calling in sick

I get up at 5:30 AM, sometimes 5:00, so I can rest before going walking at 6:30 AM. I’ve always had to rest in the morning. Can’t jump outta bed and just start. Not made that way.

I have coffee and something to eat, and work on the New York Times Crossword puzzle. If you do the puzzle you know that Monday’s puzzle is too easy. You just fly right through it. Then you’re disappointed that you don’t have the puzzle to do.

The puzzle gets progressively more difficult each day. Tuesday is still very easy. Wednesday can go either way. Some are easy. Some are more difficult. Like that.

Thursday usually will make you think and keep you busy for a little while. Friday can be a bear. Saturday can be too. I always solve the darn thing, but sometimes I work at it off and on all day. Little at a time. Of course, some folks just tear right through them like they were easy every day. Some people.

Maybe I could do that if I could spell. Can’t spell worth a lick. Can’t read up and down either. Strange huh? Never even realized that about myself until I started doing crosswords. I guess when I read signs on businesses which are vertical I spell them out in my head real quick and then know what they say. But on crossword puzzles, I have to have a blank paper to write out the “down” answers so that I can see what the word is going to be.

Like if the clue is “Enters abruptly,” and the answer is 8 letters, and I have blank, “a” then “r”, blank, then “e”, then blank but I can guess it’s probably an “s”,blank, blank. I can’t see what the answer will be. But if I write it out like this: _ar_es__ , I will guess right away, Bargesin. Two words, barges in. They don’t tell you how many words it will be.

Good thing I have Niks to help some days. Like I don’t know who wrote “A Tract on Monetary Reform” which was in a recent puzzle. I had some of the letters, but he didn’t need to hear them. I asked him, “Who wrote A Tract on Monetary Reform?” and he answered Keynes, immediately. No hesitation at all. Doesn’t have a clue where his glasses are, or if he took his medicine, but he knows a lot of other stuff.

I don’t like to ask him clues. I just do it if I’m stumped or in a hurry. He likes for me to ask though. Makes him feel good. That guy.

I’m good at guessing the “cute” answers, like I knew right away that the answer to the clue “not stiff?” was “tip.” (Where is the heck is Jevanking the waiter anyway? He needs to start blogging again. He’s not going to be a waiter anymore anyway. But I will always think of him when I decide what to tip at a restaurant.)

But I didn’t start out to talk about crossword puzzles. I got off the track. That rarely happens to me. I just get right to the point usually. Don’t know what happened there.

I was gonna say that I e-mailed my friend Irene and told her I was taking today off. Using a “Personal Day.” She e-mailed back, and said she didn’t feeling like walking either, said she called in “Sick” to the park where we walk and we’re going to let the other folks who walk there take care of the place today. That Irene. She’s a joker.

Household chores are knockin’ at my door, but we all know I can ignore unwanted types at the door. So, I’m going to have more coffee, and read the rest of the paper.

Have a good day.