Have you ever sat down and tried to construct a crossword puzzle? Warning - It is not as easy as you might imagine. You will have a great word going across, but can you match it with a comparable great word in going down?

Recently, I received a simple crossword puzzle from my 7-year-old granddaughter, Rachel. I could not get one single word. They were all too specific to her school and daily life that she stumped me completely.

Immediately I sat down and tried to construct a family puzzle for her. I thought it would take me a half-hour, but after 2-and-a-half hours I was still putting it together. She loved my puzzle and she promised to send me another of hers soon.

I do not love the editorial policy of The New York Times. I even reveled in the trouble they were having with reporters who made up events and some who plagiarized stories. This is my personal opinion and you do not have to agree with me.

But, as a retired person, I look forward to the daily crossword puzzle, which is edited by Will Shortz. Each preceding puzzle editor had a style and a verve of their own. There was Margaret Farrar and Eugene Maleka in the past. They were both strict and literate in their word choices. Will Shortz, however, is a punster and a bit of a rascal who plays games with words and ideas. He uses brand names that his predecessors would never think of using.

The daily puzzles increase in difficulty as the week progresses. Monday and Tuesday are doable, but Friday and Saturday are impossible (for me anyhow). The Sunday Times puzzle is the granddaddy of them all. Sometimes it takes a whole week of trying to get it finished, which is great for a retired gentleman who needs intellectual stimulation.

Looking up words in the dictionary is really not quite cricket, but sometimes necessary when you have never seen or heard that particular word before. Mongolian rivers and cities in South America also send me running to a world atlas. I feel this is ultimately fair because I think that Mr. Shortz has gone too far with convoluted places off the beaten path.

The old saying goes "Don't downgrade a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes!" Now that I have spent so much time trying to create a simple crossword puzzle, I have new respect for my daily conversation (across and down) with Mr. Shortz at The New York Times.