Saturday, July 19, 2014

Jigsaw Puzzles - Why?

  I have a jigsaw puzzle on my dining room table. It's a Star Trek puzzle. The original series. With Kirk, Spock and the gang. You know, the good one. Not like that "Next Generation" nonsense where every episode involved wormholes and the captain with the French name had a perfect English accent . No, this is the real thing, the trendsetter, the one with $25 sets, decent stories, a star who could not act, and a man who made a synagogue hand gesture into the most recognized symbol in science fiction.
  But, this is not about the TV show, but about jigsaw puzzles. Mine has been on the table for about 44 weeks and in another 700 pieces this 1000 piece beauty will be done. So, in another two years or so I will have a completed puzzle to break apart and put back into its box. Why you ask? Well, that's the way it is done. That's what the clever puzzle people are counting on when you get a puzzle. Make it, break it, buy another. So, they get a famous(ish) picture, print thousands of them on cardboard and cut them to pieces so people can have the challenge of putting them back together. Why not just buy the picture and hang it on the wall? This will save a great deal of time and when you need your table you won't have to try sliding your partially done puzzle onto a piece of cardboard.
  Some people do enjoy this pastime and do many such puzzles. Some do it once or twice, or less. Here is the progression of puzzle doing for the one timers (me). First week you're interested and do 50-75 pieces.
Second week is still good, about 40-50 pieces. After this the "inverse time - puzzle law" goes into effect and as each week goes by less pieces are found. In fact, after several months you will no longer even notice it at all. It will become just another decoration or houseplant.It's there , but it's no longer part of your reality.
  If you feel you must try jigsaw puzzling (and many are seduced into thinking it will be a joyful pastime and make you seem smart), here are the prerequisites:
1 - You must have spare time. Otherwise known as time on your hands or time to kill. This is ideal if you are in prison.
2 - You need good eyesight. Both acuity and color. Otherwise you will find that all the damn pieces look the damn same.
3 - You must be patient. In other words you must like boredom. Maybe watching paint dry is your thing. If so, perfect.
4 -  You must play by the rules and break the puzzle apart after finishing and taking a picture to prove you actually completed the puzzle. No cheating by gluing and framing and hanging the finished piece and having actual physical proof.
So, if you must then go do a puzzle . But don't tell me.

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