TheTimes crossword-puzzle editor returns to work and table tennis after two strokes that nearly ended his career.
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The side of his mouth was drooling.
Shortz recognized the signs: He was having a stroke.
Really brings tears to my eyes to think about it.
But time passes quickly in easy Mondays, tricky Thursdays, taxing Saturdays, and oversize Sundays.
When Shortz started out, he was theTimes sole full-time puzzle employee; now, there are roughly 100.
The main crossword has been joined by theMiniand new games likeWordleandConnectionswith more likely to come.
The Games department is a major moneymaker and subscription driver to an increasingly polyvalent company.
Shortz has the final say.
He moved quickly from the wheelchair to walking with a cane to walking unassisted.
A major brain injury might be enough to dim anyones sunniness, but Shortz bore up cheerfully.
He has an imperturbable equanimity joined to a logicians clarity.
Thats funny, he would say steadily if I said something he thought was funny.
Im a naturally optimistic, upbeat person, he told me.
A puzzle master is never unprepared.
Name two heroines of Shakespeare, nine letters, beginning withCand ending withA!
(Cleopatra, Cassandra.)
Name two six-letter animals that begin withBand end withR!
(Beaver, badger.)
Despite a 42-year age difference, and Ss indifference to crosswords, they seem quite contentedly in love.
(Until his strokes, he had a 4,141-day streak of uninterrupted daily play.)
His standing has fallen somewhat the day I visited, the club rankings listed him as No.
52; S was No.
I can see the progress.
The popcorn sound of dozens of balls connecting with paddles filled the air.
Shortz returned to his post just before the New Year.
Though Shortz has already identified his pick for his successor Fagliano its theTimesthat will decide.
Whoever it is will have to wait in any case; Shortz insisted he was in no rush.
Im doing exactly what I want, he said.
I never plan to retire.
He and S. are going to take a brief break, though, to honeymoon in Grenzau, Germany.
Theres a four-star hotel, Shortz said, and just across the street is a table-tennis facility.
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