mysteries, too, but their sleuths were so much more perfect than me. When I was reading Nancy Drew, Nancy was a titian-haired sylph who drove a roadster. I was a chubby girl with a brown pixie, braces on my teeth, and a hand-me-down two-wheeler from my cousin Penny. I aspired to be Nancy Drew, but knew it could never happen, so I found adult mysteries, in a weird way, more relatable.
The detectives were all so flawed. Hercule Poirot, master of the little grey cells, was also a ridiculous fop, who could not bear a smudge on his spats. Miss Marple was an old lady who everyone underestimated. I loved that they were quirky and strange and still could figure out murders before anyone else.
And one of the things that I was firmly convinced of was that the ability to figure out a mystery and the ability to complete a crossword were somehow entwined. It did not really matter, though, because I was hooked on both, forever.
I love discovering a new mystery author, especially when I am introduced to them by a fellow mystery lover. Annie’s mother introduced me to the Amanda Cross mysteries and the literature professor/detective Kate Fansler. I talked to her about Gregor Demarkian, the Armenian-American detective creation of Jane Haddam. I constantly expect to discover new detectives.
I do not expect to find new kinds of puzzles to delight me.
I was not a subscriber to the New York Times for years, and although I subscribe now, I feel guilty when I do not complete the crossword, so I have given myself a pass on attempting it until I am retired.
However, I tried ‘Connections’ one day and couldn’t do it.
Have you tried it? ‘Connections’ is described as “grouping words that share a common thread.” It is, but that thread can be close to invisible sometimes. I had to attempt Connections three or four times until I figured out how to do it, and now? Now I cannot start my day without it.
Or Wordle.
I resisted ‘Wordle’ because I knew I would love it. My friends talked about it. I resisted. Then, one day, I did it to celebrate a ‘Connections’ success. I loved it. I am not always successful, and it amuses me when I cannot get the Wordle, because it usually has to do with my own bias toward the word. This week, I missed ‘pious’ for obvious reasons.
The only good thing about being addicted to these puzzles is that now I use them as rewards. I get to do the puzzles after I do my morning chores.
Guess what I am doing after I write this column?
You can reach June Lemen at junelemen18@gmail.com