By Lyle Painter
Sports fans: Do not feel your life is going into cheering hibernation because college and professional sports seasons are ending. On Friday, January 2, our fantastic Curtis librarian, Linda Blanchard, hosted the First Annual Jigsaw Puzzle competition for Curtis and the surrounding suburbs.
The official name for the contest was Jigsaw Puzzle Jamboree. The participants or “racers” as they are called, received the same 300-piece puzzle. The game lasted until all the “racers” had completed the puzzle.
This year there were 27 Racers and one fan – me – at the Jamboree. There were people of all ages. In fact, the children’s table pieced together first place with a score of 47 minutes. Their team included Abby, Will, Dominic, and Samuel. This team of kids came from Germfask and McMillan, and they won a $25 gift certificate to Shipwreck Inn.
Second-place finishers, with a time of 56 minutes, consisted of Sally and Caleb from McMillan. They won a $15 gift certificate to Welcome Home Décor and Gifts. Another McMillan family took third place, which won them a bag of snacks: Ken, Kari, Lilah, Autumn, and Weston finished with a time of 58 minutes.
The rest of the racers finished 4th through 10th. Prizes were given for the first three finishers, and the last-place team won a box of emotional support Kleenex.
The rest of the racers came from Curtis, Newberry, and McMillan. Those racers are Kim, Sue, Luke, Peter, Mary (#1), Jan, Mary (#2), Sally, Kelly, Greyson, Carol, Thomas, Mary (#3), Eric, Lisa, and Mike.
I live with a family of puzzlers. We always have one of those 1000-1500-piece puzzles in progress on a table. My son builds puzzles on a large poster board so he can store unfinished puzzles under a bed or another out-of-the-way place when necessary.
I remember my sister-in-law, who was not at all a puzzler, once took one piece of a family puzzle and put it in her pocket. The family puzzlers soon got frustrated because one piece was missing.
My sister-in-law finally decided to ease their frustration, walked by the puzzle and placed the “missing piece” in its correct location. She then said, “I helped finish the puzzle.”
Luckily both of our families are easy-going. After a few grunts and groans by the puzzlers and then a few laughs, we again attacked the charcuterie board of cheeses, crackers, olives, fruit, meats, and shrimp in a bowl with ice. That is, if the non-puzzlers hadn’t devoured its contents.
Before Linda announced the Jigsaw Jamboree Puzzle Race Contest, I did not know much about jigsaw puzzling. I went with my kids, who competed in the contest. I was curious about it. Briefly, it is more interesting to a spectator than I imagined. Don’t get me wrong; there were no bands or cheerleaders. The venue was quiet. The jamboree has rules, but I have recently learned there are states, areas, and worldwide districts in the organization. Worldwide, there are amateur and professional divisions!
For those who are interested in being a racer or fan go online and Google “Jigsaw Jamboree Puzzle Race Contest.” It may open a new life – forget baseball and football!!!
As my late wife would say to me, “If they made grass growing a sport, you would sit and watch it.”
