Occassionally, there are moments you remember clear as a photograph. Sometimes they're life-changing, significant events, but randomly, sometimes they're just moments which catch you off guard.
One particular moment that stands out in the vaults of my memory was placed in the dimly lit den of my childhood home. My father sat on the couch, adjacent to the chair upon which I sat. I gazed at him, with fullest admiration, as I watched him work the New York Times crossword... in pen.
He noticed my stare, and looked up. Spoke two sentences which the simplicity of and truth of have resonated within me since. "There is very little on this Earth which demonstrates more arrogance than a man working a crossword puzzle in pen. Never let anybody tell you otherwise."
A decade and a half, and thousands of crossword puzzles later, I still agree. Wholeheartedly.