Ricky is the math guy and I am the word gal, but sometimes the twain do meet. I am not a math hysteric, and Ricky has been known to use words like opine in natural conversation. Interestingly, most newspapers house their crossword puzzles and KenKen puzzles on the same page. Ricky is drawn first to the boxed-in numbers of the KenKen, whereas I head straight for the clues of the crossword. But who gets that page first?
The equanimity of our marriage depends on the way we resolve this issue. Ricky usually digs out the puzzle section and knocks out the KenKen pretty quickly. He will then leave the page open and neatly folded to the crossword for me. Often a pen will even be nestled in the crease, clearly an offering of love.
I then plunge into the crossword, never starting in the upper left-hand corner, which for some reason causes Ricky angst.
"Why don't you start with 1 across?" he'll say after noticing I've filled in a little chunk in the middle.
"I don't know. One of the clues in the middle caught my eye first," I'll answer.
At some point I'll pause and set the crossword down; Ricky will happen by and pick it up and fill in a few answers. Then he'll leave it somewhere and I'll pick it back up again. It's a silent partnership. Or sometimes not so silent if I get stumped on a clue that Ricky is certain to know such as: "Left-handed Hall-of-Fame pitcher allergic to pine nuts." He will definitely know that one, so I'll ask.
As a matter of fact, for a math guy, Ricky knows an awful lot of fairly useless random information. He's great at Jeopardy!, even in the categories that should rightly be mine. He will sweep categories like Literary Arthropods, while the wheels of my brain keep spinning, visualizing the answers I cannot get out of my mouth fast enough. He will beat me in getting answers about books that he hasn't read but I have!
But somehow, it all works. Occasionally, I will get a Final Jeopardy answer that he doesn't know. (Ha!) And the KenKen and crossword wind up filled in. This element of our marriage is a puzzle we have solved together.
I think you could do a substantial publishable research project on the coupling of right and left brains. Joe does all the math and I do all the puzzles and yet...he knows every single "one-hit wonder" from 1960 thru yesterday and every NHL, NFL, NBA, PGA oddity of note since the beginning of time while I take care of all the bills and keep the finances in order. Granted, I have to use three calculators and an Excel spreadsheet, but still. I adore reading your posts... xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteExactly! I organize the bills, too!
Deletexoxoxo back :)