Jon
Washoe County
I have a moral dilemma best put to the sage, measured, and never-snarky NYT Crossword Commentariat. My situation: On Tuesday, I went to bed after completing the Wednesday puzzle. I possessed my usual self-satisfaction, smugly content my 500+ puzzle streak was intact. To my alarm, on Wednesday, I realized I had forgotten to do the Tuesday puzzle, and after I did it, I observed an ugly blue square in my archive of golden boxes. After moping around for two days and being rightfully made fun of by my wife, I ask you: Is my streak over? If it is, should I pretend it is not? On the one hand, if it’s over, my family/friends will be better off. No longer will they have to feign being impressed or even interested when I work my streak into a conversation about their cat. Likewise, I’ll feel better not having to deal with eye rolls and sarcasm every time I tell them how hard the Saturday puzzle was. I’ll also get sweet release—no longer will I carry that streak ball-and-chain; instead, I can focus on politics, current events, and other non-distressful things. On the other hand, Tuesdays are gimmes, and I did one puzzle each day. Why should I lose my streak if they were switched? Also, facts don’t matter—having been alive the last 10 years, I now know they don't exist, and I can live in my own reality. Lots of people do! But the best argument is—no one cares! Really, no one cares about my dumb streak. Even my mom is over it. What say you, Commentariat?
Thank you, Commentariat, for your thoughtful insights and sound advice. After careful consideration, I have arrived at the following solution to my crisis of conscience: (1) Pretend that Tuesday, December 9, never happened; (2) To that end, cover December 9 on my desk calendar in black permanent marker, so I won’t have to see that awful day laughing at me; (3) Credit 20 bonus days to my streak for “pain and suffering”; (4) If someone questions me about the validity of my streak (in light of my prior post), tell them I have no idea what they’re talking about. If they persist, tell them my account was hacked; and (5) In a strongly-worded letter, advise my mom my streak isn’t dumb. In deference to Not a Cat’s comment above, I discussed this approach with my household, and three of my four kittens and both of my dogs are on board. Unfortunately, my wife told me I have to sleep on the couch tonight.
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