Sudoku

I admit it. I am addicted to these puzzles.

Nothing gets done on an average morning until I have poured myself a generous mug of coffee, sat down with the newspaper and completed the crossword and the sudoku puzzles. Of course, they both get harder as the week goes on, so don't call me until noon on Friday.

Mike rolls his eyes when I start a puzzle. Really, it's that he cannot do them himself. He says he was never good at math and I say that it's not math, it's logic. Now, Mike is an intelligent guy, well-read and successful in his business ventures. If the task involves visual reasoning and creative problem solving, he is all over it. He just cannot do the if-then kind of logical thinking, and sees not point in exercises like sudoku.

I, on the other hand, cannot let them go until they are completed--just like a dog with a bone. I guess it doesn't really accomplish much. Still, I justify the time spent as exercise for the brain.

So I guess we are somewhat like the Mother Goose rhyme:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,

His wife could eat no lean.

And so between the two of them,

They licked the platter clean.

Mike goes for the weather, the obituaries, and the financial pages while I go for the classifieds, the store adverts, the puzzles, and my horoscope. And so,I now see clearly, it's a good thing I get some exercise for my brain.