From the NY Times

"How Can You Tell if a Violin Is Really, Really Happy? Listen", by Jeremy Eichler, page B1.

An addiction is a powerful thing, even if it is an addiction to NY Times crossword puzzles. By Thursday I needed Will Shortz BAD! As wonderful as my vacation had been, I was at sea. I couldn't tell down from across. If measures weren't taken immediately, I might forget that Asta was Nick and Nora's dog, a Key contraction was o'er, and Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace prize in 1984. I might have to go back to working the puzzle in #2 pencil instead of ink. How humiliating!

Funny thing. When you buy the $1.00 crossword puzzle you get the newspaper for free! Is America a great place, or what?! I read stories about Renzo Piano, Gertrude Bell, Wilma Mankiller, and Anne Midgette's review of the Santa Fe Operas in just one section.

There's a lot of talk about voter virgins this election year. Voter virgins don't read a newspaper on a regular basis. They don't know about blissful double basses or Renzo Piano's new spiderman cathedral in Italy. How sad to not know what's going on in the world so you can be an informed citizen!