Impressed by creative crossword clue

  I often enjoy solving clues in the Times-News laid out by prolific puzzler Jacqueline Mathews. Sometimes I’m near completion, and then with a little help from my friends we crack the whole thing. Last summer on a break from work, Noah and I discovered a unique mind-bender; the clue for 54 across was: “Adam didn’t have one, if you think about it.” We needed five letters across, but checking the down clues, we had only unraveled one; which indicated the middle letter for our answer would be “V.”

We returned to work, placing the puzzle aside and though we kept picking it up later, couldn’t figure out what Adam was missing. A good wife? Some ribs? Snake repellant?  In the evening after mulling over the clues more, Eureka! I answered it. Adam didn’t have a navel – if you think about it! I called Noah and he was equally tickled about Adam’s belly button. Then, with the gift of Google we researched paintings of Adam from over the ages and realized that dozens of Renaissance painters had not considered it either, because smack dab next to Adams rib was residual evidence of his umbilical cord leading to a larger Great Mystery. 

O8/O8/O8

Several couples got married in Sun Valley on this noteworthy occasion, the eight signifying eternal marriage bonds with a side-bonus of an easily memorable anniversary date. They had to postpone one of the ceremonies for an hour as a hailstorm spilt into Bellevue’s gullies. The parties were split as to whether this was a good or bad omen.

I remember when Virginia, one the Falls Church, Va. water girls married a German fellow on 08/08/88, and how twenty years ago she explained the significance of this date to us in the office. This week would mark their twentieth anniversary and I hope that they are doing well.

As for me, have my lucky eights have runneth over?

Perhaps not yet. I began thinking how 08/08/08 is set apart by 4 years, 4 month and 4 days from 12/12/12; the day Munch said would be my magic birthday. I almost called Susan about this, but held off, because it kept niggling within me that there was more 04/04 significance.

Finally, last night, I figured it out. Dani, one of the clerks on the dispensary where I bought this receipt, had hand-scribed a peace symbol on their calendar. Remembering how strong a peacenik warrior she is, reminded me of something I wrote about Peace Symbols for Orwell Today and how the fours fit in like a perfect solution to this tiny numerology puzzle.