Some days I feel so smart.  That's when I realize how thankful I am for the countless years of education that I received and finally know the answer to that question every student asks, "When am I ever going to need to know this?" 

Knowing a little about a lot of stuff comes in real handy when you're trying to complete a crossword puzzle.  I am a crossword puzzle novice.  I own a puzzle dictionary or two but rarely do I consult it, nor do I often achieve a c.p. blackout, filling in every blank with correct answers.  

Yet I try. Sometimes my mind starts to wander and I plug in the most unlikely solutions in the little squares. Well, why not - if it fits? But of course that can cause troubles down the line.
I'm a back and forth, across and down puzzle doer.  Puzzle purists may cringe at the thought, but when I'm on a roll I cannot control myself from sliding down the clue list to see if I can solve 19 down which begins with the third letter of 10 across that I so brilliantly just filled in correctly.

That of course is on a good day. As I near completion of a particularly difficult crossword,  I find my eyes darting tot he last unanswered four or five clues like a steel ball encased in a pinball game.  Whether I'm hoping for some sort of inspiration or expect the answers to pop brilliantly into my mind, I do not know. 

Sometimes you just have to close up shop and go home - just walk away from the puzzle. some days are just that way.

There are times when I question the validity of my education and what my first grade teacher, Mrs. Snow, actually instilled in my young mind. None of the clues make any sense to me and as I tick them off one by one, a sickening pall falls over me as I try to will my mind to come up with at least one solution, preferably a nice, long word that might lead to more inspirational answers and kick start the wheels into motion.

But puzzle authors know just how to stymie their audience. They taunt and tease just enough to keep us interested. As I stare blankly at a clue I wonder why it was that we never learned any Latin in school since it's the root of so many words. It should be revived from its tomb.

 I have concluded that crossword puzzles are a social device and should be worked with friends.  In a group at least someone is sure to know an eight letter word for "intergalactic distance" or a six letter word for "one of MacBeth's thanedoms".  I can tell you that one that one begins with the letter "g" (I think). Calling in a friend or two takes the pressure off to solve every single clue in the puzzle. 

Perhaps you haven't been as attentive as you should be in the 9th grade when the teacher is discussing the phenomena of the Santa Ana winds on the Pacific Ocean or the name of the pirate ship in Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved book, Treasure Island.  Take it from me, my dear young students, you will be sorry one day when you, too, come upon a clue in a crossword puzzle asking for just that answer.

As long as the clues aren't of a mathematical nature usually I do alright.