Crossword puzzles stir up memories

I hardly ever pick up a crossword puzzle that I don't think of my dad. He used to wait for the daily paper every day. It came about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He always sat in a rocking chair, and he had a little pet chick that would get up on his shoulder and sit there as he worked that crossword puzzle. For years after he died, I had the stub of a pencil that he used to do those crossword puzzles in my cedar chest.

Now, after all these years, I find myself waiting for the morning paper. Once it's here, I just want to tackle that crossword puzzle. Whenever I pick up the paper, I read the headlines, and then I search out the crossword puzzle. Only after I work it out do I read the rest of the paper.