You know what's great about the ACPT?

I was thinking about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament today. It may be short on ethnic diversity, but the age range of the participants is phenomenal. I think Will Shortz said on the radio that the youngest competitor was 18 and the oldest 86—and both rookies. Looking back at who I talked with a couple weekends ago, it's amazing. I had conversations with college students, people in their 70s and 80s, and all the decades in between. Going to Stamford's kind of like attending a big family wedding, where you'll talk to the kids and your cousins and assorted grandparents and a bunch of weird uncles—except at Stamford, it's a crossword-lovin' kinship rather than a familial one, and there's no taffeta or dance floor.