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Isn't it wonderful to meet someone who absolutely loves what they do to earn a living? I hope all of us fall into that category because the people I meet who love their work seem happy with life as a whole. They seem centered and welcoming.
Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle page and NPR's puzzle master, is that kind of guy.
Anyone attending the Westchester NY Book Fair held in Tarrytown twice a year can run into the friendly editor. That's where I met him one particularly slow day when my booth partner and I killed time over the Sunday crossword. This was ten years ago, right after Shortz took over for Eugene Maleska.
I was used to Maleska's puzzles and the change threw me. Coupled with a "tire-kicker" kind of show, the poor puzzle took the brunt of my displeasure, or rather the new editor did. Ron Weston, my usual Tarrytown partner in puzzling, mentioned Will Shortz was at the show. "Hmmph," I grunted. I unleashed my displeasure at having to "reset" my thinking to a whole new editor that I swore made that puzzle harder. Maybe, I griped, it was to lure us into using the 1-900 puzzle help line.
"They ought to make it 1-900-GET SHORTZ." I was on a roll.
Ron cleared his throat and said, "Ede, this is Will Shortz."
A very nice, friendly gentleman stood in the aisle watching us with great interest. I smiled back and said, "Nice try, Ron."
Before Weston could sputter a reply, the nice man whipped out his license and introduced himself. It was Will Shortz who immediately sat down and asked, "Now what seems to be the stumbling block?"
He never fails to stop by the booth every fair. That's the kind of guy he is, someone who genuinely loves his work. He also loves to watch others doing puzzles. I hope each of us is the same and equally as willing to share this love with our customers and anybody who expresses an interest in books.
So when I wanted to write about one fascinating area of collecting, I followed my own advice: I got Shortz.
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