Sudoku, A Bit Of Mental Exercise.

At the beginner's stage again.

Thanks to a marvelous gift from my parents I can now read the online New York Times and it has been a treat. Not so much today after all the political disasters but one quickly learns to skip the odd report. One wants to preserve one's sanity after all.

You know, only this morning I was ready to make a run on supermarkets to stock up on beans, pasta and canned goods. Oil or the lack of it does affect the price of just about everything. Luckily, I read Thomas Friedman's opinion piece and was pacified enough not to rush out on a larder-spree.

But the New York Times has many more treasures in store. From book reviews to mental candy floss. Yes, Sudoku ( which is free ) and the odd rerun of a crossword puzzle. Those are reminders of how little I know! The Sudoku though has turned out quite fun. I have done about five and me thinks the bug has bitten. So far I am only mastering the easy ones, but I have noticed that my speed of solving them has increased.

Years ago, pre Social Media in fact, I had been quite good at it although Bob had trumped me hands down because he could meander the inside of Black Belt Sudoku with an ease most impressive and even had discarded pencil for pen. Of course he has not done them for years either so that when I asked him to see whether he could finish an easy one faster than me, he jumped at the chance and now the two of us compete for faster completion time.

The times we live in seem rather perilous and often tranquility and sanity are restored by something as simple as a game of Sudoku, knitting a blanket or reading a favourite novel. Here is hoping that history doesn't repeat itself.

Biggi