The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1916-05-05
PUZZLES.
~ On. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915. by Frank Crane)

Father came home the other day from
town with a box under his arm. He
opened it that evening when the family
had gathered around the table in the sit
ting-room and it was found to contain .
lot Of puzzles. There were all manner Of
interlocked rings, and meshed keys, and
tangled wires. and funny shaped blocks
OF wood, and pewter anchors, and ''things
and strings"
Unkle Ed was inclined to gibe, remark
ing that this was nice way for q
healthy. grown-up man to employ his
time; and why wasn't he reading Roman
history or studying French or rubbing
up on his arithmetic? Uncle Ed Is q
school-teacher. Father is lawyer.
Whereupon Father opened his mouth.
and, addressing Ed and mother and the
children and the Hawkins boy, who was
over spending the evening, said as fol-
lows:
was going along the street an hap
pened to pass one of these puzzle-stores.
| stopped and looked in at the show-win-
dow. / always do. This brass dingus,
where you have to get this ring of this
wire. attracted me. thought saw how
it's done. ! went in to buy it, and be-
fore came out had purchased dozen
new ones the clerk showed me.
I'm going to work 'em, going to have
a regular puzzle debauch. I love puzzles
and am not ashamed of it. When I'm
tired and frazzled and don't want to do
anything ought, like to tackle trick
like this and 60 crazy over it.
And when go in want to go in deep.
! don't like to do anything just minute.
l hate a continued story; when read
novel it's got to be at one sitting IL l
have to stay up all night for it. So with
puzzles. Nothing is real recreation for
the mind unless you can kind O. get drunk
over it. I'm going to do all these puz-
zfes before quit. The law business can
go hang.
And, speaking Of improving your
mind by reading history and things like
that. do you know believe that puzzle
solving is the most perfect form of men,
tai training? The reason is that this
here ring-puzzle, for instance, more
closely resembles the problems Of real
fife than any Of those examples in
Johnny's arithmetic.
I.ife's problems are not resolved by
any binomial theorem, or other formula
that always works; you get EN- mainly
by tinkering at 'em until you find out
the easiest way.
Taking Villa or capturing Verdun is
deal more like puzzle than anything
they teach in business college.
What good is algebra as preparation
for marriage, for instancei Getting
married is simple enough, but staying
married is just a puzzle that you solve
by infinite patience, experiment, trying
all sorts of tactics, until you learn how
10 make two diversely cantankerous dis
positions get along smoothly in the same
house.
never knew q lawsuit that did not
resemble jig-saw picture more than an
algebra problem. BY the way, why don't
they make any more jig-saw pictures7
miss EN-
A boy brought up on mathematics
gets the notion that success in life is .
matter of knowing rules. When he gets
to business he finds out it is made up Of
exceptions. You get the answer to
business tangle by keeping everlastingly
at it, trying every move you can think
of, until you hit the right one.
So it is with raising children. ! have
six. Every one Of them 10 different
kind of ring puzzle. ! used to think
there were rules and definite plans by
which anybody could bring up child.
Take it from me, that 10 delusion. You
simply have to keep working away 1t
each one, the same as game OF soil
taire. and sometimes 1t comes out right,
and then again sometimes 1t does not.
When I accumulate a billion dollars
and make my will I'm going to endow
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