Ten years ago this month, as I was immersing myself into the nuances of cruciverbalism – the art of writing crosswords – these lines came to me:
“If you don’t come across, I’m gonna be down./ Your love to me is a mystery and the clues are all around.” (I know, that’s songwriting, not puzzle-writing, but stay with me on this.)
Encountering a touch of writer’s block, I called my friend Tim Bays, a singer/songwriter in the Nashville area. And asked for a consult. Tim’s the author of such songs as
“Three-Legged Dog” (memorable lyric: “I can still chase a cat and fetch a ball or stick/ As long as you don’t want it back real quick”);
“It’s Magic” (M.L.: “I fell in love the first time in eighth grade/ And I started shaving the very next day”); and
“Hindsight” (M.L.: “Why do things seem so much clearer/ Looking in a rearview mirror?”)
Tim coached me through the jam, with the result that I wrote some verses to go with the chorus, took the song with me to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament a few weeks later, and played it at the event’s talent contest. (Plus, I’ve now had 42 crosswords in the New York Times, not to mention the I Swear Crossword).
Long story short: The song wound up in the 2006 documentary “Wordplay,” which garnered a 95 percent positive review rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
So, where was I going with this before it became self-indulgent navel-gazing? Oh, yeah! “Wordplay” is coming up on its ten-year anniversary. The film relied on the 2005 ACPT for drama and tension that could not be artificially manufactured. That year was the ACPT’s 28th annual incarnation, as well as its 28th year at the Stamford, Conn., Marriott Hotel.
“Wordplay”’s success drove ACPT attendance up dramatically – from 450 in 2005 to 700 in 2007. That led to a move to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott in 2008, a larger meeting place. And there, in downtown Brooklyn, it remained for six recurrences, during which attendance leveled off and then ebbed: 2012-14 saw 590, 570, 580. Numbers the Stamford facility can easily service.
And so . . . back we go. I’ll miss Brooklyn. The hotel there looks out on the Brooklyn Law School, Borough Hall, federal and state courthouses, and a variety of locally owned shops and eateries interspersed with national and international chains. But the suburban magic of Stamford, Conn., is a draw to Metropolisites as well as us outliers from other states.
What remains to be seen is whether the maker of “Wordplay,” O’Malley-Creadon Productions, will capitalize on this homecoming. As a prelude, say, to the fun and clever film that jumpstarted their then-new venture by gaining acceptance to the Sundance Film Festival and then becoming the 24th highest grossing documentary of all time.
A lot has happened on the crossword landscape in the past ten years. And I bet you’re glad this column has reached its allotted space, so that I don’t bore you with all that! Stay tuned. I’ll update you again next year.
Vic Fleming is a district court judge in Little Rock, Ark., where he also teaches at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Contact him at vicfleming@att.net.