Cryptogram Wisdom

Carol A. Hand

I have a confession to make. Years ago, I became a cryptogram addict. Solving at least one puzzle is the last thing I do before falling asleep most nights (or early mornings). Most of the sayings are silly or trite, but some have provided useful or inspiring messages. For a couple years, I subscribed to a distributer and received at least one 300-puzzle book a month. Obviously, I couldn’t finish the books that quickly so I began to save them for future use. I stopped subscribing when the drawers where I stored the booklets were overflowing. When I moved almost three years ago, I decided they made good packing fill to protect fragile items, so they made the trip to my new home.

This morning as I greeted the morning, this addiction made me laugh. In times like these, I need to find humor and helpful insights from as many sources as possible. I wondered how many others find these puzzles intriguing and useful.

Here are a few of the gems I have found.

“It is no small accomplishment to improve the quality of someone’s day.”

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the author. It was one of the early messages in a booklet that went to recycling long ago, but it’s one that I try to live every day.

“University policies are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” (Henry Kissinger).

Don’t judge too quickly – I’m not a fan of Kissinger. It’s just that this particular quote resonated with my experiences in academia. Faculty who had only worked in the real world for two years in entry-level social work positions before heading the ivory towers and gained tenure enforced their notions of a relevant curriculum. Hmm … This made for an interesting context for students and newer faculty whose experiences far exceeded that of the tenured dictators.

“Experience and history teach that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.” (George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel).

Unfortunately, these words are particularly salient given recent U.S. decisions to continue ongoing imperialist wars on behalf of the corporatocracy.

One that I recently read is particularly relevant today. Instead of solving this one, I’m posting the puzzle to see who is interested in solving a simple challenge. The more difficult challenge, of course, is figuring out how to live by these words…

R YOQMFZ RCE R MAWMZA LKCINOWC WL SWHZACQZCN OY GKYN NW QRBZ ON ZRYT LWA KY NW EW SWWE RCE EOLLOIKFN LWA KY NW EW DAWCS. (GOQQT IRANZA)

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

I hope you have fun solving this riddle  :-)

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