One of the many aspects of life at the Seminole Campground that I enjoyed was the ever-present communal jigsaw puzzle. I have enjoyed the challenge of a good jigsaw puzzle since early childhood when I assembled one with the help of my father’s wartime buddy, Dale Richter. Well, it may be coincidence or it may be something to do with guys named Dale, but the chief puzzler at Seminole was also named Dale, a happy-go-lucky whistler from Ohio. Dale and I, with the occasional assistance of others, assembled at least 5 puzzles in the four months that I was there – 4 1000-piece puzzles and, just this week, a 750-piece one. Had to have a small one that I could finish before leaving.
One of the toughest was the shape-shifting 3-D fish scene. This puzzle had pieces that had different colors and content depending on the angle you viewed it from. That one pushed the limits of fun. I could not spend more than an hour on it without risking a headache.
But the toughest was the butterfly. This was a photomosaic, a picture of a Monarch butterfly composed of thousands of little photographs. It was impossible to assemble small portions; the only categorization of the pieces was by color – gray, brown, red, blue, green. It took three weeks to finish this monster. In the early days the rate of progress was about 10 pieces per hour. Yes, folks, over 5 minutes, on average, to fit a single piece! This puzzle did not just push the limits of fun, it trampled them. I hope that puzzle is burnt because I never want to see it again.
But I still find jigsaws to be fun. Which is… puzzling.
Butterfly Bastard