It happened gradually, this addiction to crossword puzzles. It sneaked up on me while I was unaware. Before I knew it, I was hooked.
I suppose the seeds of my addiction were planted subconsciously as I listened to New York Times puzzle master Will Shortz and his word games on NPR every Sunday morning while I got ready for church. I played along and didn’t do half-badly. I didn’t do half-goodly either, but I did enjoy it. Boredom and the preservation of sanity proved to be the fertilizer that helped to grow the addiction to full flowering.